Cimoliopterus

Name: Cimoliopterus.
Phonetic: Sim-o-le-op-teh-rus.
Named By: T. Rodrigues & A. W. A. Kellner - 2013.
Synonyms: Pterodactylus cuvieri, Pterodactylus fittoni?, Ornithocheirus brachyrhinus?.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea, Pteranodontoidea.
Species: C. dunni (type).
Diet: Pisicvore?
Size: Uncerain due to lack of remains.
Known locations: England. USA, Texas - Britton Formation.
Time period: Cenomanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial skull remains, mostly of incomplete snouts.

       Initially described as a species of Pterodactylus, Cimoliopterus was named as a distinct pterosaur genus in 2013. Little is known about Cimoliopterus due to the parcity of known fossils which are fragmentary at best. However, the fact that fossils of this pterosaur have been found in both England and the USA indicates that some pterosaur genera were possibly crossing the early Atlantic Ocean until at least the early stages of the late Cretaceous. It should still be remembered however that at this time the Atlantic Ocena was no way aas large as it is today.

Further reading
- Taxonomic review of the Ornithocheirus complex (Pterosauria) from the Cretaceous of England. - ZooKeys 308:1-112. - T. Rodrigues & A. W. A. Kellner - 2013.
- First North American occurrence of the toothed pteranodontoid pterosaur Cimoliopterus. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 35: e1014904. - Timothy S. Myers - 2015.



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