New Archaeopteryx found! Owned by US museum

[Lt. Killer M]

A new specimen of Archaeopteryx was found in the famous Solnhofen quarries. It was bought up by my friend Burkhard Pohl, founder and previous owner of the Wyoming Dinosaur Center.

The archaeopteryx is now on loan to the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt / Germany for scientific study. I expect it to go on display in Thermopolis, WY, right afterwards!


Here's an article in sciencemag.org:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/conten.../310/5753/1483
and Erik Stokstad's IMO somwhat too critical comment on the ownership:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/conten.../310/5753/1418



I must say that in my personal experience, B. Pohl and the WDC do whatever they can to allow access to specimens - and are much more accomodating than most 'public' museums!


back to the dino bird:

quote:A Well-Preserved Archaeopteryx Specimen with Theropod Features
Gerald Mayr,1* Burkhard Pohl,2 D. Stefan Peters1

A nearly complete skeleton of Archaeopteryx with excellent bone preservation shows that the osteology of the urvogel is similar to that of nonavian theropod dinosaurs. The new specimen confirms the presence of a hyperextendible second toe as in dromaeosaurs and troodontids. Archaeopteryx had a plesiomorphic tetraradiate palatine bone and no fully reversed first toe. These observations provide further evidence for the theropod ancestry of birds. In addition, the presence of a hyperextendible second toe blurs the distinction of archaeopterygids from basal deinonychosaurs (troodontids and dromaeosaurs) and challenges the monophyly of Aves.

1 Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Division of Ornithology, Senckenberganlage 25, D-60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
2 Wyoming Dinosaur Center, 110 Carter Ranch Road, Post Office Box 912, Thermopolis, WY 82443, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Gerald.Mayr@senckenberg.de

here's the pics:


full size here: http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads10/310_1483_F1.jpeg

full size here: http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads10/310_1483_F2.jpeg

full size here: http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads10/310_1483_F3.jpeg




And now for the whopper:





clearly, the most parsimonius assumption is that, if we define birds to be all animals descendant from the first active flyer, then flight developed with the last common ancestor of Archaeopteryx and Confuciusornis - meaning that all the Deinonychosauridae are secondarily flightless! Not too big a surprise, btw, if you look at limb proportions and the folding mechanism for the hand - looks like giant chickens, after all

Edited to fix some of your tags - Meli

[Pastorius]

It's every dinodude's wet dream and christmas gift at the same time, no?`


Sounds interesting nonetheless.
Are you going there?

[Lt. Killer M]

been there several times - obviosuly did NOT get to see the bird though


btw, if someone flames and spams THIS thread as a certain asshole did in the CFC thread, then I will PERSONALLY them

[Rik Meleet]

Why is Confuciusornis red-colored ?

[romeothemonk]

Thermopolis, a very nice town.
I didn't know that Killer visited there. He will have to let me know next time he is headed there. I'll meet him and buy him a beer.
And we can discuss dinosaurs, although I take a much different view of formative theory than he does, I still like dinosaurs.

[Lt. Killer M]

romeo, you are located near Thermo?????? I have been there repeatedly and am friends with the new science director at the WDC!

You know that new pizza place downtown? coming from Shoshone, you take a right at the corssroads with the trafficlight where the metal theropod is located, then it's at the end of the block on the left - delicious food!

let's meet there for a pizza next time I'm over there

[romeothemonk]

Actually Killer, I am a 4 hour drive from Thermo.
My wife is starting a geology degree and loves fossils as well as heated swimming, both of which Thermo has.
It would be an easy sell to take a day or two off and visit Wyoming. I also have family near by, making it that much easier to sneak off.
Definitely give me a PM or something if you are nearby. Definitely worth the visit.