Only seven specimens of this species, the first bird, are known. Archaeopteryx is recorded solely from the Lithographic Limestone of the Solnhofen region of Bavaria, Germany. It was first described by H. von Meyer in 1861 and is of Middle Kimmeridgian or Upper Jurassic age. Recent work on this species by several palaeontologists tends to support the theory that the birds, through Archaeopteryx, evolved from coelurosaur dinosaurs similar to Compsognathus. The species A. lithographica possesses several primitive characters such as teeth, as well as specialized features such as feathers and hollow bones. It is a good example of a connecting species which exhibits a mosaic of evolutionary features.