#Compsognathus

[alphynix]

First discovered in the 1850s, Compsognathus longipes was the first theropod dinosaur known from a fairly complete skeleton, and also the smallest known non-avian dinosaur for over 130 years.

(A second specimen was also, briefly, the "first" aquatic non-avian dinosaur, but that's another story.)

Living in what is now Europe during the late Jurassic, about 150 million years ago, it was a lightly built animal with long legs and a long tail, growing to around 1.2m long (~4'). Its hands seem to have had only two functional fingers, with the third being vestigial and possibly not even having a claw.

Skin impressions from about a third of the way along its tail show small bumpy scales – but since other compsognathids like Sinosauropteryx are known to have been covered in fur-like feathers, this likely means that just that particular region of Compsognathus' body wasn't fluffy.

Some of Compsognathus' diet is known for certain, since preserved gut contents show it fed on smaller vertebrates like lizards and rhynchocephalians. The remains of a lizard in the stomach of one specimen were even identified as belonging to a previously-unknown species, Schoenesmahl dyspepsia, with the dismembered nature of the skeleton suggesting Compsognathus tore its prey into bite-sized chunks in a similar manner to modern predatory birds.

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NixIllustration.com | Tumblr | Patreon

References:

Conrad, Jack L. "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 183.3 (2018): 584-634. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx055

Gishlick, Alan D., and Jacques A. Gauthier. "On the manual morphology of Compsognathus longipes and its bearing on the diagnosis of Compsognathidae." Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 149.4 (2007): 569-581. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.2007.00269.x

Peyer, Karin. "A reconsideration of Compsognathus from the Upper Tithonian of Canjuers, southeastern France." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26.4 (2006): 879-896. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4524640

Wikipedia contributors. “Compsognathus.” Wikipedia, 17 Jun. 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compsognathus

[bookrat]

A Compsognathus made to go outside~

[otiksimr]

Your art is so good!! ;0; if your still doing art suggestions, favorite dinosaur from paleo pines?

I've never watched/played Paleo Pines but they dinos very silly, 10/10 game of the year.

[chameleocoonj]

quadruple dinosaur party

[sagayellowburg]

Raaahr

[neovenatorgirlteeth]

NEW PAPER FROM CAU HUGE IF TRUE

Cau A. (2024). A Unified Framework for Predatory Dinosaur Macroevolution. Bulletin of the Italian Paleontological Society , 63(1): 1-19. doi:10.4435/BSPI.2024.08

[neunhofferart]

Doing another Jurassic World Chaos Theory themed stream starting at 2 pm pacific!

I'm going to warm up with some dinosaur sketches in storyboard pro, and then I'm going to continue working on the looped animation from last week. Going to be adding a compsognathus!

[makairodonx]

Bastille Day 2024, dinosaur edition

[fossillad123]

[ Compso ]

" A powerful vivosaur packed into a tiny body. Compso's debilitating Support Effects can render AZ-positioned enemies all but helpless. "

[cleverbunnycompany]

Hey! Firstly, I wanna say all you're art is super cool and adorable, secondly I know you don't do requests or anything but this has been rotting at my brain for h*cking ever.

Dinos with service animal vests.

Thought I'd share the cute idea with you bc you're like one of my favorite artists-

Thank you, and have a good day/night/evening!

Hello! Thank you so much, that’s so very kind of you to say 🥺

OH MY GOODNESS…that is such a fantastic idea I just had to sketch it right away! 😭

Here is a Baryonyx, Protoceratops and Compsognathus, all in their little vests 🥹 I know these guys aren’t to scale (or from the same time period) they’re just quick doodles! But I may have to draw a proper full-colour illustration at some point when I have more time!

And I do actually take requests! (so long as they are prehistoric/animal/creature related anyway) but it can sometimes take me a little while to get round to them 😅

Thank you so much again for your wonderful message and such an awesome request!

Have a wonderful day/evening too 😊

[swan2swan]

[alphynix]

Schoenesmahl dyspepsia was a lizard that lived in what is now Europe during the late Jurassic, about 150 million years ago. Around 30cm long (~1'), it had a fairly small head, elongated hind limbs, and a very long tail – proportions that suggest it was an agile animal capable of fast running.

Only one specimen is known, most notable for being preserved inside the stomach of the dinosaur Compsognathus. For a long time it was classified as an example of Bavarisaurus, but it was finally recognized as representing a distinct type of lizard in 2018, with recent studies placing it as an early member of the gecko lineage closely related to ardeosaurids and eichstaettisaurids.

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NixIllustration.com | Tumblr | Patreon

References:

Conrad, Jack L. "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 183.3 (2018): 584-634. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx055

Meyer, Dalton, et al. "A Morrison stem gekkotan reveals gecko evolution and Jurassic biogeography." Proceedings of the Royal Society B 290.2011 (2023): 20232284. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.2284

Wikipedia contributors. “Schoenesmahl” Wikipedia, 19 Jan. 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schoenesmahl

[freddyhavefaith]

‘Couple more of these 🦖 https://www.barbieselfie.ai

[veamers]

sora and some little guys!!! the fellas are all based on various other KH characters ^o^

[greasy-pete]

First attempt at paleoart so please if you have any pointers give them PLEASEEEEEEE

[paleopinesofficial]

What's a farmer without their fair share of bugs anyway 👀🐛

We're not sure if this was an effect from our compost or what 🌱, but thankfully so far this farming fest we think we have avoided the mysterious Longpy planting our seeds …