In the rocks of Sky Island in Scotland, fossils of the world's largest Jurassic pterosaur, a winged reptile, have been found.
PhD student Amelia Penny points to the fossils she found
PhD student Amelia Penny discovered jaws with sharp teeth in a layer of ancient limestone off the coast of Sky Island.
The first discovery was made in 2017, and the fossilized skeleton has now been examined in detail.
The study, published in the journal Current Biology, shows that this flying lizard-like reptile has a wingspan of 2.5 meters (8 feet).
The study, led by doctoral student Natalia Jagielska, also revealed that the creature is a new species to the scientific community. It is now given the Gaelic name Dearc sgiathanach (pronounced Jark Ski-an-Ach), which translates to "reptile with wings".
In the excavated stones, more skeletons can be seen
Researchers at the Hunter Museum in Glasgow and the Stafen Museum on Sky Island had to take the rock slab where the fossils were buried and send it to the University of Edinburgh. It is a painstaking and complex process that competes with the tide that comes.
But all this effort was worth it.
"Dearc is a great example of why paleontology will always be surprising," Natalia said.
"A complete pterosaur fossil like this is very rare."
"As flying animals, their bones were very light, just like birds today."
"This makes them extremely fragile, so they are usually not preserved as fossils."
The specimen's remarkable status and integrity, especially the details preserved in its skull, have led scientists from the Universities of Edinburgh, the University of St Andrews and the National Museum of Scotland to conclude that Dearc has good eyesight. The fossil will be exhibited at the National Museum of Scotland for further study.
"We look forward to doing a more detailed study of Dearc to learn more about how it lives and how it behaves," Natalia said.
Professor Steve Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh, who led the Sky Island fieldwork, described it as "one of the finest Scottish fossils".
"This way of preservation is amazing, far more than the pterosaur fossils found in Scotland, and probably the best fossils found in the UK since the time of (fossil hunter) Mary Anning in the early 19th century."
Fossils must be cut out of ancient rocks
Brusett also noted that its size "tells us that pterosaurs were much larger than we thought, which was very important before they competed with birds in the Cretaceous."
Pterodactyls probably flew over the skies of Sky Island 170 million years ago