Avimimus of bird-like features not known in other dinosaurs at the time. In fact, Kurzanov argued that "Avimimus", rather than the famous early bird "Archaeopteryx", was close to the direct ancestor of modern birds, and that "Archaeopteryx" was not as closely related to birds as had previously been suggested. However, this view has not been supported by later phylogenetic analyses of dinosaur and bird relationships. Most modern scientists find that "Avimimus" in fact belongs to a diverse group of bird-like dinosaurs more primitive than "Archaeopteryx", the oviraptorosaurs. Kurzanov placed "Avimimus" in its own family, Avimimidae, in 1981. In 1991, Sankar Chatterjee
Specimens of Archaeopteryx Pohl, who was able to find an anonymous donor willing to offer up the funds. After an initial period of display and scientific study in Germany, the specimen would then be given to the WDC on a long-term loan. After a period of research (Mayr et al. 2005, 2007), the fossil was transferred to the Wyoming Dinosaur Center of Thermopolis, Wyoming, where it has remained since June 2007. The export out of Germany of this specimen—widely considered to be one of the best "Archaeopteryx" fossils known—has caused some concern among German paleontologists and the public. Though no formal legality was