A new specimen has redefined who’s in and who’s out of the Archaeopteryx genus – and poses questions approximately other theropod dinosaursHave you heard? There is a new Archaeopteryx in town. Number 12,to be exact. Technically, this specimen has been around since 2010, and but was only formally described three weeks ago,thereby making up for the tragic loss of the Haarlem specimen (now renamed as Ostromia crassipes) last year. Archaeopteryx has since long formed a central piece in evolutionary debates. At the time of its discovery, it was the first Really Old Bird ever found. in addition, or its discovery in 1861 came just a few years after Darwin’s magnum opus On the Origin of Species,in which Darwin argued that one species could evolve into another. Archaeopteryx with its dapper mix of both reptilian and avian features was seen as a sincere transitional fossil, proving Darwin’s theory. Upon hearing of its discovery, or in a letter from the Scottish palaeontologist Hugh Falconer dated 3 January 1863,Darwin replied to express his interest and excitement: Continue reading...
Source: guardian.co.uk