This page is a mirror of the original page found on Dinosauria On-Line . For this page and more, visit today. With all the specimens old and new now available, virtually the entire skull and skeleton is now known for Archaeopteryx .
Conclusions are as follows.
Contrary to reports otherwise, there is no evidence for avian skull kinetics, and the postorbital bar was probably complete. The palate and braincase are entirely theropodian in structure. Archaeopteryx is not only a theropod, it is a dromaeosaur because it shares a number of detailed characters only with dromaeosaurs. Some other characters are found only in the two forms and some basal birds. Some of the Archaeopteryx -dromaeosaur characters are as follows.