The Lealt Shale Formation is a Middle Jurassic geologic formation in Scotland. Fossil ornithopod, theropod and stegosaur tracks, a theropod dinosaur tooth and the pterosaur Dearc have been reported from the formation.[1][2][3] The lithology consists of silty fissile mudstones with subordinate thin limestones.[4]

Lealt Shale Formation
Stratigraphic range: Bathonian
Thinly bedded limestones of the Lealt Shale formation overlain by Paleogene lava
TypeGeological formation
Unit ofGreat Estuarine Group
Sub-unitsKildonnan Member, Lonfearn Member
UnderliesValtos Sandstone Formation
OverliesElgol Sandstone Formation
ThicknessBetween 45 and 50 m
Lithology
PrimaryMudstone
OtherLimestone
Location
RegionEurope
Country Scotland
ExtentInner Hebrides
Type section
Named forLealt, Skye
Named byHarris and Hudson
LocationCliffs east of Lonfearn (partial), Coastal exposure 2.5 km north of Kildonnan, Eigg (partial)
Year defined1980
Thickness at type sectionLonfearn: 26 to 30 m (partial) Kildonnan: 23 m (partial)

Fossil content

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Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

Dinosaurs

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Theropoda

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Theropod of the Lealt Shale Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Theropoda Indet. Indeterminate

Pterosaurs

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Pterosaurs of the Lealt Shale Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Dearc[5] D. sgiathanach A angustinaripterin rhamphorhynchid
 

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607.
  2. ^ Young, Chloe M. E.; Hendrickx, Christophe; Challands, Thomas J.; Foffa, Davide; Ross, Dugald A.; Butler, Ian B.; Brusatte, Stephen L. (May 2019). "New theropod dinosaur teeth from the Middle Jurassic of the Isle of Skye, Scotland". Scottish Journal of Geology. 55 (1): 7–19. doi:10.1144/sjg2018-020. hdl:20.500.11820/063549bc-2a00-4ddc-bcf6-a1bc2f872c26. ISSN 0036-9276. S2CID 134102042.
  3. ^ dePolo, Paige E.; Brusatte, Stephen L.; Challands, Thomas J.; Foffa, Davide; Wilkinson, Mark; Clark, Neil D. L.; Hoad, Jon; Pereira, Paulo Victor Luiz Gomes da Costa; Ross, Dugald A.; Wade, Thomas J. (11 March 2020). Fiorillo, Anthony R. (ed.). "Novel track morphotypes from new tracksites indicate increased Middle Jurassic dinosaur diversity on the Isle of Skye, Scotland". PLOS ONE. 15 (3): e0229640. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0229640. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 7065758.
  4. ^ "Lealt Shale Formation". BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  5. ^ Jagielska, N.; O'Sullivan, M.; Funston, G. F.; Butler, I. B.; Challands, T. J.; Clark, N. D. L.; Fraser, N. C.; Penny, A.; Ross, D. A.; Wilkinson, M.; Brusatte, S. L. (2022). "A skeleton from the Middle Jurassic of Scotland illuminates an earlier origin of large pterosaurs". Current Biology. 32 (6): 1446–1453.e4. Bibcode:2022CBio...32E1446J. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2022.01.073. hdl:10023/27028. PMID 35196508. S2CID 247013664.

References

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  • Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.