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Cimoliopterus dunni, new species of toothed pterosaur from Texas



Ben Creisler
bcreisler@gmail.com


A new paper:

Timothy s. Myers (2015)
First North American occurrence of the toothed pteranodontoid
pterosaur Cimoliopterus.
Journal of Vertebrate of Paleontology (advance online publication)
DOI:10.1080/02724634.2015.1014904
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2015.1014904


A new pterosaur species, Cimoliopterus dunni, sp. nov., is described
based on a partial rostrum from the upper Cenomanian Britton Formation
in the Eagle Ford Group of north-central Texas. The holotype preserves
alveoli for a minimum of 26 upper teeth and bears a thin premaxillary
crest that begins above the fourth pair of alveoli. The rostrum,
characterized by a slight lateral flare, lacks the pronounced lateral
expansion found in ornithocheirids and anhanguerids. The tip of the
snout is small and blunt, and the anterior face of the rostrum is
oriented posteroventrally, forming an approximately 45° angle with the
anterior portion of the palate. The anteroventrally oriented first
pair of alveoli is directed more ventrally than anteriorly.
Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Cimoliopterus dunni and
Cimoliopterus cuvieri, from the Cenomanian Grey Chalk Subgroup in
Kent, England, are basal pteranodontoids that are closely related to
Aetodactylus halli from the middle Cenomanian Tarrant Formation of
north Texas. Cimoliopterus dunni marks only the second known
occurrence of Cimoliopterus, extending its geographic range from
Europe to North America. In conjunction with Coloborhynchus wadleighi
from the upper Albian Pawpaw Formation, Cimoliopterus dunni provides
unambiguous evidence of biogeographic linkages between the pterosaur
faunas of North America and Europe in the middle Cretaceous.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:50FDA47D-0E2D-4B6E-9A18-8F04F814CE62

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA—Supplemental materials are available for this
article for free at www.tandfonline.com/UJVP