# Archaeopteryx lithographica

> A raven-sized feathered theropod from the Late Jurassic limestones of Solnhofen, Bavaria. Usually placed at the base of Avialae, the bird lineage, but it is a transitional animal, not the ancestor of modern birds.

- Classification: Dinosauria (clade) > Saurischia (clade) > Theropoda (clade) > Coelurosauria (clade) > Maniraptora (clade) > Avialae (clade) > Archaeopterygidae (family) > Archaeopteryx (genus) > Archaeopteryx lithographica (species)
- Length: 0.5 m
- Hip height: 0.1–0.2 m
- Age: 149.2–145 million years ago (Late Jurassic)
- Fossils found in: Solnhofen Formation (Bavaria); Germany
- Diet: carnivore
- Described: Hermann von Meyer, 1861

Canonical page: https://dinodex.club/dinosaurs/archaeopteryx-lithographica
Last updated: 2026-09-27

## Overview

Archaeopteryx lithographica lived about 150 million years ago, in the Late Jurassic, on islands in a warm lagoon sea that covered what is now southern Germany. Its fossils come from the fine lithographic limestones around Solnhofen and Eichstätt in Bavaria. Hermann von Meyer named it in 1861 from a single feather; a nearly complete skeleton, now in London, turned up the same year.

It mixed features of birds and of other small theropods: flight feathers on arms and tail, but also teeth, clawed fingers and a long bony tail. Found two years after On the Origin of Species, it became the classic example of a transitional fossil. Later specimens, such as the one described by Foth, Tischlinger and Rauhut (2014), show pennaceous feathers on the legs as well.

It is popularly called the "first bird", but that phrase needs care. Most analyses place it at or near the base of Avialae, the group that includes modern birds, yet Xu et al. (2011) recovered it closer to Deinonychus and Velociraptor. It is best read as an early member of the bird lineage, not the direct ancestor of living birds, and many feathered dinosaurs from China now blur the line it once drew.

## Name meaning

From Greek archaios ("ancient") and pteryx ("feather, wing"); lithographica refers to the lithographic limestone it was found in (von Meyer 1861).

## Sources

1. Cohen, K. M., Harper, D. A. T., Gibbard, P. L. & Car, N. (2023). International Chronostratigraphic Chart (v2023/09). International Commission on Stratigraphy. https://stratigraphy.org/ICSchart/ChronostratChart2023-09.pdf
2. Foth, C., Tischlinger, H. & Rauhut, O. W. M. (2014). New specimen of Archaeopteryx provides insights into the evolution of pennaceous feathers. Nature 511: 79-82. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13467
3. Paul, G. S. (2016). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (2nd edition). Princeton University Press.
4. Rauhut, O. W. M., Foth, C. & Tischlinger, H. (2018). The oldest Archaeopteryx (Theropoda: Avialiae): a new specimen from the Kimmeridgian/Tithonian boundary of Schamhaupten, Bavaria. PeerJ 6: e4191. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4191
5. von Meyer, H. (1861). Archaeopteryx lithographica (Vogel-Feder) und Pterodactylus von Solenhofen. Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geognosie, Geologie und Petrefakten-Kunde 1861: 678-679.
6. Wellnhofer, P. (2009). Archaeopteryx: The Icon of Evolution. Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, München.
7. Xu, X., You, H., Du, K. & Han, F. (2011). An Archaeopteryx-like theropod from China and the origin of Avialae. Nature 475: 465-470. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10288

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Cite as: "Archaeopteryx lithographica". DinoDex. https://dinodex.club/dinosaurs/archaeopteryx-lithographica (updated 2026-09-27).