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Article: New view: fossil offers novel look at an ancient bird.(archaeopteryx)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- December 3, 2005
- Author:
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A newly described specimen of an ancient creature that most scientists consider the oldest known bird is posed in a way that provides new viewing angles for several body features. Analyses of those traits bolster the notion that the 150-million-year-old creature, Archaeopteryx, as well as other birds, evolved from theropod dinosaurs, a team of scientists suggests.
Many studies of previously described Archaeopteryx fossils, especially cranial scans that depict the creature's braincase and inner ear (SN: 8/7/04, p. 86), indicate that the creature could fly. The new fossil, only the 10th example of Archaeopteryx and its close relatives, is one of the best preserved, ...