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3mo ago

Chicago Archaeopteryx Reveals New Insights into Early Bird Flight

The Field Museum's specimen, detailed in a new Nature study, showcases advanced flight adaptations and evolutionary traits preserved through meticulous preparation.

A fossil of the Jurassic bird Archaeopteryx, which lived about 150 million years ago in what is now Germany, is pictured under UV light to show soft tissues alongside the skeleton, in the collection of the Field Museum in Chicago, in this undated photograph. Delaney Drummond/Field Museum/Handout via REUTERS NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY
A life reconstruction of the Jurassic bird Archaeopteryx, which lived about 150 million years ago in what is now Germany, including its tertial feathers that would have helped it fly, is seen in this undated image released by the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Michael Rothman/Handout via REUTERS NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY
The Chicago Archaeopteryx. Image credit: Delaney Drummond / Field Museum.

Overview

  • The Chicago Archaeopteryx, the most complete and best-preserved specimen of its kind, was analyzed using CT scans and UV light to reveal soft tissues and skeletal details.
  • For the first time, researchers identified long tertial feathers on Archaeopteryx, confirming it had adaptations for powered flight unlike its non-avian dinosaur relatives.
  • Soft tissues in the hands and feet suggest the species spent significant time on the ground and may have been capable of climbing trees.
  • Cranial features in the fossil provide evidence for the early evolution of cranial kinesis, a trait that allows modern birds to move their beaks independently of their skulls.
  • Acquired by the Field Museum in 2022 after decades in private hands, the fossil is now central to ongoing research into the origins of avian flight and bird evolution.