A ‘giant’ pterodactyloid pterosaur from the British Jurassic

Abstract

The fossil remains of a pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation (Jurassic: Tithonian) of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, central England are identified as a partial left first wing finger phalanx. The elongation of the phalanx and distinctive morphology of the proximal articular region, in particular the square outline of the extensor tendon process, permit the specimen to be assigned to Ctenochasmatoidea. Although fragmentary, it is sufficiently well preserved to determine accurately its dimensions when complete. Morphometric analysis reveals the specimen to represent one of the largest known examples of a Jurassic pterosaur, with an estimated wingspan of at least 3 m, and is one of the first pterodactyloids to be reported from the Jurassic of the United Kingdom.