It was huge news when the first lizard bone in Denmark was found at Stevns Klint in the fall of 2024. Now the bone is part of the exhibition at Geomuseum Faxe.
Both national and international press covered the news when the first evidence of flying lizards living in Denmark was found at Stevns Klint in the fall of 2024.
The find was a 4.5 mm long piece of bone from the finger of a small lizard with a wingspan of 30-40 cm. Due to the special significance of the find, it had to be thoroughly examined and described scientifically. These studies are now complete and the small piece of bone is now on display at Geomuseum Faxe.
- It's a tiny and at the same time very large find that we can now show off. The piece of bone is the first evidence of lizards living in what later became Denmark. It was also found in the very top layer of the chalk, which tells us that this lizard lived within the last 50,000 years of the Cretaceous period, 66 million years ago, and that it was among the very last lizards on earth," says Jesper Milàn.
The bone has its own display case, equipped with a magnifying glass so visitors can see this small but significant piece of history up close. The model of the flying lizard is courtesy of 10 Tons, which makes models of ancient animals.
Geomuseum Faxe is open from 10am to 3pm. Children have free admission.
Facts about pterodactyls:
Pterosaurs were a group of reptiles related to crocodiles and dinosaurs that had developed the ability to fly.
Their wings were built in a very unique way, with one finger being extremely elongated and holding a membrane of skin that they used to fly.
The pterodactyls emerged as an animal group back in the middle of the Triassic geological time period, around 245 million years ago, and they were the absolute rulers of the skies until the end of the Cretaceous period when they went extinct along with the great dinosaurs.
Lizards came in all sizes, from tiny forms no bigger than a sparrow to giants with a wingspan of over 12 meters. The bone found in Stevns comes from the innermost joint of the extended "flight finger", from a small flying lizard that was not much bigger than a small gull.