News Paleontology

This exquisite Archaeopteryx fossil reveals how flight took off in birds

Analyses of the fossil show never-before-seen feathers and bones from the first known bird

An image of the Archaeopteryx fossil under ultraviolet light.

When viewed under ultraviolet light, the soft tissues and fine skeletal details of the new Archaeopteryx specimen become visible.

Delaney Drummond, ©Field Museum

By Carolyn Gramling

An exceptionally preserved specimen of the ancient bird Archaeopteryx offers the most detailed window yet into the evolution of flight, researchers report online May 14 in Nature.

The remarkable preservation of the specimen — the 14th Archaeopteryx ever unearthed — means that researchers can study aspects of the ancient bird that were previously difficult to discern, from the anatomy of its skull to the arrangement of its feathers to the soft tissues on its hands and feet.