Archaeopteryx lithographicia, Eichstatt Specimen A & B sides

Side A & B.  Found near Workerszell in 1951, it was described by P. Wellnhofer in 1974. This is the smallest of all the specimens, being some 2/3 the size of the others. It also differs in other aspects such as the tooth structure and the poorly ossified shoulder bones. It has been suggested that this is a separate genus, however the differences can also be ascribed to the possible juvenile stage of the animal and/or a different feeding niche. However, this specimen has the best preserved head, from which the litany of Archae's reptilian cranial features were described. At the moment it still resides within A.lithographica. What has reptilian teeth, a long bony tail, three clawed fingers on each forearm and...feathers? Archaeopteryx, of course. Sometimes referred to as the first bird we now understand Archaeopteryx to be part of a group related to the ancestors of modern birds. While Archaeopteryx had true feathers and could fly, the creature was mostly dinosaurian in form. Few