The Wyoming Dinosaur Center is proud to announce that this important specimen is now being housed on display at WDC facilities. Two in depth scientific publiations have already been published, and several more research projects are underway. The tenth specimen to be described, the new Thermopolis Specimen is second only to the Berlin specimen in terms of completeness, including a well-preserved skull that for the first time gives scientists a "top view" of the head of Archaeopteryx.

While the fact that birds evolved from dinosaurs is well accepted, the new specimen provides additional support for the idea that birds are just another kind of dinosaur (much as bats are a type of mammal). The well-preserved foot of the Thermopolis specimen shows that second toe could "hyper-extend", rising off the ground, as in Velociraptor and Troodon. This suggests that Archaeopteryx normally walked only on two toes, like bird-like meat-eating dinosaurs. Also, the well-preserved foot confirms the suggestion of some other researchers that the first toe (the hallux) was not reversed like it is in modern perching birds. This suggests that Archaeopteryx did not spend as much time in trees as previous researchers had thought.

Other more esoteric details confirm the close relationship of birds to meat-eating dinosaurs. Some thought that a bone in modern birds called the "pre-tibial" bone was different from the ankle bone in meat-eating dinosaurs called the "ascending process of the astragalus". The ankle bones of the Thermopolis specimen are preserved in front view, and show clearly that Archaeopteryx has the same kind of ankle as other meat-eating dinosaurs.

In the skull of the Thermopolis specimen a bone in the snout called the "palatine" is better preserved than in any other specimen. The new bone shows that Archaeopteryx had a primitive meat-eating dinosaur palatine with four prongs, rather than the three-pronged palatine seen in more advanced birds.

In summary, the new Thermopolis specimen of Archaeopteryx further confirms that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs (and, in fact are a type of theropod dinosaur). It shows that Archaeopteryx' feet and ankles were almost identical to those of its close relatives, such as Velociraptor. It also demonstrates that the earliest birds did not spend as much time in trees as had been previously thought. In the future it should help scientists sort out the species-level relationships of the different Archaeopteryx specimens.

For more information, read about the exhibit, contact the WDC, or e-mail Scott Hartman at scott@wyodino.org.