On Friday 30 November, 3 pupils visited a very grand Inverness Townhouse to listen to world renowned dinosaur expert, Dr. Neil Clark. Nicknamed “Jurassic Clark”, his talk, entitled, Dinosaurs from Scotland’s Jurassic Isle, was a real insight into the Scottish landscape in the mid- Jurassic period , around 163-164 million years ago and was thoroughly enjoyed by Gregor [S1], Ruairidh [S1] and Craig {S6]
Findings on the Isle of Skye, of dinosaur footprints and bones now hint that Ornithopods, herbivorous creatures who walked on two legs, along with the carnivorous Megalosaurus and the omnivorous Cetiosaurus and Stegosaurus once roamed there. In early 2018, a team of researchers from Edinburgh University also found and photographed about 50 footprints in the tidal area close to Rubha nam Braithrean (Brothers’ Point). Most of the prints were made by long-necked sauropods – which stood up to 2m (6.5ft) tall – and by theropods, which were the older cousins of Tyrannosaurus Rex.
However, the latest news, is a hint that Inverness, and the coast heading North will also become investigated too, which is very exciting for Paleontologists; young and old. Craig [S6] a life long dinosaur enthusiast and illustrator was very keen to meet Clark again, as the last time they had met was at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow, when he was in S2- aged 14. However, the busy geologist and paleontologist still had time at the end to chat to Craig about his latest drawings and offer advice – inspiring the next generation!
The T Rex and his little hands! What did he use them for?
Dr. Neil Clark delighted to look at at Craig’s dinosaur drawings.
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