Archaeopteryx lithographica, a feathered dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of Europe, has been touted as one of the earliest birds ever since its fossils were discovered in the 19th century. However, there remains uncertainty over its exact relationship to modern birds, with one study in 2011 suggesting it would have been more closely related to the dromaeosaurid and troodontid dinosaur families than to birds proper. Regardless of its classification, it would have lived as a carnivore or insectivore on what was then an archipelago of islands with a relatively dry climate and low-growing shrubby vegetation.