Ceoptera

Ceoptera (meaning "mist wing") is an extinct genus of darwinopteran pterosaur from the Middle Jurassic Kilmaluag Formation of Scotland. The genus contains a single species, C. evansae, known from a partial skeleton.It is the only pterosaur from Kilmaluag Formation. Ceoptera represents the second pterosaur named from Scotland, after Dearc in 2022.

Discovery and naming
The Ceoptera holotype specimen, NHMUK PV R37110, was discovered in 2006 in sediments of the Kilmaluag Formation near Elgol on the Isle of Skye of Scotland, United Kingdom. The incomplete associated specimen, which is preserved on three blocks, consists of dorsal and caudal vertebrae (in addition to two indeterminate fragmentary vertebrae), a partial sternum and pelvis, the right scapulocoracoid, and several bones from the left forelimb and hindlimb.

The fossil material was first mentioned in a 2019 conference abstract, and later in a 2020 review of the fossil vertebrae fauna of the Kilmaluag Formation.

In 2024, Martin-Silverstone et al. described Ceoptera evansae as a new genus and species of darwinopteran pterosaur based on these fossil remains. The generic name, "'Ceoptera", combines the Scottish Gaelic word "cheò"/"ceò" (pronounced "ki-yo")—referencing Eilean a' Cheò (meaning "Isle of Mist"), the common Gaelic name for the Isle of Skye—with the Latin word "ptera", meaning "wing". The specific name, "evansae", honours British paleontologist Susan E. Evans and her scientific contributions, especially on Skye.

Description
The Ceoptera holotype has an estimated forelimb length of 0.76 m and wingspan of around 1.6 m. Many skeletal structures are fully fused, and some surfaces of the bones have a dense, smooth texture. Both of these features are characteristic of osteological maturity, so the individual was likely done growing when it died.

Classification
Martin-Silverstone et al. (2024) recovered Ceoptera as a darwinopteran member of the Monofenestrata, in an unresolved polytomy with similar taxa. The Darwinoptera is, in turn, the sister taxon to the Pterodactyloidea.