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Compsognathus facts for kids

Compsognathus, the pretty jaw, was a dinosaur about the size of a chicken. Find out what it ate, where it lived, and test yourself with a quick quiz.

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Meet Compsognathus

Its name means pretty jaw. In Greek, kompsos means pretty or elegant and gnathos means jaw.

Compsognathus was about the size of a chicken. One fossil has a whole lizard inside its stomach. It was about 70 centimetres long and weighed about 3 kilograms.

A small hunter

Compsognathus was a theropod, a meat-eater that walked on two legs. Not every dinosaur was a giant.

When and where did it live?

In the Late Jurassic, around 145 million years ago. Its fossils have been found in Germany and France. In Germany, it lived on islands, at the same time and in the same place as Archaeopteryx.

Compsognathus in a nutshell

Quick quiz: Compsognathus

Try these, then tap Show answer under each one.

  1. What does the name Compsognathus mean?

    • Pretty jaw
    • Ancient wing
    • Iguana tooth
    • Arm lizard

    Pretty jaw.

  2. About how big was Compsognathus?

    • About the size of a chicken
    • About the size of a horse
    • About the size of a bus
    • About the size of an ant

    About the size of a chicken. It was about 70 centimetres long and weighed about 3 kilograms.

  3. What was found inside the stomach of one Compsognathus fossil?

    • A whole lizard
    • A fish
    • A bird's egg
    • Some leaves

    A whole lizard. Compsognathus was about the size of a chicken. One fossil has a whole lizard inside its stomach.

  4. True or false: Compsognathus ate plants.

    False. It was a meat-eater.

  5. Which dinosaur with wings lived at the same time and in the same place as Compsognathus?

    • Archaeopteryx
    • Triceratops
    • Ankylosaurus
    • Iguanodon

    Archaeopteryx.

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