Compsognathus

When many people think about dinosaurs, they tend to think only of the really large dinosaurs. In fact, many people mistakenly believe that all dinosaurs were large. (Be sure to read my article "How Big Were the Dinosaurs?" for more information about dinosaur sizes.) There were many dinosaurs that were only the size of a chicken, or even smaller. One of these small dinosaurs was Compsognathus, made famous in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III as the vicious little "Compys."

Compsognathus was a theropod dinosaur, belonging to the InfraOrder Coelurosauria ("hollow tailed lizards"), a group of small dinosaurs such as Procompsognathus, Saltopus, Coelophysis, Coelurus, Ornithomimus, Struthiomimus and Gallimimus. The Coelurosauria were all bipedal (walking on their hind legs) carnivores (meat-eaters). As their name suggests, they all were light in weight with thin-walled, hollow bones not only in their tails but throughout their bodies.

Compsognathus ("elegant jaw") is the only known genus of the Family Compsognathidae. It lived during the Late Jurassic Period (195 to 140 million years ago). At only two feet (60 cm) in length, and only eight pounds (3.6 kg) in weight, it was one of the smallest theropods. Interestingly, Compsognathus had unusually short arms for an animal its size and only had two digits (fingers) on its manus (hand), similar to its much larger distant cousins such as Tyrannosaurus, Albertosaurus Daspletosaurus and Tarbosaurus. Other small theropods, such as Coelophysis, had three digits on their manus.

Compsognathus had long legs with long feet, plus its tibias (lower leg bones) were longer than its femurs (upper leg bones). These characteristics indicate that it was probably a very fast runner. Its skull indicates that it had good eyesight and was probably fairly intelligent. The combination of skull and leg characteristics indicate that Compsognathus probably was capable of rapid acceleration, high speed, maneuverability and quick reactions.

Compsognathus lived on semidesert islands that are today part of Germany and France. These islands probably did not produce much vegetation, and so would not have many large herbivores (plant-eaters) living on them. This would mean that a large carnivore would not find the islands a great area for hunting. So, despite its tiny size, Compsognathus was probably the largest predator living on the islands at this time. It probably fed on large insects, small lizards and small mammals. In fact, a specimen found in Germany contained the bones of a small lizard, Bavarisaurus, in its abdominal (stomach and intestinal area) cavity.

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