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'''Coelurus''' (see-LOOR-us) was a coelurosaur dinosaur of the late Jurassic Period (Kimmeridgian-Tithonian stages, 150 million years ago). The name means "hollow tail" because its tail vertebrae were hollow (Greek ''koilos'' = hollow + ''oura'' = tail).
It was considered by some scientists to be the same animal as ''Ornitholestes'', but new studies show them to be rather different animals.^[1] ''Coelurus'' had more slender body proportions than ''Ornitholestes'', with elongated vertebrae and hindlimbs. It was discovered in the Morrison Formation of Wyoming, USA, in 1879 and described by Othniel Marsh.

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1. Carpenter, K., C. Miles, J.H. Ostrom & K. Cloward, 2005. 49-71 in Carpenter, K. (ed.), ''The Carnivorous Dinosaurs''. Indiana University Press, Bloomington.