Lealt Shale

Lealt Shale Formation
Lealt Shale Formation
Stratigraphic range: Bathonian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
	Thinly bedded limestones of the Lealt Shale formation overlain by Paleogene lava
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)

Last updated September 23, 2025

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]

Fossil content

Color key

Taxon	Reclassified taxon	Taxon falsely reported as present	Dubious taxon or junior synonym	Ichnotaxon	Ootaxon	Morphotaxon

Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; ~~crossed out~~ taxa are discredited.

Dinosaurs

Theropoda

Theropod of the Lealt Shale Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Theropoda Indet.	Indeterminate			Tooth

Pterosaurs

Pterosaurs of the Lealt Shale Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Dearc ^[5]	D. sgiathanach				A angustinaripterin rhamphorhynchid

Fish

Fishes of the Lealt Shale Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Archaeotolithus ^[6]	A. eiggensis				A ray-finned fish
Archaeotolithus ^[6]	A. invernizziae				A ray-finned fish
Leptolepis ^[6]	L. flexuosus				a leptolepid fish
Leptolepis ^[6]	L. skyensis				a leptolepid fish

Footnotes

↑ Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607.
↑ Young, Chloe M. E.; Hendrickx, Christophe; Challands, Thomas J.; Foffa, Davide; Ross, Dugald A.; Butler, Ian B.; Brusatte, Stephen L. (May 2019). "New theropod dinosaur teeth from the Middle Jurassic of the Isle of Skye, Scotland". Scottish Journal of Geology. 55 (1): 7–19. doi:10.1144/sjg2018-020. hdl: 20.500.11820/063549bc-2a00-4ddc-bcf6-a1bc2f872c26 . ISSN 0036-9276. S2CID 134102042.
↑ dePolo, Paige E.; Brusatte, Stephen L.; Challands, Thomas J.; Foffa, Davide; Wilkinson, Mark; Clark, Neil D. L.; Hoad, Jon; Pereira, Paulo Victor Luiz Gomes da Costa; Ross, Dugald A.; Wade, Thomas J. (11 March 2020). Fiorillo, Anthony R. (ed.). "Novel track morphotypes from new tracksites indicate increased Middle Jurassic dinosaur diversity on the Isle of Skye, Scotland". PLOS ONE. 15 (3) e0229640. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229640 . ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 7065758 .
↑ "Lealt Shale Formation". BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
↑ Jagielska, N.; O'Sullivan, M.; Funston, G. F.; Butler, I. B.; Challands, T. J.; Clark, N. D. L.; Fraser, N. C.; Penny, A.; Ross, D. A.; Wilkinson, M.; Brusatte, S. L. (2022). "A skeleton from the Middle Jurassic of Scotland illuminates an earlier origin of large pterosaurs". Current Biology . 32 (6): 1446–1453.e4. Bibcode:2022CBio...32E1446J. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.01.073 . hdl: 10023/27028 . PMID 35196508. S2CID 247013664.
1 2 Schwarzhans, W. W.; Wakefield, M. I. (2024). "Otoliths from the Lealt Shale Formation, Great Estuarine Group, Middle Jurassic (Bathonian), Inner Hebrides, Scotland". Scottish Journal of Geology. 60 (2): 002. Bibcode:2024ScJG...60....2S. doi:10.1144/sjg2024-002.

References

Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.

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[dinosaurdistribution-1] Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607.

[2] Young, Chloe M. E.; Hendrickx, Christophe; Challands, Thomas J.; Foffa, Davide; Ross, Dugald A.; Butler, Ian B.; Brusatte, Stephen L. (May 2019). "New theropod dinosaur teeth from the Middle Jurassic of the Isle of Skye, Scotland". Scottish Journal of Geology. 55 (1): 7–19. doi:10.1144/sjg2018-020. hdl: 20.500.11820/063549bc-2a00-4ddc-bcf6-a1bc2f872c26 . ISSN 0036-9276. S2CID 134102042.

[3] Polo, Paige E.; Brusatte, Stephen L.; Challands, Thomas J.; Foffa, Davide; Wilkinson, Mark; Clark, Neil D. L.; Hoad, Jon; Pereira, Paulo Victor Luiz Gomes da Costa; Ross, Dugald A.; Wade, Thomas J. (11 March 2020). Fiorillo, Anthony R. (ed.). "Novel track morphotypes from new tracksites indicate increased Middle Jurassic dinosaur diversity on the Isle of Skye, Scotland". PLOS ONE. 15 (3) e0229640. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229640 . ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 7065758 .

[4] "Lealt Shale Formation". BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units. Retrieved 22 February 2022.

[5] Jagielska, N.; O'Sullivan, M.; Funston, G. F.; Butler, I. B.; Challands, T. J.; Clark, N. D. L.; Fraser, N. C.; Penny, A.; Ross, D. A.; Wilkinson, M.; Brusatte, S. L. (2022). "A skeleton from the Middle Jurassic of Scotland illuminates an earlier origin of large pterosaurs". Current Biology . 32 (6): 1446–1453.e4. Bibcode:2022CBio...32E1446J. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.01.073 . hdl: 10023/27028 . PMID 35196508. S2CID 247013664.

[SJGSchwarzhansWakefield-6] 1 2 Schwarzhans, W. W.; Wakefield, M. I. (2024). "Otoliths from the Lealt Shale Formation, Great Estuarine Group, Middle Jurassic (Bathonian), Inner Hebrides, Scotland". Scottish Journal of Geology. 60 (2): 002. Bibcode:2024ScJG...60....2S. doi:10.1144/sjg2024-002.

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