Compsognathidae

Holozoa

Compsognathids Temporal range: Late Jurassic – Early Cretaceous, 151–108 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Cast of a Compsognathus longipes specimen, Oxford University Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Superorder:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	Theropoda
Branch:	Coelurosauria
Family:	†Compsognathidae Cope, 1875
Type species
†Compsognathus longipes Wagner, 1861
Genera
Aristosuchus Compsognathus Huaxiagnathus Juravenator Mirischia Sinocalliopteryx Sinosauropteryx
Synonyms
Sinosauropterygidae Ji & Ji, 1996

Compsognathidae is a family of small carnivorous dinosaurs, generally conservative in form, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. Compsognathids lie at or near the origin of feathers—skin impressions are known from four genera, Compsognathus, Sinosauropteryx, Sinocalliopteryx, and Juravenator. While Juravenator, Sinosauropteryx, and Sinocalliopteryx show evidence of a covering of simple, primitive feathers, Juravenator and Compsognathus also show evidence of scales on the tail or hind legs.

The position of the Compsognathidae within the Coelurosaur group is uncertain; some hold the family as the basalmost of the coelurosaurs,^[1] while others as part of the Maniraptora.^[2][3]

Taxonomic issues

In 2003, O.W.M. Rauhut redefined the family Coeluridae to include Coelurus (Late Jurassic, North America), Compsognathus (Late Jurassic, Europe), Sinosauropteryx (Early Cretaceous, Asia) and an unnamed Compsognathus-like form (Early Cretaceous, South America; this dinosaur has since been placed in the new genus Mirischia). However, this taxonomy has not been widely adopted. Sereno (2005) points out that Compsognathidae has priority of name, even if dinosaurs such as Coelurus or Ornitholestes belongs in the same family as Compsognathus.

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  Sinocalliopteryx

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  Sinosauropteryx

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  Compsognathus

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  Huaxiagnathus

References

1. ^ Holtz TR, Molnar RE, Currie PJ (2004). "Basal Tetanurae". In Weishampel DB, Dodson P, Osmólska H. The Dinosauria (2nd Edition). University of California Press. p. 105. ISBN 0-520-24209-2. 
2. ^ Gauthier JA. (1986) Saurischian monophyly and the origin of birds. pp. 1-55 In Padian, K. (ed.) The Origin of Birds and the Evolution of Flight. Memoirs of the California Academy of Sciences 8.
3. ^ Forster CA, Sampson SD, Chiappe LM & Krause DW (1998), The theropod ancestry of birds: new evidence from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. Science 279: 1915-1919

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