COMPSOGNATHUS
Compsognathus longipes
Meaning: "Elegant Jaw"
📊 STATS
Size comparison:
About the size of a large chicken
📖 ABOUT COMPSOGNATHUS
Meet Compsognathus, the 'Elegant Jaw'! This speedy little dino was a super-fast hunter, chasing down tasty snacks in ancient Europe!
Compsognathus, meaning 'Elegant Jaw,' was a tiny but terrific dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic period. Imagine a chicken, but with a long tail, sharp teeth, and the speed of a race car! Compsognathus was one of the smallest dinosaurs we know of, about the size of a large chicken. It zoomed around what is now Germany and France, hunting insects, lizards, and other small creatures.
Its lightweight body and long legs made it incredibly fast, probably reaching speeds of up to 64 kilometers per hour! That's faster than you can run! Scientists believe Compsognathus was covered in feathery proto-feathers, which might have helped it stay warm or attract a mate. This little carnivore gives us important clues about the evolution of dinosaurs and birds. Although small, Compsognathus was a fierce hunter, perfectly adapted to its ancient world.
🔬 CLASSIFICATION
- Group
- Theropoda
- Family
- Compsognathidae
- Period
- Late Jurassic (163-145 Ma)
- Era
- 150.0 - 148.0 million years ago
🗺️ DISCOVERY
- Year
- 1859
- Discovered by
- Johann A. Wagner
- Location
- Bavaria, Germany
- Fossils found in
- Germany, France
🎨 SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION
Artistic reconstruction of Compsognathus based on fossil evidence
🗺️ WHERE FOSSILS WERE FOUND
Germany, France
🤓 FUN FACTS
- ✨ Compsognathus is one of the smallest known dinosaurs!
- ✨ Its name, 'Elegant Jaw,' sounds fancy, doesn't it?
- ✨ It lived in Europe, just like you might visit today!
- ✨ Scientists found fossilized lizards in its stomach, showing what it ate!
- ✨ It could run super fast to catch its prey!
💡 DID YOU KNOW?
Get this! Compsognathus fossils were some of the first evidence that dinosaurs might have been related to birds!
