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The first piece of evidence that birds existed in the late Jurassic times was the single secondary flight feather discovered in 1860. The discovery caused quite a sensation when it was reported by Hermann von Meyer in 1861. Soon after, the skeleton of a feathered creature named was unearthed from the Solnhofen Plattenkalke. This Archaeopteryx specimen is known as the "London Specimen" becasuse it now resides at the British Museum in London. It had a long reptilian tail and would have been classified a reptile were it not for the fine grain limestone which preserved the subtle impressions of feathered wings. The amazing discovery first described by Hermann von Meyer in 1861 was named Archaeopteryx meaning "ancient wing"with species name lithographica which refers to the lithographic limestone which preserved the bird in such fine detail. The first Archaeopteryx specimen (specimen #443)was actually discovered in 1855, but was misstakenly thought to be a reptile until it was correctly identified by John Ostrom in 1970. The most famous of all, "The Berlin Specimen" was discovered in 1877. It has astonishing detail of the feathers captured outstreached as if still in flight. The splendid skull and fine detail of the skeleton provided a rare glimpse into the character of the earliest birds. It was 100 years before another Archaeopteryx was discovered. Scientists still debate whether Archaeopteryx was actually able to fly for long periods of time. Some believe that the wings served only to better enable Archeopteryx to run and hop. Some suggest that Archaeopteryx was able to climb to high places and then could glide down to capture unsuspecting prey below. New evidence from the most recently discovered specimen, found in 1992 (see specimen #445), suggests the presence of a bony breastbone, evidence that Archaeoptryx actually flapped its wings. Whether it actually flew or just flapped its wings in pre-flight, it is still the earliest evidence of the conquest of the air by feathered birds. |
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