But a reptile about two feet long, called compsognathus, lately found in the Stonesfield slate, makes a much greater approximation to the class Aves than any Dinosaur, and therefore forms a closer link between the classes Aves and Reptilia than does the Archaeopteryx.
"The Student's Elements of Geology"
Sir Charles Lyell
The compsognathus was a small, active, rabbit-like creature, standing about two feet high on its hind limbs, while the Megalosaurs stretched to a length of thirty feet, and had huge jaws armed with rows of formidable teeth.
"The Story of Evolution"
Joseph McCabe