Compsognathus

Type Species: Compsognathus longipes

Classification: Dinosauria – Saurischia – Theropoda – Tetanurae – Coelurosauria – Tyrannoraptora – Compsognathidae   

Time Period: Late Jurassic 

Location: Europe 

Diet: Carnivore

The small bipedal theropod Compsognathus lived among the large islands and archipelagos of prehistoric France and Germany. During the Late Jurassic, much of modern western Europe was submerged by the Oxford Sea and shallow sea armlets of the Tethys Sea that were ringed with coral reefs. Emerging from this vast spider-web network of waterways were dry, forested islands cut by streams and lagoons. These islands catered to smaller terrestrial organisms: lizards, mammals, and a number of small-fry dinosaurs, Compsognathus among them. This theropod lived alongside its smaller cousin Juravenator, the squirrel-like theropod Sciurumimus, and a number of paravians, such as Ostromia, Wellnhoferia, Alcmonavis, and of course the infamous Archaeopteryx. Compsognathus itself may have island-hopped all the way down to Portugal, for teeth that may belong to this dinosaur have been found in the Lourinha Formation. 

Compsognathus is known from two nearly complete specimens, one from France and one from Germany. The French specimen was forty-nine inches long, and the German specimen was 35 inches long. This lithe theropod likely weighed as little as seven pounds full grown. Compsognathus had long hind legs and a long tail, which it used for balance while running; some scientists have postulated that it could reach speeds up to forty miles per hour. Its forelimbs were smaller than its hindlimbs, and each hand bore two large clawed digits and a third, smaller digit that may have been non-functional. Their delicate skulls were long and narrow with tapered snouts. Its eyes were large in proportion to the skull, indicating that it was a visually-oriented predator that relied more on sight than smell for hunting. Its long neck enabled it to move its head side-to-side without moving its body, helping it spy out prey; and the long neck would’ve come in handy when plunging its head into the undergrowth to root out hiding prey. This dinosaur was designed for catching small and fast-moving prey like lizards that would’ve scurried into the undergrowth as soon as they were seen. Compsognathus’ speed is attested by a proportionately small humerus when compared to the lower legs, a trademark of a fast runner. It balanced itself on its toes rather than the flat of its foot, another design appropriate for speed; this digitigrade stance meant that the main foot bones extended the length of the leg and thus increased its stride. Its tail, held erect off the ground, would’ve served as a balancing aid as it chased prey through the wooded islands of prehistoric western Europe. Its small, sharp teeth were suited for a diet of small vertebrates and perhaps even insects. Its frontmost teeth were unserrated, but those farther back in the jaw were flattened and recurved. The specimens we have preserve part of its diet: in the French specimen, the remains of unidentified lizards and sphenodonts (lizard-like reptiles) are found in its thoracic cavity; in the German specimen, the articulated remains of a full lizard are in plain view. These lizard remains were originally thought to belong to an embryonic Compsognathus, which would’ve rewritten the book on dinosaur reproduction, but further research showed that it belonged to a Bavarisaurus lizard. This lizard was fast and agile, which meant that Compsognathus would’ve also needed to be fast and agile in order to hunt it. Compsognathus may also have preyed on small mammals, as its close Early Cretaceous relative Sinosauropteryx has been discovered with the remains of small mammals in its stomach. 

Some artistic renditions depict Compsognathus with feathers while others do not; this is because the presence of feathers or feather-like features on this theropod is hotly debated. While some of Compsognathus’ relatives have been preserved with the remains of simple feathers covering the body like fur, this isn’t the case with Compsognathus. Archaeopteryx, found in the same sediments as Compsognathus, is preserved with plenty of feathers, which means that the environment was suitable for feather preservation. A patch of fossilized skin from the tail and hind-limb of its close relative Juravenator show mainly scales, though there is some indication that simple feathers were present in some areas. There are thus three possibilities when it comes to Compsognathus: it may have been featherless, it may have had partial feathers such as may be the case with Juravenator, or it may have been fully feathered like its more distant cousins. The jury is out until more evidence comes in. 

a Compsognathus perches atop a dead juvenile dwarf sauropod