Ornithocheirus tenuirostris 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 : 47-48

Ornithocheirus tenuirostris Seeley, 1870 (nomen dubium) Fig. 19F-I

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

Ornithocheirus tenuirostris Seeley: Seeley 1870: p. 114

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

Lonchodectes compressirostris (Owen): Unwin 2001: fig. 11A-B, table 1

Holotype.

CAMSM B 54584, anterior portion of the rostrum ( Fig. 19F-I ).

Type locality.

Coton, Cambridgeshire, England.

Type horizon.

Cambridge Greensand (Cenomanian; fossils Albian in age).

Description.

Ornithocheirus tenuirostris was described by Seeley (1870). He noted that it is a fragment of an upper jaw, broken at both ends. The transverse section varies from elliptical in outline posteriorly to somewhat triangular anteriorly; the specimen has suffered some distortion. The alveoli are elliptical and well separated from each other. It was recently synonymized with Lonchodectes [= Pterodactylus ] compressirostris by Unwin (2001), who stated that CAMSM B 54584 is identical to the holotype of the latter. Both holotypes, however, are not comparable. CAMSM B 54584 most probably comes from a portion more anteriorly located on the jaw than represented by the referred specimen of Pterodactylus compressirostris , and the holotype, previously interpreted as an upper jaw, is actually part of a mandibular symphysis (see above). Furthermore, Ornithocheirus tenuirostris can be excluded from Lonchodraconidae because the palatal ridge and the alveolar margins are not raised, as in the species referred to that clade. Ornithocheirus tenuirostris lacks any diagnostic features and is considered 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.