Coelophysis is an early theropod dinosaur, a pioneering member of a group that will one day give rise to some of the biggest carnivores ever to live. He’s a lot more humble in his size, however, standing about a metre tall.
A thin down of filamentous proto-feathers covers his body, used not only for display, but also to keep him warm, and his long tail intertwines with the horsetails, brushing them from left to right as he lowers his head to drink.
In his haste to quench his thirst, he’s foolishly forgotten to scan his surroundings for danger.
Larger predators do lurk here, but this is a stretch of river he has visited time and time again, and he is always safe amongst the foliage. Rearing his head, he turns to head back into the foliage, before an almighty crashing sound from the river marks his end.
Like a bullet from the blue, a colossal reptile, twelve metres in length, has launched itself from the water, its metre and a half long jaws agape, presenting row upon row of knife-like teeth. Before it even knows what’s happening, the little dinosaur is impaled, thrown to the left by the creature’s powerful neck muscles, and dragged back under the water to an untimely grave.
The assailant, Smilosuchus, will feed well today. This huge reptile is an archosaur - a group containing the dinosaurs, as well as the crocodiles; but he is neither. As the largest terrestrial creature of the Late Triassic period, he is a truly colossal ambush predator, relying on surprise and stealth to catch his prey.
Coelophysis might be a theropod dinosaur, but this land is by no means his.