Archaeopteryx Knocked From Roost as Original Bird

By Danielle Venton July 27, 2011 | 1:15 pm | Categories: Biology





Archaeopteryx’s status as the forerunner of modern birds is crumbling in the face of a new, closely-related fossil.

The new discovery, a feathered, chicken-sized dinosaur named Xiaotingia, has prompted a fresh look at the dinosaur family tree, casting Archaeopteryx as a bird-like dinosaur rather than dinosaur-like bird.

Archaeopteryx has been fundamental to our understanding of birds’ origins but, if confirmed, this finding questions those assumptions.

“This result challenges the centrality of Archaeopteryx in the transition to birds,” write paleontologists led by Xing Xu in a July 28 Nature study.



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http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/07/archaeopteryx-no-bird/#more-68833

that is hanging in the living room.

But "bird-like dinosaur" and "dinosaur-like bird" sounds like there could be some link. No matter how you look at it, I find it so cool that feathers evolved somehow.

I rely on our (Milwaukee Public Museum) facsimile in our famous "Third Planet" exhibit for my tour. Must revise, pending approval from our resident paleo-geology curator.

Thanks for the revised research and will pass along for verification from our curator, who is renown for his research in such matters (Dr. Peter Sheehan.)

Our "Third Planet" hall was the FIRST of major museums to base an entire wing on the continental drift idea. It is FABULOUS and has the said facsimile shown between the Jurassic and Cretaceous dioramas.

Please come for a visit -- you will be amazed at our treasure.

I asked because I am an anthropologist in Milwaukee and I will soon be doing some research there.

Qualified in North American Indians and Rain Forest and Highlights.

It is in the Highlights that I reference that facsimile on my way to the famous TRex/Triceratops diorama.

You will LOVE MPM. I expect you may work with Dawn and adding important contributions during your time.

I am a long term (30 yrs. plus) volunteer/docent and work with the remaining curators as content head of the committee for "Clue Crew" -- a membership family activity sheet via FOM in addition to docent tours.

Look forward to meeting you this Fall -- we meet in Education most Fridays.

Be sure to acquaint yourself with both Dawn and Stacey Meeks, along with Education to get the full flavor of this fantastic place.

but this will be the first time I've ever done any research there. I will be looking at the Native American Lacrosse stick collection. It's a bit of a new area for me as I was trained as a bio-anthropologist. I will be working with Dawn. BTW, don't revise your view of Archeopterix just yet. That fossil and the origin of birds has long been an area of controversy and I'm not sure the last word has been written yet.

for the Archeo. bit. We,as docents, never use the web for such info, unless confirmed by in-house experts.

Dawn is wonderful! and she is exacting, but right on the mark and a veteran multi-tasker , given our curator shortage. We (Clue Crew) rely on her expertise whenever we have an item that needs expert perusal in the North American Indian Wing.

FYI -- I did my docent research paper on Ethnobotany in the North American Indian Wing and have extended that interest into other cultures and the biology of plant usage therein.

You will like knowing Neil Luebke in Botany (just down the hall), if you have time among the other tasks I have given you.

Am away from my beloved MPM this summer -- back in the Fall. Hope to see you then.

It had the famous "switchblade" hyper-extendable toe like all dromaesaurs, but the claw was not enlarged like in latter species. Microraptor, the most famous Chinese feathered dino, was very similar, hyper-extendible toe, but no enlarged claw on the tow. Birds seem to have evolved out of these taxonomic mess of early raptors.