New flying dinosaur discovered on Scottish island given Gaelic name

A new species of flying dinosaur has been discovered on a Scottish island.

Fossils of a rare species that lived up to 160 million years ago were recently uncovered on the Isle of Skye. According to scientists, the discovery could provide new clues about the evolution of flying pterosaurs.

The finding also demonstrates that pterosaurs lived into the latest Jurassic Period alongside avialans. These are the dinosaurs that over time evolved into what we now know as birds.

The research team named the new species Ceoptera evansae, from the Scottish Gaelic word 'Cheò', meaning mist, and the Latin word 'ptera', which means wing. Meanwhile, the word Evansae honours Professor Susan Evans who has conducted years of anatomical and palaeontological research on the Isle of Skye.

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The scarcity of Middle Jurassic pterosaur fossils has until this point blocked efforts to learn more about the evolution of early pterosaurs. However, the new discovery on Skye reveals that all principal Jurassic pterosaur clades evolved well before the end of the Early Jurassic period — significantly earlier than previously thought.

Made by a collaborative team of researchers from the Natural History Museum and the universities of Bristol, Leicester, and Liverpool, the discovery consists of a partial skeleton of a single dinosaur. The skeleton includes sections of its shoulders, wings, legs, and backbone, with many of the bones remaining fully embedded in rock.

According to senior author Professor Paul Barrett of the Natural History Museum, it is surprising that the dinosaur was found to be around in the Middle Jurassic period between 174.1 and 163.5 million years ago, and that it persisted for more than 25 million years.

He commented: "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."

The findings were published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, and lead author Dr Liz Martin-Silverstone says that the fossilised bones may offer more clues to understanding the evolution of pterosaurs.

She stated: "The time period that Ceoptera is from is one of the most important periods of pterosaur evolution. It 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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