A prehistoric creature from about 150 million years ago that had both dinosaur features (teeth, bony tail) and bird features (feathers, wings), showing the evolutionary link between dinosaurs and birds.
From Greek 'archaeo-' (ancient) + 'pteryx' (wing). Named in 1861 when German scientists discovered exceptionally preserved fossils showing feathers and skeletal features.
Archaeopteryx is the poster child of evolution—when the first specimen was discovered, it was a smoking gun proving that birds are literally descended from dinosaurs, which seemed absolutely revolutionary at the time!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.