On some differences between the London and Berlin specimens referred to Archaeopteryx / by H.G. Seeley.
- Harry Govier Seeley
- Date:
- 1881
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: On some differences between the London and Berlin specimens referred to Archaeopteryx / by H.G. Seeley. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![[Extracted from the Geological Magazine, Decade II. Vol. VIII. No. 10, p. 454, October, 1881.] On some Differences between the London and Berlin Specimens referred to Auch^optertx. By Prof. H. G. Seeley, F.E.S., etc. (PLATE XII.) IN drawing attention to some characters of the Berlin Archceopteryx, it should be stated that I only know that specimen from a photo- graph taken before the slab was fully developed; and therefore while I believe the following results to be trustworthy as indicating specific and it may be generic differences, it is possible they may hei’eafter be slightly modified. As stated by Vogt, the Berlin slab is fth smaller than the London slab; assuming the photograph to be of natural size, the following measurements may demonstrate the nature of the relation between the two specimens. The femur measures in the Berlin slab 4'8 centim.; in the London slab 6 centim., so that the London specimen is ith longer. The tibia in the Berlin slab measures 6'8 cm.; in the London slab it is 8 cm. Therefore in the latter the femur is fths the length of the tibia; but if this proportion obtained in the Berlin specimen, the femur would have measured 5T cm. : hence the second specimen is slightly longer-legged. In the metatarsus the difference is nearly 4th, for the Berlin animal measures 3'5 cm., and the London type 4-4 cm. The digits of the Berlin specimen measure respectively 1'5 ; 2-9 ; 3T cms. ; the measurements in the London specimen are IV ; 3'5 ; and 4‘5 cms.; so that the longest digit of the London slab is more than a third longer than the corresponding digit of the Berlin slab. Hence in the latter animal the foot is relatively shorter and the drumstick relatively longer. In the fore-limb the Berlin humerus measures 5-9 cm., the London humerus 7 cm.; the difference is between a sixth and a seventh. The Berlin ulna measures 5T cm. ; the London ulna 6-7 cm. ; the difference is a little less than a fourth, but while the Berlin humerus is about a seventh longer than the ulna, the London humerus is only about a twenty-third longer than the ulna. This difference is more marked than that between the tibia and femur, and shows that the fore-arm was relatively longer in the Berlin animal. The difference in the metacarpus is about one-fifth, the Berlin measurement being 2’7 cm., the London measurement 3-4 cm. Only two digits can be](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22412475_0007.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
