New Delhi: Researchers have recently described the fossil of a 170-million-year-old pterosaur found on the Isle of Skye in Scotland as the world's best-preserved skeleton of the prehistoric winged reptile.
The study, led by researchers from Scotland, and describing the pterosaur was recently published in the journal, Current Biology.
A statement issued by National Museums Scotland said that the spectacular fossil, found on the Isle of Skye, is the largest-known pterosaur of the Jurassic period and the best preserved skeleton of its kind in Scotland.
What Are Pterosaurs?
Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to evolve flight and include the largest flying animals in Earth's history. Some of the last-surviving species were of the size of aeroplanes, the study said.
However, pterosaurs were long thought to be restricted to small body sizes, from their Triassic origins through the Jurassic.
Subsequently, derived long-skulled and short-tailed pterodactyloids started living alongside a diversity of birds in the Cretaceous.
Pterodactyloids were the last surviving pterosaurs when the order Pterosauria became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period. Derived organisms are those which possess features not found in earlier ancestral species. Also, these features are believed to be more advanced or improved than those other organisms.
What Did The 170-Million-Year-Old Pterosaur Look Like?
The study said that the huge flying reptile lived around 170 million years ago and had an estimated wingspan of greater than 2.5 metres.
The new pterosaur species was from the Middle Jurassic, and it is represented by a well-preserved fossil skeleton, including the brain endocast, the authors noted in the study.
The unique specimen was discovered during a National Geographic-funded excavation in 2017, and will now be added to the collection of National Museums Scotland.
What Has The Pterosaur Been Named As & Why?
The huge flying reptile has been given the Gaelic (language spoken by people in parts of Scotland and Ireland) name Dearc sgiathanach, which translates as 'winged reptile', the study said. The name also references the Isle of Skye, whose Gaelic name means 'the winged isle'.
Nick Fraser, keeper of Natural Sciences at National Museums Scotland, said in the statement that even in the context of the amazing palaeoecological finds of Skye in recent years, this one really is remarkable. He said that finding and describing a specimen which is so well-preserved and so significant is really special.
How Have The Researchers Described The Pterosaur?
The authors noted in the study that the pterosaur was not fully grown when it died.
The bone histology of Dearc sgiathanach shows that it was a juvenile-subadult still actively growing when it died, making it the largest known Jurassic pterosaur represented by a well-preserved skeleton.
The researchers said that a review of fragmentary specimens from the Middle Jurassic of England demonstrates that a diversity of pterosaurs were capable of reaching larger sizes at that time.
The researchers noted in the study that Dearc sgiathanach is a clade of basal long-tailed non-monofenestratan pterosaurs. Monofenestrata is an unranked group of pterosaurs.
Dearc sgiathanach belongs to a subclade of larger-bodied species with elongated skulls.
The authors concluded that the Middle Jurassic was a key interval in pterosaur evolution. During this period, some non-pterodactyloids diversified and experimented with larger sizes, concurrent with the origin of birds, or perhaps earlier than that, the researchers said.