Archaeopteryx Essay

The understanding of the fossil record on the development of ideas in relation to the history of life of Earth has increased rapidly over the past decades due to more discoveries being made and a significant expansion of knowledge of scientists and discovery groups.

The common fossil, Archaeopteryx, is a breed of bird-like dinosaurs which is between feathered dinosaurs and modern birds. As of the 19th and early 21st century, Archaeopteryx had been accepted by palaeontologists as the oldest known bird of its kind. Archaeopteryx had lived in the Late Jurassic about 150 million years ago and has now transferred to southern Germany for geological reasons.

Over many years, there has been twelve body fossil specimens of Archaeopteryx found and
It was described by Hermann Van Meyer in 1857. It is currently located at the Teylers Museum in Haarlem, Netherlands. This one is the most incomplete specimen of the twelve discovered.

The Eichstatt Specimen was discovered in 1951 in Workweszell, Germany and described by Peter Wellnhofer in 1974. This is the smallest specimen discovered and is currently located at the Juda Museum, Germany.

The Solnhofen Specimen was discovered in the 1970s in Eichstatt Germany and was described by Wellnhofer in 1988. This discovery is currently located at the Burgermeister-Muller Museum. This is the largest specimen and is missing portions of the tail, backbone, neck and head.

The Munich Specimen was discovered on August 3rd, 1992, in Langenaltheim and was also described in 1993 by Wellnhofer. It is located in the Palaontologisches Museum in Munich. It is believed to be only missing its face. This specimen has been commonly used as the basis for the distinct species.

The Daiting Specimen was discovered in 1990 but was not found in Solnhofen limestone, but in younger sediments. It was first on display in 2009 with six other original fossils of archaeopteryx at the Munich Mineral
It is of private possession and is currently on the loan to the Burgermeister-Muller Museum since 2004. Due to the fragment representing the remains of a single wing of Archaeopteryx, it is commonly known as the “chicken wing”.

The Thermopolis Specimen was discovered in Bavaria and was described in 2005 by Mayr, Pohl and Peters. It was donated to the Wyoming Dinosaur Center. It apparently had the best preserved head as well as feet.

The eleventh discovery was announced in 2011, and was described in 2014. This specimen is missing a partial amount of its head and also one forelimb. It is privately owned hence there is no name given or other information available yet.
The twelfth specimen had been discovered by amateur collectors in 2010 at the Schamhaupten Quarry. The finding was only announced in February 2014 hence there is no scientific name or description yet.

In 2011, a group of scientists performed the first study on an Archaeopteryx specimen. Using scanning electron microscopy technology and energy-dispersive X Ray analysis, the team were able to detect information using the single feather specimen which was described in