Carnivore, Not Cannibal

This image shows the gut contents of a Coelophysis, which Colbert thought were the bones of a juvenile, concluding that Coelophysis was cannibalistic. This longstanding hypothesis was rejected after a doctoral student in paleontology at the Museum glanced at the bronze fossil cast of Coelophysis in the Museum's 81st Street subway station and noticed the remains did not look like a dinosaur after all. Closer examination of the real fossil led scientists to a new conclusion: the bones in the dinosaur's stomach belonged to an animal that lived in the same area and was more closely related to crocodiles. Coelophysis was confirmed as a carnivore, but not a cannibal.