Scotland’s Jurassic Park: the Isle of Skye and new fossil discoveries by the PalAlba group (lecture)

Dr Stephen Brusatte, Chancellor’s Fellow, University of Edinburgh

Believe it or not, you can find dinosaurs in Scotland. And these dinosaurs turn out to be important on an international scale. The Isle of Skye is one of the few places in the world that preserves fossils of dinosaurs, crocodiles, lizards, turtles, and even tiny mammals from the middle part of the Jurassic period, about 170 million years ago. Over the last few years the PalAlba team – a collaborative group of Scottish palaeontologists – has been conducting fieldwork on the Isle of Skye. This talk will explain the importance of the Isle of Skye fossils and describe new discoveries made by the PalAlba team, including a remarkable dinosaur tracksite left by colossal long-necked dinosaurs moving through an ancient lagoon.