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Close-up showing the Archaeopteryx fossil’s skull, neck, spine, rib cage and wing bones. The fossil will go on view at Chicago's Field Museum on May 7. Delaney Drummond © Field Museum
The Field Museum is debuting its latest blockbuster specimen, the Chicago Archaeopteryx! With its first appearance in the Jurassic period 151 million years ago, Archaeopteryx is immensely significant due to it being the first “missing link” or transitional fossil that supported the Theory of Evolution. This small fossil also forged the link connecting dinosaurs and birds. Only 13 specimens of Archaeopteryx have been discovered, only 2 are on display in the Western Hemisphere, and 1 of those specimens is here at the Field Museum!
The Chicago Archaeopteryx was discovered before 1990 and was privately owned before being acquired by the Field Museum in 2022. It is 99% complete and one the best preserved Archaeopteryx fossils in the world. In particular, the specimen’s skull, spine, and soft tissues are the most complete and well preserved ever found.
It goes on display on Tuesday, May 7th, 2024! If you're coming to the Field Museum Members' Nights on May 9th and 10th, stop by and see one of the rarest of dinosaurs!
Check out Throwback Thursday #137 to learn about when an Archaeopteryx visited the Field Museum in 1997.
