MAIL ONLINE: Dinosaur fossil with feathers and clawed FINGERS may be a whole new species of the 'first bird' Archaeopteryx

Description

A new species of the famous archaeopteryx has been discovered by scientists, confirming its status as the link between dinosaurs and birds.

The find confirms the creature - which had avian feathers but teeth and clawed fingers like a reptile - was the world's first avian.

Recent studies of archaeopteryx bones had suggested the creature was not a bird at all, but rather a feathered reptile that hunted on the ground.

But a new analysis of the youngest known archaeopteryx fossil shows it had the capacity to fly, as well as other bird-like traits, such as thin, air-filled bones.