NEW ANHANGUERID GENUS

[darren.naish@port.ac.uk]

Just got this...

Mader, B. J. and Kellner, A. W. A. 1999. A new anhanguerid pterosaur 
from the Cretaceous of Morocco. _Boletim do Museu Nacional, Geologia_ 
45: 1-11

Describes the rostral portion of an upper jaw LINHM 016 from Ksar es 
Souk, Morocco (Albian-Cenomanian), as the new taxon _Siroccopteryx 
moroccensis_. The specimen is very reminiscent of things that have 
been regarded as _Coloborhynchus_, a problematic genus that may not 
be valid, as the authors note (though I know of work in prep. that 
reinstates it and shows it to be different from _Criorhynchus_). 
Furthermore, they state that _Coloborhynchus clavirostris_ is 
'clearly an anhanguerid'! Much of this mess has been sorted out, it 
just has yet to see publication.

Amongst other stuff, the new specimen has what have been interpreted 
as pathologies - the authors also mention 'infected pits' in the 
skull of an _Anhanguera_, together with other pterosaur pathologies. 

The _Siroccopteryx_ specimen was previously discussed at one of the 
SVP meetings as the first good evidence for anhanguerids in Africa. 
Whether anhanguerids deserve to be separated from ornithocheirids 
depends on who you ask.

"As you wish"

DARREN NAISH
darren.naish@port.ac.uk



Darren Naish 
Palaeobiology Research Group
School of Earth, Environmental and Physical Sciences
University of Portsmouth
Burnaby Building
Burnaby Road
Portsmouth UK
P01 3QL