Joe Pinkstone
Tue, 6 February 2024
The specimen belongs to a group known as Darwinoptera, with many similar dinosaurs found in modern-day China - NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM AND WITTON/PA
A new species of flying dinosaur has been discovered on the Isle of Skye.
The winged reptile lived between 168 and 166 million years ago and has been named Ceoptera evansae by the palaeontologists who discovered it.
The animal lived during the Middle Jurassic period and was first unearthed during a field trip in 2006. Painstaking excavations revealed an incomplete skeleton made up of the shoulders, wings, legs and backbone.
Almost two decades of work on the fossil at Elgol have involved physically preparing the specimen and taking scans of the bones, some of which remain completely embedded in rock.
Researchers say the specimen belongs to a group of pterosaurs known as Darwinoptera, with many similar dinosaurs found in modern-day China.
Excavating the fossil has involved almost two decades of work
- KEVIN WEBB/TRUSTEES OF NHM LONDON/PA
The Skye individual is rare, the scientists say, and could help shed light on the evolution of pterosaurs.
The study, published in the Journal Of Vertebrate Paleontology, suggests Darwinoptera may have been considerably more diverse than previously thought, persisting for more than 25 million years.
Professor Paul Barrett, a researcher at the Natural History Museum, said: “Ceoptera helps to narrow down the timing of several major events in the evolution of flying reptiles.
“Its appearance in the Middle Jurassic of the UK was a complete surprise, as most of its close relatives are from China.
“It shows that the advanced group of flying reptiles to which it belongs appeared earlier than we thought and quickly gained an almost worldwide distribution.”
Ceoptera evansae gets the first part of its name from the Scottish Gaelic word “cheo”, meaning mist or fog, and the Latin word “ptera”, meaning wing.
The second part, evansae, honours British palaeontologist Professor Susan E Evans for her years of scientific work, particularly on the Isle of Skye.
A 3D model drawn up of the newly-discovered species
The Skye individual is rare, the scientists say, and could help shed light on the evolution of pterosaurs.
The study, published in the Journal Of Vertebrate Paleontology, suggests Darwinoptera may have been considerably more diverse than previously thought, persisting for more than 25 million years.
Professor Paul Barrett, a researcher at the Natural History Museum, said: “Ceoptera helps to narrow down the timing of several major events in the evolution of flying reptiles.
“Its appearance in the Middle Jurassic of the UK was a complete surprise, as most of its close relatives are from China.
“It shows that the advanced group of flying reptiles to which it belongs appeared earlier than we thought and quickly gained an almost worldwide distribution.”
Ceoptera evansae gets the first part of its name from the Scottish Gaelic word “cheo”, meaning mist or fog, and the Latin word “ptera”, meaning wing.
The second part, evansae, honours British palaeontologist Professor Susan E Evans for her years of scientific work, particularly on the Isle of Skye.
A 3D model drawn up of the newly-discovered species
- MARTIN-SILVERSTONE ET AL/ JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY/PA
As the Elgol coastal site is classed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the team led by Prof Barrett could only collect specimens from rocks that had fallen on to the beach.
But while crawling over boulders to examine these fossils, the researchers noticed a few bones sticking out, which has now been revealed as the new pterosaur.
The researchers said that pterosaur fossils from the Middle Jurassic period are rare and mostly incomplete, hindering attempts to understand more about how these creatures evolved.
Lead author Dr Liz Martin-Silverstone, a palaeobiologist from the University of Bristol, said: “The time period that Ceoptera is from is one of the most important periods of pterosaur evolution, and is also one in which we have some of the fewest specimens, indicating its significance.
“To find that there were more bones embedded within the rock, some of which were integral in identifying what kind of pterosaur Ceoptera is, made this an even better find than initially thought.
“It brings us one step closer to understanding where and when the more advanced pterosaurs evolved.”
As the Elgol coastal site is classed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the team led by Prof Barrett could only collect specimens from rocks that had fallen on to the beach.
But while crawling over boulders to examine these fossils, the researchers noticed a few bones sticking out, which has now been revealed as the new pterosaur.
The researchers said that pterosaur fossils from the Middle Jurassic period are rare and mostly incomplete, hindering attempts to understand more about how these creatures evolved.
Lead author Dr Liz Martin-Silverstone, a palaeobiologist from the University of Bristol, said: “The time period that Ceoptera is from is one of the most important periods of pterosaur evolution, and is also one in which we have some of the fewest specimens, indicating its significance.
“To find that there were more bones embedded within the rock, some of which were integral in identifying what kind of pterosaur Ceoptera is, made this an even better find than initially thought.
“It brings us one step closer to understanding where and when the more advanced pterosaurs evolved.”
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