On the Isle of Skye, a place that stands out for its imposing coastline surrounded by a mysterious aura, a team of paleontologists has found convincing evidence of a fossil ichthyosaur, named Dearcmhara Shawcross, considered to be the true Scottish monster.
In our cultural belief we keep in mind nessie, known for the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, a belief that dates back to the mid-19th century and has been widely speculated on. However, at Supercurioso we want to tell you that the Dearcmhara is the real monster much older and more fascinating than the Loch Ness monster. Do you dare to meet him?
The Dearcmhara, the monster that inhabited more than 170 million years ago
In 1966, Norrie Gillies, manager of the Storr Lochs power station, in the isle of skye in Scotland, discovered near the facility a rock with what appeared to contain a fossil ichthyosaur of a prehistoric fish.
This rock ended up in the warehouses of the National Museums of Scotland, where it remained more or less ignored for more than 50 years. However, a team of paleontologists from the University of Edinburgh decided to investigate the Dearcmhara, this is what they discovered!
1. What is known about this marine reptile
The fossil ichthyosaur has been revealed to be a new species of marine reptile from the Jurassic Era. The group’s principal investigator, Stephen Brusatte, explained why the fossil was left untouched for half a century:
“Until now it was possible to work with the fossil because before, there was neither the necessary experience nor the appropriate instruments to free the Dearcmhara from the rock without damaging it«, work recently carried out successfully by fossil conservator and restorer Nigel Larkin.
Now, what is an ichthyosaur? paleontologists They categorize them as marine reptiles or fish-like marine dinosaurs. It is said that they followed the same path as the ancestors of the whales and dolphins, land animals that returned to the sea, but needed to take a breath from time to time.
Ichthyosaurs have an evolutionary history dating back to the Lower Triassic, 245 million years ago. and they owned the seas of America, Europe and Asia until about 90 million years ago, when they were displaced by other species, such as the plesiosaurs.
2. What was the Dearcmhara like?
The Dearcmhara is a medium-sized fossil ichthyosaur, with a length of no more than 4 meters. It swam in warm waters and based its diet on fish and squid.
The ichthyosaur found on the Isle of Skye It would be the most complete skeleton of this class found in Scotland. According to the researchers, it would have lived 170 million years ago.
Its appearance (very different from that of the Loch Ness monster) has great similarities with dolphins, they had a pronounced and pointed snout and their fins allowed the Dearcmhara to move with great speed in the water.
Brusatte comments: “People are obsessed with the myth of the Loch Ness monster which is completely false, but they don’t realize that there were real sea monsters» that «were bigger, scarier and more fascinating than Nessie».
The discovery of the new species of marine reptiles constitutes an achievement for science, since the Jurassic Period is one of the most unknown stages of prehistory and with a large number of enigmas to discover.
3. What is its name?
Researchers have designated this fossil ichthyosaur as Dearcmhara Shawcross, a Gaelic word meaning refers to marine reptiles and is a tribute to the history of the island where the remains of the prehistoric reptile were found.
Research carried out by paleontologists at the University of Edinburgh highlights that the Dearcmhara managed to live together with members of another branch of marine reptiles called plesiosaurs.
The latter are known for their large bodies, long necks, and wide fins (in fact, nessie, Generally, it is represented as a plesiosaur), the latter displaced the Dearcmhara until it became extinct.
According to a detailed study published by the Scottish Journal Of Geologythe Dearcmhara is a very special discovery that marks the beginning of a new and very important collaboration between material heritage conservation institutions.
For Nick Fraser, director of the Department of Natural Sciences of the Organization National Museums Scotlandbe part of this process is to create links between different universities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Skye museum, to account for the revelation of a past.
4. The end of the investigation?
Norrie Gillies died at the age of 93, in 2011, without having seen what some paleontologists now call “the crown jewel of prehistoric Scotland”, and unaware that he may have found the real Loch Ness monstereven though it was not in Loch Nessnor was it a true monster, but a natural part of the wonderful and still mysterious history of life on Earth.
In a note for a website, the principal investigator, Stephen Brusatte, commented that Norrie Gillies’ role was essential to the investigation, since without his donation, the investigation would not have been possible. We must tell you that although research by paleontologists has been revealing in the field of science, the truth is that due to looting and illegal sale of fossil piecesinvestigations are seriously affected by not being able to complete the complete body of a fossil.
We hope that this article has been of interest to you, if you want to continue reading, We recommend you visit our entry on the duck-billed dinosaurWe are sure that it will surprise you.