Coelophysis bauri is a small carnivorous theropod that lived in North America during the Late Triassic.
It was added to the game in Update 1.1.
In-Game[]
Description[]
Ceolophysis is a small, lightly built theropod and despite being one of the earliest, it already had the distinctive body shape that would become the basis for many of its descendants.
In Prehistoric Kingdom, Coelophysis has two integument options, with one feathered skin and two scaly skins.
Management[]
To be announced.
In-Game Trivia[]
Nigel Marven
Coelophysis is, without a doubt, the most iconic dinosaur of the Triassic Period.
Nigel Marven
It was named all the back in 1889, making the genus well over 100 years old. That's nothing compared to the actual age of the animal, of course - the most recent specimens of Coelophysis are roughly 200 million years old!
Nigel Marven
Just like how many Hollywood “icons” have left their handprints behind in concrete at the famous Chinese Theater, many fossilized footprints known as Grallator have been attributed to Coelophysis. It must have been quite a celebrity back in the day!
Nigel Marven
It's almost certain that it's also the trickiest dinosaur name to say! If you ever have some time on your hands, I recommend listening to the visitors try to sound out its name… “Koh-ell-oh-fiss-iss” never fails to make me smile!
Paleontology[]
Coelophysis is one of the most scientifically well known non-avian dinosaurs thanks to the several blocks of fossils found in Ghost Ranch, Arizona. Hundreds of specimens of Coelophysis are known to science and allow scientists to make stronger conclusions about aspects of this animal's biology.
It was once proposed that Coelophysis may have been cannibalistic due to remains found within the chest cavity of some of the Ghost Ranch specimens. This was later debunked twice, the first time being that remains found within one specimen were found to actually belong to that of a lizard-like archosauriformes, the second time being true Coelophysis remains, but simply being a juvenile that was buried under an adult and not within the chest cavity.
Coelophysis was named in 1889 by Edward Drinker Cope and its name means "Hollow Form" in reference to its hollow bones.
Paleoecology[]
The relatively small animal had very unique features for the time, such as its long narrow head with large, forward-facing eyes, giving Coelophysis exceptional depth perception. Another very notable trait is its long, developed arms that could be used to grasp smaller prey such as bugs or lizards.
It is speculated that Coelophysis would've grouped up in large packs in order to hunt down larger prey due to the Ghost Ranch dig site in the United States where over a thousand Coelophysis specimens were found. However, this is disputed as it is possible these remains were deposited there by a flash flood or were gathered around water to feed on spawning fish.
It is thought that Coelophysis would have had a coat of feathering in life due to recent climate modelling which showed that Coelophysis would struggle to survive the cold nights of the environments it was found in if it did not posses some form of insulation with its higher metabolic rate. That same study also found that Plateosaurus would likely be susceptible to overheating if it possessed a significant feather coat.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Coelophysis has had a reputation as a cage breaker in Early Access Versions 1.1 and onward due to its consistent ability to run through fences due seemingly to its speed and size.
- Even before it was added, it refused to be contained, with multiple players sharing screenshots and videos of a Jet-Black Coelophysis appearing in their games before the animal was officially included. Some players have reported still having one or multiple unnamed Coelophysis spawn into their parks unprompted, something that happens with seemingly no other animal in game.
- Some have joked that this phase shifting ability is due to it being from Ghost Ranch, a locality known for its immense amount of Coelophysis specimens.
- Coelophysis is the second species of non-avian dinosaur to have gone to space, with the first being Maiasaura. A skull of the animal was taken onboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour mission STS-89 on January 22nd, 1998.
- Coelophysis has decent recognition from being in media such as Walking with Dinosaurs, often leading to its portrayal as the "earliest" dinosaur, even if incorrect.
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