EXHIBIT 21
Coelophysis bauri
The famous claim that Coelophysis ate its young failed detailed fossil re-examination.
TWO WAYS TO PICTURE THE PAST
Compare the evidence with the familiar movie image. The illustrations are not to a shared scale.
The artist identifies this reconstruction as Coelophysis. It is used as a genus-level illustration alongside the Coelophysis bauri facts, rather than a species-identified specimen restoration. Fossil-informed anatomy: Lightly built bipedal theropod with a narrow head, serrated teeth and curved hand claws. Coloration and some soft tissues are interpretive. [1] [2] [3]
Coelophysis TD.png — TotalDino. CC BY-SA 4.0. Remote source artwork displayed without additional cropping; Wikimedia supplies any display-size derivative.
Scientific picture served by Wikimedia · internet connection required.
Cinematic Coelophysis bauri with a slender bipedal frame, narrow predatory head and grasping hands; color and surface details remain artistic. Dramatic lighting, surface detail and scenery are artistic choices. This is an original cinema-inspired picture, rather than a frame from a film or a documented fossil locality.
Original artwork · artistic interpretation.
Scientific view: credited paleoart interpreting fossil evidence, served online by Wikimedia. Movie-style view: Original artistic interpretation. Colors, soft tissues and settings involve reconstruction.
MEET THE ANIMAL
Coelophysis was a small meat-eating dinosaur of the Late Triassic. The rich fossil deposit at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico preserves many individuals of Coelophysis bauri. Sharp serrated teeth, curved claws and a two-legged body plan distinguish this animal from the much larger predators that appeared later. Its skeleton offers a useful view of an early predatory-dinosaur form. [S1] [S2]
Many Ghost Ranch skeletons were preserved remarkably well, sometimes with the bones still connected. Having numerous individuals allows researchers to compare growth and development instead of treating one animal as typical of an entire species. However, the number of skeletons preserved is not the same as the number prepared well enough for detailed study. Even a famous fossil deposit can continue to reveal new information as material is carefully examined. [S1]
One feeding interpretation changed after researchers revisited the fossils. Bones near the belly of a specimen had been taken as evidence of cannibalism, but closer study identified remains of an animal related to crocodiles instead. That correction concerns the studied evidence; it does not describe every meal Coelophysis ever ate. Likewise, many carcasses buried together do not automatically prove a hunting pack, and specific courtship and parenting remain unresolved here. [S3] [S2]
PREHISTORIC ANIMAL DOSSIER
The animal, the evidence, and the questions still open.
Coelophysis bauri was a lightly built, two-legged carnivore represented by many skeletons at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico. A famous cannibalism claim based on supposed juvenile gut remains was later rejected.
Profile scope: Species: Coelophysis bauri; genus-reference figures explicitly identified.
Source supported identifies a description documented by the cited source. Inferred marks a reconstruction or functional estimate. Debated marks competing interpretations. Not established means the sources reviewed for this dossier do not support a firm conclusion; it does not mean a behavior never occurred.
A size reference is an estimate, not a population range. Nesting evidence does not by itself establish courtship, mate choice, or lifelong pairing.
Common reference: 1.8–2.4 m; some about 3 m
The geological survey describes C. bauri as generally 6–8 feet long, with some individuals reaching 10 feet. Metric values are rounded conversions, not a population confidence interval. [D2]
About 27 kg; genus reference
NHM supplies this rounded figure on its Coelophysis genus page, whose type species is bauri. No specimen, life stage or estimation method is supplied. [D1]
Small vertebrates and other animals
Sharp teeth and grasping claws support carnivory. NHM explains that the remains once taken for a swallowed baby Coelophysis instead belong to a small crocodile. [D1]
Ghost Ranch flood-related burial setting
The geological survey discusses flood transport and rapid burial at Whitaker Quarry. A death assemblage does not establish an exclusive riverbank habitat. [D2]
Walked on two legs
Both reviewed institutional accounts identify bipedal locomotion; they do not establish an exact running speed. [D2] [D1]
Hollow limb bones; sharp teeth; grasping claws
NHM describes a light skeleton with hollow limb bones and feeding structures suited to taking small animals. [D1]
Not established here
The reviewed sources do not establish taxon-specific nest structure, clutch size or parental care.
Not established here
The reviewed sources do not establish a mating ritual, pair bond or breeding season for this taxon.
Not established here
Numerous C. bauri skeletons occur together, but flood transport and other burial processes must be considered. The assemblage alone does not establish pack hunting. [D2]
Sources and inspection notes for the claims in this profile.
THE STORY IN THE FOSSILS
Coelophysis had hollow limb bones, sharp serrated teeth and curved grasping claws. The Ghost Ranch bone bed in New Mexico contains hundreds of Coelophysis bauri skeletons. Museum researchers interpret this death assemblage as bodies gathered by flooding and subsequently buried in muddy sediment. [1] [2] [3]
Researchers re-examined two celebrated specimens thought to show cannibalism. One contained bones of a primitive crocodile relative, while supposed stomach contents in the other lay outside the rib cage. These observations removed the evidential basis of the familiar claim that Coelophysis swallowed its young. [3]
We have not established a comparable adult total-length estimate for this taxon in this draft. Specimen measurements in the text describe those individuals. The cited dates are approximately 210 million years ago. Approximately 210 Ma for the Ghost Ranch fossil occurrence; not a complete species range. Unknown does not mean zero.
Sources and evidence notes for this exhibit.
KEEP EXPLORING
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