The Oldest Specimen of the Oldest Bird Species Discovered
The oldest example of a bird yet found was discovered in Northern Bavaria. .
Researchers from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich report the first description of the geologically oldest fossil securely attributable to the genus Archaeopteryx, and provide a new diagnostic key for differentiating bird-like dinosaurs from their closest relatives.
Some 150 million years ago in what is now Northern Bavaria, Archaeopteryx – the oldest bird species yet discovered ¬- inhabited a subtropical environment characterized by reef islands and lagoons set in a shallow sea that was part of the primordial Mediterranean. All the specimens of Archaeopteryx so far recovered were found in the valley of the Altmühl River, in geological settings that represent this habitat ¬- the Jurassic Solnhofen Archipelago.
Skeletal restorations of various specimens
Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Jaime A. Headden (User:Qilong)
Moreover, the investigation of the 11th specimen demonstrates that the known specimens span a remarkable range of anatomical variation. Potential explanations for the broad spectrum of variation extend from intraspecific developmental polymorphism to evolutionary differentiation, i.e., the possibility that the fossil material so far recovered represents more than one species.
The Munich Specimen: Archaeopteryx bavarica, Paläontologisches Museum, München
Contacts and sources:
Luise Dirscherl
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU)
Source: http://www.ineffableisland.com/2018/01/the-oldest-specimen-of-oldest-bird.html
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