Microraptor had four wings (feathered hind limbs); Archaeopteryx had two main wings with clawed fingers.
Both were small (Archaeopteryx ~0.5 m, Microraptor ~0.8 m) and likely capable of gliding or limited powered flight.
Microraptor's iridescent plumage is reconstructed from fossil melanosomes; Archaeopteryx's feathers are preserved as imprints in limestone.
Archaeopteryx (Late Jurassic, ~150 Ma) predates Microraptor (Early Cretaceous, ~125 Ma) by ~25 million years.
Microraptor's stomach contents include fish and birds, showing it was an active predator; Archaeopteryx's diet is inferred from its teeth.
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Did You Know? fun facts
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Did You Know?
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Microraptor was about 1.6x longer than Archaeopteryx.
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Both Archaeopteryx and Microraptor were carnivores.
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Archaeopteryx lived during the Jurassic Late while Microraptor lived during the Cretaceous Early, separated by roughly 0 million years.
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Archaeopteryx was discovered 142 years earlier, in 1861.
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Archaeopteryx belonged to Theropoda while Microraptor belonged to Dromaeosauridae.
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