In 2017, a discovery along the wave-battered coastline of the Isle of Skye revealed the carcass of a giant pterosaur, one of the species roaming on earth some 167 million years ago. According to the researchers, this fossil was the best of its kind found in almost two centuries. This find is not only the biggest pterosaur fossil to be ever found, but also sheds new light on the size of the wingspan of these extinct creatures.

The Discovery

Entombed in the sediments, the spectacular fossil, also called Dearc sgiathanach, consists of perfectly preserved body parts of the winged reptile. Portions of the skull, ribs, limb bones, vertebrae, and tail are still intact in the fossil. Very few sites of the world preserve the pterosaurs this well, especially from such an ancient time. The analysis of the fossil revealed that the species possibly had a wingspan of more than 2.5 meters, which is at par with the biggest of today’s albatrosses.

The Analysis

Pterosaurs are one of the important Jurassic period animals with their instantly recognizable feature of a giant wingspan. In the case of these reptiles, each wing was kept firm by a shockingly long fourth finger bone. In later years during the Cretaceous period, the pterosaurs reached a monstrously wide wingspan size of 33 feet or more. According to the analysis, Dearc dates back to the middle of the Jurassic period. The scientists have deduced that this particular pterosaur probably had more time to grow if it had not perished by an untimely occurrence. Before this discovery, scientists had found very little evidence that pterosaurs from that particular period ever featured wingspans bigger than six feet. Now, with the possibility of an enormous 8.2 ft wingspan, Dearc has proven them wrong and has put this pterosaur at par with the biggest birds of today.

Apple is about to take its game-changing smartphone technology a step further. Last month, it hinted that the company had already instructed leading U.S. carriers to prepare for the launch of eSIMonly smartphones by the end of September 2022. This suggested that the future iPhone 14 model might get rid of the physical nano-SIM card holding tray. Here’s what we got to know about the major change.

Launching as a Variant

According to analyst Emma Mohr-McClune from GlobalData, Apple is not going to entirely switch for eSIMonly models right away. Instead, they can offer an eSIM only variant of the iPhone 14 as an optional choice. Along with its own stores, the company is likely to give the carriers an option to sell the eSIM only iPhone14 model alongside traditional models with both a nano-SIM card tray and eSIM.

Their iPhone 13 models already come with supporting multiple e-SIM profiles, allowing the users to subscribe to several cellular digital plans simultaneously, and to switch between them with ease. This functionality paved the way for a future variant of an eSIM only iPhone 14 variant, at least in some markets. As usual, Apple is expected to announce the detailed lineup of iPhone 14 this September.

The Digital SIM Technology

A digital SIM or an eSIM allows the user to start a cellular plan without using a physical nano-SIM card. Back in 2018, Apple first introduced this digital SIM technology with their iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max models. Many carriers across the world still don’t support this technology and have barred the use of eSIMs in their countries. But the technology is rapidly expanding, with more than 100 carriers adopting eSIMs and more planning to start offering service worldwide. This year, Vodafone in New Zealand and Three in the UK have extended their support to digital SIM technology.