Animal Facts

The archaeopteryx was the first bird-like creature to live. Though it wasn't an actual bird, it was closely related to the evolutionary origin of birds. It lived in the late Jurassic period, approximately 150 million years ago. It was similar in shape to a magpie, the largest of them growing to the size of a raven. Though it had bird-like features like wings and the ability to glide, its physiology was closer to that of raptors like deinonychosaurs with sharp teeth and a killing claw.