Archaeopteryx

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Archaeopterix represents an enigma of many sorts. It has a definite reptilian body with socketed teeth and anapsid features of a reptile. But it has true feathers and other features of a bird. While it has been suggested to be an intermediate between birds and reptiles, its features are far more reptilian than birdlike with the exception of its flight characteristics, especially its feathers which are clearly avian. Two possibilities arise: Archaeopterix is either a feathered flighted reptile (such as perhaps the one seen by Eve in the Garden), or it is some kind of hybrid mosaic between reptilian forms and avian forms. There are other enigmatic reptiles such as a class of Dinosaurs that closely resemble the ratites (ostrich-like birds), and others that have been reported to have feather-like appendages.