archaeopteryx
noun
ar·chae·op·ter·yx
| \ ˌär-kē-ˈäp-tə-riks
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Definition of archaeopteryx
: a primitive crow-sized bird (genus Archaeopteryx) of the Upper Jurassic period of Europe having reptilian characteristics (such as teeth and a long bony tail)
Examples of archaeopteryx in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For decades, paleontologists’ only fossil link between birds and dinosaurs was archaeopteryx, a hybrid creature with feathered wings but with the teeth and long bony tail of a dinosaur. — Quanta Magazine, "How Dinosaurs Shrank and Became Birds," 2 June 2015 Some coelurosaurs started shrinking as far back as 200 million years ago — 50 million years before archaeopteryx emerged. — Quanta Magazine, "How Dinosaurs Shrank and Became Birds," 2 June 2015 The highlight was the center’s most valuable display: a fossilized archaeopteryx from some 150 million years ago, one of 10 in the world (the others are all in Europe). — Rachel Walker, idahostatesman, "A real Jurassic park lies underground at Wyoming Dinosaur Center," 12 May 2017 However, as a gesture of goodwill, Atheist Santa will leave your child with a set of wooden periodic-table blocks and a scale model of archaeopteryx. — Lore Sjöberg, WIRED, "Alt.Santas Put the X Back in Xmas," 18 Dec. 2007 A birdlike creature that had teeth, a tail and wings, the archaeopteryx is roughly the size of a crow. — Rachel Walker, idahostatesman, "A real Jurassic park lies underground at Wyoming Dinosaur Center," 12 May 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'archaeopteryx.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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