After being “trapped inside a block of stone” for a century, the evolutionary secrets of a 230-million-year-old fossil reptile have finally come to light.
The fossil, which was discovered in Scotland a century ago, was examined by researchers using strong X-ray scans.
The Scleromochlus creature’s first complete skeleton was recreated thanks to their research.
According to scientists, the large, wingless pterodactyl’s ancient cousin is this little, scampering Triassic lizard.
Lead researcher Dr. Davide Foffa from National Museums Scotland said, “Until we took these scans, we just didn’t grasp just how much we were missing.”
Scleromochlus is a member of the group of Triassic-era fossils known as the Elgin reptiles, which were discovered in the 1900s in Lossiemouth, a small town close to Elgin, Moray.
They are from a time when Pangea, Scotland’s supercontinent, was primarily a desert.
Seven delicate Scleromochlus specimens that were imprisoned in sandstone were scanned and how to get rid by Dr. Foffa and his team in close collaboration with the Natural History Museum in London, which currently houses the majority of the Elgin collection.
It has been challenging to learn anything meaningful from the fossils up to now. They do, however, date to a hazy and crucial period in the fossil record, roughly 10 million years before the earliest fossil pterosaurs, which attracted the paleontologist’s curiosity.
It’s quite challenging to comprehend where that comes from since the earliest pterosaurs [we have] in the fossil record are already winged and well-adapted for flight, according to Dr. Foffa.
Scleromochlus was correctly positioned on the pterosaur family tree thanks to fine anatomical details revealed by the X-ray scans, including the shape of its jaw and upper thigh bone. This shows that the first flying reptiles evolved from small ground-dwelling ancestors that likely ran around on two.
Being the first to examine these particulars was fantastic, according to Dr. Foffa.
” species now offers a wealth of information regarding the appearance of the ancestors of pterosaurs.”
The first animals with bones to begin flying were pterosaurs, sometimes known as pterodactyls, which were undoubtedly the most famous of the prehistoric, winged reptiles. They began flying more than 200 million years ago, way back when birds and bats hadn’t even evolved.
They had skin wings attached to a single long, skinny finger, according to Prof. Steve Brusatte from the University of Edinburgh, who was also involved in the study. He described them as “bizarre.”
He said , “It’s long been a mystery what kind of animals they originated from and how they took to the air.”
We can now see that pterosaurs descended from little, swift, ground-dwelling creatures that could be held in your hand and raced around on their toes like ballerinas thanks to the discovery that Scleromochlus is a close relative of pterosaurs.
