Editing Archaeopteryx (section)

{{Short description|Extinct genus of bird-like dinosaurs}}
{{About| the dinosaur| the ancient plant | Archaeopteris |other uses| Archaeopteryx (disambiguation)}}
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{{Featured article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2016}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date = August 2022}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = [[Late Jurassic]] ([[Tithonian]]), {{fossil range|150.8|148.5}}
| image = Archaeopteryx lithographica (Berlin specimen).jpg
| image_caption = The Berlin ''Archaeopteryx'' specimen (''A. siemensii'')
| image_alt = Fossil of complete Archaeopteryx, including indentations of feathers on wings and tail
| taxon = Archaeopteryx
| authority = [[Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer|Meyer]], 1861<br/>([[conserved name]])
| type_species = {{extinct}}'''''Archaeopteryx lithographica'''''
| type_species_authority = Meyer, 1861 (conserved name)
| subdivision_ranks = Other species
| subdivision = *{{extinct}}'''''A. siemensii'''''<br/><small>Dames, 1897</small>
*{{extinct}}'''''A. albersdoerferi'''''<br/><small>Kundrat ''et al.'', 2018</small>
| display_parents = 2
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = false
|title=<small>Genus synonymy</small>
|''Griphosaurus''<br/><small>Wagner, 1862 ([[rejected name]])</small>
|''Griphornis''<br/><small>Woodward, 1862 (rejected name)</small>
|''Archaeornis''<br/><small>Petronievics, 1917</small>
|''Jurapteryx''<br/><small>Howgate, 1984</small>
|''[[Wellnhoferia]]''?<br/><small>Elżanowski, 2001</small>
}}
{{collapsible list|bullets = true
|title=<small>Species synonymy</small>
|''Griphosaurus problematicus''<br/><small>Wagner, 1862 vide Woodward 1862 nomen rejectum</small>
|''Griphornis longicaudatus''<br/><small>Owen 1862 vide Woodward 1862 nomen rejectum</small>
|''Griphosaurus longicaudatus''<br/><small>(Owen 1862 vide Woodward 1862) Owen 1862 vide Brodkorb 1863 nomen rejectum</small>
|''Archaeopteryx macrura''<br/><small>Owen, 1862 (rejected name)</small>
|''Archaeopteryx siemensii''?<br/><small>(Dames, 1897)</small>
|''Archaeornis siemensii''<br/><small>(Dames, 1897) Peteronievics vide Petroneivics & Woodward 1917</small>
|''Archaeopteryx owenii''<br/><small>Petronievics, 1917 (rejected name)</small>
|''Archaeopteryx recurva''<br/><small>Howgate, 1984</small>
|''Jurapteryx recurva''<br/><small>(Howgate, 1984) Howgate 1985</small>
|''Archaeopteryx bavarica''<br/><small>Wellnhofer, 1993</small>
|?''[[Wellnhoferia grandis]]''<br/><small>Elżanowski, 2001</small>
}}
| synonyms_ref = <ref>{{Cite web |title=Troodontidae Gilmore, 1924 |url=http://theropoddatabase.com/Troodontidae.htm#Troodontidae |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403063849/http://theropoddatabase.com/Troodontidae.htm#Troodontidae |archive-date=3 April 2019 |website=theropoddatabase.com}}</ref>
}}

'''''Archaeopteryx''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|ɑːr|k|iː|ˈ|ɒ|p|t|ər|ᵻ|k|s|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Archaeopteryx.wav}}; {{lit|old-wing}}), sometimes referred to by its German name, "'''{{lang|de|Urvogel}}'''" ({{lit}} ''Primeval Bird'') is a [[genus]] of [[bird]]-like [[dinosaur]]s. The name derives from the [[ancient Greek]] {{lang|grc|{{linktext|ἀρχαῖος}}}} (''archaîos''), meaning "ancient", and {{lang|grc|{{linktext|πτέρυξ}}}} (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" or "wing". Between the late 19th century and the early 21st century, ''Archaeopteryx'' was generally accepted by [[paleontology|palaeontologists]] and popular reference books as the oldest known bird (member of the group [[Avialae]]).<ref name="Xiaotingia">{{Cite journal |last1=Xu |first1=X |last2=You |first2=H |last3=Du |first3=K |last4=Han |first4=F |date=28 July 2011 |title=An ''Archaeopteryx''-like theropod from China and the origin of Avialae |url=http://www.ivpp.ac.cn/qt/papers/201403/P020140314389417822583.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Nature |volume=475 |issue=7357 |pages=465–470 |doi=10.1038/nature10288 |pmid=21796204 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220071919/http://www.ivpp.ac.cn/qt/papers/201403/P020140314389417822583.pdf |archive-date=20 December 2016 |access-date=5 November 2016 |s2cid=205225790}}</ref> Older  potential  [[avialan]]s  have since  been  identified,  including ''[[Anchiornis]]'', ''[[Xiaotingia]]'',  ''[[Aurornis]]'',<ref name="pascal">{{Cite journal |last1=Godefroit |first1=Pascal |last2=Cau |first2=Andrea |last3=Hu |first3=Dong-Yu |last4=Escuillié |first4=François |last5=Wu |first5=Wenhao |last6=Dyke |first6=Gareth |year=2013 |title=A Jurassic avialan dinosaur from China resolves the early phylogenetic history of birds |journal=Nature |volume=498 |issue=7454 |pages=359–362 |bibcode=2013Natur.498..359G |doi=10.1038/nature12168 |pmid=23719374 |s2cid=4364892}}</ref>  and ''[[Baminornis]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chen |first=Runsheng |last2=Wang |first2=Min |last3=Dong |first3=Liping |last4=Zhou |first4=Guowu |last5=Xu |first5=Xing |last6=Deng |first6=Ke |last7=Xu |first7=Liming |last8=Zhang |first8=Chi |last9=Wang |first9=Linchang |last10=Du |first10=Honggang |last11=Lin |first11=Ganmin |last12=Lin |first12=Min |last13=Zhou |first13=Zhonghe |date=12 February 2025 |title=Earliest short-tailed bird from the Late Jurassic of China |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08410-z |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=638 |issue=8050 |pages=441–448 |doi=10.1038/s41586-024-08410-z |issn=1476-4687}}</ref>

''Archaeopteryx'' lived in the [[Late Jurassic]] around 150&nbsp;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]],<ref name=Erickson_etal_2009/> the largest species of ''Archaeopteryx'' could grow to about {{cvt|0.5|m}} 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 [[dromaeosauridae|dromaeosaurids]] and [[troodontidae|troodontids]]: jaws with sharp [[Tooth|teeth]], three fingers with [[claw]]s, a long bony tail, hyperextensible second toes ("killing claw"), feathers (which also suggest [[homeothermy|warm-bloodedness]]), and various features of the [[skeleton]].<ref name=Yalden_1/><ref name=UCal_Chiappe/>

These features make ''Archaeopteryx'' a clear candidate for a [[transitional fossil]] between non-avian dinosaurs and avian dinosaurs (birds).<ref name=UCal_MoP/><ref name=UCalg_Long/> 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,<ref name=Griffiths/> the identity of which has been controversial.<ref name=feather/><ref name=Carney2020/> That same year, the first complete specimen of ''Archaeopteryx'' was announced. Over the years, twelve 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 or at least genus, although this is still debated.<ref name=":2" />

Most of these 14 fossils include impressions of feathers. Because these feathers are of an advanced form ([[flight feather]]s), these fossils are evidence that the evolution of feathers began before the Late Jurassic.<ref name=weln_04/> 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.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|last=Kaplan |first=Matt |date=27 July 2011 |title=Archaeopteryx no longer first bird |url=http://www.nature.com/articles/news.2011.443 |journal=Nature |language=en |pages=news.2011.443 |doi=10.1038/news.2011.443 |issn=0028-0836}}</ref>