DescriptionArchaeopteryx cortical delamination.png	English: Skeletal elements from the largest known Archaeopteryx (also known as Wellnhoferia) specimen showing cortical delamination.
Date	9 October 2009
Source	Erickson GM, Rauhut OWM, Zhou Z, Turner AH, Inouye BD, et al. (2009) Was Dinosaurian Physiology Inherited by Birds? Reconciling Slow Growth in Archaeopteryx. PLoS ONE 4(10): e7390. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007390.g002
Author	Erickson GM, Rauhut OWM, Zhou Z, Turner AH, Inouye BD, et al.
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Femora, tibiae, fibulae, pubes, and gastralia from the Solnhofen specimen (BMMS 500), are shown. The brown cortical layer of the left femur (inset box) is superior to the light gray underlying bone layer that is exposed where the former flaked-off. This is consistent with a growth line interface. These thin, hypermineralized osseous layers partition the more fibrous zonal tissues and act as planes of weakness where exfoliation can occur.