During the Jurassic Period, roughly 200 to 145 million years ago, the Scottish Isle of sky was underwater. It was joined to the UK and part of a mass that eventually separated into Europe and North America.

In the shallow waters above Skye a multitude of prehistoric creates lived and died. Now a team of paleontologists, the largest group currently working in Scotland, led by the University of Edinburgh and including many Scottish institutions is carefully examining the bones and fragments found on Skye over the past five decades.

These remains include an upper arm bone as well as vertebrae, skulls and teeth. The researchers have identified examples of numerous extinct aquatic animals which lived in the waters above Skye in the Early-to-Middle Jurassic.

They have also identified an entirely new species which appears to be uniquely Scottish.

The creature which appears somewhat dolphin like was a fierce predator measuring 14 feet long from end to end. The researchers believe that at the time, about 170 million years ago, the creatures sat at the top of the food chain. The reptiles prayed on other reptiles as well as fish.

The new species has been dubbed Dearcmhara shawcrossi in honor of the amateur fossil hunter, Brian Shawcross, who found the fossils in the island’s Bearreraig Bay in 1959.

“Without the generosity of the collector who donated the bones to a museum instead of keeping them or selling them, we would have never known that this amazing animal existed. We are honoured to name the new species after Mr Shawcross and will do the same if any other collectors wish to donate new specimens,” lead researcher Dr Steve Brusatte, from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Geosciences told the Daily Record.

The second part of the name Dearcmhara – pronounced ‘jark vara’ is Scottish Gaelic and translates as ‘marine lizard’. It was chosen to pay homage to the heritage of the Isle of Sky and Hebrides. According to a statement from the University of Edinburgh it is “one of the few to have ever been given a Gaelic name”.

The analysis, published in the Scottish Journal of Geology, marks the first serious study of Scottish ichthyosaurs. Ichthyosaurs, Greek for ‘fish lizard’ first emerged about 250 million years ago and survived until 90 million years ago. It is believed that they, like modern dolphins and whales, evolved from a group of land reptiles that returned to the sea.

Ichthyosaurs varied in size from one foot long to more than 16 feet. They are also one of the first prehistoric species found and chronicled. The first depiction of an Ichthyosaur was published in 1699 by Edward Lhuyd in Lithophylacii Brittannici Ichnographia.

The Isle of Skye is believed to be a treasure trove of rare Middle Jurassic fossils. The researchers hope that the new discovery could provide valuable insights into the evolution of marine reptiles.

Researchers from the team, known as PalAlba, include members from University of Edinburgh, National Museums Scotland, the University of Glasgow’s Hunterian Museum, Scottish National Heritage and Staffin Museum, Isle of Skye. They will present the bones of their new find at Our Dynamic Earth, a one day event in Edinborough from 10am-4pm on January 18.