A dinosaur fossil has been found on the Isle of Eigg – the first such discovery in Scotland that wasn’t on Skye.
A researcher found the 166 million-year-old limb bone – thought to belong to a stegosaurian – while running along the beach.
The bone, which measures just over half a metre, was found in a boulder on the foreshore.
Although the rare Middle Jurassic fossil was badly damaged by waves, palaeontologists were still able to study its heritage.
After removing the bone from the rock in a laboratory, researchers were able to determine it was part of a stegosaur’s hind limb.
The bone is now in the collections of National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh.
The researcher who discovered the bone, Dr Elsa Panciroli of National Museums Scotland, said: “In 200 years of searching no-one has found a dinosaur before, so this is quite special.
“This bone is 166 million years old and provides us with evidence that stegosaurs were living in Scotland at this time.
“It was a bit of a serendipitous discovery. I was running along the shore on my way back to meet the rest of the team and I ran right over it.
“It wasn’t clear exactly what kind of animal it belonged to at the time, but there was no doubt it was a dinosaur bone.”
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