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
Specimens of Archaeopteryx its aerodynamic function as a flight feather. As the feather bears little resemblance to the retrices of the other full "Archaeopteryx" skeletons, it is generally thought to be a wing feather: Griffiths and others have concluded it was a remex, while Carney in 2012 interpreted it to be a covert feather. The feather has a relatively low degree of asymmetry, which Speakman and Thompson in 1994 concluded to indicate it as a secondary remex. If this is the case, then it would have originated from an animal smaller than even the Eichstätt specimen, which is the smallest "Archaeopteryx" specimen known