Coelophysis vs Spinosaurus

A detailed side-by-side comparison of Coelophysis and Spinosaurus, covering size, diet, classification, geologic period, and discovery history.

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Side-by-Side Comparison

Property Coelophysis Spinosaurus
Scientific Name Coelophysis bauri Spinosaurus aegyptiacus
Classification Theropoda Spinosauridae
Period Triassic Late Cretaceous Early
Diet Carnivore Piscivore
Length 3.0 m 15.0 m
Height 1.0 m 5.2 m
Weight 20 kg 7.4 t
Discovery Year 1889 1912
Discovery Location Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, USA Bahariya Oasis, Egypt
Named By Edward Drinker Cope Ernst Stromer
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Size Comparison

Coelophysis 3.0 m

about the size of a human adult

Spinosaurus 15.0 m

about as long as 3 cars end-to-end

Weight Comparison

Coelophysis 20 kg

lighter than a human adult

Spinosaurus 7.4 t

about the weight of 1.2 elephants

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Timeline Comparison

Coelophysis
237.0 Mya Triassic Late (Mesozoic) 201.4 Mya
Spinosaurus
145.0 Mya Cretaceous Early (Mesozoic) 100.5 Mya
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Diet Comparison

Coelophysis

Carnivore

Coelophysis was a meat-eating predator, hunting other animals for food.

Spinosaurus

Piscivore

Spinosaurus was a fish-eater, specialized in catching aquatic prey.

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Classification Comparison

Coelophysis

Clade: Saurischia

Group: Theropoda

(Beast feet)

Spinosaurus

Clade: Theropoda

Group: Spinosauridae

(Spine lizards)

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Did You Know?

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Spinosaurus was about 5.0x longer than Coelophysis.

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Spinosaurus weighed roughly 370x more than Coelophysis.

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Coelophysis was a carnivore while Spinosaurus was a piscivore.

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Coelophysis lived during the Triassic Late while Spinosaurus lived during the Cretaceous Early, separated by roughly 56 million years.

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Coelophysis was discovered 23 years earlier, in 1889.

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Coelophysis belonged to Theropoda while Spinosaurus belonged to Spinosauridae.

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