Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Archaeopteryx
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images, Videos & Interactives
Archaeopteryx skeleton
How are birds and dinosaurs related?
Archaeopteryx: The holy grail of fossils
The origins of birds. Archaeopteryx bird evolution structural relationships
For Students
archaeopteryx summary
Quizzes
Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters
Animal Group Names
Lion (panthera leo)
Deadliest Animals Quiz
Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)
Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz
Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)
Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz
vulture. An adult bearded vulture at a raptor recovery center. The Gypaetus barbatus also known as the Lammergeier or Lammergeyer, is a bird of prey and considered an Old World vulture.
Animal Factoids
Related Questions
Read Next
Artwork of the Cretaceous dinosaur dineobellator, whose remains have been found in North America. This animal was around 2.5 to 3 metres in length, weighed up to 40 kg, and there is evidence that it had feathers.
How Do We Know That Dinosaurs May Have Had Feathers?
illustration of the walking titanosaurus, Patagotitan mayorum
Titanosaurs: 8 of the World's Biggest Dinosaurs
Two dinosaur heads showing feeding habits: meat eater ceratosaurus, plant eater psittacosaurus, dinosaurs
5 Questions About Dinosaurs Answered
Three parasaurolophus stand on a rock beach. Pterasaurs fly over head and a small mammal watches the dinosaurs as they meander along the water's edge.
What Happened to the Dinosaurs?
Spider monkey swinging in a tree. (primate, jungle animal)
Why Do Animals Have Tails?
Discover
Internet http://www blue screen. Hompepage blog 2009, history and society, media news television, crowd opinion protest, In the News 2009, breaking news
Who Invented the Internet?
Aspirin pills.
7 Drugs that Changed the World
Berries and leaves of the bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) plant. Poisonous plant
7 of the World’s Deadliest Plants
Cathedrale St.Jean in Lyon, France has a 14th-century astronomical clock that shows religious feast days till the year 2019; Perpetual Calendar
Ten Days That Vanished: The Switch to the Gregorian Calendar
Periodical Cicada, Adult, Magicicada spp. Requires 17 years to complete development. Nymph splits its skin, and transforms into an adult. Feeds on sap of tree roots. Northern Illinois Brood. This brood is the largest emergence of cicadas anywhere
Why Do Some Cicadas Appear Only Every 17 Years?
Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society
12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”
Flags of the United Kingdom of Great Britain - England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Union Flag.
Acts of Union: Uniting the United Kingdom

Archaeopteryx: Facts & Related Content

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/facts/Archaeopteryx
Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

New, Perfectly-Preserved Specimen of Archaeopteryx Discovered • May 16, 2025, 7:12 AM ET (Sci.News)
Feathered fossil shows famed dinosaur could fly (like a chicken) • May 15, 2025, 8:50 AM ET (Popular Science)

Facts

Also Known As Archaeopteryx lithographica

Photos and Videos

Archaeopteryx skeleton
Archaeopteryx
bird evolution
structural relationships
How are birds and dinosaurs related?
Archaeopteryx: The holy grail of fossils
See All Videos, Images and Interactives →

Related Topics and References

Topics

Key People

John Ostrom
American paleontologist
Sir Gavin de Beer
British zoologist

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)
Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz
Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters
Animal Group Names
Lion (panthera leo)
Deadliest Animals Quiz
vulture. An adult bearded vulture at a raptor recovery center. The Gypaetus barbatus also known as the Lammergeier or Lammergeyer, is a bird of prey and considered an Old World vulture.
Animal Factoids
Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)
Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz
List
Two dinosaur heads showing feeding habits: meat eater ceratosaurus, plant eater psittacosaurus, dinosaurs
5 Questions About Dinosaurs Answered
illustration of the walking titanosaurus, Patagotitan mayorum
Titanosaurs: 8 of the World's Biggest Dinosaurs
Demystified
Three parasaurolophus stand on a rock beach. Pterasaurs fly over head and a small mammal watches the dinosaurs as they meander along the water's edge.
What Happened to the Dinosaurs?