Coelurus ( ) is a
genus of
coelurosaur dinosaur from the
Late Jurassic period (mid-late
Kimmeridgian faunal stage, 153–150 million years ago). The name means "hollow tail", referring to its hollow tail
vertebrae (
Greek κοιλος,
koilos = hollow + ουρα,
oura = tail). 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.