''Wellnhoferia'' (named after
Peter Wellnhofer
Peter Wellnhofer (born Munich, 1936) is a German paleontologist at the Bayerische Staatssammlung fur Paläontologie in Munich. He is best known for his work on the various fossil specimens of ''Archaeopteryx'' or "Urvogel", the first known bird. W ...
) is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of early prehistoric bird-like theropod dinosaur closely related to ''
Archaeopteryx
''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird''), is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaīos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" ...
''. It lived in what is now
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, during the Late
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...
. While ''Wellnhoferia'' was similar to ''Archaeopteryx'', it had a shorter tail and its fourth toe was shorter than in ''Archaeopteryx''.
Andrzej Elżanowski (2001) of the Institute of Zoology of the
University of Wrocław
, ''Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Breslau'' (before 1945)
, free_label = Specialty programs
, free =
, colors = Blue
, website uni.wroc.pl
The University of Wrocław ( pl, Uniwersytet Wrocławski, U ...
, Poland, determined the differences resulted from a "phylogenetic reduction rather than individual variation."
![Archiesizeall1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Archiesizeall1.svg)
The type specimen is the Solnhofen Specimen of ''Archaeopteryx'' (BSP 1999). Discovered in the 1960s near
Eichstätt
Eichstätt () is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the Altmühl river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese ...
, Germany and described in 1988 by Wellnhofer (as a specimen of ''Archaeopteryx''),
it is currently located at the
Bürgermeister-Müller-Museum
The Bürgermeister-Müller-Museum is a natural history museum in Solnhofen, Germany. In 1954 the mayor Friedrich Mueller brought his private collection to the public. In 1968 the museum was officially founded and opened in 1970. The museum collect ...
in
Solnhofen
Solnhofen is a municipality in the district of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen in the region of Middle Franconia in the ' of Bavaria in Germany. It is in the Altmühl valley.
The local area is famous in geology and palaeontology for Solnhofen limest ...
. It was originally classified as a ''
Compsognathus
''Compsognathus'' (; Greek ''kompsos''/κομψός; "elegant", "refined" or "dainty", and ''gnathos''/γνάθος; "jaw") is a genus of small, bipedal, carnivorous theropod dinosaur. Members of its single species ''Compsognathus longipes'' c ...
'' by an amateur collector.
Although Elżanowski found significant differences between ''Wellnhoferia'' and ''Archaeopteryx'', a 2007 study by Mayr ''et al.''
found ''Wellnhoferia'' was a specimen of ''Archaeopteryx lithographica''. Senter and Robins (2003), however, supported Elżanowski's naming of a new genus.
References
Prehistoric avialans
Prehistoric bird genera
Late Jurassic dinosaurs of Europe
Solnhofen fauna
Feathered dinosaurs
Jurassic birds
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