Date: December 4, 2017
Source: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen
(LMU)
Paleontologists at
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich correct a case of
misinterpretation: The first fossil "Archaeopteryx" to be discovered
is actually a predatory dinosaur belonging to the anchiornithid family, which
was previously known only from finds made in China.
Even 150 million years after its
first appearance on our planet, Archaeopteryx is still good for surprises. The
so-called Urvogel has attained an iconic status well beyond the world of
paleontology, and it is one of the most famous fossils ever recovered. In all,
a dozen fossil specimens have been assigned to the genus. Archaeopteryx remains
the oldest known bird fossil, not only documenting the evolutionary transition
from reptiles to birds, but also confirming that modern birds are the direct
descendants of carnivorous dinosaurs. LMU paleontologist Oliver Rauhut and
Christian Foth from the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde in Stuttgart have
re-examined the so-called Haarlem specimen of Archaeopteryx, which is kept in
Teylers Museum in that Dutch city and has gone down in history as the first
member of this genus to be discovered.
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