Archaeopteryx

The Archaeopteryx is a standalone fossil that can be donated to the museum in, , , and.

In
"I must salute this find! A fossil in such fine condition is rare, indeed! Archaeopteryx had wings and looked almost exactly like a modern bird, eh wot? As such, most scientists believed it was the true avian ancestor. Our most recent studies, however, conclude that the lineage is not direct. Current hypotheses point to multiple ancestors, some yet to be discovered. Ah! Sorry for running on! This could be one of my ancient relatives, wot!"

In
"Hoo, what a wondrous find! Such perfect condition! Archaeopteryx's feathers... led many people to believe it was the progenitor of the birds, eh wot? Sadly, further evidence indicates it's likely not a direct relation... The current thinking is that we had other ancestors. Different grand-Blathers for me, wot wot! To be honest, there are almost as many theories as fossils for this beastie. It's quite a riddle!"

In
"The archaeopteryx is considered a close relative to the ancestors of modern birds. Despite the similarities, its teeth and three-clawed hands contained marked differences. As its bones were hollow to keep its body lighter and allow for flight, fossils rarely survive."

In
"Archaeopteryx's feathers led many people to believe it was the progenitor of the birds, eh wot... Sadly, further evidence indicates it's not a direct ancestor–more an evolutionary "uncle," if you will. Every time a specimen is found, new theories pop up. And new relatives come to roost in the family tree!"

Further information


Archaeopteryx is a primitive bird that lived during the Late Jurassic, approximately 150 million years ago, in what is now southern Germany. Eleven fossils have been discovered to date, featuring feather impressions (the first fossil was actually of a single feather), sharp teeth, and three clawed fingers. Whether the feathers were meant for insulation or flight is under contentious debate; CT scans show that Archaeopteryx did have the proper neural structures needed for flight, but would probably have flown in a manner very different from modern birds. The limestone that all specimens were unearthed from suggest that Archaeopteryx lived on islands surrounding a lagoon, enduring long dry seasons, and living amongst other creatures such as pterosaurs, turkey-sized carnivorous dinosaurs, another genus of early bird, ray-finned fish, lizards, and many insects. Cycads and conifers, though scarce, made up the flora of the lagoon. Archaeopteryx could grow up to 50 cm in body length.