First Description of Archaeopteryx
- When
- 1863
- Where
- Publication place not attested; London inferred as institutional context
Richard Owen described the London Specimen in 1863, naming it Archaeopteryx macrura, allowing for the possibility it did not belong to the same species as the feather.
The London Specimen was missing most of its head and neck. Owen's description in 1863 allowed for the possibility that the skeleton did not belong to the same species as the feather. The name Archaeopteryx macrura, attributed to Owen 1862 in the taxonomic synonymy list, was later rejected in 1961 per ICZN Opinion 607. The supplied passages do not state where the description was published; London is an inferred institutional context from Owen's base, not a directly attested publication place.
Sources
- Archaeopteryx Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-05
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.