Two celebrated specimens
Much of the genus's history rests on relatively complete specimens from Germany and France.
A REAL DINOSAUR. A SUSPICIOUSLY FAMILIAR PERSONALITY.
COMPSOGNATHUS.
Small package, extensive opinions.
Your energy occupies more space than you do. You notice everything, have a comment ready, and cannot believe everyone else is moving this slowly.
SIGNATURE MOVEDelivering a surprisingly detailed review of a minor event.
SPECIMEN 22 / LATE JURASSIC
COMPSOGNATHUS LONGIPES · CARNIVORE
COMPSOGNATHUS LONGIPES · CARNIVORENobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com) · CC BY 2.5 · via Wikimedia Commons
Meet the actual dinosaur THE ACTUAL SCIENCE STARTS HERE
Meet the real Compsognathus.
The jokes are ours.
The animal was very real.
- WHEN
- About 150 million years ago
- ON THE MENU
- Carnivore
- LENGTH
- About 0.7–1.4 m
- BODY MASS
- A few kilograms
A meal preserved
Small lizard remains preserved with specimens provide unusually direct evidence of diet.
Small, not smallest
Once famous as the smallest dinosaur, Compsognathus has been surpassed by other discoveries—and living birds.
A balancing tail
The long tail balanced a lightly built body carried on two hind limbs.
Fine-grained preservation
Its fossils come from deposits capable of preserving delicate skeletal details.
Early bird comparisons
Its similarities to Archaeopteryx made it important in nineteenth-century discussions of birds and dinosaurs.
A little room for discovery.
Its exact placement among small theropods and details of body covering remain debated; direct feather impressions are not known for these specimens.
Read more: Compsognathus on Wikipedia · Research and references. Facts are summarized in our own words. Size and date ranges are approximate; estimates vary by specimen and study. Gallery images may include other species within the genus.
A closer look.
Fossils, museum displays, and published reconstructions. Artwork shows an interpretation; it is not a photograph of a living dinosaur.
Is this your prehistoric alter ego?
Eight questions and an optional face scan will settle this. Very unofficially.