And so, by studying Archaeopteryx, scientists were able to put together a picture of how theropods could have evolved into birds.
Life on Earth has existed for billions of years, and we know this not because we’ve been around the whole time, but thanks to the discovery of fossils. These fossils tell us about organisms that lived in the distant past, and by studying them, scientists can see how life on Earth has changed over evolutionary time. This is known as the fossil record, and it shows an overall increase in organism complexity and diversity, as well as changes along evolutionary lineages. For example, the Cambrian Explosion saw a huge increase in the diversity of animals on Earth, and the fossil record also shows us how birds are direct descendants of a group of dinosaurs known as theropods. By studying fossils such as Archaeopteryx, scientists can piece together a picture of how theropods could have evolved into birds. Archaeopteryx is a key example of an evolutionary transition between theropod dinosaurs and birds in the fossil record. The Triceratops is also an important example of extinction, as it went extinct due to a mass extinction event. This event is evidenced by the disappearance of many other types of organisms from the fossil record at the same time. Earth’s fossil record is an invaluable tool for scientists to piece together the history of life on Earth, and new fossils are continuously being discovered to add to this ever-growing record.