Fossils of a feathered dinosaur discovered in Scotland

Scientists have discovered a new species of pterosaur on the island of Scotland called ‘Isle of Skye’ which has been named as ‘Cuptera avensae’.

According to scientists, this winged reptile belongs to the Middle Jurassic period, 168 to 166 million years ago.

The new species, called Darwinptera, belongs to a group of pterosaurs whose fossils were previously discovered in China.

Fossil experts spotted the dinosaur’s remains in 2006 during a visit to Elgol on the southwest coast of the Scottish island.

Since then, a team of experts has spent years preparing the animal’s specimen and taking scans of the bones, some of which were completely embedded in the rock.

Although the structure is incomplete, only parts of the shoulders, wings, legs and spine remain, which the researchers say provide important information about the evolutionary history and diversity of pterosaurs.

The findings, published in the scientific journal Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, suggest that Darwinptera may have been more diverse than we previously knew, having existed for more than two and a half million years.

Professor Paul Barrett, Merit Researcher at the Natural History Museum, said: ‘Cuptera can help provide information on several major events in the evolution of flying reptiles.

According to him: ‘Its appearance in the Middle Jurassic of Britain is surprising as most of its closest relatives have been found in China.’

He added: ‘This shows that this new group of flying reptiles spread rapidly almost worldwide, contrary to our previous knowledge.’

The first part of the name Coptera avensae is derived from the Scottish word ‘cheo’ meaning fog and the second part from the Latin word ‘ptera’ meaning feather.

The second part of the name evansae is named after British biologist Professor Susan E. Evans for her years of scientific work, particularly on the Isle of Skye.

As the island’s Algol Beach is classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the team led by Professor Barrett could only collect samples from rocks that were scattered on the beach.

But upon examining the fossils, researchers found a few bones sticking out of the rocks, which have now been identified as new pterosaurs.

Dr Liz Martin Silverstone, a paleontologist at the University of Bristol and lead author of the study, said: ‘The period to which Kuptera belongs is one of the most important periods in the evolution of pterosaurs, and it is one of the fewest specimens we have. This new discovery shows its importance.’

He said: ‘To find that there were more bones inside the rocks, some of which identified what kind of pterosaur Pterosaur was, made it an even better discovery than first thought.

Dr Liz added: ‘This brings us one step closer to understanding where and when more modern pterosaurs evolved.’

Pterosaur fossils from the Middle Jurassic period are rare and mostly incomplete, hampering efforts to understand more about the evolution of these species, the researchers said.