Lonchodectes

Abstract: -A rostral fragment of the dentary symphysis from the Cenomanian Melovatka-3 locality (Volgograd Region) is referred to the genus Lonchodectes based on the presence of elevated jaw borders, longitudinal groove on the dorsal surface of the dentary symphysis, and small alveoli of teeth, almost uniform in size and widely spaced. Lonchodectes sp. from Melovatka-3 is closely similar to L. platystomus from the Albian of England. This is the first record of the family Lonchodectidae in Russia and outside Great Britain.

Abstract: . The Cambridge Greensand, a remanie deposit that crops out in Cambridgeshire, eastern England, has yielded numerous, though fragmentary, late Early Cretaceous (Albian) vertebrate fossils including more than 2000 isolated pterosaur bones. So far, 32 species of pterosaur have been proposed in connection with the Cambridge Greensand material, but there has been and continues to be considerable confusion concerning the validity of these taxa, their relationships to each other and to other pterosaurs, and the material upon which they were established. A comprehensive systematic revision identified eleven valid species distributed among three families: the Ornithocheiridae (Ornithocheirus simus and possibly a second, as yet unnamed species of Ornithocheirus, Coloborhynchus capito, Coloborhynchus sedgwickii, Anhanguera cuvieri, and Anhanguera fittoni); the Lonchodectidae (Lonchodectes compressirostris, Lonchodectes machaerorhynchus, Lonchodectes microdon and Lonchodectes platystomus); and a species of edentulous pterosaur (Ornithostoma sedgwicki) that may represent the earliest record for the Pteranodontidae. It is possible that some of the taxa currently recognised represent sexual dimorphs (Coloborhynchus capito and Coloborhynchus sedgwickii, Lonchodectes compressirostris and Lonchodectes machaerorhynchus), or disjunct populations of a single species (Ornithocheirus simus and Ornithocheirus sp., Lonchodectes compressirostris and Lonchodectes microdon) and that there may be as few as seven valid species, but the Cambridge Greensand pterosaurs are too poorly known to demonstrate this at present. The Cambridge Greensand pterosaur assemblage is similar to a slightly younger, but much smaller assemblage from the Lower Chalk of England and shares some elements, such as ornithocheirids, in common with many other late Early and early Late Cretaceous assemblages. It is distinguished by the absence of tapejarids and the presence of Lonchodectes which, so far, is only known from the Cretaceous of England. The disparity in taxonomic composition is possibly related to ecological differentiation, and might also reflect some provincialism in late Early and early Late Cretaceous pterosaur faunas. Der Cambridge Greensand, eine in Ostengland aufgeschlossene Remanie-Ablagerung, hat zahlreiche Wirbeltiere aus der oberen Unterkreide (Alb) geliefert. Darunter fanden sich mehr als 2000 isolierte Pterosaurierknochen. Insgesamt wurden aus dem Greensand bis zu 32 Flugsauriertaxa beschrieben, was zu einer betrachtlichen taxonomischen und nomenklatorischen Verwirrung gefuhrt hat, die bis heute andauert. Eine vollstandige Revision erkennt 11 Arten aus drei Familien an: (1) die Ornithocheiridae (Ornithocheirus simus und vielleicht eine zweite, bislang unbenannte Art von Ornithocheirus, sowie Coloborhynchus capito, Coloborhynchus sedgwickii, Anhanguera cuvieri und Anhanguera fittoni); (2) die Lonchodectidae (Lonchodectes compressirostris, Lonchodectes machaerorhynchus, Lonchodectes microdon und Lonchodectes platystomus); und schlieslich einen zahnlosen Flugsaurier (Ornithostoma sedgwicki). der zu keiner der vorgenannten Familien gehort und sich als stratigraphisch altester Nachweis der Pteranodontidae erweisen konnte. Es ist nicht auszuschliesen, dass einige der gegenwartig erkannten Taxa eher einen ausgepragten Sexualdimorphismus illustrieren denn taxonomisch distinkte Arten darstellen (Coloborhynchus capito und Coloborhynchus sedgwickii, Lonchodectes compressirostris und Lonchodectes machaerorhynchus) oder sogar lediglich Endpunkte einer intraspezifisch variablen Population (Ornithocheirus simus und Ornithocheirus sp., Lonchodectes compressirostris und Lonchodectes microdon). In dieser strengeren Fassung bestunden nur sieben gultige Arten, doch leider sind die Flugsaurier des Cambridge Greensand zu schlecht bekannt, um diese Fragen zu beantworten. Die Flugsaurierfauna des Cambridge Greensand ahnelt jungeren kreidezeitlichen Faunen aus dem Lower Chalk von England. Weiter-hin enthalt sie Faunenelemente, wie etwa Ornithocheiriden. die auch fur zahlreiche andere Faunen der hohen Unterkreide und tiefen Oberkreide charakteristisch sind. Das Fehlen von Tapejariden und das Auftreten des anscheinend endemischen Lonchodectes sind weitere Kennzeichen des Cambridge Greensand. Die Zusammensetzung der Pterosaurierfaunen folgte offenbar okologischen Differenzierungen und illustriert einen gewissen Provinzialismus an der Grenze Unter-Oberkreide. doi: 10.1002/mmng.20010040112

Abstract: Abstract A specimen of a pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Upper Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation (Early Cretaceous, Valanginian) of Bexhill, East Sussex, southern England is described. It comprises a small fragment of jaw with teeth, a partial vertebral column and associated incomplete wing bones. The juxtaposition of the bones suggests that the specimen was originally more complete and articulated. Its precise phylogenetic relationships are uncertain but it represents an indeterminate lonchodectid with affinities to Lonchodectes sagittirostris (Owen 1874) which is reviewed here, and may belong in Lonchodraco Rodrigues & Kellner 2013. This specimen is only the third record of pterosaurs from this formation.

Abstract: Ornithostoma sedgwicki Seeley, 1891 from the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) Cambridge Greensand of England is represented by edentulous jaw fragments, posterior skull fragment with the supraoccipital crest, and by several postcranial bones attributed previously to Lonchodectes. Ornithostoma is referred to the Azhdarchoidea based on a combination of derived characters (teeth absent, middle cervicals moderately elongated, pneumatic foramen on anterior side of humerus, large pneumatic foramen on posterior side of femur at greater trochanter) and plesiomorphic characters (deltopectoral crest not warped, femoral neck to shaft angle less than 145°). The structure of the supraoccipital crest and humerus resembles those in Tapejara, but Ornithostoma differs from that taxon by a strong median ridge on the occiput presumably associated with a more elongated rostrum. At least three taxa of basal azhdarchoids were present in the British Lower Cretaceous.