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Description
Common name: Patterned Archie
Scientific name: Eupalaeopteryx pigmentum
Time: Lutetian (48 million years ago)
Size: 50 centimeters long, 0.8 kilograms
Diet: Smaller animals
Distribution: Germany
Probably the most famous dinosaur from Mesozoic Germany was Archaeopteryx, a paravian which became famous as “missing link” between non-avian dinosaurs and birds. Whether it was more closely related to Deinonychosaurs or to true Avians is currently heavily debated, but in a world with so many birds and derived near-birds who wants to be a nitpicker. During the Cretaceous Archaeopterygids in China have been replaced by Troodontids and small Dromaeosaurs, but in the isolated Germany they survived till the Eocene. Luckily most of the Deinonychosaurs which arrived here either by island-hopping or later when the sea retreated are nocturnal predators, so the diurnal Archies don´t compete directly with them.
The Patterned Archie is a typical representative of the Archaeopterygid family: A raven-sized diurnal predator covered in black, white and rufous feathers with long wing feathers on the arms and legs. These animals spend most of their time in the trees, out of reach of the larger predators on the ground which could easily spot the strikingly-colored males. Females have a much more inconspicuous coloration consisting of grey and brown markings. A mating dance by a male is a spectacular event. Females build their nests on the ground and the young are precocial. Unlike modern birds they need several years before reaching adult size, filling the niches of small diurnal insectivores before growing large enough. While Archies manage to avoid competition with the Deinonychosaurs they are nevertheless an endangered species as true Avians are numerous in the Eocene forests, too, slowly replacing the antiquated proto-birds.

Description
Common name: Patterned Archie
Scientific name: Eupalaeopteryx pigmentum
Time: Lutetian (48 million years ago)
Size: 50 centimeters long, 0.8 kilograms
Diet: Smaller animals
Distribution: Germany
Probably the most famous dinosaur from Mesozoic Germany was Archaeopteryx, a paravian which became famous as “missing link” between non-avian dinosaurs and birds. Whether it was more closely related to Deinonychosaurs or to true Avians is currently heavily debated, but in a world with so many birds and derived near-birds who wants to be a nitpicker. During the Cretaceous Archaeopterygids in China have been replaced by Troodontids and small Dromaeosaurs, but in the isolated Germany they survived till the Eocene. Luckily most of the Deinonychosaurs which arrived here either by island-hopping or later when the sea retreated are nocturnal predators, so the diurnal Archies don´t compete directly with them.
The Patterned Archie is a typical representative of the Archaeopterygid family: A raven-sized diurnal predator covered in black, white and rufous feathers with long wing feathers on the arms and legs. These animals spend most of their time in the trees, out of reach of the larger predators on the ground which could easily spot the strikingly-colored males. Females have a much more inconspicuous coloration consisting of grey and brown markings. A mating dance by a male is a spectacular event. Females build their nests on the ground and the young are precocial. Unlike modern birds they need several years before reaching adult size, filling the niches of small diurnal insectivores before growing large enough. While Archies manage to avoid competition with the Deinonychosaurs they are nevertheless an endangered species as true Avians are numerous in the Eocene forests, too, slowly replacing the antiquated proto-birds.