Ornithocheirus platystomus, Seeley, 1870

Rodrigues, Taissa & Kellner, Alexander Wilhelm Armin, 2013, Taxonomic review of the Ornithocheirus complex (Pterosauria) from the Cretaceous of England, ZooKeys 308, pp. 1-112 : 34

publication ID

https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.308.5559

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:EEC31850-AAAB-4081-B05A-B80A2D944658

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/E3FCFBEE-0BA4-FA2A-D057-6505FD33C508

treatment provided by

ZooKeys by Pensoft

scientific name

Ornithocheirus platystomus
status

 

' Ornithocheirus ' platystomus Seeley, 1870 Fig. 12E-H View Figure 12

"Ptenodactylus" platystomus Seeley: Seeley 1869: p. xvi [disclaimed]

Ornithocheirus platystomus Seeley: Seeley 1870: p. 120

Amblydectes platystomus (Seeley): Hooley 1914: p. 536

Criorhynchidae incertae sedis:Wellnhofer 1978: 60

Lonchodectes platystomus (Seeley): Unwin 2001: p. 211, table 1

Holotype.

CAMSM B54835, anterior portion of the rostrum ( Fig. 12E-H View Figure 12 ).

Type locality.

Horningsea, Cambridgeshire, England.

Type horizon.

Cambridge Greensand (Cenomanian; fossils Albian in age).

Diagnosis.

Pterodactyloid pterosaur with the following combination of characters that distinguishes it from other members of the clade (autapomorphies are marked with an asterisk): alveoli small (about 4 to 5 mm in diameter); dorsal margin of the rostrum forms an angle of 27° with the ventral margin*.

Description.

'Ornithocheirus' platystomus is known from a partial premaxilla and maxillae. As Seeley (1870) pointed out, it is broken in its anterior tip, so that the first pair of alveoli is apparently not preserved. 'Ornithocheirus' platystomus can be excluded from Lonchodraconidae because it does not have raised alveolar rims and lacks a deep palatal ridge. The absence of these characters results in the lack of a parapet-like palate (which distinguishes Lonchodectidae sensu Unwin 2001). 'Ornithocheirus' platystomus presents a relatively tall rostrum, whose dorsal margin forms an angle with the ventral one; this angle lies between those in Ornithocheirus simus and Cimoliopterus cuvieri . The angle (about 27°) is so far unique among the species of the Ornithocheirus complex and confirms it as a valid taxon.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Pterosauria

Family

Anhangueridae

Genus

Ornithocheirus

Loc

Ornithocheirus platystomus

Rodrigues, Taissa & Kellner, Alexander Wilhelm Armin 2013
2013
Loc

Criorhynchidae

Rodrigues & Kellner 2013
2013
Loc

Ornithocheirus platystomus

Seeley 1870
1870
Loc

"Ptenodactylus" platystomus

Seeley 1869
1869