What is the origin of birds?
Q: What is the origin of birds?
A: Birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs during the Mesozoic era.
Q: Who studied the origin of birds nearly 150 years ago?
A: Thomas Henry Huxley ("Darwin's bulldog") made a study of the origin of birds nearly 150 years ago.
Q: What is Archaeopteryx?
A: Archaeopteryx is the first fossil bird.
Q: What did Huxley compare Archaeopteryx with?
A: Huxley compared Archaeopteryx with a small theropod dinosaur, Compsognathus.
Q: Why were Huxley's papers on Archaeopteryx and the origin of birds of great interest then and still are?
A: Huxley's papers on Archaeopteryx and the origin of birds were of great interest then and still are because he united reptiles and birds under the title of Sauropsida, and thought that birds had evolved from small carnivorous dinosaurs.
Q: When did the Solnhofen limestone in Bavaria, Germany come from?
A: The Solnhofen limestone in Bavaria, Germany came from the end of the Jurassic period, about 144 million years ago.
Q: What were the similarities between Archaeopteryx and Compsognathus?
A: The similarities between Archaeopteryx and Compsognathus, except for the front limbs and feathers of Archaeopteryx, were almost identical.
