AVES 



277 



different from modern birds, 

 fully a bird is Archceopteryx. 



The only avian creature that is not 



ARCHCEOPTERYX (THE LIZARD-TAILED BIRD) 



Much has already been said about this reptile-like bird, two speci- 

 mens of which have been recovered from the Upper Jurassic slates of 

 Bavaria (Fig. 149). It 

 was a creature about 

 the size of a crow, but 

 with smaller wings. 

 It had a number of 

 reptilian characters the 

 -most important of 

 which are: 



1. There is no true 



bill, but the rep- 

 tile-like jaws were 

 armed with coni- 

 cal teeth in dis- 

 tinct sockets (Fig. 

 150). 



2. The hand-wing had 



three fingers, long 

 and probably pre- 

 hensile, armed 

 with curved claws. 

 These were proba- 

 bly used both for 

 seizing prey and 

 for clinging to 

 trunks and limbs 

 of trees. 



3. The sternum had no 



keel, or a very 

 poorly developed 

 one at best; hence 

 the bird could not 

 have had strong 



flying muscles. 



FIG. 149. Archceopteryx Uthographica. Berlin 

 specimen, c, carpal, d, furcula; h, humerus; r, ra- 

 dius; sc, scapula; u, ulna; I-IV, digits. (From Parker 

 and Has well.) 



