Amblydectes

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Amblydectes
Temporal range: Cenomanian
Amblydectes.jpg
A. crassidens holotype
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Pterosauria
Suborder: Pterodactyloidea
Family: Anhangueridae
Subfamily: Tropeognathinae
Genus: Amblydectes
Hooley, 1914
Type species
Ornithocheirus crassidens
Seeley, 1870
Species
  • A. crassidens
    (Seeley, 1870)
Synonyms
  • Ornithocheirus crassidens
    Seeley, 1870
  • Ornithocheirus eurygnathus
    Seeley, 1870
  • Amblydectes eurygnathus
    Seeley, 1870
A. eurygnathus holotype, a possible synonym of A. crassidens Amblydectes eurygnathus.jpg
A. eurygnathus holotype, a possible synonym of A. crassidens

Amblydectes is a genus of pterosaur known from jaw fragments. It apparently had a jaw flattened towards the tip and triangular in cross-section. It has at times been synonymized with Coloborhynchus , Criorhynchus , Lonchodectes , or Ornithocheirus . A 2013 study found A. crassidens and A. eurygnathus to be nomina dubia , with A. platystomus possibly belonging to a separate, yet unnamed genus. [1] A 2021 study found A. crassidens to be a valid genus within Anhangueridae, while A. platystomus was placed in the new genus Draigwenia . A. eurygnathus was found to possibly be a junior synonym of A. crassidens. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Ornithocheirus is a pterosaur genus known from fragmentary fossil remains uncovered from sediments in the United Kingdom and possibly Morocco.

<i>Tropeognathus</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

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Anhanguera is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Early Cretaceous Romualdo Formation of Brazil and the Late Cretaceous Kem Kem Group of Morocco. This pterosaur is closely related to Ornithocheirus, but belongs in the family Anhangueridae. The generic name comes from the Tupi words añanga, meaning "spirit protector of the animals" + wera "bygone".

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<i>Coloborhynchus</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Cretaceous period

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lonchodectidae</span> Family of pteranodontoid pterosaurs

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornithocheiridae</span> Family of ornithocheiran pterosaurs

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<i>Cimoliopterus</i> Genus of pterosaur from the Cretaceous period

Cimoliopterus is a genus of pterosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now England and the United States. The first known specimen, consisting of the front part of a snout including part of a crest, was discovered in the Grey Chalk Subgroup of Kent, England, and described as the new species Pterodactylus cuvieri in 1851. The specific name cuvieri honoured the palaeontologist George Cuvier, and the genus Pterodactylus was then used for many pterosaurs of species that are no longer thought to be closely related. It was among the first pterosaurs to be depicted as sculptures, in Crystal Palace Park in the 1850s. The species was subsequently assigned to various other genera, including Ornithocheirus and Anhanguera. In 2013, the species was moved to a new genus, as Cimoliopterus cuvieri; the generic name Cimoliopterus is derived from the Greek words for "chalk" and "wing". Other specimens and species have also been assigned to or synonymised with the species with various levels of certainty. In 2015, a snout discovered in the Britton Formation of Texas, US, was named as a new species in the genus, C. dunni; the specific name honours its collector, Brent Dunn.

<i>Lonchodraco</i> Genus of lonchodraconid pterosaur from the Cretaceous period

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<i>Camposipterus</i> Genus of ornithocheiran pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anhangueria</span> Clade of ornithocheiran pterosaurs from the Cretaceous period

Anhangueria is a group of pterosaurs belonging to the clade Pteranodontoidea. Fossil remains of this group date back from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods, around 140 to 92.5 million years ago. Anhangueria was named by paleontologists Taissa Rodrigues and Alexander Kellner in a review of Ornithocheirus species in 2013, they defined the clade as a branch-based taxon consisting of all pteranodontoids more closely related to Anhanguera blittersdorffi than to Istiodactylus latidens and Cimoliopterus cuvieri.

<i>Ikrandraco</i> Genus of lonchodraconid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Ikrandraco is a genus of lonchodraconid pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of northeastern China, and the Cambridge Greensand of England. It is notable for its unusual skull, which features a crest on the lower jaw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornithocheiromorpha</span> Clade of pteranodontoid pterosaurs

Ornithocheiromorpha is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Fossil remains of this group date back from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods, around 140 to 92.5 million years ago. Ornithocheiromorphs have been discovered worldwide except Antarctica, though most genera have been recovered in Europe, Asia and South America. They were the most diverse and successful pterosaurs during the Early Cretaceous, but throughout the Late Cretaceous they were replaced by pteranodontians and azhdarchoids. The Ornithocheiromorpha was defined in 2014 by Andres and colleagues, and they made Ornithocheiromorpha the most inclusive clade containing Ornithocheirus, but not Pteranodon.

<i>Nicorhynchus</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Cretaceous period

Nicorhynchus is a genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Cretaceous period. It contains two species, the type species, N. capito, from the Cambridge Greensand of England, and N. fluviferox from the Kem Kem Group of Morocco. These species were previously assigned to Coloborhynchus.

<i>Aerodraco</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Cretaceous period

Aerodraco is a genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Albian–Cenomanian-age Cambridge Greensand of England. It contains only one species, Aerodraco sedgwickii. It was originally assigned to the genus Pterodactylus.

<i>Draigwenia</i> Extinct genus of pterosaur

Draigwenia is an extinct genus of pterosaur known from a jaw fragment found in the Late Cretaceous Cambridge Greensand in the United Kingdom. The fossil was likely reworked from an Early Cretaceous layer that can be dated to the Albian. It currently contains a single species, Draigwenia platystomus.

References

  1. Rodrigues, T.; Kellner, A. (2013). "Taxonomic review of the Ornithocheirus complex (Pterosauria) from the Cretaceous of England". ZooKeys (308): 1–112. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.308.5559 . PMC   3689139 . PMID   23794925.
  2. Holgado, Borja (2021-12-03). "On the validity of the genus Amblydectes Hooley 1914 (Pterodactyloidea, Anhangueridae) and the presence of Tropeognathinae in the Cambridge Greensand". Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. 93 (suppl 2): e20201658. doi:10.1590/0001-3765202120201658. ISSN   0001-3765. PMID   34877964. S2CID   244884444.