Archaeopteryx - Facts and Pictures

Quick Archaeopteryxy Facts

Archaeopteryxy can be referred to as both a bird and a dinosaur
It’s believed this dinosaur was warm bloodied like many birds
Lived in what is now Southern Germany
It’s name means “Ancient Wing”
Scientists believe it glided and couldn’t fly very well

About Archaeopteryx

Archaeopteryx is a bird like dinosaur that lived about 150 million years ago—during the late Jurassic Period. It was initially discovered by Hermann von Meyer in 1860 near Solnhofen, Germany, but this discovered was hardly complete and consisted of only a single feather. A feather which is currently housed in the Humboldt Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. The first skeleton of this dinosaur wouldn’t be discovered until 1861 near Langenaltheim, Germany. This skeleton—called the London Specimen—was eventually sold to the London Natural History Museum, which is where it can be found to this day.

Archaeopteryxy is seen by many people as the link between dinosaurs and birds. Like most modern birds, this dinosaur had hollow bones, feathers, and a wishbone. However, it also had many non-bird like features. These included teeth, and dinosaur like bone structures. Because of these similarities, most scientist now believe that this species wasn’t the link between dinosaurs and birds, but was closely related to that first link. This dinosaur was about the size of a raven; it was about 20 inches long and weighed approximately 2 pounds.