New postcranial remains from the Lealt Shale Formation of the Isle of Skye, Scotland, showcase hidden pterosaur diversity in the Middle Jurassic
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Resource type
Journal article
Date published
April 18, 2023
Abstract
The Early to Middle Jurassic transition was significant in pterosaur evolution, during which these volant reptiles exploded in diversity alongside dinosaurs and other animals. It has long been thought, however, that pterosaurs did not develop large wingspans until after the Jurassic, a notion challenged by the recent discovery of in the Bathonian-aged Lealt Shale Formation of the Isle of Skye, Scotland, whose holotype specimen had an estimated wingspan greater than 2.5 m. We here report the discovery of a new pterosaur specimen from the Lealt Shale Formation, comprising a tibiotarsus, metatarsal, pedal phalanges and caudal vertebrae. The elongate tail vertebrae with ossified processes indicate that the specimen is a non-pterodactyloid pterosaur, albeit its fragmentary nature makes it difficult to determine whether it belongs to a new taxon. Its metatarsal and caudal vertebrae are considerably larger than corresponding bones in the holotype, indicating that it belonged to an even larger individual, thus demonstrating that pterosaurs with broad wingspans were not anomalous in the Middle Jurassic. The growing Middle Jurassic pterosaur record of Scotland and England, although mostly represented by isolated and fragmentary fossils, reveals a high diversity of clades, long obscured by the lack of well-preserved skeletons.
Contributor (person)
Candela, Yves
Funder
| Funder name | Awards |
Natural Environment Research Council | NE/S007407/1 |
National Geographic Society | GEFNE185-16 |
Leverhulme Trust | |
Journal title
Scottish Journal of Geology
Volume
59
Issue
1-Feb
Publisher
Geological Society of London
ISSN
0036-9276
eISSN
2041-4951
Date accepted
April 14, 2023
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