coe·lo·phy·sis

(sē′lə-fī′sĭs)

A small carnivorous theropod dinosaur of the genus Coelophysis of the Triassic Period, having a long neck and tail and an elongated snout.

[New Latin Coelophysis, genus name : Greek koilos, hollow; see keuə- in Indo-European roots + Greek phusis, form; see bheuə- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Noun

coelophysis - one of the oldest known dinosaurs; late Triassic; cannibalistic

genus Ceratosaurus - primitive saurischian carnivorous dinosaurs

ceratosaur, ceratosaurus - primitive medium-sized theropod; swift-running bipedal carnivorous dinosaur having grasping hands with sharp claws and a short horn between the nostrils; Jurassic in North America

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References in periodicals archive

It resembles small theropods like the deinonychus, coelophysis and dromaeosaurus - extinct 65 million years.

'Dino corpse with flesh on bones' found

Dig for virtual fossil evidence to discover what Baryonyx munched on, examine a huge poo to find traces of Euoplocephalus' last meal and discover the chilling theory about the deadly Coelophysis' dinner.

Dino Jaws exhibition's set to be roaring success

The team examined rocks and fossils that come from a location known as Ghost Ranch, an area noteworthy for a number of Triassic dinosaur discoveries, including the early meat-eaters Coelophysis and Tawa.

Climate, ecosystem delayed success

It is related to Coelophysis which lived approximately 203 to 196 million years ago in what is now the southwestern part of the United States of America.

Anciant cousin of T-Rex of a lifetime' ONWELSH beach

And lastly, I would NOT make friends with a T-Rex and a Coelophysis dinosaur because they are scary and mean.

Travel back in time

For 150 million years the dinosaur ruled; 1982, dated the Petrified Forest National Park's first traces of dinosaur's existence with the recovery of a Coelophysis in the upper Chinle.

The petrified forest

(1994): Geology and taphonomy of the Coelophysis quarry, Upper Triassic Chinle Formation, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico.

Palaeoecological inferences about dinosaur gregarious behaviour based on the study of tracksites from La Rioja area in the Cameros Basin (Lower Cretaceous, Spain)

Though some dinosaurs, such as a theropod called Coelophysis (D), did live in the late Triassic, they did not rule the landscape, Existing non-dinos included large armored herbivores called aetosaurs (C and E), mammal-like reptiles known as dicynodonts (A), land-dwelling ancestors of today's crocodiles (B), salamander-like amphibians (G) and other aquatic predators (F and H).

Dawn of the dinosaurs: paleontologists probe the majestic reptiles' origin and rise

Coelophysis and Syntarsus, had more bite power in the back of the mouth, but were weak, fast biters with their front teeth and Ostrich-like dinosaurs such as the Velociraptor possessed weak but devastatingly speedy bites, according to study author Manabu Sakamoto.

Prehistoric shark Carcharodon megalodon's bite biggest of all dinos

"It's hard to tell from footprints exactly what it was, but it was similar to a Coelophysis, a small meat-eater common in the Triassic period.

LAND OF THE DAI-NOSAURS! Triassic terrors roamed S. Wales

The ilium of the Tucumcari-area find is significantly larger than an ilium from an average-size coelophysis, New Mexico's state dinosaur, and the shape is quite different, Hungerbuehler said.

New Mexico college students find Triassic period fossil