Have we lost an Archaeopteryx but gained a new species of therapod dinosaur?
by Mark Carnall from on (#39Z1N)
Worldwide, there are currently just 12 known Archaeopteryx fossils - but researchers believe one might in fact be a new species: Ostromia crassipes
A paper published earlier this week in BMC Evolutionary biology suggests that one of only 12 known Archaeopteryx fossil skeletons is not in fact an Archaeopteryx at all but a new species of theropod dinosaur, Ostromia crassipes. One Dutch newspaper, perhaps over-egging it slightly, went as far as likening the discovery to finding out that your Monet painting turned out to be a Van Gogh. So what is Archaeopteryx and why has this paper got palaeontologists (a bit) excited?
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