In a paper in the Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, Smith describes the find. The creature, a toothless flying reptile, took to the skies during the Late Cretaceous period between 100.5 million and 66 million years ago.

Its jaw fragment bears a resemblance to those of the alanqa, a pterosaur with a 20-foot wingspan that took to the skies of North Africa during the period. But until now, scientists did not suspect a similar creature existed in Britain. Two other fragments belonged to the ornithostoma, a previously known European pterosaur.

The misclassified beak bones were originally found by phosphate miners in the Fens, a marshy coastal region of northeast England, between 1851 and 1900. Smith says that since the rock in which they were found no longer exists, it’s doubtful that other parts of the pterosaur will still be discovered. And since the find is a mere fragment of a much larger whole, the mystery pterosaur cannot be named.

But that doesn’t mean Smith will stop searching.

“I’m hopeful that other museum collections may contain more examples,” he said in a news release. “As soon as the covid restrictions are lifted, I will continue my search.”

Scientists have long warned that without better access to museum collections, a wealth of fossils may never be fully studied. As Smith’s discovery shows, important discoveries could be hiding in plain sight due to human error — and an inability of researchers to get their hands on specimens during the pandemic.