Discoveries
Often referred to as ‘the missing link’ between dinosaurs and birds, the winged and feathered Archaeopteryx now has a newly described relative that’s more bird than dinosaur
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A closer examination of Archaeopteryx fossils has led to a new species of the creature being identified. An international team of scientists, led by Dr Martin Kundrát from Slovakia’s University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik, have described a type of Archaeopteryx that’s closer to modern birds in evolutionary terms than any previously analysed.
Archaeopteryx, meaning ancient wing, was first named after a solitary feather discovered in southern Germany back in 1861. Since then, only 12 specimens have been found, and they all date back to the late Jurassic period, approximately 150 million years ago. By examining the youngest of all of the known specimens, known as ‘specimen number eight’, using advanced 3D X-ray scanning techniques, the team found several distinct features about its anatomy that mark it out as being closer to modern birds then reptiles. This makes it evolutionarily distinctive enough to be described as a whole new species: Archaeopteryx albersdoerferi.
“It confirms Archaeopteryx as the first bird, and not just one of a number of feathered theropod dinosaurs, which some authors have suggested recently. You could say that it puts Archaeopteryx back on its perch as the first bird,” said Dr John Nudds of the University of Manchester and a co-author of the report on the findings.
The team found that Archaeopteryx albersdoerferi had fused cranial bones and a complex configuration of reinforced carpals and
“IT CONFIRMS ARCHAEOPTERYX
AS THE FIRST BIRD, AND NOT JUST ONE OF A NUMBER OF THEROPOD DINOSAURS, WHICH SOME AUTHORS HAVE SUGGESTED RECENTLY. YOU COULD SAY IT PUTS ARCHAEOPTERYX BACK ON ITS PERCH AS THE FIRST BIRD”
metacarpals (hand bones). The arrangement is similar to those seen in more modern flying birds, but not in the older Archaeopteryx species, which more closely resemble reptiles and dinosaurs.
“By digitally dissecting the fossil we found that this specimen differed from all of the others. It possessed skeletal adaptations that would have resulted in much more efficient flight,” said Nudds. “In a nutshell we have discovered what Archaeopteryx lithographica [other Archaeopteryx specimens] evolved into – a more advanced bird, better adapted to flying – and we have described this as a new species of Archaeopteryx.”