Archaeopteryx

Archaeopteryx (extinct)
Scientific classification
Kingdom Information
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum Information
Phylum	Chordata
Sub-phylum	Vertebrata
Class Information
Class	Aves
Order Information
Order	Archaeopterygiformes
Family Information
Family	Archaeopterygidae
Genus Information
Genus	Archaeopteryx
Species Information
Species	A. siemensii
Population statistics

Archaeopteryx, an extinct bird known from a small number of fossil, is considered by evolutionary biologists to be the first species of bird to appear on Earth.

Archaeopteryx is sometimes presented as evidence of evolution because the bones have some characteristics reminiscent of reptiles, making it appear to be a so-called "transitional form" between reptiles and birds.

There are two criticisms of the Archaeopteryx. One criticism is that the fossils are fraudulent. Another criticism is that Archaeopteryx existed but was a true bird and not a transitional form suggesting evolution.

Specimens

There are currently ten known specimens of Archaeopteryx. All have been found in the limestone of the Solnhofen area in Germany.

Speciman	When found	Location fount	People involved	Current location	Comments
Feather	1860	Near Solnhofen	Described by H. von Meyer	Humboldt Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin	Single feather only.
London specimen	1861	Near Langenaltheim	Announced by H. v Meyer	British Museum of Natural History, London	Missing the head and neck
Berlin specimen	1877	Near Blumenberg	Described by W. Dames	Humboldt Museum für Naturkunde	The most complete specimen
Maxberg specimen	1958	Near Langenaltheim	Found and owned by Eduard Opitsch	Was in Maxberg Museum but now missing	Torso
Haarlem Specimen	1855	Near Riedenburg	Described by H. von Meyer	Teylers Museum, Haarlem	Not classified as Archaeopteryx until 1970. Not very complete
Eichstätt Specimen	1951	Near Workerszell	Described by Peter Wellnhofer	Jura Museum, Eichstätt	Smallest specimen
Solnhofen Specimen	1960s	Near Eichstätt	Described by Wellnhofer	Bürgermeister-Müller-Museum in Solnhofen	Missing some pieces, but fairly complete
Munich specimen or Solnhofen-Aktien-Verein specimen	1991	Near Langenaltheim	Described by Wellnhofer	Paläontologisches Museum München, Munich	First specimen to be found with an intact sternum, proving Archaeopteryx was capable of powered flight like modern birds
Thermopolis specimen				Wyoming Dinosaur Center in Thermopolis, Wyoming	Had been privately owned in Switzerland

First criticism: fraud

In 1983, a half-dozen leading British scientists including Sir Fred Hoyle carefully studied the two best Archaeopteryx specimens, front and back, and declared them to be fakes. They discovered that the front and back slabs of each specimen do not match. They found that an alteration had been made to the left wing as depicted in an 1863 drawing. They concluded that the feather markings had been imprinted by hand. They also found that etching process had used cement blobs. When the scientists requested the ability to use an electronic microscope and carbon-14 dating, the museum refused and withdrew the specimens from the scientists. The same British Museum had been responsible for the Piltdown Man fraud.

The Nobel Prize committee punished Sir Fred Hoyle for exposing this fraud by passing him over and giving its award to his underling for work that Hoyle was the undisputed leader on.

Second criticism: not a transitional

The second criticism of the Archaeopteryx, that it is not a transitional form, has been strengthened by the work of anatomist Dr. David Menton suggesting that Archaeopteryx is a true bird with flight feathers, not a transitional form at all. In 1994, an article explained that the Archaeopteryx was essentially a flying bird, with a large cerebellum and visual cortex. The fact that it had teeth is irrelevant to its alleged transitional status -- a number of extinct birds had teeth, while many reptiles do not (the South American hoatzin, Opisthocomus hoazin, also shares with Archaeopteryx clawed digits in its wings, albeit as juveniles). Furthermore, like other birds, both its maxilla (upper jaw) and mandible (lower jaw) moved. In most vertebrates, including reptiles, only the mandible moves.

Evidence for evolution?

In 1993, an article was published in Science magazine arguing that the Archaeopteryx had fully-formed flying feathers (including asymmetric vanes and ventral, reinforcing furrows as in modern flying birds), the classical elliptical wings of modem woodland birds, and a large wishbone for attachment of muscles responsible for the downstroke of the wings

While most evolutionary scientists agree that the flight feathers of Archaeopteryx were essentially modern, several papers since have argued against Feduccia's claims about the anatomy of Archaeopteryx Specimens such as the Thermoplis Specimen are thought to clearly show that the arms, wishbone, tail, feet, hips, and palate of Archaeopteryx were more like meat-eating theropod dinosaurs than modern birds.

The brain of Archaeopteryx was essentially that of a flying bird, with a large cerebellum and visual cortex. Critics point out that its teeth are irrelevant to its alleged transitional status, as a number of extinct birds had teeth, while many reptiles do not. Furthermore, like other birds, both its maxilla (upper jaw) and mandible (lower jaw) moved. In most vertebrates, including many reptiles, only the mandible moves.

Bibliography

• Anon., Archaeopteryx: The Thermopolis Specimen The Wyoming Dinosaur Center
• Bakalar, Nicholas, Earliest Bird Had Feet Like Dinosaur, Fossil Shows, National Geographic News, 1 December, 2005
• Feduccia, A., "Evidence from Claw Geometry Indicating Arboreal Habits of Archaeopteryx," Science, 259(5096):790-793, February 5, 1993 (abstract)
• Gish, Duane, As a Transitional Form Archaeopteryx Won't Fly Impact, September 1, 1989
• Hartman, Scott, Clarification statement on Thermopolis specimen 1st December 2005 (The Wyoming Dinosaur Center).
• Magovern, Charlie and Florence, Archaeopteryx
• Nedlin, Chris, All About Archaeopteryx, 1999 (The TalkOrigins Archive)
• Sarfati, Jonathan, Archaeopteryx (unlike Archaeoraptor) is NOT a hoax—it is a true bird, not a “missing link”, Creation Ministries International, March 24, 2000
• Sarfati, Jonathan, Bird evolution?, Chapter 4 of Refuting Evolution.
• Wieland, Carl, Archaeopteryx, Creation 1(1):12–16, June 1978.
• Wieland, Carl, Bird evolution flies out the window, Creation 16(4):16–19, September 1994

See also

• Feathered dinosaurs