Ask aDino Field Guide ← Jurassic

Artist's reconstruction · realistic art coming in a later version

Archaeopteryx

ar-kee-OP-ter-iks

“Ancient Wing”

Jurassic
When
Late Jurassic
Where
Germany
Size
About 1.5 ft long
Diet
Small animals

7 Facts

1–7
  1. Archaeopteryx is one of the most important fossils ever found — it links dinosaurs and birds.
  2. Its name means “Ancient Wing.”
  3. It had feathers and wings like a bird, but also teeth, claws on its wings, and a bony tail like a dinosaur.
  4. It was only about the size of a raven.
  5. It probably couldn’t fly far — more of a glider and flutterer than a strong flyer.
  6. The first skeleton was found in Germany in 1861, just two years after Darwin published his ideas on evolution, and it became powerful evidence for them.
  7. Birds today are its distant relatives, which means birds are living dinosaurs.