Editing Archaeopteryx (section)

== History of discovery ==
{{Main|Specimens of Archaeopteryx}}
[[File:Archaeopteryx (Feather).jpg|upright|thumb|left|The single feather]]
Over the years, fourteen body fossil specimens of ''Archaeopteryx'' have been found. All of the fossils come from the [[limestone]] deposits, quarried for centuries, near {{lang|de|italics=unset|[[Solnhofen]]}}, Germany. These quarries excavate sediments from the [[Solnhofen Limestone]] formation and related units.<ref name=Chiappe_07/><ref name=Natgeo1/> The initial specimen was the first dinosaur to be discovered with feathers.
[[File:Archaeopteryx timeline.svg|thumb|Timeline of ''Archaeopteryx'' discoveries until 2007{{image reference needed|date=December 2022}}]]
The initial discovery, a single feather, was unearthed in 1860 or 1861 and described in 1861 by {{lang|de|italics=unset|[[Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer|Hermann von Meyer]]}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Meyer |first=Hermann von |date=15 August 1861 |title=Vogel-Federn und Palpipes priscus von Solenhofen |trans-title=Bird feathers and ''Palpipes priscus'' [a crustacean] from Solenhofen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6RAFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA561 |journal=Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geognosie, Geologie und Petrefaktenkunde |language=de |page=561}} ''"Aus dem lithographischen Schiefer der Brüche von ''Solenhofen'' in ''Bayern'' ist mir in den beiden Gegenplatten eine auf der Ablösungs- oder Spaltungs-Fläche des Gesteins liegende Versteinerung mitgetheilt worden, die mit grosser Deutlichkeit eine Feder erkennen lässt, welche von den Vogel-Federn nicht zu unterscheiden ist."'' (From the lithographic slates of the faults of Solenhofen in Bavaria, there has been reported to me a fossil lying on the stone's surface of detachment or cleavage, in both opposing slabs, which can be recognized with great clarity [to be] a feather, which is indistinguishable from a bird's feather.)</ref> It is now in the [[Natural History Museum, Berlin|Natural History Museum of Berlin]]. Though it was the initial [[holotype]], there were indications that it might not have been from the same animal as the body fossils.<ref name=Griffiths/> In 2019 it was reported that laser imaging had revealed the structure of the quill (which had not been visible since some time after the feather was described), and that the feather was inconsistent with the morphology of all other ''Archaeopteryx'' feathers known, leading to the conclusion that it originated from another dinosaur.<ref name="feather">{{Cite journal |last1=Kaye |first1=T.G. |last2=Pittman |first2=M. |last3=Mayr |first3=G. |last4=Schwarz |first4=D. |last5=Xu |first5=X. |year=2019 |title=Detection of lost calamus challenges identity of isolated ''Archaeopteryx'' feather |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=9 |issue=1 |page=1182 |bibcode=2019NatSR...9.1182K |doi=10.1038/s41598-018-37343-7 |pmc=6362147 |pmid=30718905}}</ref> This conclusion was challenged in 2020 as being unlikely; the feather was identified on the basis of morphology as most likely having been an upper major primary [[covert feather]].<ref name=Carney2020/>

The first skeleton, known as the '''London Specimen''' (BMNH 37001),<ref name=BMNH_37001/> was unearthed in 1861 near {{lang|de|italics=unset|[[Langenaltheim]]}}, Germany, and perhaps given to local physician {{lang|de|italics=unset|Karl Häberlein}} in return for medical services. He then sold it for £700 (roughly £83,000 in 2020<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.in2013dollars.com/uk/inflation/1861?amount=700 |title=UK inflation calculator |access-date=4 April 2020 |archive-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117225656/https://www.in2013dollars.com/uk/inflation/1861?amount=700 |url-status=live }}</ref>) to the [[Natural History Museum, London|Natural History Museum]] in London, where it remains.<ref name=Chiappe_07/> Missing most of its head and neck, it was described in 1863 by [[Richard Owen]] as ''Archaeopteryx macrura'', allowing for the possibility it did not belong to the same species as the feather. In the subsequent fourth edition of his ''On the Origin of Species'',<ref name=Darwin_1/> Charles Darwin described how some authors had maintained "that the whole class of birds came suddenly into existence during the [[eocene]] period; but now we know, on the authority of Professor Owen, that a bird certainly lived during the deposition of the upper greensand; and still more recently, that strange bird, the ''Archaeopteryx'', with a long lizard-like tail, bearing a pair of feathers on each joint, and with its wings furnished with two free claws, has been discovered in the [[Oolite|oolitic]] slates of Solnhofen. Hardly any recent discovery shows more forcibly than this how little we as yet know of the former inhabitants of the world."<ref name=Darwin_2/>

The [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] word {{lang|grc-Latn|archaīos}} ({{wikt-lang|grc|ἀρχαῖος}}) means 'ancient, primeval'. {{lang|grc-Latn|Ptéryx}} primarily means 'wing', but it can also be just 'feather'. Meyer suggested this in his description. At first he referred to a single feather which appeared to resemble a modern bird's [[Flight feather|remex]] (wing feather), but he had heard of and been shown a rough sketch of the [[London]] specimen, to which he referred as a "{{lang|de|Skelett eines mit ähnlichen Federn bedeckten Tieres}}" ("skeleton of an animal covered in similar feathers"). In German, this ambiguity is resolved by the term {{lang|de|Schwinge}} which does not necessarily mean a wing used for flying. {{lang|de|Urschwinge}} was the favoured translation of ''Archaeopteryx'' among German scholars in the late nineteenth century. In English, 'ancient pinion' offers a rough approximation to this.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

Since then, twelve specimens have been recovered:

The '''Berlin Specimen''' (HMN 1880/81) was discovered in 1874 or 1875 on the Blumenberg near {{lang|de|italics=unset|[[Eichstätt]]}}, Germany, by farmer Jakob Niemeyer. He sold this precious [[fossil]] for the money to buy a cow in 1876, to innkeeper Johann Dörr, who again sold it to Ernst Otto Häberlein, the son of K. Häberlein. Placed on sale between 1877 and 1881, with potential buyers including [[O. C. Marsh]] of [[Yale University]]'s Peabody Museum, it eventually was bought for 20,000 [[German gold mark|Goldmark]] by the Berlin's Natural History Museum, where it now is displayed. The transaction was financed by [[Ernst Werner von Siemens]], founder of [[Siemens|the company]] that bears his name.<ref name=Chiappe_07/> Described in 1884 by [[Wilhelm Dames]], it is the most complete specimen, and the first with a complete head. In 1897 it was named by Dames as a new species, ''A. siemensii''; though often considered a synonym of ''A. lithographica'', several 21st century studies have concluded that it is a distinct species which includes the Berlin, Munich, and Thermopolis specimens.<ref name=Elzanowski2002/><ref name=10th_find/>
[[File:Archaeopteryx lithographica (Cast of Maxberg Specimen).jpg|upright|thumb|Cast of the Maxberg Specimen]]
Composed of a torso, the '''[[Maxberg specimen|Maxberg Specimen]]''' (S5) was discovered in 1956 near [[Langenaltheim]]; it was brought to the attention of professor [[Florian Heller]] in 1958 and described by him in 1959. The specimen is missing its head and tail, although the rest of the skeleton is mostly intact. Although it was once exhibited at the [[Maxberg Museum]] in [[Solnhofen]], it is currently missing. It belonged to [[Eduard Opitsch]], who loaned it to the museum until 1974. After his death in 1991, it was discovered that the specimen was missing and may have been stolen or sold.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lost treasures: The Maxberg Archaeopteryx |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328501-800-lost-treasures-the-maxberg-archaeopteryx |last=Hecht |first=Jeff |date=1 February 2012 |access-date=2 June 2022 |website=New Scientist |language=en-US |archive-date=2 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602140934/https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328501-800-lost-treasures-the-maxberg-archaeopteryx/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The '''Haarlem Specimen''' (TM 6428/29, also known as the ''Teylers Specimen'') was discovered in 1855 near {{lang|de|italics=unset|[[Riedenburg]]}}, Germany, and described as a ''[[Pterodactylus]] crassipes'' in 1857 by Meyer. It was reclassified in 1970 by [[John Ostrom]] and is currently located at the [[Teylers Museum]] in [[Haarlem]], the Netherlands. It was the very first specimen found, but was incorrectly classified at the time. It is also one of the least complete specimens, consisting mostly of limb bones, isolated cervical vertebrae, and ribs. In 2017 it was named as a separate genus ''[[Ostromia]]'', considered more closely related to ''[[Anchiornis]]'' from China.<ref name="desc">{{Cite journal |last1=Foth |first1=C. |last2=Rauhut |first2=O.W.M. |date=2017 |title=Re-evaluation of the Haarlem Archaeopteryx and the radiation of maniraptoran theropod dinosaurs |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=17 |issue=1 |page=236 |doi=10.1186/s12862-017-1076-y |pmc=5712154 |pmid=29197327 |bibcode=2017BMCEE..17..236F |doi-access=free}}</ref>
[[File:Archaeopteryx lithographica (Eichstätter Specimen).jpg|thumb|left|Eichstätt Specimen, once considered a distinct genus, ''Jurapteryx'']]
The '''Eichstätt Specimen''' (JM 2257) was discovered in 1951 near [[Workerszell]], Germany, and described by [[Peter Wellnhofer]] in 1974. Currently located at the [[Jura Museum]] in Eichstätt, Germany, it is the smallest known specimen and has the second-best head. It is possibly a separate genus (''Jurapteryx recurva'') or species (''A. recurva'').<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Howgate |first=M. E. |date=September 1984 |title=The teeth of Archaeopteryx and a reinterpretation of the Eichstätt specimen |url=https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-lookup/doi/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1984.tb00540.x |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |language=en |volume=82 |issue=1–2 |pages=159–175 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.1984.tb00540.x |archive-date=15 August 2022 |access-date=21 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815210439/https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-lookup/doi/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1984.tb00540.x |url-status=live }}</ref>

The '''Solnhofen Specimen''' (unnumbered specimen) was discovered in the 1970s near Eichstätt, Germany, and described in 1988 by Wellnhofer. Currently located at the [[Bürgermeister-Müller-Museum]] in Solnhofen, it originally was classified as ''[[Compsognathus]]'' by an amateur collector, the same mayor Friedrich Müller after which the museum is named. It is the largest specimen known and may belong to a separate genus and species, ''[[Wellnhoferia]] grandis''. It is missing only portions of the neck, tail, backbone, and head.<ref>Elżanowski A 2001b. "[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228707898_A_new_genus_and_species_for_the_largest_specimen_of_Archaeopteryx A new genus and species for the largest specimen of Archaeopteryx] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909102548/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228707898_A_new_genus_and_species_for_the_largest_specimen_of_Archaeopteryx |date=9 September 2022 }}". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 46: 519–532.</ref>

The '''Munich Specimen''' (BSP 1999 I 50, formerly known as the ''Solenhofer-Aktien-Verein Specimen'') was discovered on 3 August 1992 near Langenaltheim and described in 1993 by Wellnhofer. It is currently located at the [[Paläontologisches Museum München]] in Munich, to which it was sold in 1999 for 1.9 million [[Deutschmark]]. What was initially believed to be a bony [[sternum]] turned out to be part of the [[coracoid]],<ref name=Wellnhofer/> but a [[cartilaginous]] sternum may have been present. Only the front of its face is missing. It has been used as the basis for a distinct species, ''A. bavarica'',<ref>Wellnhofer, Peter. ''Archaeopteryx. Der Urvogel Von Solnhofen''. München: Friedrich Pfeil, 2008, p. 54.</ref> but more recent studies suggest it belongs to ''A. siemensii''.<ref name=10th_find/>

[[File:Archaeopteryx (Daiting Specimen).jpg|thumb|Daiting Specimen, the [[holotype]] of ''A. albersdoerferi'']]
An eighth, fragmentary specimen was discovered in 1990 in the younger [[Mörnsheim Formation]] at [[Daiting]], [[Suevia]]. Therefore, it is known as the '''Daiting Specimen''', and had been known since 1996 only from a cast, briefly shown at the [[Naturkundemuseum]] in [[Bamberg]]. The original was purchased by palaeontologist Raimund Albertsdörfer in 2009.<ref name=Sensation/> It was on display for the first time with six other original fossils of ''Archaeopteryx'' at the Munich Mineral Show in October 2009.<ref name=Sammler/> The Daiting Specimen was subsequently named ''Archaeopteryx albersdoerferi'' by Kundrat et al. (2018).<ref name=Wiedergefundener/><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kundrát |first1=Martin |last2=Nudds |first2=John |last3=Kear |first3=Benjamin P. |last4=Lü |first4=Junchang |last5=Ahlberg |first5=Per |year=2019 |title=The first specimen of ''Archaeopteryx'' from the Upper Jurassic Mörnsheim Formation of Germany |journal=Historical Biology |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=3–63 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2018.1518443 |bibcode=2019HBio...31....3K |s2cid=91497638}}</ref> After a lengthy period in a closed private collection, it was moved to the Museum of Evolution at [[Knuthenborg Safaripark]] (Denmark) in 2022, where it has since been on display and also been made available for researchers.<ref>{{cite news | last=Frandsen | first=P.N. | date=16 November 2022 | title=Verdens vigtigste fossil kommer til Lolland | url=https://folketidende.dk/lolland/verdens-vigtigste-fossil-kommer-til-lolland | publisher=Folketidende | access-date=1 July 2023 | language=da | archive-date=1 July 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701100658/https://folketidende.dk/lolland/verdens-vigtigste-fossil-kommer-til-lolland | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | date=15 November 2022 | title=Knuthenborg Safaripark åbner sin største satsning nogensinde | url=https://via.ritzau.dk/pressemeddelelse/knuthenborg-safaripark-abner-sin-storste-satsning-nogensinde?publisherId=13560971&releaseId=13664363 | publisher=Ritzau | access-date=1 July 2023 | language=da | archive-date=1 July 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701100658/https://via.ritzau.dk/pressemeddelelse/knuthenborg-safaripark-abner-sin-storste-satsning-nogensinde?publisherId=13560971&releaseId=13664363 | url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Archaeopteryx (Chicken Wing).jpg|thumb|left|Bürgermeister-Müller ("chicken wing") Specimen]]
Another fragmentary fossil was found in 2000. It is in private possession and, since 2004, on loan to the [[Bürgermeister-Müller Museum]] in Solnhofen, so it is called the '''Bürgermeister-Müller Specimen'''; the institute itself officially refers to it as the "Exemplar of the families Ottman & Steil, Solnhofen". As the fragment represents the remains of a single wing of ''Archaeopteryx'', it is colloquially known as "chicken wing".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Voeten |first1=Dennis F. A. E. |last2=Cubo |first2=Jorge |last3=de Margerie |first3=Emmanuel |last4=Röper |first4=Martin |last5=Beyrand |first5=Vincent |last6=Bureš |first6=Stanislav |last7=Tafforeau |first7=Paul |last8=Sanchez |first8=Sophie |date=2018 |title=Wing bone geometry reveals active flight in Archaeopteryx |url=https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03296-8 |journal=Nature Communications |volume=9 |issue=923 |page=6 |bibcode=2018NatCo...9..923V |doi=10.1038/s41467-018-03296-8 |pmc=5849612 |pmid=29535376 |access-date=17 June 2022}}</ref>
[[File:Thermopolis skeleton.jpg|thumb|Details of the Wyoming Dinosaur Center Archaeopteryx (WDC-CSG-100)]]
Long in a private collection in Switzerland, the '''Thermopolis Specimen''' (WDC CSG 100) was discovered in Bavaria and described in 2005 by Mayr, Pohl, and Peters. Donated to the [[Wyoming Dinosaur Center]] in [[Thermopolis, Wyoming]], it has the best-preserved head and feet; most of the neck and the lower jaw have not been preserved. The "Thermopolis" specimen was described on 2 December 2005 ''Science'' journal article as "A well-preserved ''Archaeopteryx'' specimen with theropod features"; it shows that ''Archaeopteryx'' lacked a reversed toe—a universal feature of birds—limiting its ability to perch on branches and implying a terrestrial or trunk-climbing lifestyle.<ref name=Mayr_1/> This has been interpreted as evidence of [[Theropoda|theropod]] ancestry. In 1988, [[Gregory S. Paul]] claimed to have found evidence of a hyperextensible second toe,<ref name=Paul_1988/> but this was not verified and accepted by other scientists until the Thermopolis specimen was described. "Until now, the feature was thought to belong only to the species' close relatives, the deinonychosaurs."<ref name=Natgeo1/> The Thermopolis Specimen was assigned to ''Archaeopteryx siemensii'' in 2007.<ref name=10th_find/> The specimen is considered to represent the most complete and best-preserved ''Archaeopteryx'' remains yet.<ref name=10th_find/>
[[File:Eleventh Archaeopteryx specimen.jpg|alt=|thumb|The eleventh specimen]]
The discovery of an eleventh specimen was announced in 2011; it was described in 2014. It is one of the more complete specimens, but is missing much of the skull and one forelimb. It is privately owned and has yet to be given a name.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Switek |first=Brian |date=19 October 2011 |title=Paleontologists Unveil the 11th Archaeopteryx |url=http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/2011/10/paleontologists-unveil-the-11th-archaeopteryx/ |website=Dinosaur Tracking Blog |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=30 October 2011 |archive-date=22 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111022024203/http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/2011/10/paleontologists-unveil-the-11th-archaeopteryx/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hecht |first=Jeff |date=20 October 2011 |title=Another stunning Archaeopteryx fossil found in Germany |url=https://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/10/stunning-new-archaeopteryx-fos.html |journal=New Scientist |archive-date=21 March 2015 |access-date=24 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321065515/http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/10/stunning-new-archaeopteryx-fos.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Palaeontologists of the [[Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich]] studied the specimen, which revealed previously unknown features of the plumage, such as feathers on both the upper and lower legs and [[metatarsus]], and the only preserved tail tip.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Foth |first1=C |last2=Tischlinger |first2=H |last3=Rauhut |first3=O. W |date=3 July 2014 |title=New specimen of ''Archaeopteryx'' provides insights into the evolution of pennaceous feathers |journal=Nature |volume=511 |issue=7507 |pages=79–82 |bibcode=2014Natur.511...79F |doi=10.1038/nature13467 |pmid=24990749 |s2cid=4464659}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=First show off, then take off |date=3 July 2014 |url=http://www.en.uni-muenchen.de/news/press-services/press-releases/2014/archaeopteryx.html |publisher=Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707074102/http://www.en.uni-muenchen.de/news/press-services/press-releases/2014/archaeopteryx.html |archive-date=7 July 2014}}</ref>

A twelfth specimen had been discovered by an amateur collector in 2010 at the Schamhaupten quarry, but the finding was only announced in February 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Schamhaupten: Fossil des Archaeopteryx entdeckt |url=http://www.donaukurier.de/lokales/kurzmeldungen/riedenburg/Fossil-des-Archaeopteryx-entdeckt;art74375,2880005#plx982820499 |website=donaukurier.de |access-date=18 February 2014 |archive-date=19 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019150803/http://www.donaukurier.de/lokales/kurzmeldungen/riedenburg/Fossil-des-Archaeopteryx-entdeckt;art74375,2880005#plx982820499 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was scientifically described in 2018. It represents a complete and mostly articulated skeleton with skull. It is the only specimen lacking preserved feathers. It is from the [[Painten Formation]] and somewhat older than the other specimens.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rauhut |first1=Oliver W.M. |last2=Foth |first2=Christian |last3=Tischlinger |first3=Helmut |year=2018 |title=The oldest ''Archaeopteryx'' (Theropoda: Avialiae): a new specimen from the Kimmeridgian/Tithonian boundary of Schamhaupten, Bavaria |journal=PeerJ |volume=6 |pages=e4191 |doi=10.7717/peerj.4191 |pmc=5788062 |pmid=29383285 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

A thirteenth specimen, '''SMNK-PAL 10,000''', was published in January 2025, this one from the [[Mörnsheim Formation]]. It preserves the right forelimb, shoulder, and fragments of the other limbs, with various features of the shoulder and forelimb resembling ''Archaeopteryx'' more than any other avialan within the Mörnsheim Formation. However, due to the fragmentary nature of this specimen, it cannot be assigned to a specific species within ''Archaeopteryx''.<ref name=Foth2025>{{cite journal |last1=Foth |first1=Christian |last2=van de Kamp |first2=Thomas |last3=Tischlinger |first3=Helmut |last4=Kantelis |first4=Theron |last5=Carney |first5=Ryan M. |last6=Zuber |first6=Marcus |last7=Hamann |first7=Elias |last8=Wallaard |first8=Jonathan J. W. |last9=Lenz |first9=Norbert |last10=Rauhut |first10=Oliver W. M. |last11=Frey |first11=Eberhard |title=A new Archaeopteryx from the lower Tithonian Mörnsheim Formation at Mühlheim (Late Jurassic) |journal=Fossil Record |date=3 January 2025 |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=17–43 |doi=10.3897/fr.28.e131671|doi-access=free }}</ref>

[[File:The Chicago Archaeopteryx, Field Museum, Chicago.jpg|thumb|The Chicago archaeopteryx]]
The existence of a fourteenth specimen (the '''Chicago specimen''') was first informally announced in 2024 by the [[Field Museum of Natural History|Field Museum]] in Chicago, US. One of two specimens in an institution outside Europe, the specimen was originally identified in a private collection in [[Switzerland]], and had been acquired by these collectors in 1990, prior to Germany's 2015 ban on exporting ''Archaeopteryx'' specimens. The specimen was acquired by the Field Museum in 2022, and went on public display in 2024 following two years of preparation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meet the Chicago Archaeopteryx - Field Museum |url=https://www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibition/meet-the-chicago-archaeopteryx |access-date=6 May 2024 |website=www.fieldmuseum.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tribune |first=Jennifer Day {{!}} Chicago |date=6 May 2024 |title=Field Museum has a new fossil of an avian dinosaur, unveiled at an event Monday |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/05/06/field-museum-has-a-new-fossil-of-an-avian-dinosaur-unveiled-at-an-event-monday/ |access-date=6 May 2024 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US |archive-date=17 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240617222229/https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/05/06/field-museum-has-a-new-fossil-of-an-avian-dinosaur-unveiled-at-an-event-monday/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2025, the paleornithologist [[Jingmai O'Connor]] and colleagues officially published a study describing this fourteenth specimen, reporting the first known [[Flight feather#Tertials|tertials]] (specialized inner secondary flight feathers) and other novel features in ''Archaeopteryx''.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal|last1=O'Connor |first1=J. |last2=Clark |first2=A. |last3=Kuo |first3=P.-C. |last4=Kiat |first4=Y. |last5=Fabbri |first5=M. |last6=Shinya |first6=A. |last7=Van Beek |first7=C. |last8=Lu |first8=J. |last9=Wang |first9=M. |last10=Hu |first10=H. |year=2025 |title=Chicago ''Archaeopteryx'' informs on the early evolution of the avian bauplan |journal=Nature |pages=1–7 |doi=10.1038/s41586-025-08912-4 }}</ref>

=== Authenticity ===
Beginning in 1985, an amateur group including astronomer [[Fred Hoyle]] and physicist [[Lee Spetner]], published a series of papers claiming that the feathers on the Berlin and London specimens of ''Archaeopteryx'' were forged.<ref name=Hoyle_85/><ref name=RSW_85a/><ref name=RSW_85b/><ref name=RSW_85c/> Their claims were repudiated by [[Alan J. Charig]] and others at the [[Natural History Museum, London|Natural History Museum in London]].<ref name=ACetal86/> Most of their supposed evidence for a forgery was based on unfamiliarity with the processes of [[lithification]]; for example, they proposed that, based on the difference in texture associated with the feathers, feather impressions were applied to a thin layer of [[cement]],<ref name=RSW_85a/> without realizing that feathers themselves would have caused a textural difference.<ref name=ACetal86/> They also misinterpreted the fossils, claiming that the tail was forged as one large feather,<ref name=RSW_85a/> when visibly this is not the case.<ref name=ACetal86/> In addition, they claimed that the other specimens of ''Archaeopteryx'' known at the time did not have feathers,<ref name=Hoyle_85/><ref name=RSW_85a/> which is incorrect; the Maxberg and Eichstätt specimens have obvious feathers.<ref name=ACetal86/>

They also expressed disbelief that slabs would split so smoothly, or that one half of a slab containing fossils would have good preservation, but not the [[counterslab]].<ref name="Hoyle_85"/><ref name="RSW_85b"/> These are common properties of Solnhofen fossils, because the dead animals would fall onto hardened surfaces, which would form a natural plane for the future slabs to split along and would leave the bulk of the fossil on one side and little on the other.<ref name="ACetal86"/>

Finally, the motives they suggested for a forgery are not strong, and are contradictory; one is that Richard Owen wanted to forge evidence in support of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, which is unlikely given Owen's views toward Darwin and his theory. The other is that Owen wanted to set a trap for Darwin, hoping the latter would support the fossils so Owen could discredit him with the forgery; this is unlikely because Owen wrote a detailed paper on the London specimen, so such an action would certainly backfire.<ref name="Talk_Origin_1"/>

Charig ''et al.'' pointed to the presence of hairline cracks in the slabs running through both rock and fossil impressions, and mineral growth over the slabs that had occurred before discovery and preparation, as evidence that the feathers were original.<ref name=ACetal86/> Spetner ''et al.'' then attempted to show that the cracks would have propagated naturally through their postulated cement layer,<ref name=LMS88/> but neglected to account for the fact that the cracks were old and had been filled with [[calcite]], and thus were not able to propagate.<ref name=Talk_Origin_1/> They also attempted to show the presence of cement on the London specimen through [[X-ray spectroscopy]], and did find something that was not rock;<ref name=LMS88/> it was not cement either, and is most probably a fragment of silicone rubber left behind when moulds were made of the specimen.<ref name=Talk_Origin_1/> Their suggestions have not been taken seriously by palaeontologists, as their evidence was largely based on misunderstandings of geology, and they never discussed the other feather-bearing specimens, which have increased in number since then. Charig ''et al.'' reported a discolouration: a dark band between two layers of limestone – they say it is the product of sedimentation.<ref name=ACetal86/> It is natural for limestone to take on the colour of its surroundings and most limestones are coloured (if not colour banded) to some degree, so the darkness was attributed to such impurities.<ref name=Encarta/> They also mention that a complete absence of air bubbles in the rock slabs is further proof that the specimen is authentic.<ref name=ACetal86/>