Eucoelophysis
Eucoelophysis was a small, plant-eating dinosaur that lived about 212 million years ago in what is now New Mexico. It had a beak and walked on two legs, looking a bit like a long-legged lizard. Scientists once thought it was a meat-eater, but now they know it munched on plants.12
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as long as 3 dogs nose to tail🍌as long as 17 bananas end to end🏃could run 100 metres in 7.8 seconds (the fastest human needs 9.6)How big was Eucoelophysis compared to YOU?
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Fun facts
Its fossils were first found in the 1880s by David Baldwin, but were mixed up with another dinosaur called Coelophysis.1
For a long time, scientists thought Eucoelophysis was a meat-eating dinosaur, but in 2007 a study showed it was actually a plant-eater related to Silesaurus.1
Eucoelophysis lived during the Late Triassic period, about 212 million years ago.1
The name Eucoelophysis means 'true hollow form' because it was thought to be the real Coelophysis at first.1
Only a few bones of Eucoelophysis have been found, including parts of the hip and hind legs.1
Eucoelophysis is now placed in a group called Silesauridae, which are close relatives of dinosaurs.1
Most asked questions about Eucoelophysis
?Was Eucoelophysis a dinosaur?
No, it is not a dinosaur. Scientists now place it in a group called Silesauridae, which are close relatives of dinosaurs but not true dinosaurs.1
?How big was Eucoelophysis?
The exact size is not known from the few bones found, but it was a small animal, probably about the size of a modern turkey or a small dog.1
?What did Eucoelophysis eat?
It was a plant-eater. It had a beak and munched on plants, unlike the meat-eating dinosaurs it was once mistaken for.1
?When did Eucoelophysis live?
It lived during the Late Triassic period, about 212 million years ago, in what is now New Mexico.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Eucoelophysis
- Named by
- Sullivan and Lucas 19992
- Group
- Beaked plant-eaters
- Family / clade
- Silesauridae2
- Classification
- Ornithischia2
- Age of the rocks
- 227 to 201 million years (Norian / Rhaetian)2
- Rock formations
- Chinle2
- Countries
- USA2
- Fossil records
- 2 in the Paleobiology Database2
- Discovery
- Eucoelophysis was named in 1999 by Robert Sullivan and Spencer Lucas based on a skeleton found in New Mexico. The species name baldwini honors David Baldwin, who collected the first fossils in the 1880s.12
- Still debated
- Scientists are still debating whether some fossils from the Snyder Quarry and Hayden Quarry belong to Eucoelophysis or to other animals.1
Where the facts come from
- Eucoelophysis (en.wikipedia.org)
- Eucoelophysis in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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