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Huge flying reptile sets Jurassic record

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A fossil jawbone peeking out from a limestone seashore on Scotland’s Isle of Skye led scientists to discover the skeleton of a pterosaur that showed that these remarkable flying reptiles got big tens of millions of years earlier than previously known.

Researchers said on Tuesday this pterosaur, named Dearc sgiathanach, lived roughly 170 million years ago during the Jurassic Period, soaring over lagoons in a subtropical landscape and catching fish and squid with crisscrossing teeth perfect for snaring slippery prey.

Its scientific name, pronounced “jark ski-an-ach,” means “winged reptile” in Gaelic.

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Say hello to Dearc sgiathanach! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿<br><br>Description of the world’s largest

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This story was originally published on  CBC News. To read the rest of this news worthy story, please visit https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/pterosaur-scotland-1.6360083?cmp=rss.

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