Dino card No. 0152 of 2,015

Archaeopteryx

Say it: ar-kee-OP-ter-ix

Name means: “ancient wing”1

Ate: MeatEarly birdsLate Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Archaeopteryx was a small, bird-like dinosaur that lived about 150 million years ago. It had feathers and wings like a bird, but also sharp teeth and a long bony tail like other dinosaurs. Scientists think it could fly or glide, making it one of the earliest known flying dinosaurs.2 1

Lived

149 to 121 million years ago3

Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Germany and Spain2 1 3

Food

Meat2 3

Length

0.5 m1

Wingspan

0.7 m1

Weight

0.5 kg to 1 kg1

Artist's life restoration of Archaeopteryx — How Archaeopteryx may have looked, by NobuTamura http://paleoexhibit.blogspot.com/ http://spinops.blogspot.com/. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Scientists still argue about colours and details.

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

Archaeopteryx was about the size of a magpie or a raven, with a body length of up to 50 centimetres.1

It had broad, rounded wings and a long tail, and its feathers were very similar to those of modern birds.1

Unlike modern birds, Archaeopteryx had small, sharp teeth and a long bony tail.2 1

All known fossils of Archaeopteryx come from limestone quarries near Solnhofen in Germany, which was once a lagoon surrounded by subtropical islands.2 1

The first Archaeopteryx fossil was discovered in 1861, and it was the first dinosaur ever found with feathers.2 1

Scientists are not sure if Archaeopteryx could truly fly or if it only glided from tree to tree.2

It lived during the Late Jurassic Period, about 150 million years ago, when Europe was a warm, tropical archipelago.2 1

Myth buster

Myth: Archaeopteryx is the oldest known bird.

Truth: Older bird-like dinosaurs such as Anchiornis, Xiaotingia, and Aurornis have since been discovered, so Archaeopteryx is no longer considered the oldest.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Archaeopteryx
Named by: Meyer 18613
Group: Early birds
Family / clade: Avialae3
Classification: Theropoda > Avialae3
Age of the rocks: 149 to 121 million years (Tithonian to Barremian)3
Rock formations: Altmühltal, Solnhofen, Camarillas3
Countries: Germany, Spain3
Fossil records: 10 in the Paleobiology Database3
Also known as: Archaeornis, Griphosaurus (older names now counted as the same animal)3
Discovery: Archaeopteryx was named by German paleontologist Hermann von Meyer in 1861, based on a single feather found in the Solnhofen limestone in Germany. The first skeleton was discovered later that same year.3 2 1
Still debated: Scientists still debate whether Archaeopteryx was mainly a ground-dweller or lived in trees, and whether it could truly fly or only glide.1 2

Where the facts come from

Archaeopteryx (en.wikipedia.org)
Archaeopteryx | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
Archaeopteryx in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@dinowiki.app and we will fix it.