[archaeopteryx] Archaeopteryx, the oldest-known fossil bird, has provided paleontologists with valuable clues about the evolutionary relationship between dinosaurs and birds.

The ability to fly and other characteristics-especially feathers and a bird-like wishbone-separate Archaeopteryx from reptiles. But it had many anatomical features that reveal its kinship to certain small flesh-eating dinosaurs; including the shape of its skull, its small, sharply pointed teeth, and the structures of its hips, legs, and tail.



Courtesy of the National Museum of Natural History

Archaeopteryx Lithographica


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