Archaeopteryx
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| Archaeopteryx Fossil range: Late Jurassic |
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 A model of Archaeopteryx lithographica
on display at the Oxford University Museum Many Archaeopteryx models have red such as this one. |
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| Archaeopteryx lithographica Meyer, 1861 |
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see text |
The Archaeopteryx is a prehistoric animal from the Late Jurassic. It is the link between reptiles and birds.
The first Archaeopteryx was found in 1860 near Solnhofen in Bavaria, Germany. Today, nine skeletons and one feather of Archaeopteryx have been found.
The Archaeopteryx looks like a bird with feathers, but it had a mouth with teeth, claws at the hands and a long tail like dinosaurs or reptiles. Today, it is known that some dinosaurs looked like birds and that some had feathers. When they are born, today's South American hoatzin birds have claws on their wings when they are young just like Archaeopteryx. It usually ate meat but it might have been an omnivore.
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