Archaeopteryx facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Archaeopteryx Temporal range: Upper Jurassic 150.8 – 148.5 mya
Archaeopteryx as visualized by Nobumichi Tamura
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Family:	Archaeopterygidae Huxley, 1871
Genus:	Archaeopteryx
Binomial name
Archaeopteryx lithographica

The Berlin Archaeopteryx (original)

The London specimen (cast)

Archaeopteryx is one of the most important fossils ever found. It was a bird that lived about 150 million years ago. This was during the Jurassic period. Archaeopteryx is special because it shows a clear evolutionary link between dinosaurs and birds.

The first Archaeopteryx fossil was discovered in 1860. It was found near Solnhofen in Bavaria, Germany. So far, scientists have found ten skeletons and one feather from Archaeopteryx.

Archaeopteryx looked like a small meat-eating dinosaur. But it also had wings and feathers. It had a mouth with teeth, claws on its hands, and a long tail. We now know that many small dinosaurs, especially dromaeosaurs, also had feathers. They looked a lot like birds. Even today, young South American hoatzin birds have claws on their wings. This is just like Archaeopteryx.

What We Know Today

Scientists have found another "dinobird" that is even older than Archaeopteryx. It is called Anchiornis huxlei. This fossil is from 160 to 155 million years ago. Anchiornis had feathers on both its front and back legs. It could definitely glide through the air. It might have even been able to fly a little.

This discovery means Archaeopteryx was not the very first bird we know of. But it is still incredibly important for science. It helped us learn that a whole group of small dinosaurs had feathers. It also showed that feathers were first used for things like keeping warm. They were also used for showing off (like in Epidexipteryx). Flying came later as a new use for feathers.

A Key Transitional Fossil

Archaeopteryx might not be the direct ancestor of all modern birds. But it is still a great example of a transitional fossil. A transitional fossil shows steps in evolution between different groups of animals.

Archaeopteryx helps us understand how birds changed over time. It proves that there was a link between reptiles (like dinosaurs) and birds. If there was no link, then Archaeopteryx would not exist at all.

See Also

• Origin of birds
• Paraves
• Anchiornis

• Chambers P. 2002. Bones of contention: the fossil that shook science. London: John Murray. ISBN: 0-7195-6059-4
• Shipman P. 1998. Taking wing: Archaeopteryx and the evolution of bird flight. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN: 0-297-84156-4

Images for kids

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  The single feather

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  Cast of the Maxberg Specimen

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  Eichstätt Specimen, once considered a distinct genus, Jurapteryx

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  Daiting Specimen, the holotype of A. albersdoerferi

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  Bürgermeister-Müller ("chicken wing") Specimen

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  Details of the Wyoming Dinosaur Center Archaeopteryx (WDC-CSG-100)

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  The eleventh specimen

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  Anatomical illustration comparing the "frond-tail" of Archaeopteryx with the "fan-tail" of a modern bird

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  Artist's restoration illustrating one interpretation of Carney's study

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  The Thermopolis Specimen

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  The twelfth specimen

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  Skeletal restorations of various specimens

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  The Solnhofen Specimen, by some considered as belonging to the genus Wellnhoferia

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  1880 photo of the Berlin specimen, showing leg feathers that were removed subsequently, during preparation

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  The Munich Specimen

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  Replica of the London Specimen

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  Reconstructed skeleton, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University

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  Growth trends compared with other dinosaurs and birds

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  Restoration of Archaeopteryx chasing a juvenile Compsognathus

See Also

In Spanish: Archaeopteryx para niños