Archaeopteryx was half reptile, half bird. The first dramatic missing link came to light in 1861, only a couple of years after Darwin's Origin of Species had been published. The first specimen of Archaeopteryx was discovered in a limestone quarry in southern Germany, and it was studied avidly by scientists throughout Europe. Early writers, such as Thomas Henry Huxley, immediately noticed that Archaeopteryx was an intermediate form. It had bird characters, feathers and wings.
Fossils show how some reptiles became more bird-like.
The role of Archaeopteryx has been debated ever since 1861. A further seven skeletons have come to light, and all of them confirm that Huxley was correct. In addition, fantastic new specimens of birds have been found in Spain and China, which are some 30 or 40 million years younger than Archaeopteryx , and they are more bird-like, exactly as an evolutionist predicts. It is now known that birds evolved from reptiles. These new specimens clinch the argument.