THE STORR LOCHS MONSTER

Early day motion 408, tabled 6 September 2016 by Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party). Signed by 24 members.

That this House celebrates the first public unveiling of a 170-million year old Jurassic predator fossil that was discovered on a beach near SSE's Storr Lochs Power Station on the Isle of Skye; notes that it is the most complete skeleton of a sea-living reptile from the age of dinosaurs that has ever been found in Scotland; welcomes that its preservation and unveiling was only made possible thanks to a partnership between the University of Edinburgh, National Museums Scotland and SSE; further notes that its discovery will help palaeontologists to reveal how ichthyosaurs evolved during the Middle Jurassic period, a part of earth's history that has long been shrouded in mystery owing to a lack of fossil evidence from the time; further celebrates that the Isle of Skye is one of the few places in the world where fossils from the Middle Jurassic period can be found; and encourages the public to visit the Storr Lochs Monster fossil when it appears at SSE's new visitor centre at the Pitlochry Dam, which opens in a few months' time.

Signatures by party: Scottish National Party 22, Independent 1, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1.