BY BAYOU UNIVERSITY

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Archaeopteryx lithographica

A Transitional Fossil


The Berlin Specimen

140-170 million years old

TRAIT \ TYPE REPTILE ARCHAEOPTERYX BIRD
Feathers no yes yes
Hind limb claws adapted for perching i.e., opposable hallux no yes yes
Furcula from fused clavicle some theropods have unfused clavicles yes yes
Pubis elongate and directed backward some theropods yes yes
beak no no yes
Vertebra in trunk region fused no no yes
Hollow (pneumatic) bones some yes yes
Elongate cerebral hemispheres
Cerebellum behind mid-brain
yes yes no
Concave articular facets on cervical vertebrae yes yes no
tail composed of free vertebrae yes yes (with feathers) no, short and fused to form pygostyle
teeth yes yes no
Ribs with uncinate processes articulated with sternum no no yes
keel sternum no no yes
Sacrum occupies 6 vetebra yes yes no, 11-23 vertebra
Archosaurian pelvic femur joint yes yes no
Free metacarpals yes yes no
Free metatarsals yes yes no
Nasal opening forward (preorbital fenestra) yes yes no
Deltiod ridge of humerus and radial and ulnar condyles face forward yes yes no
Claws on unfused digits of forelimbs yes yes some embryonic, 3 as juvenile
Developed fibula yes yes no, greately reduced
Gastralia (dermal bone in wall of abdomen) yes yes no



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