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By Georgina RannardBBC science reporterImage source, Natural History MuseumImage caption, The flying reptile’s wing, backbone, and legs were found, but its skull was missingA distinct species of flying reptile, known as a pterosaur, that existed 168-166 million years ago has been unearthed on the Isle of Skye. Its wings, shoulders, legs and backbone were uncovered in a rock formation on a beach, though the fossil’s skull was absent. The fact that a pterosaur from this era was found off the west coast of Scotland was unexpected, as they were believed to predominantly inhabit China. The creature, named Ceoptera, is the second pterosaur discovered on Skye. Its name is derived from the Scottish Gaelic word “cheò,” which means mist, and is linked to the Gaelic name of the Isle of Skye – Eilean a’ Cheò or Isle of Mist. According to Dr Liz Martin-Silverstone at the University of Bristol, who utilized a CT scanner to create a 3D digital model of the fossil, fossils from this Middle Jurassic era are exceedingly rare. “Finding anything from that time period that’s more than just a single bone is really exciting,” she stated. The creature likely had a wingspan of approximately 1m to 1.5m. Prof Steve Brusatte, uninvolved in the research, described it as a unique finding for Scotland. He added that the research demonstrates the existence of a type of pterosaur positioned between the primitive and advanced stages of evolution. “This is the time before birds, so pterosaurs ruled the sky. This research shows that pterosaurs were common animals in Scotland, soaring over the heads of dinosaurs,” he said. Image source, NHM & WhittonImage caption, A drawing of the cheapteraDuring the Middle Jurassic period, Scotland was an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with a sub-tropical climate, featuring beaches and lagoons where the pterosaurs likely resided, explained Prof Brusatte. The team from the Natural History Museum initially discovered the fossil encased in rock during an excavation in 2006. Dr Paul Barrett, who participated in the expedition, recounted, “We were looking at very dark black bone on a very dark grey rock. We were on hands and knees crawling, looking for small smears of bone on the surface.” He also mentioned that the team carried the delicate fossil in backpacks on the journey back to London to protect it from damage. It took thousands of hours to remove enough of the hard limestone rock surrounding the fossil to allow for study. After utilizing acid to dissolve rock and then scanning the specimen, scientists have now published their classification of the fossil. “This group of more advanced flying reptiles had an earlier flourishing than we originally thought,” said Dr Barrett. The creature belongs to the Darwinoptera branch of pterosaurs. The research demonstrates that the group existed for over 25 million years, from the late Early Jurassic to the latest Jurassic, as explained by Dr Martin-Silverstone. The findings are published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
