Dearc

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Dearc
Temporal range: Middle Jurassic, Bathonian
↓
Life restoration
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Pterosauria
Family: †Rhamphorhynchidae
Subfamily: †
Rhamphorhynchinae
Tribe: †
Angustinaripterini
Genus: †Dearc
Jagielska et al., 2022
Species:
†D. sgiathanach
Binomial name
†Dearc sgiathanach
Jagielska et al., 2022

Dearc (Scottish Gaelic pronunciation:

pterodactyloid lineages of the Cretaceous. The genus contains a single species, Dearc sgiathanach ([ˈtʲɛɾxk ˈs̪kʲiəhanəx] dearc sgiathanachⓘ
).

Discovery and naming

The

Lealt Shale Formation and consists of a three-dimensionally preserved skeleton preserved in articulation in a slab of limestone (separated into four pieces for preparation). The specimen preserves most of the body with the exception of the end of the tail, most of the hindlimbs, parts of the wing and the very tip of the beak. The specimen was found on the east coast of the peninsula of Trotternish, part of the Isle of Skye in north-west Scotland, and the rock slab removed to the University of Edinburgh.[1] The fossil was prepared by Nigel Larkin. It is to be displayed by National Museums Scotland.[1][2]

In 2022, the type species Dearc sgiathanach was named and described by Natalia Jagielska, Michael O’Sullivan, Gregory F. Funston, Ian B. Butler, Thomas J. Challands, Neil D.L. Clark, Nicholas C. Fraser, Amelia Penny, Dugald A. Ross, Mark Wilkinson and Stephen Louis Brusatte. The name is derived from the Scottish Gaelic language and has a double meaning. It can be simultaneously translated as "winged reptile" and "reptile from Skye", as dearc means "reptile" and sgiathanach (from sgiathan "small wing") means "winged", an element that also appears in the Gaelic name of the Isle of Skye (An t-Eilean Sgiathanach), often interpreted as meaning "The Winged Island".[3]

Description

Size

Different wingspan estimates for Dearc (based on Rhamphorhynchus and Dorygnathus)

The wingspan could not be directly measured for Dearc as several

phylogenetic proximity.[3]

Dearc possesses several features typical of fully grown adults in the related

sacral vertebrae. Histology supports the later interpretation, indicating that, while at least two years old at its time of death, the animal was still actively growing. The wing bone shows two prominent lines of growth that allow this interpretation and further suggest that it died shortly after emerging from a hiatus in growth. The fact that the holotype of Dearc was still growing makes a wingspan of up to three meters quite possible.[3]

Skeletal anatomy

Generally, Dearc shows the typical bodyplan of non-

quadrate. Furthermore, although proportionally short compared to pterodactyloids, the cervical vertebrae are notably elongated compared to other non-monofenestratans, resembling those of the more derived Wukongopterus. The dentition shows two distinct types of teeth: elongated fangs close to the tip of the snout and more conical peg-like teeth further back.[3]

The describing authors indicated several distinguishing traits. Four are

infratemporal fenestra is pear-shaped, with the narrow part on top. In the palate, the ectopterygoid bone has an upwards projecting process, running through the choana and perpendicularly contacting the vomer.[3]

Phylogeny

The phylogenetic analysis conducted for Dearc included characters from several independent publications as well as entirely new ones, while also excluding those that are only known from very young animals or known to vary greatly with age. The resulting tree recovered Dearc to lie within the

Angustinaripterini.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b "Fossil of largest Jurassic pterosaur found on Skye". BBC News. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  2. ^ Ferguson, Brian (22 February 2022). "World's biggest Jurassic-era pterodactyl discovered on Isle of Skye". The Scotsman. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  3. ^
    Wikidata Q110984418
    .
  4. ^ Spindler, Frederik; Ifrim, Christina (2021). "Die Spur einer Spur – ein möglicher erster Flugsaurier aus Ettling Trace of a trace – a putative first pterosaur from the Ettling locality". Archaeopteryx. 37: 75–83.
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