Talk:Archaeopteryx

Birn-Jeffery et al. (2012)

Birn-Jeffery, A. V., Miller, C. E., Naish, D., Rayfield, E. J., Hone, D. W. E. (2012) Pedal claw curvature in birds, lizards and Mesozoic dinosaurs – complicated categories and compensating for mass-specific and phylogenetic control. PLoS ONE 7(12): e50555.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/2012/12/17/claws-climbing-in-birds-other-dinosaurs/

Digits on birds' forewings are rather common on extinct birds

The article states, "Archaeopteryx had three separate digits on each fore-leg each ending with a "claw". Few birds have such features," and then mentions a few contemporary birds that have a more noticeable vestigial claw underneath their wings. Perhaps it's worth adding that this ancestral wing configuration with actual separate digits and claws (no need for quotes on claws, by the way, suggests they're not quite claws) was retained in many uncontested birds that are extinct now, perhaps all enantiornithes. ("All known enantiornithines were good fliers. The early Cretaceous enantiornithines had toothed jaws, and late Cretaceous ones did not. All enantiornithines had wing digits with claws." -- quote from the article I linked). Wikipedia's own article on the group states they're "the most abundant and diverse group known from the Mesozoic era." 45.234.133.177 (talk) 08:07, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

The secondary flightlessness hypothesis may be relevant to mention here

The article mentions that some researchers have found A. to be nested within Deinonychosaurs "and therefore not a bird," but not that long ago other researchers had sort of found the "opposite," Deinonychosaurs nested as a sister group to Archaeopteryx, and therefore possibly/arguably flightless birds. Some have also posited that perhaps juvenile Deinonychosaurs could fly. So, perhaps that's suggestive of something somewhat blurrier. A more recent study (2019) mentioned in the Origin of Birds article, "secondary flightlessness section," also puts Archaeopteryx closer to birds than to Deinonychosaurs. 45.234.133.177 (talk) 08:33, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

Wrong link to page for Florian Heller

I am not sure that there is a wikipedia page for the professor Florian Heller mentioned in the text about the Maxberg specimen. The current link is to a football coach. Pnutbutterprincess (talk) 05:21, 1 January 2026 (UTC)

Location of discovery

Location of discovery

~2026-51137-74 (talk) 14:33, 22 September 2026 (UTC)