# evol: the early bird Archaeopteryx was an incidental, short-distance, active flyer

<< The wing bones of Archaeopteryx were shaped for incidental active flight, but not for the advanced style of flying mastered by today's birds >>

European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. The early bird got to fly: Archaeopteryx was an active flyer. Mar 13, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-03-early-bird-archaeopteryx-flyer.html

AA << analyses reveal that the architecture of Archaeopteryx's wing bones consistently exhibits a combination of cross-sectional geometric properties uniquely shared with volant birds, particularly those occasionally utilising short-distance flapping >>

Dennis F. A. E. Voeten, Jorge Cubo, et al.  Wing bone geometry reveals active flight in Archaeopteryx. Nature Communications. 2018; 9 (923). doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-03296-8.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-03296-8