Archaeopteryx

See also: archaeopteryx, Archäopteryx, and archæopteryx

Translingual

Archaeopteryx lithographica (Solenhofener Specimen)

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀρχαῖος (arkhaîos, “ancient”) with πτέρυξ (ptérux, “wing”).

Proper noun

†Archaeopteryx f

1. A taxonomic genus within the family Archaeopterygidae – known from fossils and widely accepted as the earliest and most primitive known bird.

   Synonym: Archaeornis

   • 2023 June 3, Carl Zimmer, “How Did Birds First Take Off?”, in The New York Times‎^[1] (in English):

     The first big clue to the origin of birds came in 1861, when quarry workers in Solnhofen, Germany, found a spectacular fossil of a 145-million-year-old bird that came to be called Archaeopteryx. It had feathered wings like living birds, but also had traits found in reptiles, such as teeth, claws and a long bony tail.

Related terms

• Archaeopteris

Further reading

• Archaeopteryx on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Archaeopteryx on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Archaeopteryx on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
• Archaeopteryx at Paleobiology Database