‘Superbly preserved’ pterosaur fossil unearthed in Scotland
By SYLVIA HUI
Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — Scientists say the fossil of a 170-million-year-old pterosaur, billed as the world’s best-preserved skeleton of the prehistoric winged reptile, has been found on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The National Museum of Scotland said the fossil of the pterosaur, more popularly known as pterodactyls, is the largest of its kind ever discovered from the Jurassic period. The reptile had an estimated wingspan of more than 2.5 meters (8.2 feet), similar to that of an albatross. The fossil was discovered on the Isle of Skye in remote northwest Scotland in 2017. Steve Brusatte, a professor of palaeontology at Edinburgh University, said the discovery was the best one found in Britain since the early 1800s.