archaeopteryx
Ancient bird ancestor
Archaeopteryx is an extinct feathered creature from the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago.
Often called the first bird, it had features of both dinosaurs and modern birds—teeth, a bony tail, and clawed wings alongside feathers capable of flight.
The fossil discovery in 1861 provided early evidence for evolutionary transition between reptiles and birds: The Archaeopteryx specimen remains one of paleontology's most celebrated finds.
Scientist studying prehistoric life
- excavationAct of unearthing
- specimenIndividual for examination
- limestoneCarbonate sedimentary rock
- impressionEffect on the mind
slab · preserved · skeleton · discovery · petrified · sediment · strata · dig
Bird's lightweight covering
- wingsLimbs for flight
- flightAerial journey by aircraft
- beakHorny avian mouthpart
- wishboneForked poultry bone
ornithology · plumage · hollow bones · claws · perching · gliding · airborne · wingspan
Bipedal carnivorous dinosaur group
- JurassicDinosaur-dominated geological period
- MesozoicAge of Reptiles
- velociraptorSmall feathered Cretaceous predator
- saurischianLizard-hipped dinosaur clade
carnivore · bipedal · long tail · scaly · reptilian · predator
Species changing over generations
- missing linkUndiscovered ancestral connection
- intermediateBetween two levels
- ancestorPredecessor in lineage
- DarwinBritish naturalist, species theorist
phylogeny · speciation · adaptation · cladistics · homology · morphology · natural selection · divergence
Enamel-covered chewing structures
- feathered wingsPlumed flight appendages
- skeletal structureBones arranged as support
- jawsMouth's bony framework
- ribcageBony chest enclosure
paleontologist
Scientist studying prehistoric life
- excavationAct of unearthing
- specimenIndividual for examination
- limestoneCarbonate sedimentary rock
impression · slab · preserved · skeleton · discovery · petrified · sediment · strata · dig · shale
feathers
Bird's lightweight covering
wishbone · ornithology · plumage · hollow bones · claws · perching · gliding · airborne · wingspan
theropod
Bipedal carnivorous dinosaur group
- JurassicDinosaur-dominated geological period
- MesozoicAge of Reptiles
- velociraptorSmall feathered Cretaceous predator
saurischian · carnivore · bipedal · long tail · scaly · reptilian · predator
evolution
Species changing over generations
- missing linkUndiscovered ancestral connection
- intermediateBetween two levels
- ancestorPredecessor in lineage
Darwin · phylogeny · speciation · adaptation · cladistics · homology · morphology · natural selection · divergence · emergence
teeth
Enamel-covered chewing structures
- feathered wingsPlumed flight appendages
- skeletal structureBones arranged as support
- jawsMouth's bony framework
- Jurassic creatures
- natural historynatural history, natural history museum, naturalist, naturalists, natural philosophers
- Extinct Animalsdinosaur, dinosaurs, tyrannosaurus, dodo, mammoth
- extinct creaturesdinosaurs, trilobites, ammonites, mammoths, pterosaurs
- fossilsdinosaur bones, ammonite, amber, ammonites, fossils
- prehistoric lifedinosaur, dinosaurs, triceratops, Velociraptor, velociraptor