Archaeopteryx slow growth is the flightless kiwi, and the authors speculated that "Archaeopteryx" and the kiwi had similar basal metabolic rate. Comparisons between the scleral rings of "Archaeopteryx" and modern birds and reptiles indicate that it may have been diurnal, similar to most modern birds. The richness and diversity of the Solnhofen limestones in which all specimens of "Archaeopteryx" have been found have shed light on an ancient Jurassic Bavaria strikingly different from the present day. The latitude was similar to Florida, though the climate was likely to have been drier, as evidenced by fossils of plants with adaptations for arid
Specimens of Archaeopteryx other "Archaeopteryx" specimens. The left wing preserves the better plumage and shows flight feathers firmly connected to the arms. Though the wings overlap each other enough that assigning feather attachment points to individual bone regions is not possible, it does appear, consistent with other specimens and modern relatives, that the long primary feathers are attached to the second manual digit. The feathers of the right wing are considerably more damaged; so many feathers are missing that only a few can be definitively linked to the ulna, designating them as secondary remiges. One small feather is isolated next to the right