Archaeopteryx 150 million years ago, in what is now southern Germany during a time when Europe was an archipelago of islands in a shallow warm tropical sea, much closer to the equator than it is now. Similar in size to a Eurasian magpie, with the largest individuals possibly attaining the size of a raven, the largest species of "Archaeopteryx" could grow to about in length. Despite their small size, broad wings, and inferred ability to fly or glide, "Archaeopteryx" had more in common with other small Mesozoic dinosaurs than with modern birds. In particular, they shared the following features with the
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