Palaeornis cliftii
| Palaeornis cliftii Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, 135 Ma | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Family: | †Lonchodectidae |
| Genus: | †Palaeornis Mantell, 1844 (preoccupied) |
| Species: | †P. cliftii |
| Binomial name | |
| Palaeornis cliftii Mantell, 1844 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Pterodactylus cliftii (Mantell, 1844) | |
"Palaeornis" cliftii is a pterosaur species known from parts of a single humerus (upper arm bone) found in early Cretaceous period rocks of the upper Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation, England. "P." cliftii represents one of the earliest pterosaur discoveries in England, and has a long and complicated history of controversy and nomenclature.[1]
The name Palaeornis had previously been used for a genus of parakeet (now considered a synonym of Psittacula) by Vigors in 1825.[2] Mantell was apparently aware of this, and in some later publications used to name "Palaeornithis" (Mantell, 1848) as a replacement.[1][3]
References
- 1 2 Witton, M.P., Martill, D.M., and Green, M. (2009). "On pterodactyloid diversity in the British Wealden (Lower Cretaceous) and a reappraisal of “Palaeornis” cliftii Mantell, 1844." Cretaceous Research, 30: 676–686.
- ↑ Vigors, N.A. (1825). "Sketches in ornithology; or observations on the leading affinities of some of the more extensive groups of birds." Zoological Journal, 2: 37–69.
- ↑ Mantell, G.A. (1848). "A brief notice of organic remains recently discovered in the Wealden Formation." The Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 5: 37–43.