It has long been debated whether dino - birdArchaeopteryxcould take to the skies , but now , enquiry supply the most conclusive grounds yetthat it could . But did it evade predators by soaring through the skies like an elegant falcon ? No . It flapped into escape like a startled pheasant before quickly making its descent and running away on animal foot .
Archaeopteryxlived in southern Germany , which was once a tropical Shangri-la , during the Late Jurassic Period about 150 million years ago and was the size of a magpie . Its name literally means “ ancient extension ” in ancient Greek . The first dodo was found back in 1861 and since then another 11 have been excavate .
The genus is notable for mark the transition from dinosaurs to birds . The fossils provide important evidence for evolution thathelped confirmDarwin ’s possibility andimprove our understandingof how mod dinosaurs – or , as we call them , birds – evolved .
Archaeopteryx has generally been accepted as the oldest - bonk razzing , but whether it could actually fly like most advanced dame , or remained a primer - dweller like the kiwis and kakapos of New Zealand , has remain undecipherable . In fact , with their sharp teeth and long bony tails , Archaeopteryxhad more in mutual with Mesozoic dinosaurs than innovative - twenty-four hour period wench . AlthoughArchaeopteryxdid have feathered wings , the bodily structure of its shoulders has cast incertitude on whether it could fly .
So , an international team of scientists decided to inquire , using state - of - the - artistic production X - ray run down techniques . Their finding are published in the journalNature Communications . Using X - rays100 billion times more powerfulthan those used to seem inside citizenry at theEuropean Synchrotron Radiation Facilityin Grenoble , France , the researchers could analyse the internal workings of the clappers of threeArchaeopteryxfossils without damaging them .
The team found that the fossilized wing clappers were far more redolent of lightweight bird systema skeletale than those of wakeless - footed dinos . The bones had thin walls – some just a millimetre thick – making them suitable for flying .
The researcher mention that the bone structure of the wings is similar to that of skirt that fly in “ bursts ” but ca n’t glide or beat their wings over long distances . These form of razz include things like pheasants and partridges which , when taken by surprisal , will all of a sudden flutter up into the air , fly for a short distance , and make the residuum of their escape on foot .
Nevertheless , the strange shoulder social structure ofArchaeopteryxwould have meant that its wings moved strangely , like the coat of arms of a natator using butterfly CVA . “ Archaeopteryxand pheasant may have deal a similar lifestyle that involved vaporize to cross barrier and dodge vulture , but how they flew would have been very unlike , ” lead generator Dennis Voeten toldThe Guardian .
So , there we have it . Archaeopteryxcould indeed fly , but perhaps not quite as majestically as we might have hop .
