‘Hand beasts’ on the Island of Arran

SINCE 1999 around 100 tracks made by a prehistoric lizard named isochirotherium, pictured, have been discovered on the Isle of Arran. Nicknamed the ‘hand beast’ because its feet looked more like hands and were equipped with lethal talons, isochirotherium was twice the size of a man and stalked the once-tropical land that is now Arran 270 million years ago. The discoveries of the footprints in various different locations on Arran caused a stir in palaeontology circles because it is the first time they have been found in Scotland and are the largest found anywhere in the world. Isochirotherium, which was around 12ft long, roamed the land before the arrival of dinosaurs and before Goat Fell, Arran’s highest mountain, had even begun to form. Dr Neil Clark of Glasgow University, who made some of the discoveries along with a group of amateur enthusiasts, said at the time: ‘What is interesting about the prints, and the lizard that made them, is that the fifth toe is the equivalent of a pinkie on a hand, when you might expect it to be a thumb.’

WHERE TO GO: The first footprint was found near Blackwaterfoot and others have since been discovered at Sliddery, Levencorroch and Kildonan, although you may have to ask locals for directions. The Isle of Arran Heritage Museum in Brodick also has lots of exhibits on the geology of Arran, including information on the ‘hand beast’.