AboutDavid Prus Expertise I can answer any general questions about dinosaurs and on prehistoric mammals in the Cenozoic. I also know a bit about the media's various depictions of dinosaurs and their inaccuracies. I don't know much about "microfauna"-small animals, or about Paleozoic besides some knowledge about Permian animals. Plants are right out, I'm afraid.
Experience I have been interested in dinosaurs for most of my life, own a large collection of scientific papers and books on the subject, and am a member of the Field Museum in Chicago.
Education/Credentials I am in college, but studied biology and geology both in high school and as a personal effort.
Expert: David Prus Date: 1/2/2008 Subject: dinosaurs
Question what does an archaeopteryx eat,where it lives,how big they are,what do they look like and where do they get the feathers?
Answer Hello
Based on the teeth of the Archaeopteryx, it fed on large insects, small lizards, and other small animals. It lived in the islands that made up Europe during the late Jurassic. They were about two feet long head to tail, around the same size as a songbird such as a magpie, but probably had less sophisticated flight capability. They were covered with feathers (like modern birds, they probably had a down covering as hatchlings that grew and developed into a coat of feathers. The giveaway to recognize them as more primitive would have been their heads, as they lacked beaks and instead sported an array of sharp teeth. An analysis of the body has shown that it could have flown, but not very well and mostly fluttered from tree to tree, or to the ground to catch insects and other prey.
