Archaeopteryx

Archaeopteryx (AH - kee - OP - tuh - rix) was a small birdlike dinosaur, about the size of a present-day crow. Its skeleton was very similar to that of some theropod dinosaurs-it had a four-toed foot with the first toe reversed to the other three; a three-fingered hand; a long, straight, bony tail; teeth; curved claws on the hands and feet; and a large crest on the upper arm bone.

The most strikingly birdlike feature of Archaeopteryx is the feathers. Not only did this dinosaur clearly have feathers, but these were arranged in exactly the same pattern as feathers on the wings of modern birds. Since its initial discovery there has been some debate about what kind of reptiles Archaeopteryx is most closely related to. We now recognize that its closest relatives are some theropod dinosaurs, such as the dromaeosaurs and the oviraptors. In fact, the skeleton of Archaeopteryx is so theropod-like that one specimen found without feathers was for many years mistakenly identified as the small theropod Compsognathus.

In Jurassic Park merchandise

 * Archaeopteryx is a key fossil in the theory that birds evolved from dinosaurs (e.g. that birds are dinosaurs). A theory that Alan Grant endorses.
 * Archaeopteryx can be created from Paleo-DNA in Jurassic Park III: Park Builder.

Links

 * myjurassicpark
 * Archaeopteryx on Wikipedia