briefing from Sunday Herald, 25 April 2010
Last week there was news that the footprint of a giant scorpion had been found in Fife. But this is only one of a myriad of strange and extraordinary monsters that used to roam the land and seas millions of years ago.
Experts say there were huge centipedes in Arran, dinosaurs in Skye, flying sharks in Bearsden, weird reptiles in Elgin and woolly mammoths in Kilmarnock. There were probably other bizarre creatures for which evidence is still to be uncovered.
In those days, of course, Scotland was very different. The country started off around 500 million years ago as part of a huge continent called Laurentia in the southern hemisphere of the globe. Over millions of years the land gravitated north, crossed the equator and ended up where it is today.
During the course of this “continental drift” driven by the movement of the earth’s tectonic plates, Scotland was rammed together with England. Then, some 60 million years ago, Britain broke off from north America and, along with the rest of Europe, moved slowly across the Atlantic.
During its long, geological journey, Scotland experienced almost every conceivable climate, from Arctic cold to extreme desert heat. There were swamps, tropics, ice ages, and many volcanoes, which have left us Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, Arran, Mull, Skye and much else.
At times the place was uninhabitable. But sometimes amidst all the changes, there was life. It came in different eras and in many different forms, and most of it came long before humanity.
From studying the rocks and fossils in some of Scotland’s oldest geological formations we can learn an amazing amount about the beasts that used to inhabit the country and its seas.
“The importance of the fossil finds in Scotland cannot be overstated,” said Dr Neil Clark, the curator of palaeontology at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow.
“They are of pivotal importance to our understanding of the evolution of life when it first began its tentative steps on land. Not only do we have these crucial fossils, but they are also extremely well preserved. In some cases even the blood vessels and muscles can be seen.”
Dr Clark pointed out that the work in finding the fossils had been done by dedicated amateurs and professionals, working together. “Long may this partnership continue,” he said. “Scientists from around the globe look to Scotland for the many of the fossils that span major steps in the evolution of life on Earth.”
Giant scorpions in Fife
The scorpions that used to lumber around Fife were huge. They had six legs, a sharply pointed tail and measured up to two metres long and one metre wide.
But their bulk probably made them very slow-moving beasts, which wouldn’t have made them very threatening. The trail of the largest known scorpion was unveiled by the government’s conservation agency, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), at a secret location in north east Fife last week.
The trail was preserved in a slab of sandstone, showing three rows of crescent-shaped footprints on each side of a central groove, made by the scorpion’s tail. This suggested that the creature was moving on land, rather than in water.
Technically known as a Hibbertopterus, the animal is related to modern day water scorpions and horseshoe crabs. It lived around 330 million years ago in the Carboniferous period.
According to SNH, the find was “internationally important”. Because of the risk that the rock containing the imprints will be eroded, a silicon mould is being made, which the public will be able to see.
Giant centipedes in Arran
Footprints from a monster centipede known as Arthropleura have been discovered on the isle of Arran. It grew up to 2.6 metres long, and was one of the largest land insects known.
Scientists say the creature probably had a sharp and powerful set of jaws, and may have eaten small animals, as well as plants. It has been said that it could get through maybe a tonne of vegetation a year.
The centipede’s long rows of footprints have also been found in rocks near Crail in Fife. The trails suggest that it could have been fast-moving and swerved to avoid obstacles.
It could also have moved under water, and may have gone to lakes and riverbeds to moult its shell. There it could have been vulnerable to attacks from large fish or amphibians.
On land, however, it probably had few predators because of its size, and helped transport pollen around. It lived between 280 and 340 million years ago, during the upper Carboniferous period.
Lizards in Bathgate
The fossilised remains of a lizard were found in a quarry near Bathgate in 1984. Just 20 centimetres long, with a skinny body and sharp teeth, it later became famous as one of the world’s first reptiles.
Nicknamed Lizzie the lizard by the media, she lived about 350 million years ago in the Carboniferous period, searching for soft insects amongst dead leaves, rocks and earth. She may have lived in a freshwater lake.
Her proper scientific name, Westlothiana lizziae, comes from the district in which she was found. Recent research has suggested that she may not technically have been a reptile.
Lizzie hit the headlines in 1990 when a natural history museum in Stuttgart, Germany, tried to buy her for £200,000. Following an appeal, the National Museums of Scotland managed to prevent the export.
Sharks in Bearsden
It was a peculiar-looking shark, with a large anvil-shaped protuberance towards the back of its head. More than 330 million years ago it swam in a lagoon that took the place of Glasgow.
Its fossilised remains were discovered near Bearsden by an amateur collector, Stan Wood, in 1981. It was a metre long, and its teeth and bones were remarkably well preserved.
In its bowels, was a partially digested fish supper. Experts say it must have become buried in thick, black mud, which later became black shale formations in Bearsden.
Widely know as the Bearsden shark, it is on display at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow. The shark has been extensively studied, and given the scientific name of Akmonistion zangerli.
There is also evidence from Bearsden of strange flying sharks known as Iniopterygiformes. They had wing-like projections on their backs, which are thought to have enabled them to glide out of water like modern day flying fish.
The flying sharks had large skulls, with huge eye sockets, and rows of sharp teeth. They may have grown to about 50 centimetres in length.
Megolosaurus on Skye
The footprint of a large carnivorous dinosaur has been found on Skye. It may have looked a little like the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex from the Steven Spielberg film, Jurassic Park, though probably wasn’t quite as scary.
Called a Megolosaurus, it must have stomped around Scotland 166 million years ago in the middle Jurassic period. Some of its bones and other footprints have also been discovered in parts of England.
The Megolosaurus was probably a large-headed, two-legged creature, with a long tail. It may have had two small front paws.
Growing up to nine metres in length, it weighed about a tonne. It had three toes facing forwards, and one facing backwards and was actually a precursor to the Tyrannosaurus.
Experts say the Megolosaurus may have hunted other dinosaurs, like stegosaurs. Its footprint is on display at Staffin museum on the Isle of Skye.
Sauropods on Skye
A tooth of the giant plant-eating dinosaur known as a Sauropod has also been discovered on Skye. The massive beasts lived around 150 million years ago.
They had four trunk-like legs, long tails and very long necks. In contrast, their heads were relatively small.
Across the world they ranged in size from six to 34 metres long and could be up to 18 metres tall. Giraffes nowadays only reach 5.5 metres.
The biggest Sauropods could have weighed up to 110 tonnes or more. This compares to the ten tonnes carried by the heaviest elephants alive today.
They were likely to have been gregarious animals that formed herds. Some scientists say that they might have been able to rear up on their hind legs to help find food, though this is disputed.
There is similar controversy over whether Sauropods held their heads high, or just stretched their necks out horizontally. Some calculations suggest that holding their heads high would have required hearts 15 times bigger than those in whales to pump blood to their brains.
Evidence of at least seven species of dinosaur have been found on Skye, causing it to be labelled as Scotland’s “dinosaur island”.
Woolly mammoth in Kilmarnock
A piece of tusk from a 46,000-year old woolly mammoth was found near Kilmarnock. These animals looked like massive, shaggy elephants, with long, curled tusks.
They could reach heights of four metres, and their hair could grow to a metre long. Their tusks could extend to an extraordinary five metres, and might have been used to clear snow from the ground to find food.
Woolly mammoths mostly died out about ten thousand years ago, as the globe warmed after the ice age and they were hunted by early humans. They were adapted to live in Arctic, or near-Arctic conditions and were common in Siberia.
The frozen, preserved remains of woolly mammoths have been uncovered in Siberia, including a 8-month-old baby called Dima in 1977. There have been reports that scientists have tried to clone the animals from DNA recovered from frozen carcasses, presumably unsuccessfully.
US scientists, though, have managed to map maybe half of the genome of the wooly mammoth, by collecting fragments from remains. They share more than 98% of their DNA with the Africa elephant.
Ancient spiders in Aberdeenshire
Around 400 million years ago, spider-like creatures were trapped in boiling springs in the Rhynie area of Aberdeenshire. Studies of their fossilised remains have given an insight into the lives of these eight-legged creatures.
Known as trigonotarbids, there were perhaps three species of them at Rhynie. They were small, ranging from just four millimetres to perhaps 20 millimetres in length.
Like other spiders, they had poison fangs for killing prey. But they did not have the ability to spin webs for trapping insects. Instead they probably stalked or ambushed them.
Huge-teethed fish in Scotland
Evidence of large predatory fish with big teeth has been detected in several places across the country. Known as rhizodonts, they swam in Scottish waters more than 300 million years ago.
Some of them could have grown to as long as seven metres, making them the largest known freshwater fish. Their mouths were large and full of blade-like teeth, and could have crammed in a lot of food in at once.
Their anatomy suggests that rhizodonts also had a extremely powerful bite. They probably ambushed their prey, including large sharks and fish, sunk in their teeth, and thrashed them about before consuming them.
Reptiles in Elgin
Fossils and footprints of a dozen species of ancient reptile have been found in sandstone from Elgin in Morayshire. They lived before dinosaurs, between 220 and 250 million years ago.
Their fossils were first discovered in the 1830s, with the latest find in 1997. They are thought to be remains from two distinct periods, both likely hot desert environments.
Some of the reptiles were lizard-like plant-eaters and about a metre long. Others looked like crocodiles, pigs or dinosaurs. Their fossils have been on display at the Elgin Museum.
One reptile skull has been described in detail by Dr Neil Clark, the curator of palaeontology at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow. It is known as the ‘Elgin marvel’.
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