Lealt Shale Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: | |
Type | Geological formation |
Unit of | Great Estuarine Group |
Sub-units | Kildonnan Member, Lonfearn Member |
Underlies | Valtos Sandstone Formation |
Overlies | Elgol Sandstone Formation |
Thickness | Between 45 and 50 m |
Lithology | |
Primary | Mudstone |
Other | Limestone |
Location | |
Region | Europe |
Country | Scotland |
Extent | Inner Hebrides |
Type section | |
Named for | Lealt, Skye |
Named by | Harris and Hudson |
Location | Cliffs east of Lonfearn (partial), Coastal exposure 2.5 km north of Kildonnan, Eigg (partial) |
Year defined | 1980 |
Thickness at type section | Lonfearn: 26 to 30 m (partial) Kildonnan: 23 m (partial) |
The Lealt Shale Formation is a Middle Jurassic geologic formation in Scotland. Fossil ornithopod, theropod and stegosaur tracks, a theropod dinosaur tooth and the pterosaur Dearc have been reported from the formation. [1] [2] [3] The lithology consists of silty fissile mudstones with subordinate thin limestones. [4]
Color key
| Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; |
Theropod of the Lealt Shale Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
Theropoda Indet. | Indeterminate | |||||
Pterosaurs of the Lealt Shale Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
Dearc [5] | D. sgiathanach | A angustinaripterin rhamphorhynchid | ||||
Trotternish is the northernmost peninsula of the Isle of Skye in Scotland, spanning in length from Portree to Rubha Hunish. The Trotternish escarpment runs almost the full length of the peninsula, some 30 kilometres, and contains landmarks such as the Old Man of Storr and the Quiraing. The summit of The Storr, overlooking the Old Man, is the highest point of the peninsula at 719 m above sea level. The north-eastern part of the peninsula around Quiraing is designated as a National Scenic Area and the entire escarpment is a Special Area of Conservation.
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Dearc is a genus of large-bodied rhamphorhynchine pterosaur from the Middle Jurassic Lealt Shale Formation of Scotland. The holotype, a juvenile or subadult that was still actively growing, has an estimated wingspan of 2.5 to 3 meters, making it the largest flying animal of its time. This pushes the origin of large pterosaurs back significantly, as it was previously assumed that pterosaurs did not reach greater body sizes until the short-tailed pterodactyloid lineages of the Cretaceous. The genus contains a single species, Dearc sgiathanach ( ).
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