Raven-sized creature that lived in southern Germany 150 million years is the oldest example of the '行方不明の link' between dinosaurs and birds

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A raven-sized creature that lived in southern Germany 150 million years ago really was the '行方不明の link' between dinosaurs and birds, によれば new 研究.?

And the iconic Archaeopteryx could have 発展させるd into several different types of 種類 on the tiny islands that dotted the primordial Mediterranean.?

This would have been a Jurassic 見解／翻訳／版 of 'Darwin's finches' - with 独特の varieties of that bird 現れるing on the Gal?pagos Islands. ?

This is the geologically oldest, but most recently discovered 見本／標本 of Archaeopteryx. It lived some 150 million years ago in what is now Northern Bavaria and 住むd what was then a subtropical 環境 characterized by 暗礁 islands and lagoons

Archaeopteryx has been at the centre of a 審議 ever since it was first discovered more than 150 years ago.?

Some scientists 主張する it was just another feathered dinosaur and others say it was the first bird.?

Now an 分析 of the oldest and most 完全にする 見本／標本 ever 設立する has shed fresh light on the enigmatic animal - and 設立する it was somewhere in between.?

The 発見 in what is now Northern Bavaria 追加するs to growing 証拠 dinosaurs 現実に did 発展させる into our feathered friends.?

The 最新の 化石 許すd palaeontologists to reliably distinguish Archaeopteryx from its closest 親族s.?

These 含む the most fearsome theropod dinosaurs such as T-Rex and Velociraptor - along with 'basal' birds' 近づく the 底（に届く） of the evolutionary chain.?

顕著に, it also 展示（する）d features that were so far not known from the remains of the other ten that have so far been dug up.?

Professor Oliver Rauhut, of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, said: 'の中で other things, they 明らかにする／漏らす Archaeopteryx was very 類似の to advanc ed predatory dinosaurs in many 尊敬（する）・点s.'?

All eleven Archaeopteryx 化石s have been dug out of 激しく揺するs along the Altmuhl River, a 支流 of the Danube.?

重さを計るing about 2lbs, it was 概略で the size of the ありふれた raven and lived during the late Jurassic.?

At the time, Europe was an 群島 and was much closer to the 赤道 than it is today.?

Dubbed the Solnhofener 群島, it would have had a 公正に／かなり warm, 乾燥した，日照りの 気候, 類似の to Florida's today.?

The idyllic, subtropical 環境 was dotted with 暗礁 islands and lagoons 始める，決める in a shallow sea that was part of the primordial Mediterranean.?

Archaeopteryx had 幅の広い wings with 一連の会議、交渉／完成するd ends and a tail that was long for its 団体／死体 length, which was up to 20 インチs in total.?

It had flight and tail feathers, with fluffy 団体／死体 plumage that 含むd 井戸／弁護士席 developed 'trouser' feathers on the 脚s, enabling it to 飛行機で行く.?

It had jaws with sharp teeth and three fingers with '殺人，大当り claws.'?

WHAT DID THE ARCHAEOPTERYX DINOSAUR LOOK LIKE? ?

A raven sized creature that lived in southern Germany 150 million years ago really was the '行方不明の link' between dinosaurs and birds, によれば a new 熟考する／考慮する by 研究員s at Ludwig Maximilian University.

Archaeopteryx has been at the centre of a 審議 ever since it was first discovered more than 150 years ago.

Some scientists 主張する the 150 million-year old creature wa s just another feathered dinosaur, but others say it was the first bird.?

Now an 分析 of the oldest and most 完全にする 見本／標本 ever 設立する has shed fresh light on the enigmatic animal - and 設立する it was somewhere in between.?

Scientists believe some of Archaeopteryx's 特徴 含む:

• Some aerodynamic abilities based on its wings and feathers
• Light coloured feathers, かもしれない even white, with 黒人／ボイコット tips.
• It was a carnivore and may have eaten small reptiles, amphibians, 哺乳動物s and insects.?
• It likely 掴むd small prey with just its jaws, and may have used them to help pin larger prey.?
• A 十分な 始める，決める of teeth (unlike living birds).?
• A rather flat sternum (breastbone) and belly ribs.
• A long, bony tail.?
• Three claws on the wing which could have been used to しっかり掴む prey.?

Artist's impression of Archaeopteryx. A new 分析 of the oldest and most 完全にする 見本／標本 ever 設立する has shed fresh light on the enigmatic animal - and 設立する it was somewhere in between a dinosaur and a bird?

Source: University of California Museum of Paleontology

宣伝

The 熟考する／考慮する published in PeerJ will 供給する a new 'diagnostic 重要な' for differentiating bird like dinosaurs from their closest 親族s.?

This will be 決定的な as a whole 一連の such predatory reptiles have been 述べるd in 最近の years, おもに from 中国.?

It has 大いに 複雑にするd the taxonomical 分類 of the group, explained Prof Rauhut.?

The new 化石 was 明らかにするd in 2010, but it is the first time it has been extensively 診察するd.?

分析 of the 激しく揺する 形式 has 確認するd it is the earliest known 代表者／国会議員 of the genus - and may have been one of several different 種類.?

Prof Rauhut, who is also based at the Bavarian 明言する／公表する Collections of Palaeontology and 地質学 in Munich, said: '見本／標本s of Archaeopteryx are now known from three 際立った 激しく揺する 部隊s, which together cover a period of だいたい one million years.'?

His 調査 also 論証するd these （期間が）わたる a remarkable 範囲 of anatomical differences.?

An 紫外-induced fluorescence photograph of an Archaeopteryx 見本／標本 shows the 見本／標本s 保存するd bone 実体 of the 骸骨／概要 with wing and tail feather impressions of the tenth 見本／標本 of Archaeopteryx, in ventral 見解（をとる）

可能性のある explanations for the wide variety could be 負かす／撃墜する to different developmental forms 伴う／関わるing members of a 選び出す／独身 種類 or 進化 主要な to the 出現 of more than one.?

Prof Rauhut said: 'The high degree of variation in the teeth is 特に striking - 非，不，無 of the 見本／標本s shows the same pattern of dentition as any other, which could 反映する differences in diet.'?

He に例えるd it to the finches discovered by Charles Darwin on the Gal?pagos Islands, where he 設立する several 種類 that 変化させるd from island to island.?

This helped him to develop his theory of natural 選択.?

追加するd Prof Rauhut: 'This is very reminiscent of the famous 事例／患者 of Darwin's finches on the Galapagos, which show remarkable variation in their beak 形態／調整s.?

'It is even 考えられる that this primeval bird genus might, in a 類似の fashion, have diversified into several specialised forms on the islands of the Solnhofener 群島.?

'In that 事例／患者, the Archaeopteryx 化石s could 代表する a 種類 flock, a Jurassic analog of Darwin's finches.'?

It is the 12th 化石 to be せいにするd to the genus but a 熟考する／考慮する by Professor Rauhut's group 報告（する）／憶測d last year that the first of these - known as the Haarlem 見本／標本 discovered in 1861 - does not belong to the group.?

This 減ずるd the number of 化石s to 11, although some 疑問s remain 関心ing the assignment of two of these.?

A 2012 展示 at The Natural History Museum in London 陳列する，発揮するd 22 of the most 価値のある and 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の treasures in Britain today. Pictured is a 見本／標本 of Archaeopteryx lithographica, the most 価値のある 化石 in the Museum. Around 147 million years old.

Prof Rauhut said this を強調するs the necessity for a diagnosis to 明確に identify Archaeopteryx.?

With its blend of avian and reptilian features, it was long 見解（をとる）d as the earliest known bird.?

It is いつかs referred to as Urvogel, the German word for '初めの bird' or 'first bird.'?

Based on its 勝利，勝つ gs and feathers, scientists believe Archaeopteryx likely had some aerodynamic abilities.?

Previous 研究 has 示唆するd its feathers were a light colour, かもしれない even white, with 黒人／ボイコット tips.?

It was a carnivore and may have eaten small reptiles, amphibians, 哺乳動物s and insects.?

It likely 掴むd small prey with just its jaws, and may have used them to help pin larger prey.?

Conservator Lorraine Cornish with a ground-breaking Natural History Museum 化石 Archaeopteryx on Wednesday March 8, 2017. The 147-million-year-old 骸骨／概要, encased in 石灰岩, has left its London home to be 陳列する，発揮するd in an 展示 in Japan