Archovember 2024 Day 26 - Compsognathus longipes
Before it was confirmed that birds were dinosaurs, Compsognathus longipes was regarded as the smallest dinosaur for decades. About the size of a chicken, its name means “elegant/refined/dainty jaw”. It lived in Late Jurassic Europe, found thus far in both Germany and France, with possible teeth also found in Portugal. It was carnivorous, and the remains of small lizards were found preserved in both fossil specimens. They were likely fast, scurrying animals, using their long tails for balance.
In the Late Jurassic, Europe was a dry, tropical archipelago at the edge of the prehistoric Tethys Sea. Both Compsognathus specimens were preserved within lagoons, possibly having died chasing lizards on the beach and then being swept out to sea in a flash flood. The German specimen is known from the Painten Formation, a part of the Solnhofen Limestone. The French specimen was found in limestone on the plateau of Canjuers. One of Compsognathus’ most famous contemporaries is the avialan Archaeopteryx, and the two may have competed over prey. It would have also lived alongside early pterosaurs like Propterodactylus, Rhamphorhynchus, and Anurognathus (as seen above). There were also a diverse variety of turtles, rhynchocephalians, and lizards living here as well, many of which served as prey for this tiny, catlike predator.
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