Archaeopteryx
               

                Archaeoptyeryx was a crow-sized bipedal "bird".  Fossils have been found in 
                the Solnhofen Formation from the Jurassic period in Germany and Bavaria 
                (Dodson 2000).  Archaeoptyeryx was an important fossil discovery and is
                considered to be an transitional  form between birds and reptiles.  Archaeoptyeryx 
                has a combination of bird and reptilian characteristics.  Among the reptilian 
                characteristics are a full set of teeth, a flat sternum, a long bony tail, grastralia, 
                and three claws on the wing.  Bird characteristics include wings, furcula, feathers, 
                and reduced metatarsals.
               

                There are indications of some flight capabilities.  The large furcula could have
                anchored strong pectoralis muscles.  There is an acute angle of the scapula, which
                supports dorsal elevator muscles that help to lift the wings, as in modern birds.
                The vane in the primary feathers were asymmetrical, a characteristic shared by
                nearly all flying birds and most pronounced in strong fliers (Feduccia & Tordoff 1979,
                Tarsitano et al., 2000).  It is suggested that Archaeoptyeryx was a semiboreal
                "bird" capable of gliding and weak flapping but not of long, sustained flights.

                Cast of the Berlin specimen at UCMP.  The orginal is at Humbolt University, Berlin.