This fossilised archaeopteryx is an animal with a skeleton like a dinosaur and feathers like a bird. The discovery of the archaeopteryx in Germany in 1861 created a sensation. Sir Charles Darwin's 'On The Origin of Species' had been published only a few years earlier in 1859. Darwin recognised the importance of the archaeopteryx as evidence for the relationship between reptiles and birds. Like the platypus, archaeopteryx is a 'missing link'. Less than a dozen fossilised specimens have been found, making each specimen very valuable to science.
