New Paper: 1st dinosaur from #IsleofEigg! We describe a limb bone, & attribute it to a Middle #Jurassic stegosaur! Thread👇 [1/7] #StEiggosaurus #Fossils #Scotland #dinosaurs #FossilFriday
I discovered the bone on @NatGeo funded #fieldwork in 2017. #IsleofEigg is known for #Jurassic marine reptiles & fish #fossils (found by Hugh Miller & others). It was collected by a team frm @GeosciencesEd & Staffin Dinosaur Museum. #StEiggosaurus [2/7] 
The bone was badly eroded, but @MrIchthyosaurus carefully prepared it for the team to study. We combined our expertise in #Mesozoic reptile #anatomy and bone microstructure (#histology), to narrow down the identification. #StEiggosaurus #fossils [3/7]
Bone #histology resembled a group of #dinosaurs that incl. Stegosaurus (called thyreophorans). It was probably a juvenile, & bite marks show it was scavenged after death. #IsleofEigg was under a shallow sea in the #Jurassic, #StEiggosaurus washed into it after death. [4/7]
Middle #Jurassic #fossils are globally very rare, making this an important discovery for #Scotland. The fossil is now in @NtlMuseumsScot, but a 3D model (by @Matt_Humpage) is available free to download! -> sketchfab.com/3d-models/eigg… #StEiggosaurus [5/7]
Huge thanks to everyone involved, to our funders, and especially to the welcoming community of the #IsleofEigg who allowed us to work along their stunning shores! We hope to be back soon! #StEiggosaurus [7/7]
