Tiny reptile unearthed in Scotland was ‘closely related to pterosaurs’

Researchers say Scleromochlus taylori belonged to species that evolved into giant flying reptiles

After more than a century of debate, researchers have settled the mystery of a tiny, enigmatic reptile that left an impression on Scottish sandstone nearly a quarter of a billion years ago.

The 20cm-long creature, Scleromochlus taylori, was discovered near Elgin in Moray in the early 1900s, but all that remained from a handful of specimens were the natural moulds created in the rock when the fossilised bones dissolved away.