Archeopteryx The first birds to live on Earth may have taken to the air with leaps, rather than the powerful single leaps used by modern birds, according to one researcher. new biomechanical research Published in a magazine developmental biology.
Archeopteryx They lived in what is now Germany during the Jurassic period about 150 million years ago.
Regarded as the first known bird, it had primitive features such as teeth and a long bony tail.
It also had limited shoulder mobility and no sternum, which hindered its ability to quickly reach flight speeds. Exactly how it left the ground has remained a mystery until now.
“Archeopteryx “This is the first real bird,” said Dr Neil Gostling of the University of Southampton.
“It was feathered and had wings, but it also retained many typical dinosaur features, including a long bony tail, claws on separate fingers, and teeth in a beakless jaw.”
“It wasn’t a particularly well-developed ‘bird’ compared to the birds we know today.”
“We know Archeopteryx Professor Marcus Heller from the University of Southampton said: “With no keel-shaped sternum and shoulders unable to lift the wings above the back, they were unable to rely on their wings for flight. So we asked what role their legs could play.”
“Now we know that takeoff is determined. The legs create the force, and then the wings take over.”
For the study, the researchers scaled data from living birds to build a detailed musculoskeletal computer model of the 150-million-year-old creature’s hind limbs. ArcheopteryxAnatomy of.
They reasoned that the animal’s wings might not have been able to produce the powerful strokes that modern birds use to take off.
Instead, the study points out: Archeopteryx‘s unusually strong legs make up about 13% of its body weight, compared to 9-10% in modern birds.
Scientists calculated that a single jump could propel the animal up to about 3 meters per second, which was far short of the 7 meters per second needed for sustained flight.
But the model showed that two or three consecutive jumps, combined with modest wing flaps in between, could have made up the difference.
Illustration of the method Archeopteryx We could have taken off. Image credit: Science Graphic Design.
The discovery supports a fundamental origin of powered flight in which early birds gradually gained speed through repeated leaps, rather than the sudden, forceful takeoffs seen in most modern species, a strategy still observed today in some land-dwelling birds such as crows and magpies.
This gradual behavior may represent an evolutionary stepping stone to the take-off mechanism that birds currently use.
“According to our findings, a medium-sized 400 g. Archeopteryx “Three bipedal jumps, or two bipedal jumps with downward flaps between jumps, could have achieved a sustainable flight speed of 7 meters per second,” said Dr. Eric Mailach, a researcher at the University of Southampton.
“All birds push with their feet when taking flight,” Dr. Gostling says.
“In fact, up to 90 percent of the force needed to get off the ground comes from the legs, and then the wings take over.”
“Archeopteryx It would either jump, jump, jump and then flap its wings over and over again and fly away, or it would jump, flap its wings, jump again and flap some more. ”
“Today’s birds can take flight with just one leap, but we still see many birds, including crows, magpies and gulls, using multiple leaping techniques.”
“They jump once when they are startled, stressed, or threatened, but they jump twice, three, or more when they want to conserve energy, like their ancestors did.”
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Eric A. Mayrak others. 2026. Hop, Hop and Away: Taking Off Archeopteryx Use multiple jumping mechanisms. developmental biology 539: 57-64;doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2026.07.018
Source: www.sci.news
