Archaeopteryx Dinosaurs and Their Beautiful Feathers

Archaeopteryx is the earliest known flying dinosaur - also known as the oldest bird! They lived 150 million years ago and while feathers existed before them for insulation, display and/or gliding, the presence of flight feathers (asymmetrical feathers on the wings) of Archaeopteryx is evidence that they flew!

The first fossilised feather found was in 1861 in Germany, and has since been identified as from an Archaeopteryx. Pigment testing revealed it was black and paleontologists have concluded it is a flight feather, meaning it would have been along the dinosaur's wing. 

The main features that are unique to modern birds compared with dinosaurs are beaks (in place of teeth filled jaws), and the lack of tails. You may have heard hype about bringing animals back from extinction (apparently no lessons were learnt from Jurassic Park) - while I don't agree that it is a viable concept (we can talk about that another day) - there was a fascinating study that attached tails to chickens to observe their movements and their adaptations look surprisingly like raptors!..(or how I imagine raptors walked!)

I love learning about prehistory because it reminds me of the MASSIVE time scales of the world plus it helps me appreciate what is around us now - the fact that we have birds chirping and fluttering around us every day is just mind blowing to me! So next time you are watching the sparrows and waxeyes in your garden, remember that their cousins were terrifying and we are very fortunate that we get these cuties to share our day with!

Our Archaeopteryx Dinosaur Feather design is inspired by the fossilised feather shown here and aims to remind you to be in awe of our avian friends each and every day!

If you are interested in learning more about these amazing animals check out Nature Magazine.