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Small brown two-legged dinosaur with a long tail and a yellow stripe, in side view
Life restoration of Compsognathus from the Late Jurassic of Germany, based on a skeletal reconstruction by Justin Van Loocke.Image credit: Conty, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (unmodified except resizing)CC BY-SA 4.0 (unmodified)Source (opens in a new tab)

Compsognathus longipes

Pronounced komp-SOG-nah-thus LON-jih-peez

Coelurosauria · Compsognathidae

A chicken-sized predatory dinosaur from the Late Jurassic lagoons of Bavaria, one of the first nearly complete dinosaur skeletons ever found. Its type specimen still holds the lizard it swallowed.

  • Bipedal
  • Famous specimen
  • Exceptional preservation
Compare
Period
Jurassic· Kimmeridgian
Diet
Carnivore
Length
0.7–1.4 m
Mass
0–4 kg
Location
Bavaria, Germany, Europe

Quick answers

How big was Compsognathus longipes?
Compsognathus longipes was about 0.7–1.4 m long. It stood about 0.2–0.3 m tall at the hips. It weighed about 0.3–3.5 kg. (Wikipedia: Compsognathus 2026; Paul 2016)
When did Compsognathus longipes live?
Compsognathus longipes lived during the Late Jurassic, about 152.2–145.1 million years ago. (Paleobiology Database: Compsognathus occurrences 2026)
Where have Compsognathus longipes fossils been found?
Fossils of Compsognathus longipes have been found in Painten Formation (Bavaria) and Germany. (Wagner 1861; Peyer 2006)
What did Compsognathus longipes eat?
Compsognathus longipes was a carnivore. (Wagner 1861; Peyer 2006)
Who named Compsognathus longipes, and when?
Compsognathus longipes was described by Johann Andreas Wagner in 1861. (Wagner 1861; Paleobiology Database: Compsognathus occurrences 2026)
Was Compsognathus longipes in Jurassic Park?
Yes. Compsognathus longipes appears in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Jurassic Park III (2001), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World Dominion (2022), and Jurassic World Rebirth (2025). The 'compies': chicken-sized dinosaurs that swarm and bite people in The Lost World. The film calls it 'Compsognathus triassicus', a name that does not exist: it blends Compsognathus longipes with Procompsognathus triassicus. (Wikipedia: Dinosaurs in Jurassic Park 2026; Conrad 2018)

On this page

komp-SOG-nah-thus LON-jih-peez

Period
Jurassic152.2–145.1 Ma
Diet
Carnivore
Length
0.7–1.4 m
Mass
0–0 t
Location
Germany, Europe
Classification
Coelurosauria · Compsognathidae
Described
1861, Johann Andreas Wagner

Overview

Compsognathus longipes lived about 150 million years ago on the islands of the Solnhofen archipelago in what is now Bavaria, Germany. The skeleton was collected in the 1850s for the physician Joseph Oberndorfer and described by Johann Andreas Wagner; it is kept in Munich (BSPG AS I 563). A larger skeleton from Canjuers, France, described in 1972 as a separate species, is now usually included in the same species.

It was a light, long-legged, two-legged hunter, under a metre long in the German specimen and well over a metre in the French one. For much of its history it was the smallest known dinosaur.

A lizard lies inside the rib cage of the German skeleton; in 2018 Jack Conrad described it as a new species, making it "a holotype inside a holotype". The skeleton's strongly arched neck, once blamed on death throes, is better explained by what happens to a carcass after death (Reisdorf & Wuttke 2012).

Name meaning

"Elegant jaw", from Greek kompsos ("elegant, dainty") and gnathos ("jaw"); longipes, Latin for "long foot" (Wagner).

Biology & evidence

What scientists think about how this animal lived, and how strong the evidence for each idea is.

Feeding

  • Compsognathus ate lizards.

    Evidence level: Direct evidence

    The type specimen has a swallowed lizard in its belly. The French specimen is also reported with lizard remains (secondary).

    Evidence for / against · 1
    Evidence for

    • Specimen · Lizard in the Compsognathus rib cage

      A lizard skeleton inside the body cavity of the holotype, named as a new species by Conrad (2018).

      Specimen: BSPG AS I 563

Other

  • The arched neck of the Compsognathus skeleton formed after death.

    Evidence level: Strong evidence

    The pose was once read as death throes. Experiments show it develops as a carcass decays and dries, so it says nothing about how the animal died.

    Evidence for / against · 1
    Evidence for

    • Other · Decay experiments on the opisthotonic posture

      Decay experiments with chickens and study of the theropods' anatomy show the arched-back posture forms after death.

      Specimen: BSPG AS I 563

Compsognathus longipes fossil; the skeleton preserves the bones of a lizard, its last meal, in the belly region.Image credit: Mike Beauregard from Nunavut, Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsCC BY 2.0Source (opens in a new tab)

Size

Length
0.7–1.4 m

(4.6 ft)

Based on BSPG AS I 563 (0.70-0.75 m) and the Canjuers specimen (1.25-1.4 m)

Height
0.3 mpublished range 0.2–0.3 m

(0.9 ft)

Based on MNHN CNJ 79 (Canjuers specimen)

Mass
0–4 kg

Based on BSPG AS I 563 (0.32-0.58 kg) and the Canjuers specimen (2.5-3.5 kg)

Compsognathus longipes was about 1.4 m (4.6 ft) long, roughly 0.8 times the height of a 1.8 m adult human.

Timeline

Lived from about 152.2 to 145.1 million years ago (Ma), within the Mesozoic era (252–66 Ma).

Periods: Kimmeridgian (154.8–149.2 Ma), Tithonian (149.2–145 Ma), Late Jurassic (161.5–145 Ma)

From the late Kimmeridgian German type (152.21-149.2 Ma) to the early Tithonian French specimen (149.2-145.06 Ma), PBDB time scale.

Location

Formations

Map data: Natural Earth (public domain). Modern positions, not where the continents were then.

These are the places where fossils have been found, not the full area where the animal lived.

Ecosystem

Lived in: Solnhofen archipelago

152–150 million years ago · island, marine margin, other

Warm, shallow lagoons behind reefs, dotted with low, dry islands, on the northern margin of the Tethys Sea in the Late Jurassic. The stagnant, salty bottom water let fine lime mud bury carcasses in exceptional detail.

Same ecosystem

Archaeopteryx lithographica

Jurassic· TithonianCarnivore

Classification

  1. cladeDinosauria
  2. cladeSaurischia
  3. cladeTheropoda
  4. cladeCoelurosauria
  5. familyCompsognathidae
  6. genusCompsognathus
  7. speciesCompsognathus longipes

Taxonomic status: Valid

Fossil record

Replica of the Compsognathus longipes holotype from the Solnhofen limestone, at the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe.Image credit: H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (unmodified except resizing), Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde KarlsruheCC BY-SA 3.0 (unmodified)Source (opens in a new tab)
Specimens
Catalog numberStatusInstitutionFound
BSPG AS I 563HolotypeBayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie (BSPG)—

What has been found

Holotype: BSPG AS I 563

  • Preserved
  • Partial
  • Reconstructed
  • Unknown / not recorded
Region by region (table)
Skeleton regions of Holotype: BSPG AS I 563
RegionState
SkullPreserved
MandibleUnknown / not recorded
TeethUnknown / not recorded
Cervical vertebraePreserved
Dorsal vertebraePreserved
SacrumUnknown / not recorded
Caudal vertebraePreserved
RibsUnknown / not recorded
GastraliaUnknown / not recorded
Scapula / shoulder girdleUnknown / not recorded
HumerusUnknown / not recorded
Forearm (radius / ulna)Unknown / not recorded
Hand (manus)Partial · The number of fingers has been debated.
PelvisUnknown / not recorded
FemurPreserved
Tibia / fibulaPreserved
Foot (pes)Preserved

Gallery

Historical reconstruction: Charles R. Knight's Field Museum mural of Archaeopteryx, Compsognathus and Rhamphorhynchus, with a scaly Compsognathus.Image credit: Charles R. Knight, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsPublic domain

All specimens

Discovery

Year described
1861
Described by
Johann Andreas Wagner
Type specimen
BSPG AS I 563

Discovery timeline

  1. 1861 · Formally described

    Wagner names Compsognathus longipes

    Johann Andreas Wagner describes a tiny, complete dinosaur skeleton from the Bavarian limestones.

    People: Johann Andreas Wagner

  2. 2006 · Revision

    French Compsognathus reassessed

    Peyer restudies the larger Canjuers skeleton, first named C. corallestris.

  3. 2018 · Major study

    The lizard inside Compsognathus is named

    Conrad describes the swallowed lizard as a new species.

    People: Jack L. Conrad

In Jurassic Park & Jurassic World

Films

  • The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
  • Jurassic Park III (2001)
  • Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
  • Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
  • Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)

On screen

The 'compies': chicken-sized dinosaurs that swarm and bite people in The Lost World.

Film vs fossils

  • The film calls it 'Compsognathus triassicus', a name that does not exist: it blends Compsognathus longipes with Procompsognathus triassicus.
  • One skeleton has a lizard in its stomach: the evidence says it hunted small animals, not people.

Film titles are used for identification only. DinoDex is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Jurassic Park / Jurassic World franchise. All dinosaurs seen in the films

Sources

  1. (2026). Paleobiology Database: Compsognathus occurrences. The Paleobiology Database (paleobiodb.org), data service 1.2, accessed 2026-09-23. https://paleobiodb.org/data1.2/occs/list.txt?base_name=Compsognathus&show=coords,paleoloc,strat,loc,ref&pgm=gplates (opens in a new tab)
  2. (2026). Wikipedia: Compsognathus. Wikipedia (English), accessed 2026-09-23. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compsognathus (opens in a new tab)
  3. (2026). Wikipedia: Dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaurs_in_Jurassic_Park (opens in a new tab)
  4. (2026). Wikipedia: Jurassic World Rebirth. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_World_Rebirth (opens in a new tab)
  5. Conrad, J. L. (2018). 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: 584-634. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx055 (opens in a new tab)
  6. Paul, G. S. (2016). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (2nd edition). Princeton University Press.
  7. Peyer, K. (2006). A reconsideration of Compsognathus from the upper Tithonian of Canjuers, southeastern France. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26: 879-896. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2006)26[879:AROCFT]2.0.CO;2 (opens in a new tab)
  8. Reisdorf, A. G. & Wuttke, M. (2012). Re-evaluating Moodie's opisthotonic-posture hypothesis in fossil vertebrates. Part I: Reptiles - the taphonomy of the bipedal dinosaurs Compsognathus longipes and Juravenator starki from the Solnhofen Archipelago (Jurassic, Germany). Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments 92: 119-168. doi:10.1007/s12549-011-0068-y (opens in a new tab)
  9. Wagner, J. A. (1861). Neue Beiträge zur Kenntniss der urweltlichen Fauna des lithographischen Schiefers. Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.