Genus
Valid Extinct

Coelurus

Marsh 1879
Etymology A queue creuse

Coelurus is a genus of coelurosaurian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic period. The name means "hollow tail", referring to its hollow tail vertebrae. Although its name is linked to one of the main divisions of theropods (Coelurosauria), it has historically been poorly understood, and sometimes confused with its better-known contemporary Ornitholestes. Like many dinosaurs studied in the early years of paleontology, it has had a confusing taxonomic history, with several species being named and later transferred to other genera or abandoned. Only one species is currently recognized as valid: the type species, C. fragilis, described by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1879. It is known from one partial skeleton found in the Morrison Formation of Wyoming, United States. It was a small bipedal carnivore with elongate legs.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
14
Group
Dinosaures
Carnivore Ground dwelling, solitary Terrestrial
Coelurus
click to enlarge
Phylogenetic relationships, chronostratigraphic, and paleoecological implications of M. intrepidus. a Graphic illustrating temporal range of North American tyrannosauroids including species-level range prior to the discovery of M. intrepidus, extension of current range, and hypothesized range based on isolated teeth12. The current gap in the North American tyrannosauroid record spans from the Tithonian to the Aptian. Faunal composition of Late Cretaceous ecosystems was established between the Albian and Turonian, as recognized by the stratigraphic appearance of major clades (see refs. 7,12 and references therein). b generalized phylogenetic relationships of Tyrannosauroidea, showing the appearance of select traits related to cursoriality in tyrannosaurs that are newly optimized as a result of the discovery of M. intrepidus. Tree topology follows this study using the modified dataset of Carr and colleagues27. Coelurus and Tanycolagreus are grafted as basal tyrannosauroids following Brusatte and colleagues5. c Stratigraphic distribution of Allosauria in North America (incl. Megaraptora but see ref. 70 for alternative hypotheses regarding this clade) documents overlap with M. intrepidus in early Late Cretaceous ecosystems leading to (d) refined calibration on the origin of late diverging tyrannosauroids and clade-level faunal turnover within apex predator roles throughout the Late Jurassic–Late Cretaceous of North America. Colored polygons are stylized call-outs and are not intended to reflect two-dimensional data. Temporal data corresponding to this figure are available in Supplementary Table 5 © Lindsay E. Zanno, Ryan T. Tucker, Aurore Canoville, Haviv M. Avrahami, Terry A. Gates & Peter J. Makovicky · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia
Coelurus
Coelurus
Coelurus
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
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Theropoda Unranked clade
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Neotheropoda Unranked clade
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Averostra Unranked clade
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Tetanurae Unranked clade
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Coelurosauria Unranked clade
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Coelurus Genus
Measurements
Length
2,5 m ⓘ
Coelurus fragilis
1,8 m ⓘ
Mass
17 kg ⓘ
Coelurus fragilis
Fossil sites 14 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇺🇸 United States
14
Geological formations
Morrison
12
Arundel Clay
2
Temporal distribution
Aptian (121.4–113.2 Ma)
2
Tithonian (149.2–143.1 Ma)
11
Oxfordian (161.5–154.8 Ma)
1
Species (3)
Coelurus agilis objective synonym of Coelurus fragilis 155 Ma
Coelurus fragilis 155 Ma
Coelurus gracilis nomen dubium, species not entered Coelurus 120 Ma
Synonyms (1)
Coelurus gracilis nomen dubium, species not entered Coelurus
Bibliography
Original description
O. C. Marsh. 1879. Notice of new Jurassic reptiles. The American Journal of Science and Arts, series 3 18:501–505 DOI ↗
Bibliography (13)
J. Bertog, D. L. Jeffery, and K. Coode, W. B. Hester, R. R. Robinson, J. Bishop. 2014. Taphonomic patterns of a dinosaur accumulation in a lacustrine delta system in the Jurassic Morrison Formation, San Rafael Swell, Utah, USA. Palaeontologia Electronica 17(3):36A:1-19 DOI ↗
H. Galiano and R. Albersdörfer. 2010. A New Basal Diplodocoid Species, Amphicoelias brontodiplodocus from the Morrison Formation, Big Horn Basin, Wyoming, with Taxonomic Reevaluation of Diplodocus, Apatosaurus, Barosaurus and Other Genera. Dinosauria International (Ten Sleep, WY) Report for September 2010
K. Carpenter, C. A. Miles, and J. H. Ostrom, K. C. Cloward. 2005. Redescription of the small maniraptoran theropods Ornitholestes and Coelurus from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Wyoming. The Carnivorous Dinosaurs. Indiana University Press, Bloomington
M. V. Connely. 2002. Stratigraphy and Paleoecology of the Morrison Formation, Como Bluff, Wyoming
J. H. Ostrom and J. S. McIntosh. 1999. Marsh's Dinosaurs: The Collections from Como Bluff. Yale University Press, New Haven
T. R. Lipka. 1998. The affinities of the enigmatic theropods of the Arundel Clay facies (Aptian), Potomac Formation, Atlantic Coastal Plain of Maryland. Lower and Middle Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems; New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 14:229-234
W. E. Miller, J. L. Baer, and K. L. Stadtman, B. B. Britt. 1991. The Dry Mesa Dinosaur Quarry, Mesa County, Colorado. Guidebook for Dinosaur Quarries and Tracksites Tour, Western Colorado and Eastern Utah
J. H. Ostrom. 1980. Coelurus and Ornitholestes: are they the same?. Aspects of Vertebrate History: Essays in Honor of Edwin Harris Colbert
C. W. Gilmore. 1914. Osteology of the armored Dinosauria in the United States National Museum, with special reference to the genus Stegosaurus. United States National Museum Bulletin 89:1-136 DOI ↗
C. W. Gilmore. 1909. A new rhynchocephalian reptile from the Jurassic of Wyoming, with notes on the fauna of "Quarry 9". Proceedings of the United States National Museum 37(1698):35-42 DOI ↗
O. C. Marsh. 1888. Notice of a new genus of Sauropoda and other new dinosaurs from the Potomac Formation. American Journal of Science 35:89-94 DOI ↗
O. C. Marsh. 1884. Principal characters of American Jurassic dinosaurs. Part VIII. The order Theropoda. The American Journal of Science, series 3 27:329-340 DOI ↗
O. C. Marsh. 1879. Notice of new Jurassic reptiles. The American Journal of Science and Arts, series 3 18:501–505 DOI ↗