Specimens of Archaeopteryx feather's earlier discovery, von Meyer made the London fossil the type specimen of the genus ("Archaeopteryx") and species ("lithographica"), establishing it as the exemplar of the species' features. Its discovery and subsequent descriptions, a mere handful of years after Darwin's "On the Origin of Species", fulfilled the hope of a truly transitional form in its then-unique amalgamation of bird and reptilian characters. The specimen is preserved on two counter slabs broken originally into four pieces. The main, overlaying slab contains most of the skeletal elements, while only impressions and a few bone fragments are visible on the counter slab. This
Specimens of Archaeopteryx a fish. Fragments of the braincase and upper jaw were later identified and published by other researchers. While Owen's 1863 monograph on the specimen is historically considered to be the first real description of "Archaeopteryx", Henry Woodward, assistant of the Geological Department of the British Museum, had published a shorter article on the specimen in December 1862. Here he provided a detailed description as well as the first published illustration of the specimen, sketched from the original. Rather than an attempt to steal Owen's glory, Woodward gave him due credit in this article as its official describer. Woodward's article nevertheless