The Avian Anomaly: Archaeopteryx's Potential to Take Flight, New Evidence Revealed
Emerging data suggests flight capability for Archaeopteryx
The debate over whether and how Archaeopteryx, the earliest known bird, could fly has been a longstanding conundrum. However, recent findings are tipping the scales in favor of the ancient bird's flying abilities. A team of researchers from the USA has shed some light on this matter, pointing towards a unique set of feathers that might have been crucial for Archaeopteryx to take off.
The enigmatic Archaeopteryx, having lived about 150 million years ago, is the earliest known bird. All 14 known specimens were discovered in the vicinity of the Bavarian Solnhofen in the Franconian Alb. A fossil, now studied meticulously, offers a wealth of new information, from the bird's beak to its tail. This well-preserved specimen, which was in private hands for decades, was procured, prepared, and analyzed by the Field Museum in Chicago in 2022.
When examined using micro-CT with UV light, the analysis of this fossil revealed a surprising finding. Archaeopteryx not only had hand and arm feathers, known as primary and secondary feathers, and shoulder feathers, but also tertiary feathers. These feathers are very similar to modern cover feathers and fan out from the two elbows during flight, laying against the body.
"Archaeopteryx had a very long humerus compared to most living birds," says lead author Jingmai O'Connor. "This could have created a gap between the primary and secondary feathers of the wing and the rest of the body, disrupting lift during flight. However, birds with cover feathers, like the ones found on the Archaeopteryx, can close this gap, preventing airflow and ensuring proper lift generation."
This is a significant discovery, as fossils of feathered dinosaurs, which are closely related to birds but not birds themselves, lack tertiary feathers. These birds' wing feathers stopped at the elbow, unlike Archaeopteryx, implying that it could actually fly.
These feathers might have also had other functions, according to the team. With more surface area compared to those of modern birds, they may have played a role in the visual communication of the ancient birds. Despite its striking wings, the analyses of the "Chicago Archaeopteryx" suggest that it spent time on the ground and even climbed trees, similar to modern pigeons.
The fossil also revealed other interesting details. The little finger on the animal's hand was apparently freely movable, and the tail was longer than expected, with 24 tail vertebrae.
Sources: ntv.de, Walter Willems, dpa
- Fossils
- Paleontology
- Birds
- Dinosaurs
- Evolution
- The discovery of tertiary feathers on the Archaeopteryx, a crucial finding revealed by a study using micro-CT with UV light, indicates that these early birds might have had the ability to fly, setting them apart from feathered dinosaurs.
- The enigmatic Archaeopteryx, despite being closely related to dinosaurs, demonstrated evidence of environmental-science applications in its development of feathers suitable for visual communication, hinting at the interplay between science and nature.
- The well-preserved Archaeopteryx specimen, once in private hands and now under study at the Field Museum in Chicago, contains new information about lifestyle structures such as its long humerus, which plays a significant role in flight capability in environmental-science.
- As technology advances, it uncovers treasures of the past like the Chicago Archaeopteryx, providing opportunities for education-and-self-development and general-news dissemination, such as the breakthrough in understanding this bird's capabilities in space-and-astronomy and sport-like behaviors on the ground.
- The community policy surrounding fossil discoveries and their analysis is important in ensuring that findings like the Archaeopteryx fossil continue to contribute to medical-conditions research and support human understanding of the environment.
