Distinctive azhdarchoid pterosaur jaws from the mid-Cretaceous Cambridge Greensand of eastern England and the Kem Kem Group of Morocco

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    Abstract

    An isolated jaw fragment from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Cambridge Greensand Member of the West Melbury Marly Chalk Formation previously identified as a cestraciontid shark fin spine is referred to the pterosaur clade Azhdarchoidea on account of its lateral and occlusal foramina and edentuly. The specimen differs from the azhdarchoid Ornithostoma sedgwicki from the same deposit in having flat lateral surfaces and an acute dorsal/ventral apex. The specimen is similar in overall morphology to CAMSM B40085 from the same horizon and probably represents the corresponding jaw but from a different individual. Likely these specimens represent a new taxon but are considered too fragmentary to diagnose at present. A remarkably similar and distinctive morphology is found in unnamed pterosaur jaws from the Kem Kem Group (?Albian-Cenomanian) of Morocco, supporting the idea of faunal similarity between these two distant localities.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)269-275
    JournalProceedings of the Geologists' Association
    Volume134
    Issue number3
    Early online date4 Apr 2023
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2023

    Keywords

    • Pterosauria
    • Azhdarchoidea
    • Early Cretaceous
    • Albian-Cenomanian
    • England
    • Morocco

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