Compsognathus is a Coelurosaur ('hollow-tailed
reptile'). Coelurosaurs were
slender, fast-running predators with small heads, sharp teeth, long flexible
necks and long arms with sharp claws. Compsognathus
was discovered in the late Jurassic-age rocks in Germany and France. The first
remains were discovered n a lithographic limestone in southern Germany in the
late 1850's. Compsognathus had a long tail that counterbalanced its front. It
was a bipedal (two-legged) and was probably a fleet-footed predator of small
animals. Compsognathus is one of the smallest dinosaurs, measuring only 28
inches to 4 feet in length, most of that being its tail section. --
Text by:
Bob
Simon
