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2022
Journal article
Scleromochlus and the early evolution of Pterosauromorpha
Pterosaurs, the first vertebrates to evolve powered flight, were key components of Mesozoic terrestrial ecosystems from their sudden appearance in the Late Triassic until their demise at the end of the Cretaceous1,2,3,4,5,6. However, the origin and early evolution of pterosaurs are poorly understood owing to a substantial stratigraphic and morphological...Foffa, Davide ; Dunne, Emma M ; Nesbitt, Sterling J ; Butler, Richard J ; Fraser, Nicholas C …
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2022
Journal article
A skeleton from the Middle Jurassic of Scotland illuminates an earlier origin of large pterosaurs
Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to evolve flight1,2 and include the largest flying animals in Earth history.3,4 While some of the last-surviving species were the size of airplanes, pterosaurs were long thought to be restricted to small body sizes (wingspans ca. <1.8–1.6 m) from their Triassic origins through the Jurassic,...Jagielska, Natalia ; O’Sullivan, Michael ; Funston, Gregory F ; Butler, Ian B ; Challands, Thomas J …
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2020
Journal article
First and most northern occurrence of a thalattosuchian crocodylomorph from the Jurassic of the Isle of Skye, Scotland
The Jurassic was a key interval for the evolution of dinosaurs, crocodylomorphs and many other vertebrate groups. In recent years, new vertebrate fossils have emerged from the Early–Middle Jurassic of the Isle of Skye, Scotland; however, much more is known about Skye's dinosaur fauna than its crocodylomorphs. Here we report...Kean, Kim J ; Foffa , Davide ; Johnston, Michela M ; Young, Mark T ; Greitens, Gert …
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2015
Journal article
New specimen and revision of the late Jurassic teleosaurid 'Steneosaurus’ megarhinus.
Teleosaurids were a successful group of semi-aquatic crocodylomorphs that were an abundant part of coastal marine/lagoonal faunas during the Jurassic. Their fossil record suggests that the group declined in diversity and abundance during the Late Jurassic. 'Steneosaurus’ megarhinus (Hulke, 1871) from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation is a little known gracile...Foffa, Davide ; Young, Mark T ; Brusatte, Stephen L ; Steel, Lorna
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Journal article
New theropod dinosaur teeth from the Middle Jurassic of the Isle of Skye, Scotland
The Middle Jurassic is a largely mysterious interval in dinosaur evolution, as few fossils of this age are known worldwide. In recent years, the Isle of Skye has yielded a substantial record of trackways, and a more limited inventory of body fossils, that indicate a diverse fauna of Middle Jurassic...Young, Chloe M E ; Hendrickx, Christopher ; Challands, Thomas James ; Foffa, Davide ; Ross, Dugald A …
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2017
Journal article
An unusual small-bodied crocodyliform from the Middle Jurassic of Scotland, UK, and potential evidence for an early diversification of advanced neosuchians
The Middle Jurassic is a poorly sampled time interval for non-pelagic neosuchian crocodyliforms, which obscures our understanding of the origin and early evolution of major clades. Here we report a lower jaw from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) Duntulm Formation of the Isle of Skye, Scotland, UK, which consists of an...Yi, Hongyu ; Tennant, Johnathan P ; Young, Mark T ; Challands, Thomas James ; Foffa, Davide …
Duntulm Formation, Neosuchia, Crocodyliformes, and Isle of Skye
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2017
Journal article
A new metriorhynchid crocodylomorph from the Oxford Clay Formation (Middle Jurassic) of England, with implications for the origin and diversification of Geosaurini
Metriorhynchids are an extinct group of Jurassic–Cretaceous crocodylomorphs secondarily adapted to a marine lifestyle. A new metriorhynchid crocodylomorph from the Oxford Clay Formation (Callovian, Middle Jurassic) of England is described. The specimen is a large, fragmentary skull and associated single ramus of a lower jaw uniquely preserved in a septarian...Foffa, Davide ; Young, Mark T ; Brusatte, Stephen L ; Graham, Mark R ; Steel, L
Geosaurus, Jurassic, macrophagy, Ieldraan, Melksham monster, and Geosaurini
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2015
Journal article
Sauropod dinosaur trackways in a Middle Jurassic lagoon on the Isle of Skye, Scotland
The Middle Jurassic was a dynamic interval in dinosaur evolution, but the dinosaur fossil record from this time is extremely poor throughout the world. The Isle of Skye (Scotland) preserves marginal marine and terrestrial deposits of Middle Jurassic age, which have yielded sparse bones, teeth, footprints and small segments of...Brusatte, Stephen L ; Challands, Thomas James ; Ross, Dugald A ; Young, Mark T ; Wilkinson, Mark
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2015
Journal article
Theropod dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic (Bajocian-Bathonian) of Skye, Scotland
The Isle of Skye, Scotland, has yielded a diverse Middle Jurassic terrestrial vertebrate fauna, but little is known about the predatory dinosaurs (theropods) occupying the top and secondary carnivore roles in these ecosystems, as their fossils have been limited to rare footprints of small- to mid-sized taxa. We describe two...Brusatte, Stephen L ; Clark, Neil D L
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2017
Journal article
A reassessment of the postcanine dentition and systematics of the tritylodontid Stereognathus (Cynodontia, Triltylodontidae, Mammaliamorpha) from the Middle Jurassic of the United Kingdom
Tritylodontidae was a successful advanced cynodont clade with a close relationship to mammals, but falling outside the clade Mammaliaformes. Stereognathus ooliticus was the first tritylodontid to be named and described in 1854, but since then no comprehensive description for this species has been produced. A second species, S. hebridicus, was...Panciroli, Elsa ; Walsh, Stig A ; Fraser, Nicholas C ; Brusatte, Stephen L ; Corfe, Ian