Archaeopteryx

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Archaeopteryx skeleton

Side-by-side illustration comparing a modern black-and-white bird on the left with a feathered dinosaur, Archaeopteryx, on the right, both with wings spread.

Dr. Jingmai O'Connor smiles and gestures toward a fossil of Archaeopteryx on display at the Field Museum, with exhibit text visible in the background.

The origins of birds.

Illustration of Archaeopteryx, a small feathered dinosaur from the Late Jurassic, showing bird-like wings with clawed fingers, sharp teeth, and a long feathered tail with a bony core. Measurement bars above indicate its length and wingspan of about 2 feet.

Diagram showing evolutionary relationships among archosaurs, dinosaurs, modern crocodiles, the small dinosaur Troodon, the ancestral bird Archaeopteryx, and a modern chicken, with arrows tracing lineage from archosaurs to both crocodiles and birds.

At a Glance

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archaeopteryx summary

Archaeopteryx: Media

fossil animal genus

Videos

Side-by-side illustration comparing a modern black-and-white bird on the left with a feathered dinosaur, Archaeopteryx, on the right, both with wings spread.

How Are Birds and Dinosaurs Related?

If some dinosaurs had feathers, does that make them birds?

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Dr. Jingmai O'Connor smiles and gestures toward a fossil of Archaeopteryx on display at the Field Museum, with exhibit text visible in the background.

Archaeopteryx: The Holy Grail of Fossils

Archaeopteryx is the earliest known dinosaur that's also a bird.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Images

Archaeopteryx skeleton

Archaeopteryx skeleton

Archaeopteryx skeleton, cast made from a fossil found in limestone matrix.

Courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History, New York

Illustration of Archaeopteryx, a small feathered dinosaur from the Late Jurassic, showing bird-like wings with clawed fingers, sharp teeth, and a long feathered tail with a bony core. Measurement bars above indicate its length and wingspan of about 2 feet.

Archaeopteryx

Archaeopteryx, a late Jurassic dinosaur, is also considered the first known...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

bird evolution

bird evolution

Four stages in the evolution of modern birds.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Diagram showing evolutionary relationships among archosaurs, dinosaurs, modern crocodiles, the small dinosaur Troodon, the ancestral bird Archaeopteryx, and a modern chicken, with arrows tracing lineage from archosaurs to both crocodiles and birds.

structural relationships

Structural relationship between Troodon (a dinosaur) and Archaeopteryx...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Interactives

The origins of birds.

The origins of birds.

Join the search for how birds evolved from Mesozoic-era dinosaurs in our interactive.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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