New species of prehistoric flying creature discovered on Isle of Skye
Glasgow University paleontologist discusses new dinosaur found in the Isle of Skye / Credit: Claire Elliot
A new species of flying reptile has been discovered on the Scottish island of Skye.
Fossils originally found in 2006 have been confirmed to belong to a species of Pterosaur, a flying creature which roamed the skies above the dinosaurs.
Fragments of the creature’s wing, leg, shoulder and backbone were found preserved in rock near Elgol on the southwest coast of the island. The fossils are thought to be between 166 and 168 million years old.
The new species has been named Ceoptera in reference to the Gaelic name for the Isle of Skye, Eilean a Cheo meaning “Isle of Mist”. The Ceoptera is a type of Darwinoptera, a branch of the flying pterosaur species.
The prehistoric creature existed during the Middle Jurassic period and is the second type of pterosaur species to be found on the Isle of Skye, which is rich in dinosaur discoveries.
The discovery of these fossils taught paleontologists that the species had existed before previously thought, spanning from the early Jurassic to the Late Jurassic period.
Dr Neil Clark, curator of paleontology at the Hunterian Museum said: “It was a period of massive changes and increases and variations of dinosaurs at that time. Worldwide there’s very little known about Pterosaurs at the time, so Skye is crucial to our understanding of the development and the diversification of life.”
