Episode 3 of 3

Report of the Skeleton

When: September 1861
Where: Neues Jahrbuch correspondence
Part of: First description of Archaeopteryx based on a feather

Von Meyer reported a nearly-complete skeleton from the same deposits in September 1861.

In September 1861, von Meyer wrote to the Neues Jahrbuch about being informed of the discovery by Friedrich Ernst Witte. He commented on the coincidental nature of learning of a feathered skeleton from the Solnhofen strata while studying the feather.

Sources

Specimens of Archaeopteryx Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-15

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