Is this photo of the extinct Archaeopteryx a fake?
Archaeopteryx sprinting
Archaeopteryx (pronounced ark-ee-OP-tuh-rix) is a crow-sized bird known only from fossils.
We do not know what color it was, because colors don't fossilize. But we do know it had claws midway along its wings (like today's baby hoatzin) and it had a long tail (something like today's pheasant coucal).
The alleged Archaeopteryx in this photo has no claws visible on its wings. It has a blurred foot so we won't notice the claw tucked over. And the claw looks as though it is grabbing a tree branch instead of outstretching to climb the rock. We smell a rat! Already it looks as though an artist drew this Archaeopteryx for another purpose and someone has added it to a rock scene where it doesn't exactly fit.
The artificial indoor setting of this rock pool, complete with palm trees, makes you wonder whether this Archaeopteryx is someone's pet — like you might keep a chicken or a duck. The high-gloss, metallic coloring of the feathers makes an eye-catching picture, and the perspective shadow fits (provided the flash of the camera came from the right and slightly above the bird).
But if this were a picture of a living Archaeopteryx, this picture would be worth millions of dollars and would be famous worldwide. Neither of these is true. Instead, the claim that it is an Archaeopteryx seems to be limited to emails containing the photo.
Add to this the problems noted about the wing-claws and the turned-over feet, and this picture has “hoax” written all over it. Note also the dividing line from the near leg that extends up through the wing. This is something that might happen on a creased illustration or photograph, but not on a real bird.
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