A new pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Kimmeridgian of the Cap de la Hève (Normandy, France)

Abstract

A pterosaur specimen, consisting of the associated anterior portions of upper and lower jaws, is reported from the upper Kimmeridgian Argiles d'Octeville, in the cliffs of the Cap de la Hève, near Le Havre (France). It is described as a new taxon, Normannognathus wellnhoferi, and referred to the Germanodactylidae. Normannognathus wellnhoferi is distinguished by the association of jaws which bear teeth up to their anterior tip and a tall sagittal crest, formed by the premaxillae, which begins anterior to the nasopreorbital fenestra, has a concave anterior edge, and is much higher than the maxilla at that level. The Dsungaripterus-like crest and the slightly upturned upper jaw support the idea of a close relationship between the Germanodactylidae and Dsungaripteridae.