Discovery of Fossils of Flying Reptiles Related to Dinosaurs on a Beach in Scotland

Scientists announced on Tuesday that fossil remains of a group of flying reptiles related to dinosaurs, which lived on Earth tens of millions of years ago, have been found on a beach on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. An academic study regarding the discovery explained that the remains, partially exposed on a large rock, are an incomplete skeleton that includes parts of the shoulders, wings, legs, and spine. According to the scientists, this three-dimensional incomplete specimen of a pterosaur, dating back 166 to 168 million years ago, provides new insights indicating the diversity of pterosaur history, due to the rarity of its fossils from the Middle Jurassic period. Paleontologist Paul Barrett stated, "It shows that the advanced group of flying reptiles to which it belongs appeared earlier than we thought and quickly spread across the world." Scientists have named this group of winged reptiles "Cyopterus evansi." The announcement noted that the discovery of this group honors Dr. Susan Evans for her years of anatomical and fossil research on the Isle of Skye. Dr. Liz Martin Silverstone, a paleobiologist from the University of Bristol, remarked on this discovery, "It brings us one step closer to understanding where and when the most advanced pterosaurs evolved."