Archaeopteryx EN

This unusual fossil has been in Teylers Museum’s collection since 1855. For many years it was thought to be the remains of a flying reptile. Then in 1970 the American John Ostrom discovered the imprint of feathers: this wasn’t a reptile, these were the remains of the extinct primitive bird Archaeopteryx!

This primitive bird was first described in 1860, when an imprint of feathers was discovered in a stone quarry near the German village of Solnhofen. Shortly thereafter the remains of a skeleton with imprints of feathers were also found. It was an important find - this was a representative of the very first generation of birds. The fossil was given the name Archaeopteryx, which means 'very old feather'.
It wasn’t until Ostrom made his discovery in 1970 that we realized that Teylers Museum had the earliest find of an archaeopteryx.

The primitive bird is a superb example of a transitional form between the reptile and the bird. In addition to its feathers, which you can see if you look at the fossil from an angle, the animal also has a lizard-like tail, teeth in its beak and claws on its wings. Red arrows on the fossil point to the claws.

Would such a creature have been able to fly? The breastbone seems to be too flat and delicate to support the attachment of heavy wing muscles. The feathers would have primarily been used to regulate temperature. However, the creature would probably have been able to glide to the ground from a tree.

To the left of the door to the first gallery hangs an artist’s impression of an archaeopteryx. Underneath this there’s a cast of the German specimen found in 1860. The original can be seen in the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin.