Compsognathus

Compsognathus, often referred to simply as "Compy", is a chicken-sized dinosaur from the Late  Period (around 150 million years ago). It was first discovered in Germany before the only other specimen to be found was unearthed in France. Compys typically hunt small lizards and insects, but like other opportunistic theropods, will scavenge larger animal carcasses when available.

Jurassic Park Franchise


Compsognathus could be seen throughout, and was in a few scenes in ; it ultimately replaces the Procompsognathus from the novels. Compsognathus also appears in many games and toy lines.

Portrayal
In, Compsognathus was portrayed as a small chicken-sized dinosaur. It was green in color with dark striping across their back. Compsognathus is significantly smaller in the movie than it was in real life. It was based on the type specimen from Germany, which was only 89 cm (35 in) long. A larger fossil, of 125 cm (49 in) long, was discovered in France. In French specimen is probably an adult, while the german specimen is an infant.

Dr. Robert Burke misidentified it as "Compsognathus triassicus" instead of "Compsognathus longipes". The scriptwriters confused it with Procompsognathus (from The Lost World novel) of which triassicus is a species.

Compsognathus has a creative attack tactic for their small size. The alpha appears first and confronts the victim, who is surrounded by the other Compys before he/she knows they are coming. While the prey is interacting with the Alpha, or ignoring it, the others will eventually spring and attack the victim, usually overwhelming it. For instance, Dieter Stark discovered the alpha, then attempted to bring it down, but many others came by, all around him, then attacked him many times before finally killing him. However, there is currently no evidence that Compsognathus hunted in packs, due a shortage of specimens.

Jurassic Park: The Game
thumb|300px|right Compsognathus was cloned on Site B under supervision of Dr. Henry Wu. Dr. Laura Sorkin wrote that it "holds a special place in my heart". The Compies reminded her of the chickens on the farm where she grew up. Since the genetic structure of Compsognathus was so similar to birds, Sorkin was surprised they don't have feathers.

When the creatures were fully grown, they were transported to Isla Nublar. The Compsognathus Paddock was built/planned at the southern tip of the island. Compsognathus was featured in the InGen Field Guide and on the Tour the Island website. However, they are not part of the Tour during the events of. This indicates they were planned for Phase I of the Park.

After the disaster in the park the compies were able to roam free across the island. In the scenario The Ride, a pack of Compsognathus is seen running from the T. rex near the Bone Shaker; in the northern mountains of the island.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Compsognathus is seen during the events of. Isla Sorna housed many Compsognathus across the island. Due to their very small size, visitors to the island such as Robert Burke generally regarded the animals to be harmless and not dangerous. This, however, is actually the exact opposite, as a large pack of Compies attacked and killed Dieter Stark, as well as attacking the small girl and Kelly's best friend Cathy Bowman who survived, albeit seriously injured and taken to the hospital by her parents.

Jurassic Park III
In, Compies are shown to be insect-eaters as well. Eric Kirby seemed to know these creatures are a great threat and usually took shelter after hearing their high pitched chirps. He also stated that T. rex urine would keep the animals from attacking and is seen as a reason these inventive hunters never ended his island adventure early. The Compies also made appearance during the beginning of the film fleeing from the battle of the T.rex and Spinosaurus.

Video Games
Compsognathus is also featured as a common enemy in the majority of post-TLW games. Replacing the Procompsognathus from the previous games.

Jurassic Park PS game
see The Lost World: Jurassic Park (video game)/Compy level

Compsognathus is the first playable character in the video game The Lost World: Jurassic Park, it uses its leaping and evading movement to escape some of the larger predators. The character can suffer from high falling damage that would be contradictory to a small animal's ability to take higher falls. It is also able to swim and evade water predators. Its speed and jumping is what helps it survive the perils of The Lost World.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park arcade game
Compsognathus is an enemy in The Lost World: Jurassic Park arcade game.

Warpath
Compsognathus also appeared in the game Warpath: Jurassic Park as an edible creature that restored health, herbivore characters simply attack it and some how that will gain them health too. They were not listed in the Museum, along with Stegosaurus.

Jurassic Park: Builder
Compsognathus is one of the available dinosaurs in the IOS application, Jurassic Park: Builder.

Other

 * Compsognathus is an enemy in Jurassic Park III: Dino Defender.
 * Compsognathus appears in Jurassic Park III: Park Builder.
 * Compsognathus is an enemy in the Jurassic Park mobile game.

Comics
Under construction

Popular culture
popularized Compsognathus. Post-TLW games, like Tomb Raider III, also feature Compsognathus as they are portrayed in the film.