Procompsognathus

Procompsognathus (pronounced /ˌproʊkɒmpˈsɒɡnəθəs/) is a genus of small theropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic Period, about 222 to 219 million years ago. Procompsognathus was named by Eberhard Fraas in 1913. He named the type species, P. triassicus, on the basis of a poorly-preserved skeleton found in Württemberg, Germany.

The name is derived from Compsognathus meaning 'elegant jaw' (Greek kompsos/κομψος meaning 'elegant', 'refined' or 'dainty' and gnathos/γναθος meaning 'jaw'), which was a later (Jurassic) dinosaur. The prefix προ/pro implies 'before' or 'ancestor of', although this direct lineage is not supported by subsequent research.

More real-life information: Procompsognathus at Wikipedia.

Paleobiology
Procompsognathus may have been about 1.2 meters long (4 ft). A biped, it had long hind legs, short arms, large clawed hands, a long slender snout with many small teeth, and a stiff tail. It lived in a relatively dry, inland environment and may have eaten insects, lizards, and other small prey.

Classification
While it is undoubtedly a small, bipedal carnivore, the extremely poor preservation of the only known Procompsognathus fossil makes its exact identity difficult to determine. It has historically been considered a theropod dinosaur, though some, such as Allen (2004), have found Procompsognathus to be a primitive, non-dinosaurian ornithodiran. Sereno and Wild (1992) stated that the holotype specimen consisted of fossils from two separate animals. They referred the skull to the primitive crocodylomorph Saltoposuchus, and the remainder of the skeleton to a ceratosaur related to Segisaurus. Rauhut and Hungerbuhler (2000) noted features of the vertebrae which suggest that Procompsognathus may be a coelophysid or ceratosaur, and Carrano et al. (2005), in their re-study of the related genus Segisaurus, found both Segisaurus and Procompsognathus to belong to the Coelophysidae within Dinosauria.

Jurassic Park (novel)
In Michael Crichton's novels Jurassic Park and The Lost World, Procompsognathus (often referred to as "compys") are one of the extinct species recreated through genetic engineering. Crichton portrays these dinosaurs, like its larger coelophysoid relative Dilophosaurus, as having venomous saliva, a characteristic invented for the novel and (obviously) not supported by fossil evidence. Their saliva has a foam-like structure and has a high concentration of Serotonin; which can trigger a allergic reaction. Their venom has a mild narcotic effect, making the victim feel sleepy and drowsy, and altogether content.

He also portrays them as scavengers and coprophagists (eaters of feces), useful in keeping the park clean of sauropod excrement. They travel in large packs, and prefer to feed on small, solitary, crippled, dying, or dead animals when not feasting upon the copius amounts of feces left behind by InGen's larger creations.

Procompsognathus is the first dinosaur that appears in the novel. The Compys are able to escape the park through the river, which is not guarded with an Electric Fence or camera's, so they can reach the harbour and sneak into the boat that ferries between Isla Nublar and Puntarenas.

Three Compy's kill a baby in a local hospital. A compy hurts Tina Bowman on a deserted beach. She showed a intense allergic reaction and is taken to the Clínica Santa María in Puntarenas. This triggers a serie of investigations to the strange creature:

Clínica Santa María: saliva is inverstigated. It contained many proteins with a high molecular mass. But when Martin "Marty" Guitierrez identified the creature as a mere Basiliscus amoratus with a three toed genetic anomaly the investigation is canceled.

Martin Guitierrez finds a half-chewed procompsognathus and sends it to the Columbia University to be investigated by Dr. Simpson. The Univerity's Laboratory for Tropical Diseases analyses the blood from the specimen. The blood showed no significant reaction to viral or bacterial antigen. A radiography photo of the specimen is sended to Alan Grant, who immediately identifies it as a Procompsognathus.

The University Laboratory of San José receives a saliva sample from the Clínica Santa María. The Saliva contained a high level of serotonin. The saliva contained a huge protein with a mass of 1.980 kiloDaltons. It turned out to be a primitive form of Cobra venom. They also found traces of gamma-amino methionine hydrolase.

Later in the story a pack of Compys are feeding on the body of Dennis Nedry. Another pack kills John Hammond.

Venom
The Compys in the novel are said to be venomous animals,just like the Dilophosaurus in the same novel, but instead of spitting an poison that causes tremendous pain like the Spitter´s venom, the Compys have a venom that acts slowly, but it´s strong as well.

The Lost World (novel)
Procompsognathus is seen feeding on the feces of Parasaurolophus. Richard Levine sees that they only feed on fresh feces, which makes him think there is some kind of hormone in the fresh feces. When the takes a sample of the dung, a Compy bites him on his ear. Luckily it was a minor bite and he suffered no ill effects.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (film)
In the film adaptation of The Lost World, Procompsognathus were replaced with the distantly related coelurosaur Compsognathus. However, Robert Burke refers to them as Procompsognathus triassicus (triassicus being the type species of Procompsognathus).

A group of Compsognathus stalk Dieter Stark when he gets lost in the jungle. Though they were most likely hunting him because he was alone, it is ironic that he is killed by them, because he had treated at least two Compys cruelly earlier. This scene is an allusion to the death of John Hammond in the novel.

Jurassic Park inspired games

 * Procompsognathus also appeared in the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game Jurassic Park.


 * Procompsognathus also appeared in the Sega CD video game Jurassic Park.