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Archaeopteryx
Archaeopteryx lithographica
Archaeopteryx lithographica The first known bird, of which only six specimens and one feather imprint have been found, all of them from the Lithographic Limestone of the Solnhofen region of Bavaria, Germany. The bird was first described by H. von Meyer in 1861 and is of Middle
Kimmeridgian (Upper
Jurassic) age. Work by several palaeontologists tends to support the theory that the birds, through
Archaeopteryx, evolved from coelurosaur dinosaurs (
Coelurosauria) similar to
Compsognathus. The species
A. lithographica possesses several primitive characters such as teeth, as well as specialized features such as feathers and hollow bones. It is a good example of a connecting species which exhibits a mosaic of evolutionary features.
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Early bird put in new perspective Archaeopteryx study suggests predecessor
Newspaper article from: International Herald Tribune; 8/6/2004; ; 700+ words
; ...2004 Scientists have determined that Archaeopteryx, the earliest known bird, was definitely...first flying birds predecessors of Archaeopteryx have never been found. The researchers...ear of a 147-million-year-old Archaeopteryx specimen. They found that in size...
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Archaeopteryx was less bird like, more like dinos.
News Wire article from: Asian News International; 10/12/2009; 700+ words
; ...A new research has shown that the Archaeopteryx, which has long been considered the...the famously feathered fossil of the archaeopteryx grew much slower than living birds...like non-avian dinosaurs. The first Archaeopteryx skeleton was found in Munich, Germany...
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New view: fossil offers novel look at an ancient bird.(archaeopteryx)
Magazine article from: Science News; 12/3/2005; ; 700+ words
; ...150-million-year-old creature, Archaeopteryx, as well as other birds, evolved...Many studies of previously described Archaeopteryx fossils, especially cranial scans...new fossil, only the 10th example of Archaeopteryx and its close relatives, is one of...
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Archaeopteryx Fossil Had Dinosaur Feet
News Wire article from: AP Online; 12/1/2005; ; 545 words
; ...Dateline: WASHINGTON A new analysis of Archaeopteryx, the earliest known birdlike animal...all scientists agree, many consider Archaeopteryx the first bird, since it had wings...that the first toe was not reversed in Archaeopteryx, as is the case on current birds...
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New archaeopteryx fossil shows feet more like dinosaurs than birds
News Wire article from: AP Worldstream; 12/1/2005; ; 520 words
; ...Dateline: WASHINGTON A new analysis of Archaeopteryx, the earliest known birdlike animal...all scientists agree, many consider Archaeopteryx the first bird, since it had wings...that the first toe was not reversed in Archaeopteryx, as is the case on current birds...
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Bird brain?Cranial scan of fossil hints at flight capability.(Bird Brain?)(Archaeopteryx)
Magazine article from: Science News; 8/7/2004; ; 700+ words
; ...of the fossilized brain-case of an Archaeopteryx shows that several features of the...modern birds. Many scientists consider Archaeopteryx, which lived about 147 million years...skull that houses the brain of the Archaeopteryx specimen from the Natural History Museum...
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Science: tell me about ... Archaeopteryx
Newspaper article from: The Independent - London; 3/23/1998; 584 words
; ...that already, from the fossils of the Archaeopteryx - which people usually think of as...are descended? The first thing about Archaeopteryx is that it describes a genus, not...they definitely show that they did. Archaeopteryx had teeth in both jaws, a long, feathered...
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Structure and function of hindlimb feathers in Archaeopteryx lithographica
Magazine article from: Paleobiology; 7/1/2006; ; 700+ words
; ...and function of hindlimb plumage in Archaeopteryx lithographica. Feathers cover the...airfoils. A new reconstruction of Archaeopteryx is presented, in which the hindlimbs...four-winged" planform in both Archaeopteryx and basal Dromaeosauridae indicates...
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TAKING WING: ARCHAEOPTERYX AND THE EVOLUTION OF BIRD FLIGHT.(Review)
Magazine article from: Wilson Bulletin; 12/1/2000; ; 700+ words
; TAKING WING: ARCHAEOPTERYX AND THE EVOLUTION OF BIRD FLIGHT...data is reevaluated. The story of Archaeopteryx is a timeless classic. Written...isolated feather) known to science as Archaeopteryx, which at approximately 150 million...
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EAR ANALYSIS SUGGESTS ARCHAEOPTERYX WAS MORE BIRDLIKE THAN REPTILIAN
News Wire article from: The Hindustan Times; 1/14/2009; 620 words
; ...suggested that the earliest known bird, Archaeopteryx, had a similar hearing range to the...reptiles may have heard and found that Archaeopteryx had an average hearing range of approximately...their extinct relatives, including Archaeopteryx," he added. According to Angela...
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Archaeopteryx
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
Archaeopteryx [Gr.,=primitive wing], most...Bavaria. All eight known fossils of Archaeopteryx, discovered between 1860 and 1992...grackle. It is still debated whether Archaeopteryx was arboreal or a swiftly running...
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Archaeopteryx lithographica
Book article from: A Dictionary of Earth Sciences
Archaeopteryx lithographica Only five specimens...species, the first bird, are known. Archaeopteryx is recorded solely from the Lithographic...the theory that the birds, through Archaeopteryx , evolved from coelurosaur dinosaurs...
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archaeopteryx
Book article from: World Encyclopedia
archaeopteryx First known bird. About the size of a crow and fully feathered, its fossilized skeleton is...capable probably only of weak flight. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/birds/archaeopteryx.html
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birds
Book article from: The Oxford Companion to the Earth
...probably the most famous fossil, is Archaeopteryx . This was first discovered in the...only six specimens have been found. Archaeopteryx is generally recognized as being the...a V-shaped furcula (wishbone). Archaeopteryx possesses a furcula, but its sternum...
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Solnhofen lithographic limestone fauna
Book article from: The Oxford Companion to the Earth
...pterosaurs, and the earliest bird, Archaeopteryx. The small theropod (carnivorous...most important fossils are those of Archaeopteryx, an animal that shows a mixture of...tte (fossil accumulation). As the Archaeopteryx and pterosaur skeletons are generally...
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