Compsognathidae
| Compsognathidae | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Some Compsognathids in size comparison ( reconstruction ) |
||||||||||||
| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous ( Kimmeridgian to Albian ) | ||||||||||||
| 157.3 to 100.5 million years | ||||||||||||
| Locations | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Compsognathidae | ||||||||||||
| Cope , 1871 |
The Compsognathidae are a taxon (a systematic group) of the pelvis dinosaurs (Saurischia) from the theropod group . Known for a long time only from Compsognathus , several genera are described today, including feathered dinosaurs .
General
The Compsognathidae were very small theropods, their length was often less than a meter. In general, the trunk was slender and the skull was rather small. The arms and hands were relatively large, characterized by the elongated first finger. Signs of primeval plumage were found in several representatives, and these were often hair-like, simple structures. It is also conceivable that some genera were only partially covered with feathers.
The Compsognathidae lived predatory . Signs of this are the remains of a lizard found in the abdominal cavity of Compsognathus . They may also ate mammals, insects, and other small animals.
This group has so far been fossilized from the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous (around 157 to 100 million years ago) . Finds are known from Europe , China and South America .
Systematics
The systematic position of the Compsognathidae has not been fully clarified; phylogenetic investigations see them as primeval representatives of the Coelurosauria ; sometimes they are even considered the most basic representative and sister group of all other Coelurosauria.
The following genera are known:
literature
- David B. Weishampel , Peter Dodson , Halszka Osmólska (eds.): The Dinosauria . 2nd edition. University of California Press, Berkeley CA et al. 2004, ISBN 0-520-24209-2 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Gregory S. Paul : The Princeton Field Guide To Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ et al. 2010, ISBN 978-0-691-13720-9 , pp. 117-123, online .
