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Description

•Scientific Name: Compsognathus longipes

•Pronunciation: komp-sog-nuh-thuhs

•Meaning in Latin: Elegant jaw, Pretty jaw, Dainty jaw

•Code Name: Compy

•Discovered by: Johann Andreas Wagner, 1859

•Classification: Animalia, Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Neocoelurosauria, Compsognathidae

•Temporal range: Late Jurassic, 150.8 million years ago

•Location: ‬Europe (Germany - Solnhofen Limestone, ‬France,‭ ‬possibly Portugal)

•Length: 70 centimeters to 1.4 meters (28 inches to 4 feet 7 inches) long

•Weight: 0.83 to 3.5 kilograms (1.8-7 .7 lbs)

•Diet: Carnivore

The early discoveries of the 19th century kept revealing huge creatures - and then in 1861 Compsognathus emerged to show how vastly dinosaurs varied in size. For a long time this was famous as the smallest known non-avian theropod. While this position has since been usurped by tiny carnivores such as Microraptor, it retains an important place in the dinosaur family tree. Three years after its discovery in Germany an anatomist named Carl Gegenbaur observed the similarity between Compsognathus' ankle bones and modern birds'. In doing so he became the first person to raise the possibility of dinosaurs' development into birds - so Compsognathus stands at the very beginning of scientists' efforts to understand this evolutionary link.

Relatives such as Sinosauropteryx had a covering of protofeathers but the Compsognathus fossils reveal no hint of this, so its external appearance is uncertain. It was a long-limbed nimble runner with grasping claws and tiny sharp teeth set in a delicate skull. Its name means 'dainty jaw'.

Another reason for many people's continued familiarity with Compsognathus is its inclusion in the Jurassic Park films, where it was depicted hunting in packs. There is no evidence to suggest that it was anything but a lone hunter, and its prey may have included Archaeopteryx; the two creatures' fossils were recovered from the same German limestone formation. A second well-preserved and significantly larger Compsognathus fossil turned u[ in France in 1972, leading to suggestions that the German specimen was actually a juvenile.

Pim, Keiron. (2013). THE BUMPER BOOK OF DINOSAURS. Square Peg.

Model based on: Compsognathus from Planet Deutschland (2014)
Spore Abilities: Level 1 Jump, Level 5 Sprint, Level 1 Sneak, Level 4 Bite, Level 1 Charge, Level 1 Strike

Description

•Scientific Name: Compsognathus longipes

•Pronunciation: komp-sog-nuh-thuhs

•Meaning in Latin: Elegant jaw, Pretty jaw, Dainty jaw

•Code Name: Compy

•Discovered by: Johann Andreas Wagner, 1859

•Classification: Animalia, Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Neocoelurosauria, Compsognathidae

•Temporal range: Late Jurassic, 150.8 million years ago

•Location: ‬Europe (Germany - Solnhofen Limestone, ‬France,‭ ‬possibly Portugal)

•Length: 70 centimeters to 1.4 meters (28 inches to 4 feet 7 inches) long

•Weight: 0.83 to 3.5 kilograms (1.8-7 .7 lbs)

•Diet: Carnivore

The early discoveries of the 19th century kept revealing huge creatures - and then in 1861 Compsognathus emerged to show how vastly dinosaurs varied in size. For a long time this was famous as the smallest known non-avian theropod. While this position has since been usurped by tiny carnivores such as Microraptor, it retains an important place in the dinosaur family tree. Three years after its discovery in Germany an anatomist named Carl Gegenbaur observed the similarity between Compsognathus' ankle bones and modern birds'. In doing so he became the first person to raise the possibility of dinosaurs' development into birds - so Compsognathus stands at the very beginning of scientists' efforts to understand this evolutionary link.

Relatives such as Sinosauropteryx had a covering of protofeathers but the Compsognathus fossils reveal no hint of this, so its external appearance is uncertain. It was a long-limbed nimble runner with grasping claws and tiny sharp teeth set in a delicate skull. Its name means 'dainty jaw'.

Another reason for many people's continued familiarity with Compsognathus is its inclusion in the Jurassic Park films, where it was depicted hunting in packs. There is no evidence to suggest that it was anything but a lone hunter, and its prey may have included Archaeopteryx; the two creatures' fossils were recovered from the same German limestone formation. A second well-preserved and significantly larger Compsognathus fossil turned u[ in France in 1972, leading to suggestions that the German specimen was actually a juvenile.

Pim, Keiron. (2013). THE BUMPER BOOK OF DINOSAURS. Square Peg.

Model based on: Compsognathus from Planet Deutschland (2014)
Spore Abilities: Level 1 Jump, Level 5 Sprint, Level 1 Sneak, Level 4 Bite, Level 1 Charge, Level 1 Strike