Archaeopteryx - The Dino Bird

[Music] [Applause] welcome back to creature files on this episode we'll glide alongside one of the earliest birds Archaeopteryx [Music] Archaeopteryx lived during the typhoon Ian stage of The Late Jurassic period approximately a hundred and fifty million years ago in what is now southern Germany Archaeopteryx means old wing and represent the transitional species blurring the line between dinosaur and bird and was first discovered in 1880 or 1881 it has long been theorized by some that birds are related to and direct descendants of theropod dinosaurs but the theory was often dismissed as most scientists believed that dinosaurs were sluggish dim-witted lizards this mindset persisted until much later when the discovery of a totally new type of dinosaur kick-started what is now known as the dinosaur Renaissance this dinosaur was called Deinonychus the inspiration for the raptors of the Jurassic Park series and was clearly a warm-blooded active hunter with many features that resemble modern Birds this animal first discovered in 1931 and with more complete specimens being uncovered in 1964 caused a massive stir within the paleontological community and led scientists to rethink the connection between dinosaurs and birds [Music] this brings us back to Archaeopteryx a strange primitive Dino bird Archaeopteryx gives us an incredible insight into the early evolution of modern Birds Archaeopteryx was similar in size to a raven measuring approximately 50 centimeters in length and weighing between point eight and one kilogram Archaeopteryx actually had more in common with small theropod dinosaurs than it did two birds with a jaw line with sharp teeth three clawed fingers a long stiff tail wrapped alight killing claws on both feet and various other features but this animal is not without bird-like Anatomy Archaeopteryx also had a wishbone wings flight feathers and a partly reversed first toe adapted for life in the trees following a 2018 study scientists concluded that Archaeopteryx would have been capable of flight although in a very different manner to modern birds the wings and broad tail feathers of Archaeopteryx indicated that they were intended for fly though it may not have been the strongest of fliers the sideways orientation of the shoulder joint as opposed to the dorsal II angled shoulder joint on modern Birds may have meant that Archaeopteryx was unable to lift its wings above its back this would mean that Archaeopteryx would be incapable of flapping towered flies like that of modern birds but may have been able to perform a downwards only flap to assist in gliding for longer distances in 2004 CT scans taken of the brain case of Archaeopteryx indicated that they had much larger brains relative to body size when compared to most other dinosaurs indicating they possessed the brain size necessary for flight despite the many reconstructions of Archaeopteryx high in the trees they've probably spent much more time on the ground or perched in low shrubs as the environment they lived in was a low-lying semi-arid Lagoon without many large trees this suggests a generalist lifestyle hunting both in the shrubs and on the ground along the shores of the lagoon Archaeopteryx would have been effective at hunting small prey with its array of weapons from its jaws to its claws while many aspects of Archaeopteryx is lifestyle is still a mystery this strange primitive bird has helped paleontologists unlock the secrets of the past and further confirm that dinosaurs to this day flourish all around us as birds thanks for watching if you enjoyed the video please like and subscribe for more videos like this also like Preacher files on facebook at facebook.com slash creature files see you next time on creature files

Channel: Creature Files

Views: 8,809

Keywords: Creature Files, archaeopteryx, dinosaurs, birds, ancient life

Id: JWiD-9evPhE

Length: 5min 11sec (311 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 09 2019