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sharp-clawed runner
Archaeopteryx
Say it like this: “AHR-kee-OP-ter-iks”
Archaeopteryx lithographica
Archaeopteryx ate bugs and other small animals and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in Germany.
- When
- Late Jurassic (Tithonian) · roughly 149.2 to 143.1 million years ago
- Named in
- 1861 · Meyer, H. V.
- Hip height
- 0.2 m · 1 ft
- Length
- 0.5 m · 2 ft
- Weight
- 1 kg · 2 lb
- Found in
- Germany · Altmühltal
- Food and walking
- Insectivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Avialae
The story in short
The genus Archaeopteryx dates to 1861, the year H. V. Meyer described it. The name means “ancient wing.”
It lived in the Late Jurassic (Tithonian), roughly 149.2 to 143.1 million years ago. Finds come from Germany, including the Altmühltal Formation. It was an insectivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Archaeopteryx at a length near 0.5 m, hips about 0.2 m high, and a body mass around 1 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Avialae, among the theropod dinosaurs.