Archaeopteryx Archaeopteryx Archaeopteryx (), meaning "old wing" (sometimes referred to by its German name ("original bird" or "first bird")), is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs that is transitional between non-avian feathered dinosaurs and modern birds. The name derives from the ancient Greek ("archaīos") meaning "ancient", and ("ptéryx"), meaning "feather" or "wing". Between the late nineteenth century and the early twenty-first century, "Archaeopteryx" had been generally accepted by palaeontologists and popular reference books as the oldest known bird (member of the group Avialae). Older potential avialans have since been identified, including "Anchiornis", "Xiaotingia", and "Aurornis". "Archaeopteryx" lived in the Late Jurassic around
Ancestor Ancestor An ancestor is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent, and so forth). "Ancestor" is "any person from whom one is descended. In law the person from whom an estate has been inherited." Two individuals have a genetic relationship if one is the ancestor of the other, or if they share a common ancestor. In evolutionary theory, species which share an evolutionary ancestor are said to be of common descent. However, this concept of ancestry does not apply to some bacteria and other organisms capable of horizontal gene transfer. Some research suggests