The first Archaeopteryx skeleton was announced in 1861 after being excavated by quarrymen from the Solnhofen Limestone deposits of Bavaria, Germany. Earlier that year an isolated feather had been described from the same deposits under the name of Archaeopteryx, or ‘ancient feather’. It was clear that the partially articulated fossil skeleton, which was preserved in stunning detail with a fan of feathers spreading from its arms and tail, belonged to the same remarkable creature.

Archaeopteryx was a small carnivorous flying bird about the size of a crow. Its most striking characteristic is its long feathers which are essentially identical to those of modern birds, as this Archaeopteryx toy accurately replicates. Its jaws were filled with tiny sharp teeth and it had a long feathered tail. It could walk on two long legs with four toes, and had three fingered hands.