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
Wyoming Dinosaur Center Wyoming Dinosaur Center The Wyoming Dinosaur Center is located in Thermopolis, Wyoming and is one of the few dinosaur museums in the world to have excavation sites within driving distance. The museum displays the Thermopolis Specimen of "Archaeopteryx", which is the only real specimen of this genus on display outside of Europe. Fifteen minutes from the museum are their many dig sites. Located on the Warm Springs Ranch, more than 10,000 bones have been discovered and excavated, most of which are either on display or stored just down the hill at the museum. One of the most notable fossil assemblies