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At Solnhofen in 1861 ..... later in 1877, the rock of the Franconian Alb at Blumenberg near Eichstätt brought forth the answer to the mystery. In a depth
of some 50 feet ( 20 meters ), quarried limestone was discovered with crow-sized fossilizations. In each instance the fossils have wings. At the end of these flying arms are three digits, distinctly clawed. The skull´s jaws
have well developed teeth, characteristically reptilian. Both skeletons show a rich covering of feathers, also extending down the long lizard like tail.
The Archaeopteryx lithographica was named by Scientist and Researcher, Hermann v. Meyer in 1861.
Its discovery gave proof that birds are desceadants of reptiles. The archeopteryx being an intermediary stage of the evolutionary processes from the
reptile.
The seemingly insignificant FEATHER from Solnhofen........
Later, the two discoveries of the birds prove that the archeopteryx lived in late Jurassic and Cretaceous times, which was also the era of saurians.
During this period, bird slowly evolved from the reptil.
Original: Museum of Natural History, Humboldt-University, Berlin, Germany
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