You may think that reptiles are closely
related to dinosaurs, but dinosaurs
may have more in common with birds!
Living dinosaurs
The first bird?
The earliest-
known bird is
Archaeopteryx,
which first
appeared in the
Jurassic period.
It had the toothed
head, clawed
fingers, and
long bony tail
of a dinosaur,
but it also
had feathers.
What size do you think Archaeopteryx reached?
210
Age of the dinosaurs
Archaeopteryx
means “ancient
wing”.
Caudipteryx
would not have
been able to
fly as its wings
were too small.
A hidden link?
The link between dinosaurs and birds is a
puzzle. Caudipteryx appears to have been a
combination of bird
and dinosaur.
Fossilized
Archaeopteryx