Compsognathus
genus of Jurassic theropods / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Compsognathus was a small carnivorous theropod dinosaur, from the end of the Jurassic period, around 144 million years ago. It was about a metre long, and ran on two legs, using its long tail to keep its balance.
Compsognathus Temporal range: Upper Jurassic | |
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Compsognathus Oxford University Museum of Natural History note the narrow skull and long snout. | |
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Genus: | Compsognathus Wagner, 1859 |
Species | |
C. longipes Wagner, 1859 (type) |
Compsognathus is known from two nearly complete specimens, one from Germany (89 cm 35 in long), and another from France (125 cm 49 in long).[1] The German specimen was found in the Solnhofen limestone in Bavaria, over 150 years ago.
The larger French specimen (MNHN CNJ 79) was discovered in 1972 in the Portland limestone, near Nice in southeastern France. Although originally described as a separate species called Compsognathus corallestris,[2] others have since renamed it as another example of Compsognathus longipes.[3][4]
It is one of the few dinosaurs whose diet is known with certainty: the remains of small, agile lizards are preserved in the bellies of both specimens. Also it was once the smallest dino on earth but now that belongs to the Micropachycephalosaurus