Field Museum unveils 'most significant fossil … since Sue': The archaeopteryx

The archaeopteryx exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago.
The archaeopteryx exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago. Museum officials described the fossil as one of the most important ever discovered. Photo credit Lisa Fielding

CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) —  Monday was a big day at the Field Museum, as officials unveiled what’s been called one of the most important fossils ever discovered: the archaeopteryx.

“This is, without a doubt, one of the best specimens of this important species that has ever been found,” said lead researcher and dinosaur curator Jing Mai O’Connnor.

O’Connor said the archaeopteryx fossil proves the evolutionary link between birds and dinosaurs.

A detail shot of the archaeopteryx fossil, which the Field Museum unveiled on Monday.
A detail shot of the archaeopteryx fossil, which the Field Museum unveiled on Monday. The fossil is incredibly significant, according to the Field Museum's lead researcher and dinosaur curator Jing Mai O'Connor, who said it proves the evolutionary link between birds and dinosaurs. Photo credit The Field Museum

“It’s a small, almost-complete fossil bird — about the size of a pigeon — and it’s preserved in the classic death pose, so it has its neck drawn back,” she said. “It’s the one fossil that showed us that birds are dinosaurs, and it’s also the first piece of evidence that we have for understanding the evolution of birds.”

The fossil was discovered in Bavaria in 1990 and is about 150 million years old. When it arrived at the Field Museum in August 2022, officials said most of the skeleton was still obscured by a top layer of rock.

“We weren’t sure how complete it was,” O’Connor said. “When we X-rayed the fossil slab and saw that the fossil inside was nearly 100% complete, we cheered.”

The skull of the archaeopteryx.
The skull of the archaeopteryx. This specific fossil was discovered in southern Germany in 1990. It is about 150 million years old. Photo credit The Field Museum

She noted that when a specimen is prepared for the commercial fossil industry, those who prepare the fossil sometimes prioritize its physical beauty over preserving scientific details. In this case, though, Field Museum experts were able to prepare the fossil on their own — something O’Connor said allowed them to preserve “all sorts of fine details that are invaluable to scientists.”

Only a dozen other archaeopteryx specimens have been found; most of them are in Europe. The Field Museum is the only natural history museum in the western hemisphere to have an archaeopteryx fossil.

O'Connor poses for a photo in front of the archaeopteryx. “I’d say that working on [the archaeopteryx] was a dream come true, but I didn’t even think something so special was worth dreaming of,” she said.
O'Connor poses for a photo in front of the archaeopteryx. “I’d say that working on [the archaeopteryx] was a dream come true, but I didn’t even think something so special was worth dreaming of,” she said. Photo credit Lisa Fielding

O'Connor said this is the most significant fossil acquisition since Sue the tyrannosaurus rex. It goes on display to the public this week.

“I’d say that working on [the archaeopteryx] was a dream come true, but I didn’t even think something so special was worth dreaming of,” she said.

WBBM profiled O’Connor, who’s known as the Field Museum’s “punk rock paleontologist,” in January 2023. Read that story here.

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Featured Image Photo Credit: Lisa Fielding