Compsognathus: an active chicken lizard who ruled the desert (7 photos)

The era of dinosaurs is long gone. But interest in these huge creatures does not disappear. Although not all of them were huge. And this the creature can be characterized by one expression - small, but daring.





The name "compsognathus" (compsognathus) is translated as "graceful jaw". And you can’t argue with that - a certain amount of aesthetics in the appearance of this creature was: a meter long, thin strong limbs, flexible movable neck, crowned with a wedge-shaped head. A kind of ballerina with a weight of no more than 3 kg.



That is, the compsognathus weighed no more than an ordinary chicken. But was far more greedy. Dinosaurs dangled on thin legs that your flashes of lightning. And they could scream so that any banshee would die from envy.





Fossils that made it possible to recreate the appearance of these dinosaurs were found in Germany and France. They allowed to establish that this medium-sized lizard lived in the late Cretaceous period as in Europe as well as in Asia. Favorite habitat was dry tropical climate.



That is, the compsognathus became a real king of the deserts, because larger brothers in the dino workshop were not found there: it did not suit them climate and lack of food in large quantities. And this little one thrashed everything came across in his graceful elongated shepherdess: insects, lizards, even small animals. Long limbs made it possible to develop a solid speed, literally grabbing crazed prey on the fly.



Spielberg was impressed by this Emperor of the Sands. And the director involved him in the film "Jurassic Park". Where are the compsognates represented by herd animals. Although in reality it is more of all, it was not so: the lizards lived and hunted singly.



In the second part of the film, these dinosaurs are presented as cute green handsome with a yellowish belly. People are fascinated by crumbs and even they do not suspect that in reality they are very dangerous predators. However, they would not have coped with a person in reality: too small growth and insufficiently sharp teeth.



During the study of fossils, scientists came to the conclusion that compsognathus is very similar to birds. Given this relationship, it is not worth turn your back on the chickens. Just in case.