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Is it a bird or a dinosaur? The Mona Lisa of fossils at the Teylers Museum in Netherlands secretly visits the UK's ... - EurekAlert
<p>When a precious 150-million-year-old Ostromia crassipes fossil - formerly known as a specimen of Archaeopteryx - recently arrived at Diamond Light Source in a high security operation, it naturally caused a great deal of excitement. The rare fossil, which is usually housed at the renowned Teylers Museum in the Netherlands, was brought to the UK's national synchrotron secretly so scientists could discover more about its features, including the colour of its feathers. The specimen was studied on the I18 beamline, using a microfocus X-ray available at the UK’s leading science facility. This ‘Ostromia’ fossil shows the knee region, part of the wing, claws, ribs, lower stomach bones, and feather imprints. These were examined at Diamond in more detail than ever before. This is the first time this specific fossil has been studied in such a way. The Archaeopteryx is called the ‘first true bird’ and is about the same size as a magpie at around 20 inches from head to tail.</p> <p>The new research undertaken will be the subject of a forthcoming paper and is a collaboration between the University of Utrecht, Teylers Museum and Diamond.</p>
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