Istiodactylus latidens

Originally described by Seeley in 1901 and thought to be a bird, Istiodactylus has been recognized as a pterosaur and changed its name from Ornithodesmus because the original material used for the description also contained some theropod dinosaur bones. Istiodactylus lived during the Early Cretaceous of what is now England. It had a flat rounded shape beak with an unusually large naso-antorbital fenestra which is occupying most of the snout. Istiodactylus and its relatives could had lived on a diet of fish; however, given the general distribution of istiodactylids, they would have to be inland piscivores rather like modern pelicans. There have also been some proposition that they were actually scavengers, as they were more efficient walkers than other ornithocheiroids and had teeth similar to those of some sharks.

Name

Istiodactylus latidens

Authority

(Seeley, 1901) Howse, Milner & Martill, 2001

Meaning of generic name

Sail Finger

Meaning of specific name

broad tooth

Size

Wingspan: 4-5 m, Skull length: 560 mm

Remains

Four partial skeletons.

Age and Distribution

Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Vectis Formation of the Isle of Wight, England, UK.

Classification

Pterosauria Pterodactyloidea Ornithocheiroidea Istiodactylidae

Further Reading

Hooley, R. W., 1913, On the skeleton of Ornithodesmus latidens. An ornithosaur from the Wealden shales of Atherfield (Isle of Wight), Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, 69: 372-421.

Howse, S. C. B., Milner A. R., and Martill, D. M., 2001, Pterosaurs. Pp. 324-335 in: Martill, D. M. and Naish, D., eds. Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight, The Palaeontological Association.

Synonyms

Ornithodesmus latidens Seeley, 1901