Coelophysis vs Utahraptor

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

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Side-by-Side Comparison

Property Coelophysis Utahraptor
Scientific Name Coelophysis bauri Utahraptor ostrommaysi
Classification Theropoda Dromaeosauridae
Period Triassic Late Cretaceous Early
Diet Carnivore Carnivore
Length 3.0 m 5.5 m
Height 1.0 m 1.8 m
Weight 20 kg 500 kg
Discovery Year 1889 1993
Discovery Location Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, USA Arches National Park, Utah, USA
Named By Edward Drinker Cope James Kirkland et al.
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Size Comparison

Coelophysis 3.0 m

about the size of a human adult

Utahraptor 5.5 m

roughly the length of a large SUV

Weight Comparison

Coelophysis 20 kg

lighter than a human adult

Utahraptor 500 kg

about 7 adult humans

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Timeline Comparison

Coelophysis
237.0 Mya Triassic Late (Mesozoic) 201.4 Mya
Utahraptor
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.

Utahraptor

Carnivore

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

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Classification Comparison

Coelophysis

Clade: Saurischia

Group: Theropoda

(Beast feet)

Utahraptor

Clade: Theropoda

Group: Dromaeosauridae

(Raptors)

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Did You Know?

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Utahraptor was about 1.8x longer than Coelophysis.

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Utahraptor weighed roughly 25x more than Coelophysis.

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Both Coelophysis and Utahraptor were carnivores.

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

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Coelophysis was discovered 104 years earlier, in 1889.

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Coelophysis belonged to Theropoda while Utahraptor belonged to Dromaeosauridae.

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Compare With Other Dinosaurs

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