Archaeopteryx

This article is about the dinosaur. For the ancient plant, see Archaeopteris. For other uses, see Archaeopteryx (disambiguation).

Archaeopteryx
Temporal range: Late Jurassic (Tithonian), 150.8–148.5 Ma
↓
Fossil of complete Archaeopteryx, including indentations of feathers on wings and tail
The Berlin Archaeopteryx specimen (A. siemensii)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Clade: Avialae
Family: †Archaeopterygidae
Genus: †Archaeopteryx
Meyer, 1861
(conserved name)
Type species
†Archaeopteryx lithographica
Meyer, 1861 (conserved name)
Referred species
  • †A. siemensii
    Dames, 1897
  • †A. albersdoerferi
    Kundrat et al., 2018
Synonyms[1]
Genus synonymy
  • Griphosaurus
    Wagner, 1862 (rejected name)
  • Griphornis
    Woodward, 1862 (rejected name)
  • Archaeornis
    Petronievics, 1917
  • Jurapteryx
    Howgate, 1984
  • Wellnhoferia?
    Elżanowski, 2001
Species synonymy
  • Griphosaurus problematicus
    Wagner, 1862 vide Woodward 1862 nomen rejectum
  • Griphornis longicaudatus
    Owen 1862 vide Woodward 1862 nomen rejectum
  • Griphosaurus longicaudatus
    (Owen 1862 vide Woodward 1862) Owen 1862 vide Brodkorb 1863 nomen rejectum
  • Archaeopteryx macrura
    Owen, 1862 (rejected name)
  • Archaeopteryx siemensii?
    (Dames, 1897)
  • Archaeornis siemensii
    (Dames, 1897) Peteronievics vide Petroneivics & Woodward 1917
  • Archaeopteryx owenii
    Petronievics, 1917 (rejected name)
  • Archaeopteryx recurva
    Howgate, 1984
  • Jurapteryx recurva
    (Howgate, 1984) Howgate 1985
  • Archaeopteryx bavarica
    Wellnhofer, 1993
  • ?Wellnhoferia grandis
    Elżanowski, 2001

Archaeopteryx (/ˌɑːrkiːˈɒptərɪks/; lit. 'old-wing'), sometimes referred to by its German name, "Urvogel" (lit. Primeval Bird) is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek ἀρχαῖος (archaīos), meaning "ancient", and πτέρυξ (ptéryx), meaning "feather" or "wing". Between the late 19th century and the early 21st century, Archaeopteryx was generally accepted by palaeontologists and popular reference books as the oldest known bird (member of the group Avialae).[2] Older potential avialans have since been identified, including Anchiornis, Xiaotingia, and Aurornis.[3]

Archaeopteryx lived in the Late Jurassic around 150 million years ago, in what is now southern Germany, during a time when Europe was an archipelago of islands in a shallow warm tropical sea, much closer to the equator than it is now. Similar in size to a Eurasian magpie, with the largest individuals possibly attaining the size of a raven,[4] the largest species of Archaeopteryx could grow to about 0.5 m (1 ft 8 in) in length. Despite their small size, broad wings, and inferred ability to fly or glide, Archaeopteryx had more in common with other small Mesozoic dinosaurs than with modern birds. In particular, they shared the following features with the dromaeosaurids and troodontids: jaws with sharp teeth, three fingers with claws, a long bony tail, hyperextensible second toes ("killing claw"), feathers (which also suggest warm-bloodedness), and various features of the skeleton.[5][6]

These features make Archaeopteryx a clear candidate for a transitional fossil between non-avian dinosaurs and avian dinosaurs (birds).[7][8] Thus, Archaeopteryx plays an important role, not only in the study of the origin of birds, but in the study of dinosaurs. It was named from a single feather in 1861,[9] the identity of which has been controversial.[10][11] That same year, the first complete specimen of Archaeopteryx was announced. Over the years, eleven more fossils of Archaeopteryx have surfaced. Despite variation among these fossils, most experts regard all the remains that have been discovered as belonging to a single species, although this is still debated.

Most of these twelve fossils include impressions of feathers. Because these feathers are of an advanced form (flight feathers), these fossils are evidence that the evolution of feathers began before the Late Jurassic.[12] The type specimen of Archaeopteryx was discovered just two years after Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species. Archaeopteryx seemed to confirm Darwin's theories and has since become a key piece of evidence for the origin of birds, the transitional fossils debate, and confirmation of evolution. Archaeopteryx was long considered to be the beginning of the evolutionary tree of birds. However, in recent years, the discovery of several small, feathered dinosaurs has created a mystery for palaeontologists, raising questions about which animals are the ancestors of modern birds and which are their relatives.[13]

  1. ^ "Troodontidae Gilmore, 1924". theropoddatabase.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019.
  2. ^ Xu, X; You, H; Du, K; Han, F (28 July 2011). "An Archaeopteryx-like theropod from China and the origin of Avialae" (PDF). Nature. 475 (7357): 465–470. doi:10.1038/nature10288. PMID 21796204. S2CID 205225790. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  3. ^ Godefroit, Pascal; Cau, Andrea; Hu, Dong-Yu; Escuillié, François; Wu, Wenhao; Dyke, Gareth (2013). "A Jurassic avialan dinosaur from China resolves the early phylogenetic history of birds". Nature. 498 (7454): 359–362. Bibcode:2013Natur.498..359G. doi:10.1038/nature12168. PMID 23719374. S2CID 4364892.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Erickson_etal_2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Yalden_1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference UCal_Chiappe was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference UCal_MoP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference UCalg_Long was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Griffiths was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference feather was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Carney2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference weln_04 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Kaplan, Matt (27 July 2011). "Archaeopteryx no longer first bird". Nature: news.2011.443. doi:10.1038/news.2011.443. ISSN 0028-0836.