archaeopteryx

Everyday

Archaeopteryx was a small animal that lived about 150 million years ago and had features of both dinosaurs and birds: feathers and wings, but also teeth, claws and a long bony tail. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons about evolution and fossils, Archaeopteryx is a famous link between dinosaurs and birds. Its fossils were found in limestone in Germany. It was about the size of a crow or magpie. Scientists still discuss how well it could fly. Name: Greek for ancient wing.

Examples

• Archaeopteryx had feathers like a bird and teeth like a dinosaur. tree →
• The first Archaeopteryx fossil was found in Germany. tree →
• Archaeopteryx was about the size of a magpie. tree →
• Our museum has a cast of an Archaeopteryx fossil. tree →
• Archaeopteryx helps show that birds came from dinosaurs. tree →
• Could Archaeopteryx really fly? Scientists still argue about it. tree →

Note

As the name of the creature in science it is often written with a capital A and in italics. Said ar-kee-OP-ter-ix. Hard spelling: archae + opteryx. It is not a pterodactyl; pterosaurs were flying reptiles, not birds.