One of the most pressing lingering mysteries is how Archaeopteryx managed to fly above its fellow feathered dinosaur relatives. Many of its dinosaur relatives evolved feathers, but they stopped at the elbow and lacked the tertials necessary for flight. Multiple studies suggest Archaeopteryx behaved less like a high-soaring falcon, and more like a chicken capable of gliding shorter distances. “Archaeopteryx isn’t the first dinosaur to have feathers, or the first dinosaur to have ‘wings,’” said O’Connor. “But we think it’s the earliest known dinosaur that was able to use its feathers to fly.”