Archaeopteryx
Ancient winged dinosaur
Archaeopteryx is a prehistoric creature from the late Jurassic period, roughly 150 million years ago, considered a transitional form between dinosaurs and modern birds.
About the size of a crow, it had feathers and wings like a bird but retained dinosaurian features: teeth, a bony tail, and clawed fingers.
Fossils discovered in German limestone quarries beginning in 1861 provided early evidence for evolutionary theory.
The name means "ancient wing."
Dinosaur-dominated geological period
- CretaceousFinal Mesozoic period
- TriassicFirst Mesozoic period
- theropodBipedal carnivorous dinosaur group
- dinosaurExtinct Mesozoic reptile
pterosaur · ammonite · cycad · conifer · gymnosperm · Pangaea · reptile · ichthyosaur
Carbonate sedimentary rock
- impressionEffect on the mind
- featherBird's body covering
- skeletonInternal supportive framework
- specimenIndividual for examination
preservation · excavation · slab · shale · sediment · counterpart · stratigraphy · calcite
Origin point of descendants
- DarwinBritish naturalist, species theorist
- natural selectionDifferential reproductive success
- phylogenyEvolutionary relationships among organisms
- descentDownward slope or lineage
cladistics · homology · adaptation · speciation · missing link · morphology · diversification · radiation
Covered with plumage
- toothedHaving pointed projections
- wishboneForked poultry bone
- flight feathersBird's main wing plumes
- sternumFlat chest bone
hallux · rachis · primaries · secondaries · skeletal
Engineless aerial movement
- powered flightAircraft movement via engines
- arborealOf or in trees
- wing loadingMass per lift area
- feathered wingsPlumed flight appendages
flapping · aerodynamic · lift · thrust · parachuting
Jurassic
Dinosaur-dominated geological period
- CretaceousFinal Mesozoic period
- TriassicFirst Mesozoic period
- theropodBipedal carnivorous dinosaur group
dinosaur · pterosaur · ammonite · cycad · conifer · gymnosperm · Pangaea · reptile · ichthyosaur · plesiosaur
limestone
Carbonate sedimentary rock
- impressionEffect on the mind
- featherBird's body covering
- skeletonInternal supportive framework
specimen · preservation · excavation · slab · shale · sediment · counterpart · stratigraphy · calcite · museum
common ancestor
Origin point of descendants
- DarwinBritish naturalist, species theorist
- natural selectionDifferential reproductive success
- phylogenyEvolutionary relationships among organisms
descent · cladistics · homology · adaptation · speciation · missing link · morphology · diversification · radiation · variation
feathered
Covered with plumage
- toothedHaving pointed projections
- wishboneForked poultry bone
- flight feathersBird's main wing plumes
sternum · hallux · rachis · primaries · secondaries · skeletal
gliding
Engineless aerial movement
- powered flightAircraft movement via engines
- arborealOf or in trees
- wing loadingMass per lift area
feathered wings · flapping · aerodynamic · lift · thrust · parachuting
- Mesozoicdinosaurs, Velociraptor, Brachiosaurus, Spinosaurus, pterosaurs
- dinosaursdinosaurs, Velociraptor, Brachiosaurus, raptors, Spinosaurus
- Extinct Animalsdinosaur, dinosaurs, tyrannosaurus, dodo, mammoth
- fossilsdinosaur bones, ammonite, amber, ammonites, fossils
- Prehistoric Animalsdinosaur, dinosaurs, T-Rex, Velociraptor, Brachiosaurus
- prehistoric lifedinosaur, dinosaurs, triceratops, Velociraptor, velociraptor
Archaeopteryxmodern birds
Current avian species
songbirds · hummingbird · house sparrow · rock dove · chicken
Archaeopteryxalbatross
Long-winged oceanic bird
swift · peregrine falcon · frigatebird · hummingbird · ostrich