Remains of world's largest pterosaur from Jurassic period found in Scotland, leaving scientists astounded

The remains of the largest pterosaur on record from the Jurassic period with a wingspan of more than 8 feet and a mouth full of sharp teeth was unearthed in Scotland.

The flying reptile—dating between 201.3 million and1 45 million years ago—was found inIsle of Skye, Scotland, in 2017.Its skeleton was embedded in limestone.

A PhD student, Amelia Penny, spotted its sharp-toothed jaw protruding from an ancient limestone on Skye's coast.

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A detailed examination was undertaken following its discovery in 2017, and the study was recently published in the journal, Current Biology.

According to the studies, the winged lizard had a 2.5m (8ft) wingspan— around the size of the largest flying birds today, such as the wandering albatross.

The research, led by PhD student Natalia Jagielska, also revealed that the creature was a species new to science.

It has now been given Scottish Gaelic nameDearc sgiathanach(jark ski-an-ach), a double meaning of "winged reptile" and "reptile from Skye,"

“Dearc is the biggest pterosaur we know from the Jurassic period, and that tells us that pterosaurs got larger much earlier than we thought, long before the Cretaceous period, when they were competing with birds — and that's hugely significant,” study senior researcher Steve Brusatte, a professor and personal chair of paleontology and evolution at the University of Edinburgh,said in a statement.

Pterosaurs, which are notdinosaurs, are the first known vertebrates to have evolved powered flight — a feat they accomplished about 50 million years before birds did.

The oldest pterosaurs on the record date to about 230 million years ago, during the Triassic period, and it was previously thought that they didn't reach huge sizes until the very late Jurassic or the Cretaceous period (145 million to 66 million years ago).

However, to fly, pterosaurs needed lightweight, delicate bones — a feature that means their remains rarely fossilized well.

"To achieve flight, pterosaurs had hollow bones with thin bone walls, making their remains incredibly fragile and unfit to preserving for millions of years," study lead researcher Natalia Jagielska, a doctoral candidate of paleontology at the University of Edinburgh, said in the statement.

"And yet our skeleton, about 160 million years on since its death, remains in almost pristine condition, articulated [the bones are in anatomical order] and almost complete. Its sharp fish-snatching teeth still retaining a shiny enamel cover as if he were alive mere weeks ago."