Name:
Eucoelophysis
(True hollow form).
Phonetic: Yew-see-lo-fy-siss.
Named By: R. M. Sullivan & S. G.
Lucas - 1999.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia,
Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Silesauridae.
Species: E. baldwini (type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Roughly estimated at about 1.4 - 1.5
meters long.
Known locations: USA, New Mexico - Chinle
Formation.
Time period: Norian to Rhaetian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Partial remains of at least
two individuals.
Eucoelophysis was initially named upon the basis of a proposed similarity to coelophysid dinosaurs like Coelophysis, hence the name Eucoelophysis which means ‘true hollow form’. However a later study by Nesbitt, Irmis and Parker revealed that Eucoelophysis is not a true dinosaur like Coelophysis, but rather a more primitive dinosauriform similar to Silesaurus.
Further reading
- Eucoelophysis baldwini, a new theropod dinosaur from the Upper
Triassic of New Mexico, and the status of the original types of
Coelophysis. - Journal of Vertebrate
Paleontology
19(1):81-90. - R. M. Sullivan & S. G. Lucas
-
1999.
- A critical review of the Triassic North American dinosaur record,
by S. J. Nesbitt, R. B. Irmis & W. G. Parker
-
2005. In, II Congresso Latino-Americano de Paleontologia de
Vertebrados, Boletim de Resumos. Rio de Janeiro, A. W. A.
Kellner, D. D. R. Henriques & T. Rodrigues
(eds).
- A critical re-evaluation of the Late Triassic dinosaur taxa of
North America. - Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 5:209-243.
- S. J. Nesbitt, R. B. Irmis & W. G. Parker
-
2007.