Archaeopteryx is a long extinct genus of animal transitional between dinosaurs and modern birds. It had wings, feathers and extensive body plumage but was as yet a poor flyer. It has long been believed to be the first bird or birdlike animal to appear on earth, a claim disputed since recent discoveries in other locations. Archaeopteryx lived during the latter part of the Jurassic period. The fossil here seen is one of the type species, Archaeopteryx lithographica, found in the Upper Jurassic Solnhofen Plattenkalk of Bavaria, southern Germany. Actual width of the limestone slab here exposed is 450 mm.