| Klobiodon Temporal range: Middle Jurassic, | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | † Pterosauria |
| Family: | † Rhamphorhynchidae |
| Genus: | † Klobiodon O'Sullivan and Martill, 2018 |
| Type species | |
| †Klobiodon rochei O'Sullivan and Martill, 2018 | |
Klobiodon is a genus of rhamphorhynchid pterosaur from the Middle Jurassic Taynton Limestone Formation of Oxfordshire, England.
The type species of Klobiodon is Klobiodon rochei. The generic name Klobiodon means "small cage tooth," from the Greek κλωβίον, klobion, "little cage", and ὀδών, odon, "tooth", in reference to the large anterior laniaries that appear to form a fish grab, while the specific name rochei honors the comic book artist Nick Roche for his anatomically correct designs inspired by dinosaurs. [1]
The holotype of Klobiodon rochei, NHMUK PV OR 47991, was first mentioned by George Robert Waterhouse (1878) as part of the collection of the British Museum of Natural History, where he mentions Richard Owen intended to name the specimen Pterodactylus raptor in an unpublished manuscript. It had been donated by Robert Marsham. [2] [3] Richard Lydekker (1888) referred the specimen to Rhamphorhynchus depressirostris (listed by him as Rhamphocephalus depressirostris and now known as Dolichorhamphus depressirostris). [4] In their revision of pterosaur remains from the Great Oolite Group, Michael O'Sullivan and David Martill (2018) declared Rhamphorhynchus depressirostris a nomen dubium at ?Scaphognathinae indeterminatae, coining Klobiodon rochei for NHMUK PV OR 47991. A second specimen, OUM J.28410, was referred to the species but only provisionally because it lacks the, diagnostic, teeth. [1]
Klobiodon is one of the largest pterosaurs known from the middle Jurassic. Its adult wingspan was estimated at two metres. [1]
The describing authors established a number of distinguishing traits. The lower jaw shows a unique combination of elongated front fang-like laniaries with short and robust teeth in a more backward position. The teeth more to the rear are at least 1.3 times longer than their tooth-sockets are wide. The rear laniary is at least 1.4 times and perhaps 2.4 times longer than the tooth to its rear (which could be an only partially erupted replacement tooth). The longest laniaries are at least 1.5 times taller than the vertical thickness of the front tooth-bearing lower jaw bone, the dentary, at its tallest point. [1]
The right lower jaw has a preserved length of fourteen centimetres. To the front, it gradually curves to below. A piece at the front has broken off. The original length of the jaw including this piece was estimated at eighteen centimetres. The missing piece was assumed by the authors to have borne one additional tooth. The fossil shows four teeth, which then would have been the second to fifth. The second and third teeth are elongated, recurved and inclined to the front. Such teeth are called laniaries. The fourth and fifth teeth are noticeably shorter but almost as wide, giving them a robust appearance. They are also straighter, especially at their rear edges, and perpendicular to the jaw. [1]
Klobiodon was placed in the Rhamphorhynchidae in 2018. At several places in the describing article, a position in the Rhamphorhynchinae is suggested, but the authors eventually determine that it might also be member of the Scaphognathinae, concluding: "Klobiodon rochei is therefore conservatively identified here as a member of the Rhamphorhynchidae rather than assigned to either subgroup". [1] Klobiodon was found to be the sister taxon to the contemporaneous Dolicorhamphus by Andres (2021). [5]
Pterodactylus is an extinct genus of pterosaurs. It is thought to contain only a single species, Pterodactylus antiquus, which was the first pterosaur to be named and identified as a flying reptile.
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Dimorphodon was a genus of medium-sized pterosaur from the early Jurassic Period. It was named by paleontologist Richard Owen in 1859. Dimorphodon means "two-form tooth", derived from the Greek δι meaning "two", μορφη meaning "shape" and οδων meaning "tooth", referring to the fact that it had two distinct types of teeth in its jaws – which is comparatively rare among reptiles. Dimorphodon inhabited Europe.
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Cardiodon was a herbivorous genus of sauropod dinosaur, based on a tooth from the late Bathonian-age Middle Jurassic Forest Marble Formation of Wiltshire, England. Historically, it is very obscure and usually referred to Cetiosaurus, but recent analyses suggest that it is a distinct genus, and possibly related to Turiasaurus. Cardiodon was the first sauropod genus named.
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Rhamphocephalus is an extinct genus of fossil reptile from the Middle Jurassic Great Oolite Group of Gloucestershire, England. The name was erected as a genus of pterosaur and became a 'wastebasket taxon' for British Jurassic pterosaur remains until a recent revision. Rhamphocephalus comprises several named species, two of which are pterosaurian, but the type species - R. prestwichi - is based on remains now identified as a thalattosuchian. Because it is poorly preserved and lacks features that distinguish it from other thalattosuchians, R. prestwichi is considered an invalid species and the genus Rhamphocephalus is a nomen dubium. Reassessments of other Rhamphocephalus species suggest they are also undiagnostic to species level, although they have properties allowing referral to some Jurassic pterosaur groups.
Pliosaurus is an extinct genus of thalassophonean pliosaurid known from the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian stages of Europe and South America. Their diet would have included fish, cephalopods, and marine reptiles. This genus has contained many species in the past but recent reviews found only six to be valid, while the validity of two additional species awaits a petition to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Currently, P. brachyspondylus and P. macromerus are considered dubious, while P. portentificus is considered undiagnostic. Most species of Pliosaurus reached 8 metres (26 ft) in length and 5 metric tons in body mass, while P. rossicus and P. funkei may have reached or even exceeded 10 metres (33 ft) in length and 11 metric tons in body mass, being the largest plesiosaurs of all time. Species of this genus are differentiated from other pliosaurids based on seven autapomorphies, including teeth that are triangular in cross section.
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Plesiosuchus is an extinct genus of geosaurine metriorhynchid crocodyliform known from the Late Jurassic of Dorset, England and possibly also Spain. It contains a single species, Plesiosuchus manselii.
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Rhamphorhynchidae is a group of early pterosaurs named after Rhamphorhynchus, that lived in the Late Jurassic. The family Rhamphorhynchidae was named in 1870 by Harry Govier Seeley. Members of the group possess no more than 11 pairs of teeth in the rostrum, a deltopectoral crest that is constricted at the base but expanded at the distal end, and a bent phalange on the fifth toe.
Bellubrunnus is an extinct genus of rhamphorhynchid pterosaur from the Late Jurassic of southern Germany. It contains a single species, Bellubrunnus rothgaengeri. Bellubrunnus is distinguished from other rhamphorhynchids by its lack of long projections on the vertebrae of the tail, fewer teeth in the jaws, and wingtips that curve forward rather than sweep backward as in other pterosaurs.
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 honours the palaeontologist George Cuvier, whereas the genus Pterodactylus was then used for many pterosaur species that are not thought to be closely related today. It was one of the first pterosaurs to be depicted as models 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.
Lonchodraco is a genus of lonchodraconid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous of southern England. The genus includes species that were previously assigned to other genera.
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