Archaeopteryx con características de raptoriforme

A Well-Preserved Archaeopteryx Specimen with Theropod Features
Gerald Mayr, Burkhard Pohl, D. Stefan Peters

A nearly complete skeleton of Archaeopteryx with excellent bone preservation
shows that the osteology of the urvogel is similar to that of nonavian
theropod dinosaurs. The new specimen confirms the presence of a hyperextendible
second toe as in dromaeosaurs and troodontids. Archaeopteryx had
a plesiomorphic tetraradiate palatine bone and no fully reversed first toe.
These observations provide further evidence for the theropod ancestry of
birds. In addition, the presence of a hyperextendible second toe blurs the
distinction of archaeopterygids from basal deinonychosaurs (troodontids and
dromaeosaurs) and challenges the monophyly of Aves.

Artículo de prensa en inglés