Definition of archaeopteryx Archaeopteryx

ar•chae•op•ter•yx

We found 6 definitions of archaeopteryx from 6 different sources.

What does archaeopteryx mean?

Noun Plural: archaeopteryxes
archaeopteryx - extinct primitive toothed bird of the Jurassic period having a long feathered tail and hollow bones; usually considered the most primitive of all birds
		archeopteryx, Archaeopteryx lithographica
		bird warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings

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archaeopteryx (n.)
A fossil bird, of the Jurassic period, remarkable for having a long tapering tail of many vertebrae with feathers along each side, and jaws armed with teeth, with other reptilian characteristics.

archaeopteryx
A dinosaur of the species Archaeopteryx lithographica having wings and feathers.

The Archaeopteryx is a prehistoric animal from the Late Jurassic. It is the link between reptiles and birds.

The first Archaeopteryx was found in 1860 near Solnhofen in Bavaria, Germany. Today, nine skeletons and one feather of Archaeopteryx have been found.

The Archaeopteryx looks like a bird with feathers, but it had a mouth with teeth, claws at the hands and a long tail like dinosaurs or reptiles. Today, it is known that some dinosaurs looked like birds and that some had feathers. When they are born, today's South American hoatzin have claws on their wings when they are young just like Archaeopteryx. It usually ate meat but it might have been an omnivore.