Archeopteryx Represents a crucial point in the large evolutionary journey that connects dinosaurs with their bird shelters. But paleontologists still have questions about the anatomy and behavior of the Jurassic era about 165 years after the discovery. One of the most pressing persistent mysteries is how Archeopteryx succeeded in flying above his fellow -filled dinosaur relatives.
After spending more than two decades in a private collection, one of the most detailed and complete fossil sets arrived in the Field Museum of Chicago in 2022. But before it made his public debut, experts spent a year preparing and analyzing the Chicago Archeopteryx– And what they discovered is to help paleontologists understand what the earliest Aviaire Dinosaurus made so special. The team explained their findings in a study published on 14 May in the magazine Nature.
From the tip of his snout to the tip of his tail
“When we first got our Archeopteryx, I had something like that corresponding. But despite his initial enthusiasm, O’Connor still had his doubts.
‘Archeopteryx is known for [so long]I wasn’t sure what new things we could learn, “he explained.” But our copy is so well preserved and so well prepared that we actually learn a lot of new information, from the top of his snout to the tip of his tail. “
However, the investigations and preparation were not without challenges. A certain problem was a distinction between the fossilized remains of the monster and the surrounding, almost identically colored rock matrix. This is where CT scanning came in handy.
“CT scanning was very important for our preparation process -it told us that the bone is exactly 3.2 millimeters below the surface of the rock, who told us exactly how far we could go before we hit the bone,” said Connor, and noted that this project was the first time that the first time represents a CT scan on a complete on a complete Archeopteryx.
Fluorescent feathers
All known Archeopteryx Remains were dug up from a region of limestone deposits, about 100 miles east of Stuttgart in Solnhofen, Germany. Previous studies revealed that the Solnhofen limestone fossils have a unique chemical composition that ensures that their soft tissues fluoreses. Knowing this, the team often also focused on UV lighting for extra help with the definition between rock and soft tissues that are easily missed by the human eye. These even contain details as subtle as scales on the bottom of ArcheopteryxToes.
It is not only the toes that have offered valuable insights into the old Dino-Bird Paleontologists are especially interested in his feet, hands, head and wing feathers. For example, bones in the roof of his mouth aid are experts in understanding the evolution of skullinesis, the characteristic found in modern birds with which they can make their mouths independent of their brain.
“That may not sound exciting, but for people who study bird evolution, it is really important because it is assumed that being able to develop specialized skulls for different ecological niches to evolve birds to more than 11,000 species nowadays,” said O’Connor.
Test flights
The Chicago copy also offered scientists a never -before -seen physiological details that finally seem to answer a long -term question: how could Archeopteryx (in any case short) in the air?
“This is actually my favorite part of the newspaper,” said O’Connor. ‘[It] provides proof that Archeopteryx Used his feathered wings to fly. ‘
The proof comes in the form of tertials, a set of feathers ArcheopteryxVery long upper arms. Without those tertials, it is unlikely that the animal could ever be in the air.
“If you try to fly, having long bones of the upper arm can create an opening between the primary and secondary characteristics of the wing and the rest of your body,” O’Connor explained. “If air goes through that gorge, it disrupts the elevator you generate, and you can’t fly.”
Most modern birds have solved this problem by evolving shorter appendices to guide their tertial springs. But although Archeopteryx owned those long arm bones, it also had relatively terte tertials. Many of the Dinosaurus relatives developed feathers, but they stopped at the elbow and missed the tertials needed for the flight.
“That tells us that these non-Avian dinosaurs could not fly, but Archeopteryx could, “said O’Connor.
“Fly” probably makes a lot of lifting there. Multiple studies to suggest Archeopteryx behaved less like a high -rise Falcon, and more Chicken able to slide shorter distances. That said, the latest research also suggests that these extensive feathers may also have served a role in ‘visual communication’. Regardless ArcheopteryxThe airlines, the Chicago copy, continue to reveal new details about the earliest origin of current birds.
‘Archeopteryx Is not the first dinosaur that has springs, or the first dinosaur that has ‘wings’, “said O’Connor.” But we think it is the earliest known dinosaur that could use its feathers to fly. ‘
