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The Blogging From A to Z April Challenge: A is for Archaeopteryx

Sunday, 1 April 2012

My posts in the The Blogging From A to Z April Challenge are all about interesting words. Words that are weird, intriguing, poetic or just plain cool.



A is for Archaeopteryx

I love the shape of this word. It's exotic and fantastical and ungainly all at the same time - a little like the creature itself.

The word derives from the Greek archaeo (ancient) and pterux (wing). So, "Ancient Wing".

What's really cool about it, of course, is that archaeopteryx is an illustration of the forces of evolution in progress. It's a miraculous snapshot in time of a species part-way through the process of changing from dinosaur ancestor to modern avian descendent. It had a bony tail, teeth and feathers. And claws on its wings.

Once thought to be the "first bird" there are now older fossils that make that claim. Still, how fine it would have been to see an archaeopteryx in flight ...
Posted by Simon Kewin at 08:00

23 comments:

  1. Duncan D. Horne - the Kuantan blogger1 April 2012 at 08:28

    Hi Simon, that is a fantastic word to begin the challenge!

    This is me, Duncan D. Horne, visiting you from the A-Z challenge, wishing you all the best throughout April and beyond.

    Duncan In Kuantan

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  2. Francene Stanley1 April 2012 at 10:01

    Love the picture and name of that bird. It's truely amazing.

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  3. Anonymous1 April 2012 at 11:21

    lovely A

    here is mine
    http://pa-ul.blogspot.com/search/label/GAC%20A-Z%20Artists

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  4. KC Kendricks1 April 2012 at 13:07

    I'm stopping by as part of the 2012 A-Z Blogging Challenge. So many new people to meet and cool blogs to check out. The different themes are amazing. Here's to a great year!

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  5. Tasha Seegmiller1 April 2012 at 16:27

    This is really cool. Love ancient and mythological creatures. Great post - new follower.

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  6. Precy Larkins1 April 2012 at 16:45

    Very cool! And I agree with you--the word is very exotic-looking. :)

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  7. D.G. Hudson1 April 2012 at 17:42

    Liked your post, and I like birds. I like reading about the creatures that show that transition from one to the other, changing and evolving.

    We found the brown pelicans in flight around coastal Florida reminded us of the ancient Pterodactyls. Your bird image definitely has dragon implications in my mind.

    DG Hudson - Rainforest Writing

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  8. Donna K. Weaver1 April 2012 at 17:52

    Wow. The whole bird thing makes me think of Jurassic Park, which I recently watched again.

    http://weavingataleortwo.blogspot.com/

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  9. Hilary Melton-Butcher1 April 2012 at 19:04

    Hi Simon .. that's fantastic and I'll be spouting that word to kids (I don't see many!) .. I love the word and the thought, and the history

    So interesting - see you soon .. cheers Hilary

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  10. S. L. Hennessy1 April 2012 at 19:16

    This is one of the coolest challenge themes I've come across so far. What a great idea. And archaeopteryx IS a great word. Awesome post and Happy A-Z challenge!

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  11. Mark K1 April 2012 at 22:04

    Greetings, sir!

    Joining your blog as a newbie in the A to Z blogfest for April. Looking forward to all it entails and meeting more lovely people and seeing their blogs :)

    I recall this bird from a dinosaur book I had as a child one Christmas--scared the hell out of me, I recall.

    Kind regards,

    Mark K

    http://theopenhearth.blogspot.co.uk/

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  12. beccabooklover2 April 2012 at 00:43

    Great theme for the challenge! I'm now following you because I'm looking forward to seeing what you'll be posting about next and I'm a lover of fantasy also.

    Here's the link to my first post and my theme is The Lord of the Rings :)
    http://lostinthought-becca.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/is-for-aragorn-and-arwen.html

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  13. Anonymous2 April 2012 at 01:14

    What a great first blog and a terrific word. In the immortal words of Mr. Spock, "Fascinating." LOL. Glad a I stopped by for a visit.

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  14. Jeremy Bates2 April 2012 at 01:15

    I did see one of these in flight in Manila the other night. The natives call them mosquitoes here.

    I don't believe in evolution because it takes entirely too much faith in the punctuated equilibrium claim. Well, that and the fact that no matter how nicely I pack my electronic gadgets, they always come out with the wires in a tangled mess1 lol

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  15. Dawn Dalton2 April 2012 at 02:30

    Love word posts - and that is a GREAT one!

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  16. T. Powell Coltrin2 April 2012 at 04:00

    That is an awesome word and bird. Why is it reminding me of the wild turkey that ran through my yard today.

    Teresa

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  17. Elizabeth Twist2 April 2012 at 04:39

    Every once in a while I'll see a pileated woodpecker in the woods where I hike. There is something about the combination of flashy plumage and behaviour (squawking like it's going to kill you for living, basically) that always makes me think of archaeopteryx.

    A-Z @ Elizabeth Twist

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  18. CoachWalsh3rd2 April 2012 at 04:46

    What a great word! We really do learn somthing new everyday! Best of luck to you in the rest of the AtoZ Challenge!
    *\o/*
    CW3
    readysetyoubet.blogspot.com

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  19. nutschell2 April 2012 at 05:51

    Sounds like a word I should use in my fantasy novels. Definitely a word to put in my wordpool. Great start to the A-Z!
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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  20. T'Laina2 April 2012 at 06:04

    I wish I could go back in time and lay on the ground - and just look up at the wildlife in the air at that time.

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  21. Bob Scotney2 April 2012 at 07:31

    Great start. I hope you are to continue with more birds. Or will it be fossils or dinosaurs?

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  22. Simon Kewin2 April 2012 at 14:57

    Bob - don't think there will be any more birds or fossils. But you never know!

    All - thanks for dropping by - I've tried to comment over on your blogs rather than replying here on mine. Thanks for coming!

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  23. Unknown3 April 2012 at 14:41

    thanks to my daughter's love of 'dinosaur train'...i know all about this prehistoric bird! :D

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I'd love to know what you think.