Amphibian, Reptile and Bird Fossils

Comments

Glasgow Museums has a collection of around 100 specimens of fossil amphibians, reptiles and birds. This collection contains fossils that range from individual bones to complete skeletons. Most of these are fossil reptiles, including some Scottish examples that show scales and ribs of the Triassic species, Stagonolepis robertsoni. Marine reptiles, the plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs, make up the major part of this collection. They are mostly represented by individual bones and teeth from localities in England. There is also a fine, well-preserved skeleton, 2.6 metres in length, of Stenopterygius, an ichthyosaur from Holzmaden, Germany. Other reptile fossils include a few crocodilian remains and an almost complete shell of a Jurassic turtle. There are only three amphibian specimens, one from the Permian of France and two from the Carboniferous of Scotland. The Scottish specimens – Anthracosaurus russelli from Lanarkshire and Balanerpeton woodi from East Kirkton, Bathgate – are rare and scientifically important Scottish fossils. The fossil bird collection contains a swan bone from Ice Age deposits near Paisley. It also includes moa remains from New Zealand. There are several individual bones of these extinct flightless birds, and the skeleton of Dinornis, one of the largest moa.

Broader term

Fossils