Cast of Berlin Specimen, Archaeopteryx fossil

Cast of 'Berlin Specimen', original in Humboldt Museum, Berlin. This specimen was found in 1877 and is articulated with the head arched back over the neck and the wings extended. The original is probably the most valuable fossil in the world. Archeopteryx sometimes referred to by its German name Urvogel ("original bird" or "first bird"), is the earliest and most primitive bird known. The name derives from the Ancient Greek ἀρχαῖος (archaios) meaning "ancient", and πτέρυξ (pteryx), meaning "feather" or "wing". Archaeopteryx lived during the Late Jurassic Period around 150–145 million years ago, in what is now southern Germany during a time when Europe was an archipelago of islands in a shallow warm tropical sea, much closer to the equator than it is now. Similar in size and shape to a European Magpie, Archaeopteryx could grow to about 0.5 metres (1.6 ft) in length. Despite its small size, broad wings, and inferred ability to fly or glide, Archaeopteryx has more in common with small theropod dinosaurs than it does with modern birds. In particular, it shares the following features with the deinonychosaurs (dromaeosaurs and troodontids): jaws with sharp teeth, three fingers with claws, a long bony tail, hyperextensible second toes ("killing claw"), feathers (which also suggest homeothermy), and various skeletal features. The features above make Archaeopteryx a clear candidate for a transitional fossil between dinosaurs and birds.[3][4] Thus, Archaeopteryx plays an important role not only in the study of the origin of birds but in the study of dinosaurs.