Compsognathus
Name:
Compsognathus
(Pretty jaw).
Phonetic: Komp-sog-nath-us.
Named By: Johann Andreas Wagner - 1861.
Synonyms: Compsognathus corallestris.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Theropoda, Compsognathidae.
Species: C. longipes (type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Up to 125 centimetres long.
Known locations: Germany, France, Possibly
Portugal.
Time period: Tithonian of the Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Two specimens, and
additional teeth.
Despite
its diminutive size Compsognathus is one of the
dinosaurs that are best
known to science. Not only was the skeleton well persevered but the
remains of its last meal, a small lizard named Bavarisaurus
were also
found inside the specimen proving without doubt that Compsognathus
was
a carnivore. At the time of its discovery Compsognathus
was the
smallest dinosaur known to the still new science of palaeontology
resulting in the frequent comparison of Compsognathus
being the size of
a chicken (although one meter long about half that length is
tail). However Compsognathus no longer carries
the title of
smallest dinosaur as the discovery of maniraptorian dinosaurs like
Microraptor
has shown that dinosaurs were capable of being very small,
and further discoveries are likely to reduce this size even further.
The
holotype specimen of Compsognathus was of a
juvenile individual meaning
that the full size of Compsognathus was not
realised until the
discovery of a French specimen in 1971. Initially hailed as a
second species, further study revealed it to be the adult form of the
juvenile German holotype. This realisation increased the known length
of Compsognathus from eighty-nine centimetres to
one hundred and
twenty-five centimetres.
Most
early reconstructions of Compsognathus show it to
have two fingers
similar to Tyrannosaurus
however these are based upon a product of
incomplete preservation. Compsognathus did indeed
have a third finger
like many other theropod dinosaurs, something that is becoming
increasingly well-known with accurate modern reconstructions showing
Compsognathus to have three fingers.
The
main prey of Compsognathus appears to have been
small lizards as
evidenced by the remains of fossilised prey in both specimens. These
lizards are found in a relatively complete state suggesting that they
were not pulled apart but swallowed whole. Invertebrates like insects
may have also formed a part its diet, especially in smaller juveniles
that were not yet large enough to swallow whole lizards. Also, well
preserved fossils of the related Sinosauropteryx
show that small
mammals may also have formed a part of the diet of Compsognathus.
Compsognathus
was well adapted to catching small and presumably fast moving prey like
lizards that would have scurried into the undergrowth as soon as they
were seen. The long legs that featured a proportionately small
humerus when compared to the lower legs are a hall mark of a fast
runner. The feet of Compsognathus were also
digitigrade meaning that
Compsognathus essentially balanced on its toes
rather than the flat of
its foot. This also means that the main foot bones served to extend
the length of the leg and increase the striding length even further.
A fast running animal would also explain the very long tail of
Compsognathus. Held erect off the ground, the
tail would have been
a versatile balancing aid when chasing after prey.
The
large eyes of Compsognathus suggest that it was a
visually orientated
predator that may have reacted more to the movement of prey. This
would have required fast reflexes to stop prey from escaping, but
aside from being a fast runner, the long neck of Compsognathus
meant
that it could quickly move its head to the sides without moving its
body. Compsognathus would also be able to work
its head into the
undergrowth and pull out prey that was using it for cover.
Compsognathus
has a long standing association with Archaeopteryx
due to their shared
presence in the same deposit, as well as stark similarities which
include a specimen that was thought to belong to Compsognathus
being
revealed to be an Archaeopteryx without the feather
preservation. For
a long time the question of ‘if Compsognathus
had feathers?’ has
been asked by many. Chinese relatives of Compsognathus
such as
Sinocalliopteryx
and Sinosauropteryx show a covering of primitive
feathers, different from those seen in modern birds but enough to
provide insulation as well as possibly serve a display purpose. The
discovery of Juravenator,
also from Germany was initially hailed as a
relative to Compsognathus that seemed to confirm a
lack of
protofeathers as evidenced by a skin impression. However a review of
Juravenator by Xu Xing in 2010 revealed a very
light covering of
protofeathers in the skin impression that are visible under ultraviolet
light. These pieces of evidence combine to the suggestion that it is
at least possible that Compsognathus had primitive
feathers,
something which might one day be confirmed by directly attributable
fossil evidence.
Eggs
that are ten millimetres long were once thought to have possibly
belonged to Compsognathus on the basis that they
were found in close
proximity to Compsognathus remains. However these
are no longer
thought to have belonged to Compsognathus on the
principals that they
were not found inside Compsognathus, and that the
related and
similarly sized Sinosauropteryx had eggs preserved
in its oviducts that
were much larger at thirty-six by twenty-six millimetres long.
Further reading
- Neue Beiträge zur Kenntnis der urweltlichen Fauna des
lithographischen Schiefers; V. Compsognathus longipes
Wagner. -
Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 9: 30–38. - A.
Wagner - 1861.
- Vorlegung der Metatarsen eines Compsognathus-ähnlichen
Reptils von
Solenhofen. - Sitzungsberichte der Gesellschaft Naturforschender
Freunde zu Berlin, Jahrgang 1884, pp. 179-180. - W. B. Dames - 1884.
- Compsognathus longipes Wagner. - Neues Jahrbuch
für Mineralogie,
Geologie and Palaeontologie 1: 157–160. - F. von Huene - 1901.
- Eine neue Rekonstruktion von Compsognathus longipes.
- Zentralblatt
für Mineralogie, Geologie und Palaeontologie Jahrgang 1925, Abteilung
B(5): 157-160 - F. R. von Huene - 1925.
- Die Zähne des Compsognathus und Bemerkungen über
das Gebiss der
Theropoda. - Zentralblatt für Mineralalogie, Geologie und
Paläontologie, Abteilung B, Jahrgang 1934: 74–85 - E. Stromer - 1934.
- Compsognathus corallestris, une nouvelle espèce
de dinosaurien
théropode du Portlandien de Canjuers (Sud-Est de la France). - Annales
du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Nice 1: 9–40. - A. Bidar, L. Demay
& G. Thomel - 1972.
- The osteology of Compsognathus longipes. -
Zitteliana 4: 73–118. - J.
H. Ostrom - 1978.
- Neue Gedanken über Compsognathus longipes Wagner
und dessen Fundort.
- In: Erwin Rutte-Festschrift, Weitenburger Akademie, pp 157–162 - M.
Mäuser - 1983.
- Description du Compsognathus (Saurischia,
Theropoda) de Canjuers
(Jurassique supérieur du Sud-est de la France), position
phylogénétique, relation avec Archaeopteryx et
implications sur
l'origine théropodienne des oiseaux. - Ph.D. dissertation, Muséum
National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. - J. G. Michard - 1991.
- Small theropod teeth from the Upper Jurassic coal mine of Guimarota
(Portugal). - Palaontologische Zeitschrift 72: 179–189. - J. Zinke -
1998.
- A reconsideration of Compsognathus from the Upper
Tithonian of
Canjuers, southeastern France. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26
(4): 879–896. - K. Peyer - 2006.
- Re-evaluating Moodie's Opisthotonic-Posture Hypothesis in fossil
vertebrates. Part I: Reptiles - The taphonomy of the bipedal dinosaurs
Compsognathus longipes and Juravenator
starki from the Solnhofen
Archipelago (Jurassic, Germany). - Palaeobiodiversity and
Palaeoenvironments, 92(1): 119-168. - A. G. Reisdorf & M.
Wuttke - 2012.- A new lizard (Squamata) was the last meal of
Compsognathus (Theropoda: Dinosauria) and is a
holotype in a holotype.
- Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Online edition (3):
584–634. - Jack L. Conrad - 2017.
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