Camposaurus Temporal range: Upper Triassic
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Superfamily: | Coelophysoidea
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Family: | Coelophysidae
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Genus: | Camposaurus
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Binomial name | |
Camposaurus arizonensis Hunt et al., 1998
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Camposaurus is a dinosaur from the Late Triassic of North America. It is a relative of Coelophysis. This relationship was upheld by a recent phylogenetic anlysis.[1]
With fossils dating back to 205–210 million years ago (mya), it is the oldest known neotheropod. It is known from partial lower leg bones and other fragmentary material.[1][2]
A study of Camposaurus arizoniensis by Ezcurra and Brusatte discovered two unique features.[1] This meant the specimen was a valid genus and species. Camposaurus is definitely a neotheropod. Based on phylogenetic analysis, its closest known relative is Megapnosaurus rhodensis, because they share similarities in the tibia, and ankle.[1] Spielman et al. (2007) put Camposaurus in the family Coelophysidae.[3]