NormalCompsognathus
Compsognathus longipes
komp-sog-NAY-thus· “elegant jaw”
🕰️ Jurassic🥩 carnivore🦴 Compsognathidae
1 m
Length
0.3 m
Height
3 kg
Weight
A chicken-sized speedster that chased lizards and insects across Jurassic lagoon islands. For over a century it held the record as the smallest known dinosaur.
When
Late Jurassic, ~150 million years ago
Found in
Germany
Discovered
Joseph Oberndorfer, 1859
Did you know?
- One fossil still has a whole lizard inside its stomach.
- It lived on the same islands where Archaeopteryx flew.
- Its name means 'elegant jaw' for its delicate skull.
Artwork: TotalDino, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.