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sharp-clawed runner
Coelurus
Say it like this: “seel-YOOR-us”
Coelurus fragilis
Coelurus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in the United States.
- When
- Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago
- Named in
- 1879 · Marsh, O. C.
- Hip height
- 0.6 m · 2 ft
- Length
- 1.8 m · 6 ft
- Weight
- 25 kg · 55 lb
- Found in
- the United States · Morrison
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Coelurosauria
The story in short
In 1879, O. C. Marsh published the name Coelurus. The name means “hollow tail.”
Fossils referred to Coelurus date to the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian), roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Morrison Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Coelurus at a length near 1.8 m, hips about 0.6 m high, and a body mass around 25 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Coelurosauria, among the theropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Aniksosaurus
Aniksosaurus darwini
Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian · Turonian) · roughly 100.5 to 89.8 million years ago
Aratasaurus
Aratasaurus museunacionali
Early Cretaceous (Albian) · roughly 113.2 to 100.5 million years ago
Bicentenaria
Bicentenaria argentina
Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago