Camposipterus nasutus, Rodrigues & Kellner, 2013

Rodrigues, Taissa & Kellner, Alexander Wilhelm Armin, 2013, Taxonomic review of the Ornithocheirus complex (Pterosauria) from the Cretaceous of England, ZooKeys 308, pp. 1-112 : 25-27

Camposipterus nasutus comb. n. Fig. 9

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

Ornithocheirus nasutus Seeley: Seeley 1870: p. 120

Ornithocheirus nasutus Seeley: Hooley 1914: p. 535

Anhanguera fittoni (Owen): Unwin 2001: fig. 10C-E, table 1 [synonymy]

Holotype.

CAMSM B 54556, anterior portion of the rostrum ( Fig. 9A-D ).

Type locality.

Haslingfield, 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): dorsal margin of the rostrum straight to gently concave in lateral view; palatal ridge extends anteriorly until just posterior to the second pair of alveoli; spacing between alveoli irregular, with the anterior alveoli closer and the posterior ones more distant from each other; density of almost 3 alveoli each 3 cm anteriorly and 2,5 alveoli each 3 cm posteriorly*; tip of the rostrum dorsoventrally flattened, wider than high in anterior view*; second and third alveoli face lateroventrally; anterior portion of the premaxillae slightly expanded.

Description.

Camposipterus nasutus was originally described by Seeley (1870) as Ornithocheirus nasutus . Seeley noted that it has an expansion at the tip of the rostrum, a palatal ridge extending posteriorly to the level of the second pair of alveoli, the first pair of alveoli facing forward, and a dorsoventrally compression of the tip of the rostrum. It differs from Cimoliopterus cuvieri , which possesses a premaxillary crest but no anterior expansion of the rostrum, and which is higher than wide in anterior view, in contrast with the wider than high tip of the rostrum of Camposipterus nasutus .

Remarks.

Unwin (2001) synonymized the species with Anhanguera fittoni [= Pterodactylus fittoni , here considered a nomen dubium, see below]. We do not agree with this view because the holotype of Camposipterus nasutus is dorsoventrally flattened and has an anterior expansion. By contrast, Pterodactylus fittoni is known from a fragmentary rostrum that, although incomplete anteriorly, does not share these features. It can also be excluded from Anhanguera because it does not have a premaxillary crest; furthermore, no species definitely referable to Anhanguera has a dorsoventrally flattened rostrum. It can be expected that the description of new, more complete specimens from the Romualdo Formation of the Santana Group, currently under work by several researchers, will help shed light in its relationships with taxa such as Brasileodactylus araripensis Kellner, 1984 (see Kellner 1984), but so far the dorsoventrally flattened anterior end of the rostrum seems to be diagnostic for Camposipterus nasutus .

Figures

Figure 9. Camposipterus nasutus comb. n. Holotype CAMSM B 54556 (Albian, Cambridge Greensand), anterior part of the rostrum A left lateral view B respective line drawing C ventral view D respective line drawing. Abbreviations: m - maxillae, pm - premaxillae, prid - palatal ridge. Arrows and numbers indicate alveoli or teeth and their respective position. Scale bar = 10 mm.