Rare Middle Jurassic Pterosaur Found Perfectly Preserved in Scotland

New discovery lends important insight into the evolution of these giant flying reptiles.

By Sara Novak
Feb 22, 2022 3:30 PMFeb 22, 2022 6:09 PM
Skye Pterosaur
Credit: Natalia Jagielska

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Pterosaurs first appeared 215 million years ago. They took to the air 50 million years before birds. And while they lived alongside some of the bigwigs of the Cretaceous period like Tyrannosaurus rex, Velociraptor and Spinosaurus, these weren’t dinosaurs — they were flying reptiles that successfully ruled the skies until they went extinct 66 million years ago.

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