Anatomy of Juravenator starki (Theropoda: Coelurosauria) from the Late Jurassic of Germany

2010/11/29 by Luis M. Chiappe, Ursula B. Göhlich · 14 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Geological Formations and Processes Exploration #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology #Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils

paper · pdf · doi:10.1127/0077-7749/2010/0125

openalex publication_date 2010/11/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02

Abstract

We provide a detailed study of the morphology of the holotype of Juravenator starki from the Late Jurassic of the Solnhofen area of southern Germany. The incompletely ossified surface of multiple bones and lack of several skeletal fusions indicate that Juravenator starki is based on an immature specimen. Nonetheless, numerous unique morphologies and bone proportions distinguish this taxon from Compsognathus longipes, the only previously named non-avian theropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of the Solnhofen Archipelago. Yet, its skeletal anatomy is most similar to that of Compsognathus and other theropods that have often been regarded as closely related to the lattersometimes within a monophyletic Compsognathidae. Juravenator is characterized by having a small size (~ 0.75-meter-long in the holotype) with few maxillary teeth, lack of a premaxillary-maxillary diastema, an antorbital fenestra subequal in length to orbit, an elongate scapula that is narrowest at its neck, a proportionally short humerus and high and abruptly tapered manual claws, and bowlike zygapophysial articulations in the mid-caudal vertebrae. Portions of the epidermis preserved mainly along the tail provide the only glimpse of the morphology of the skin of basal coelurosaurs, and structures newly revealed under UV light hint at the possibility of filamentous integumentary structures -akin to those interpreted as proto-feathers in other basal coelurosaurs -also covering the body of this dinosaur. The discovery of Juravenator has provided evidence of morphologies -from details of the skull to the epidermis -that are poorly known in other theropods interpreted as at or near the base of Coelurosauria, and thus contributes significantly to our understanding of the evolutionary history of this clade. The exquisitely preserved holotipic skeleton adds significantly to the meager record of small-bodied Late Jurassic theropods.

Citations

• An exceptionally well-preserved theropod dinosaur from the Yixian Formation of China
• A new feather type in a nonavian theropod and the early evolution of feathers
• Embryonic skin from Late Cretaceous Sauropods (Dinosauria) of Auca Mahuevo, Patagonia, Argentina
• A large Compsognathid from the early cretaceous Yixian formation of China

Cited by

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• Cranial anatomy ofAllosaurus jimmadseni, a new species from the lower part of the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Western North America
• Two of a Feather: A Comparison of the Preserved Integument in the Juvenile Theropod Dinosaurs Sciurumimus and Juravenator from the Kimmeridgian Torleite Formation of Southern Germany
• A Juvenile Specimen of Archaeorhynchus Sheds New Light on the Ontogeny of Basal Euornithines
• Alvarezsaurid osteology: new data on cranial anatomy
• Re-evaluating Moodie’s Opisthotonic-Posture Hypothesis in Fossil Vertebrates Part I: Reptiles—the taphonomy of the bipedal dinosaurs Compsognathus longipes and Juravenator starki from the Solnhofen Archipelago (Jurassic, Germany)
• Morphology and distribution of scales, dermal ossifications, and other non‐feather integumentary structures in non‐avialan theropod dinosaurs
• The oldest Archaeopteryx (Theropoda: Avialiae): a new specimen from the Kimmeridgian/Tithonian boundary of Schamhaupten, Bavaria
• Evidence corroborates identity of isolated fossil feather as a wing covert of Archaeopteryx
• Recent advances in amniote palaeocolour reconstruction and a framework for future research
• Feathered Non-Avian Dinosaurs from North America Provide Insight into Wing Origins
• Exceptionally preserved juvenile megalosauroid theropod dinosaur with filamentous integument from the Late Jurassic of Germany
• Compsognathidae [wikipedia]