The Isle of Skye is located off the west coast of Scotland. During that span, especially during the Middle Jurassic Period, around 175 to 161 million years ago, it hummed with limbed dinosaurs. With rugged cliffs and breathtaking views, this picturesque island is sure to inspire. Tens of millions of years ago, it featured rich productive warm shallow seas and freshwater lagoons at the southern edge of the supercontinent Pangaea.
Today, the Isle of Skye is known for its natural beauty, but during the Middle Jurassic, it played host to some incredible diversity of life. This site is crawling with fossils. It has become one of the most well-known places on Earth for a complete fossil record from this time period. Incredible fossils discovered from the island provide key glimpse into a transitionary period. In the process, many new groups of dinosaurs started to appear and thrive remarkably.
The Middle Jurassic was a time of dynamic geological activity. Climate During the Late Triassic Pangaea started to split apart, and the central Atlantic Ocean opened up. These geological changes set the stage for an increasingly diverse ecosystem with dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes taking over. Most impressive of these were the long-necked sauropods, including huge cetiosaurs and gigantic brachiosaurs that lumbered through verdant terrains. The carnivorous theropods, including megalosaurs, appeared in the early Jurassic, as well as the herbivorous ornithopods, which included duck-billed dinosaurs.
The fossil record provides evidence that the Middle Jurassic atmosphere was hypercapnic (severely elevated in CO 2 ). It revealed record-smashing heat and sea level rise. Volcanism and tectonic activity were at their highest levels during this period. These impacts made indelible marks on the environment, causing drastic changes that subsequently directed the course of life on Earth. The Isle of Skye’s special geological history has made it one of Europe’s most important paleontological sites.
Fossils from this time period are exceedingly rare around the globe. Yet, the ones discovered on the Isle of Skye have provided paleontologists with crucial glimpses into dinosaur evolution and behavior. The island’s fossil beds not only illustrate the diverse range of species that existed but serve as a window into a world vastly different from today’s environment.
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