Word: archaeopteryxes
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...more than a century, many scientists have assumed that the forefather of all birds was a pigeon-size creature that looked like a dinosaur with feathers. Now, however, the 150 million-year-old Archaeopteryx has apparently been dethroned by a specimen named Protoavis ("first bird"), which lived 75 million years before Archaeopteryx. Last week's announcement was based on two fragmentary fossil skeletons found in the arid badlands of western Texas in 1984 by Texas Tech University Paleontologist Sankar Chatterjee. They suggest that Protoavis was a contemporary of the earliest dinosaurs. "If the identification is correct," says Yale Paleobiologist John...
When unearthed in 1861 from a German quarry, Archaeopteryx seemed an ideal argument for the then new theories of evolution. Its reptilian brain and scaly head, combined with an avian wishbone and cloak of feathers, led many scientists to hail it as a missing link between reptiles and birds. But Protoavis has even more birdlike features than its younger cousin, Chatterjee believes. While both species have wishbones and forelimbs elongated into wings, he points out, the older fossil also has a bird's wide eye sockets, a large braincase and a breastbone designed to anchor muscles used in flight. Tiny...
When paleontology Student Douglas Lawson set out to explore Texas' Big Bend National Park three years ago, he was confident that his fossil hunt would be productive. After all, remnants of creatures ranging from the ferocious dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex to the first true bird, Archaeopteryx, had already been unearthed in the fossil-rich wasteland. What Lawson found exceeded his wildest hopes: fragments of huge wing bones imbedded in a sandstone outcropping in a remote part of the park. Now, after comparing the bones with the remains of similar creatures found elsewhere, Lawson has announced that they belong...
...fact, except for a lack of feathers, corallestris has a strong resemblance to the first true bird, archaeopteryx, which made its appearance toward the end of the age of dinosaurs. Thus Thomel thinks that examination of the dinosaur's fowl-like characteristics may shed some light on the evolution of reptiles into birds. Trouble is, he says, scientists may never get the chance to look for more specimens. In September the government expropriated the area for a missile and artillery range for the French army. Defense Minister Michel Debré has promised that the government will continue to allow...
When he examined the specimen under a microscope, Ostrom noticed a feature on "Archy" that had not been preserved on the three other known Archaeopteryx fossils. It was the faint imprint of a horny sheath-or fingernail-like covering-on the three claws protruding from each of the wings of these ancient birds. Resembling the talons of a contemporary eagle, these razor-sharp, miniature scythes were obviously better suited for catching and slicing up prey than for scampering up the trunks of trees. Thus, Ostrom suggests, Archaeopteryx's lizard-like forebears probably launched themselves into the air from...