E. Profile of caudal vertebrae of same; one-third natural size.
e, e. Direction of tail-feathers when seen in profile.
f. Ploughshare bone or broad terminal joint (seen also in f, D.))
In the same slate of Solenhofen a fine example was met with in 1862 of the
skeleton of a bird almost entire, and retaining even its feathers so perfect
that the vanes as well as the shaft are preserved. The head was at first
supposed to be wanting, but Mr. Evans detected on the slab what seems to be the
impression of the cranium and beak, much resembling in size and shape that of
the jay or woodcock. This valuable specimen is now in the British Museum, and
has been called by Professor Owen Archaeopteryx macrura. Although anatomists
agree that it is a true bird, yet they also find that in the length of the bones
of the tail, and some other minor points of its anatomy, it approaches more
nearly to reptiles than any known living bird. In the living representatives of
the class Aves, the tail-feathers are attached to a coccygian bone, consisting
of several vertebrae united together, whereas in the Archaeopteryx the tail is
composed of twenty vertebrae, each of which supports a pair of quill-feathers.
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