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
Ruppert Archaeopteryx Ruppert Archaeopteryx The Ruppert Archaeopteryx () is a Swiss high-wing, pod-and-boom, single-seat, microlift glider that was designed by Roger Ruppert and is produced by Ruppert Composite GmbH. The aircraft is named for the feathered Archaeopteryx dinosaur. The Archaeopteryx was conceived as a foot-launchable microlift sailplane, with the design goals of a light empty weight, low stall speed with gentle stall characteristics, good maneuverability and good high speed performance. A further goal was a sailplane that could be foot-launched in zero wind conditions. The Archaeopteryx design started in 1998 at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHW) as a research project.