<figure class="fr-image-container fr-full"><img srcset="https://cdn.discovermagazine.com/assets/image/22649/Archaeopteryx_lithographica_Berlin_specimen-s.webp 480w, https://cdn.discovermagazine.com/assets/image/22649/Archaeopteryx_lithographica_Berlin_specimen-m.webp 660w" sizes="(max-width: 480px) 480px, 660px" src="https://cdn.discovermagazine.com/assets/image/22649/Archaeopteryx_lithographica_Berlin_specimen-s.jpg" title="Archaeopteryx_lithographica_Berlin_specimen.jpg" loading="lazy" data-id="22649"><figcaption class="fr-figcaption"><p class="fr-caption"></p></figcaption></figure><p><em>Archaeopteryx lithographica</em></p><div class="vert-display-toggle collapsible relative flex flex-col items-center "><div class="vert-unit mt-4 mb-3 top-20"><div ad-type="mobile-desktop" class="ad-wrapper vert min-h-boombox flex items-start justify-center" data-ad-mapping="inline" data-ad-slot="Discover/inline-ad" id="div-inline-ad-0"></div></div><span aria-label="Advertisement" class="text-ad mt-1 text-[11px] uppercase">Advertisement</span></div><p> Birds are the modern descendants of dinosaurs, but the exact details of the family tree are controversial. </p><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeopteryx" title="">Archaeopteryx</a><em>, </em></p><div data-embedid="dcfb67aa-fdf4-4a19-b4c7-75c497a8de9c" id="insticator-embed-temp"></div><p>the winged creature found in German fossil beds whose name means "first from a feather," was long thought to be the first bird. Last summer, a <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v475/n7357/full/nature10288.html" title=""><em>Nature</em> paper</a></p><p> by Xu Xing, of China’s Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, claimed that <em>Archaeopteryx</em> was related to birds but actually belonged on a separate branch of the tree, with other bird-like dinosaurs. Scientists still debate the rightful place of <em>Archaeopteryx</em> in the dinosaur-bird lineage, but what’s undisputed are Xu's contributions to paleontology. He has named 60 dinosaur species, more than any other living paleontologist, and his stamping grounds are the fossil beds of Liaoning Province, northeast of Beijing, where many of the feathered dinosaurs and early birds were discovered. Kerri Smith enumerates Xu Xing's contributions to the study of birds and their dinosaur relatives in a <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/china-s-dinosaur-hunter-the-ground-breaker-1.11352" title="">profile</a></p><p> at Nature News: </p><blockquote><p>In describing the flock of feathered fossils, Xu has helped to show that birds arose from dinosaurs, ending decades of debate. Along the way, he has shed light on the origins of feathers and flight. And he has bucked 150 years of received wisdom by declaring that the fabled genus <em>Archaeopteryx</em> is not the oldest known bird, but rather belonged to a group of dinosaurs removed from the avian line. “He has patience and persistence — and an audacity when scientific evidence calls for it,” says Zhe-Xi Luo, who studies fossil mammals at the University of Chicago in Illinois.”</p></blockquote><p> And what is he up to these days? Well, according to the profile, Xu is now studying herbivorous beaked dinosaurs, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceratopsia" title="">ceratopsians</a></p><p>, which include the famous <em>Triceratops</em>, found in a fossil bed near the town of Zhucheng south of Beijing. He’s also consulting for a dinosaur theme park that administrators are planning there. Read more at <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/china-s-dinosaur-hunter-the-ground-breaker-1.11352" title="">Nature News</a></p><p>. </p><p><em>Image courtesy of </em><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Archaeopteryx_lithographica_%28Berlin_specimen%29.jpg" title="">H. Raab / Wikimedia Commons</a></p><div class="vert-display-toggle collapsible relative flex flex-col items-center "><div class="vert-unit mt-4 mb-3 top-20"><div ad-type="mobile" class="ad-wrapper vert min-h-boombox flex items-start justify-center" data-ad-mapping="inline" data-ad-slot="Discover/inline-ad" id="div-inline-ad-1"></div></div><span aria-label="Advertisement" class="text-ad mt-1 text-[11px] uppercase">Advertisement</span></div>

Explore how Archaeopteryx lithographica reshapes our understanding of bird evolution from dinosaurs, with insights into Xu Xing's research.

Planet Earth

China's Leading Dinosaur Hunter Has Many Feathers In His Cap

Article

News

Ashley P. Taylor

Science

Archaeopteryx lithographica Birds are the modern descendants of dinosaurs, but the exact details of the family tree are controversial. Archaeopteryx, the winged creature found in German fossil beds whose name means "first from a feather," was long thought to be the first bird. Last summer, a Nature paper by Xu Xing, of China’s Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, claimed that Archaeopteryx was related to birds but actually belonged on a separate branch of the tree, with other bird-like dinosaurs. Scientists still debate the rightful place of Archaeopteryx in the dinosaur-bird lineage, but what’s undisputed are Xu's contributions to paleontology. He has named 60 dinosaur species, more than any other living paleontologist, and his stamping grounds are the fossil beds of Liaoning Province, northeast of Beijing, where many of the feathered dinosaurs and early birds were discovered. Kerri Smith enumerates Xu Xing's contributions to the study of birds and their dinosaur relatives in a profile at Nature News: In describing the flock of feathered fossils, Xu has helped to show that birds arose from dinosaurs, ending decades of debate. Along the way, he has shed light on the origins of feathers and flight. And he has bucked 150 years of received wisdom by declaring that the fabled genus Archaeopteryx is not the oldest known bird, but rather belonged to a group of dinosaurs removed from the avian line. “He has patience and persistence — and an audacity when scientific evidence calls for it,” says Zhe-Xi Luo, who studies fossil mammals at the University of Chicago in Illinois.” And what is he up to these days? Well, according to the profile, Xu is now studying herbivorous beaked dinosaurs, ceratopsians , which include the famous Triceratops, found in a fossil bed near the town of Zhucheng south of Beijing. He’s also consulting for a dinosaur theme park that administrators are planning there. Read more at Nature News . Image courtesy of H. Raab / Wikimedia Commons

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