Specimens of Archaeopteryx original classification of a new taxon, "Archaeopteryx bavarica". The hind limbs, while showing no morphological differences from previously known specimens, were perhaps the best preserved yet and showed some unprecedented details. For example, the right foot was preserved so tightly flexed that the claws of the first and fourth toes are overlapping, indicating that a grasping or perching function was present in "Archaeopteryx", possibly as sophisticated as that of modern birds. Only the imprints of wing and tail feathers are present, and all sign of feathers comes from the counterslab. No body feathers are evident. The right wing displays a
Archaeopteryx be black throughout, with heavier pigmentation in the distal tip. The feather studied was most probably a dorsal covert, which would have partly covered the primary feathers on the wings. The study does not mean that "Archaeopteryx" was entirely black, but suggests that it had some black colouration which included the coverts. Carney pointed out that this is consistent with what we know of modern flight characteristics, in that black melanosomes have structural properties that strengthen feathers for flight. In a 2013 study published in the "Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry", new analyses of "Archaeopteryx"'s feathers revealed that the animal