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a reptilelike fossil bird of the genus Archaeopteryx, from the late Jurassic Period, having teeth and a long, feathered, vertebrate tail.
Historical Examples

It is in this matter that the famous archaeopteryx plays an important part.
At the Deathbed of Darwinism Eberhard Dennert

The birds we described (after the archaeopteryx) also belong to the Cretaceous, and they form another of the doomed races.
The Story of Evolution Joseph McCabe

The importance of archaeopteryx justifies the following descriptive detail.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 4 Various

The only form referred to this subclass of extinct birds is archaeopteryx, the earliest known bird.
The Vertebrate Skeleton Sidney H. Reynolds

Of great interest are the remains of the earliest known bird (archaeopteryx) from the Solenhofen slates of Bavaria.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 5 Various

In archaeopteryx however but five vertebrae take part in the formation of the sacrum.
The Vertebrate Skeleton Sidney H. Reynolds

Nor do I think it likely that the transition from the reptile to the bird has been effected by such a form as archaeopteryx.
Lectures on Evolution Thomas Henry Huxley

In the wing of nearly all birds the ulna is thicker than the radius, but in archaeopteryx the two bones are equal in size.
The Vertebrate Skeleton Sidney H. Reynolds

It seems just possible that in archaeopteryx the metapatagium was more Bat-like.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia Frank Evers Beddard

The Ratitae differ from archaeopteryx and the great majority of Carinatae in being flightless.
The Vertebrate Skeleton Sidney H. Reynolds

noun
any of several extinct primitive birds constituting the genus Archaeopteryx, esp A. lithographica, which occurred in Jurassic times and had teeth, a long tail, well-developed wings, and a body covering of feathers
n.

oldest known fossil bird, 1859, Modern Latin, from archaeo- “ancient, primitive” + Greek pteryx “wing” (see pterodactyl).
archaeopteryx
(är’kē-ŏp’tər-ĭks)
An extinct primitive bird of the genus Archaeopteryx of the Jurassic Period, having characteristics of both birds and dinosaurs. Like dinosaurs, it had a long, bony tail, claws at the end of its fingers, and teeth. Like birds it had wings and feathers. Many scientists regard it as evidence that birds evolved from small carnivorous dinosaurs. See Note at bird.