Ornithocheirus scaphorhynchus 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 : 47

Ornithocheirus scaphorhynchus Seeley, 1870 (nomen dubium) Fig. 19C-E

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

Ornithocheirus scaphorhynchus Seeley: Seeley 1870: p. 119

Lonchodectes scaphorhynchus (Seeley): Hooley 1914: p. 535

Anhanguera cuvieri (Bowerbank): Unwin 2001: table 1

Holotype.

CAMSM B 54441, anterior portion of the rostrum ( Fig. 19C-E ).

Type locality.

Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England.

Type horizon.

Cambridge Greensand (Cenomanian; fossils Albian in age).

Description.

Seeley (1870) described Ornithocheirus scaphorhynchus based on fragmentary conjoined premaxillae and maxillae. The incompleteness of the specimen makes it difficult to refer it with certainty to any known genus. The alveolar margin is poorly preserved but it does not seem to fit the alveolar spacing pattern in the holotype of Cimoliopterus cuvieri . It has a somewhat raised alveolar margin but the palatal ridge is not deep, as diagnostic for Lonchodraco . Therefore, Ornithocheirus scaphorhynchus is considered here a nomen dubium.

Figures

Figure 19. A-B Ornithocheirus oxyrhinus, holotype CAMSM B 54612 (Albian, Cambridge Greensand), anterior part of the rostrum. A ventral view B respective line drawing. C-E Ornithocheirus scaphorhynchus, holotype CAMSM B 54441 (Albian, Cambridge Greensand), anterior part of the rostrum C ventral view D respective line drawing E line drawing in posterior view. F-I Ornithocheirus tenuirostris, holotype CAMSM B 54584 (Albian, Cambridge Greensand), anterior part of the rostrum F right lateral view G respective line drawing H ventral view I respective line drawing. J-K Ornithocheirus xyphorhynchus, holotype (Albian, Cambridge Greensand), anterior part of the rostrum J lateral view K dorsal view. Abbreviations: m - maxillae, pm - premaxillae, prid - palatal ridge, sul - sulcus. Arrows and numbers indicate alveoli or teeth and their respective position. Scale bar = 10 mm. J and K from Seeley 1881.