Compsognathus longipes Wagner, 1861

Rauhut, Oliver W. M., 2003, The interrelationships and evolution of basal theropod dinosaurs, Special papers in palaeontology 69, pp. 1-213 : 25-26

Compsognathus longipes Wagner, 1861

Age .?Kimmeridgian-Early Tithonian.

Occurrence. Solnhofener Plattenkalk, Bavaria, Germany; Lithographic limestones of Canjuers, Var, France;?Alcobaca Formation, Leiria, Portugal.

Diagnosis. Posterior half of the premaxilla edentulous, resulting in a diastema between the premaxillary and maxillary teeth; premaxillary and anterior dentary teeth with rounded, inflated base, lacking serrations and carinae, and abruptly recurved in their upper third.

Remarks. Compsognathus longipes , originally described as a new genus and species of lizard ( Wagner 1861), was the first theropod dinosaur known from a reasonably well-preserved, articulated skeleton. The species is of great historical importance because of the role it played in the initial discussion about evolution ( Desmond 1982). It is, therefore, not surprising that many well-known vertebrate palaeontol ­ ogists have commented on the specimen (e.g. Cope 1867; Huxley 1868; Marsh 1881 «, 1895, 1896; Huene 1925, 1926 «, 1932; Stromer 1934#). However, it was not until 1978 that a detailed description of the specimen was published (Ostrom 1978^

In 1972, Bidar et al. described a new, slightly larger specimen of Compsognathus from the lithographic limestones of Canjuers, and made it the type of a new species, C. corallestris . However, Ostrom (1978) argued strongly that C. corallestris was only a larger, probably more mature individual of C. longipes . Recently, Zinke (1998) described isolated teeth from the Alcobaça Formation of Portugal which might be referable to that taxon, although they are slightly older (Kimmeridgian) than the other two specimens (Early Tithonian).