Archaeopteryx lithographica

E179356

early bird fossil taxon paravian theropod dinosaur transitional fossil

Archaeopteryx lithographica is a Late Jurassic transitional fossil species that exhibits both dinosaurian and avian features, often regarded as one of the earliest known birds.

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All labels observed (5)

Label	Occurrences
Archaeopteryx	8
Archaeopteryx lithographica canonical	3
Anchiornis	1
Archaeopteryx cast	1
The Misnamed, Mistreated, and Misunderstood Archaeopteryx	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1584337 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Archaeopteryx lithographica
Context triple: [Aves, hasTypeSpecies, Archaeopteryx lithographica]

A. dodo (extinct)
The dodo was a large, flightless bird endemic to Mauritius that became a symbol of human-driven extinction after disappearing in the 17th century.
B. Tarsipes rostratus
Tarsipes rostratus, commonly known as the honey possum, is a tiny nectar- and pollen-feeding marsupial native to southwestern Australia, notable for its elongated snout and specialized brush-tipped tongue.
C. Velociraptor
Velociraptor is a small, fast, and intelligent theropod dinosaur popularly depicted as a cunning pack hunter in books and films like the Jurassic Park franchise.
D. Palorchestes
Palorchestes is an extinct genus of large, herbivorous Australian marsupials, often called "marsupial tapirs" for their tapir-like snouts and robust bodies.
E. Clinomachus
Clinomachus was an ancient Greek philosopher associated with the Megarian school, known for his work on logic and dialectics.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Archaeopteryx lithographica
Target entity description: Archaeopteryx lithographica is a Late Jurassic transitional fossil species that exhibits both dinosaurian and avian features, often regarded as one of the earliest known birds.

A. dodo (extinct)
The dodo was a large, flightless bird endemic to Mauritius that became a symbol of human-driven extinction after disappearing in the 17th century.
B. Tarsipes rostratus
Tarsipes rostratus, commonly known as the honey possum, is a tiny nectar- and pollen-feeding marsupial native to southwestern Australia, notable for its elongated snout and specialized brush-tipped tongue.
C. Velociraptor
Velociraptor is a small, fast, and intelligent theropod dinosaur popularly depicted as a cunning pack hunter in books and films like the Jurassic Park franchise.
D. Palorchestes
Palorchestes is an extinct genus of large, herbivorous Australian marsupials, often called "marsupial tapirs" for their tapir-like snouts and robust bodies.
E. Clinomachus
Clinomachus was an ancient Greek philosopher associated with the Megarian school, known for his work on logic and dialectics.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	early bird ⓘ fossil taxon ⓘ paravian ⓘ theropod dinosaur ⓘ transitional fossil ⓘ
age	Tithonian ⓘ
bodyLength	about 0.5 meters ⓘ
bodyMass	about 0.8 to 1 kilogram ⓘ
clade	Avialae ⓘ Dinosauria ⓘ Maniraptora ⓘ linked to: Paraves Paraves ⓘ Theropoda ⓘ
class	Reptilia ⓘ
diet	carnivorous ⓘ
discoveredIn	19th century ⓘ
ecologicalRole	small predator ⓘ
etymology	name refers to lithographic limestone in which it was found ⓘ
family	Archaeopterygidae ⓘ
firstDescribedBy	Hermann von Meyer ⓘ
fossilPreservation	exceptional ⓘ
fossilSite	Bavaria ⓘ Germany ⓘ Solnhofen limestone ⓘ linked to: Solnhofen Limestone
fossilType	impression in lithographic limestone ⓘ
genus	Archaeopteryx ⓘ linked to: Archaeopteryx lithographica
hasFeature	asymmetrical flight feathers ⓘ birdlike wishbone ⓘ clawed fingers on wings ⓘ feathers ⓘ furcula ⓘ lightweight bones ⓘ long bony tail ⓘ relatively large braincase ⓘ reptilian tail vertebrae ⓘ teeth in jaws ⓘ wings ⓘ
holotypePreservedIn	London Natural History Museum ⓘ linked to: Natural History Museum, London
importance	iconic transitional fossil ⓘ key evidence for dinosaur–bird transition ⓘ
kingdom	Animalia ⓘ
livedApproximately	150 million years ago ⓘ
locomotion	bipedal ⓘ capable of gliding or powered flight ⓘ
phylum	Chordata ⓘ
superclass	Tetrapoda ⓘ
taxonRank	species ⓘ
timePeriod	Late Jurassic ⓘ
yearDescribed	1861 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited