Question

Archaeopteryx was a:
A. mammal-like reptile
B. horse ancestor
C. dinosaur
D. early bird

Answer 1

http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110727/full/news.2011.443.html

The first Archaeopteryx specimen was discovered in 1861, just a few years after the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Its combination of lizard-like and avian features made it the ideal 'missing link' with which to demonstrate evolution from non-avian dinosaurs to birds. But the latest rearrangement knocks it from its position as the earliest bird. "I think Archaeopteryx 's placement was the result of both history and relatively poor sampling at the dinosaur–bird transition," explains Xu.

Answer 2

with the current understanding in evolution the answer must be B. But that answer may change if new opposing fossil evidence comes in future. The evolutionary position of Archaeopteryx is still in debate by our scientific community. Hope more studies from fossil specimens may give clear answer in future..

Answer 3

It's very unlikely to be a direct ancestor of modern birds (it has certain morphological differences, e.g. some characteristics of the lower jaw that suggest that Archaeopteryx was actually on a side branch), but I think you could still call it a "bird". It really depends on where you draw the line between dinosaurs and birds.

Personally, I figure that if it had feathers, could fly, and LOOKED like a bird, it's more of a "bird" than a "dinosaur", even though it's not on the evolutionary line that produced modern birds. Some of its ancestors probably were, and I'm guessing they were pretty bird-like too.