Wing bone geometry reveals active flight in Archaeopteryx

Dennis F. A. E. Voeten (), Jorge Cubo, Emmanuel Margerie, Martin Röper, Vincent Beyrand, Stanislav Bureš, Paul Tafforeau and Sophie Sanchez
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Dennis F. A. E. Voeten: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
Jorge Cubo: CNRS-INSU, Institut des Sciences de la Terre Paris
Emmanuel Margerie: Université de Rennes 1, Université de Caen Normandie
Martin Röper: Bürgermeister-Müller-Museum
Vincent Beyrand: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
Stanislav Bureš: Palacký University
Paul Tafforeau: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
Sophie Sanchez: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Archaeopteryx is an iconic fossil taxon with feathered wings from the Late Jurassic of Germany that occupies a crucial position for understanding the early evolution of avian flight. After over 150 years of study, its mosaic anatomy unifying characters of both non-flying dinosaurs and flying birds has remained challenging to interpret in a locomotory context. Here, we compare new data from three Archaeopteryx specimens obtained through phase-contrast synchrotron microtomography to a representative sample of archosaurs employing a diverse array of locomotory strategies. Our analyses reveal that the architecture of Archaeopteryx’s wing bones consistently exhibits a combination of cross-sectional geometric properties uniquely shared with volant birds, particularly those occasionally utilising short-distance flapping. We therefore interpret that Archaeopteryx actively employed wing flapping to take to the air through a more anterodorsally posteroventrally oriented flight stroke than used by modern birds. This unexpected outcome implies that avian powered flight must have originated before the latest Jurassic.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03296-8

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