| Nicorhynchus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Holotype jaw fragment ofN. capito in multiple views | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Clade: | †Anhangueria |
| Family: | †Anhangueridae |
| Subfamily: | †Coloborhynchinae |
| Genus: | †Nicorhynchus Holgado & Pêgas, 2020 |
| Type species | |
| †Ornithocheirus capito Seeley, 1870 | |
| Species | |
| Synonyms | |
Synonyms ofN. capito
Synonyms ofN. fluviferox
| |
Nicorhynchus (meaning "knucker snout", in reference to its likely ecology) is a genus ofanhangueridpterosaur from theCretaceous period. It contains two species, thetype species,N. capito, from theCambridge Greensand of England, andN. fluviferox from theKem Kem Group of Morocco. These species were previously assigned toColoborhynchus.[1]
The genusColoborhynchus has had a convoluted history, with many species having been assigned to the genus. In 2013, Rodrigues and Kellner consideredColoborhynchus to bemonotypic, containing onlyC. clavirostris, and placed most other species in other genera, or declared themnomina dubia. One of these species wasColoborhynchus capito, which was originally named byHarry Seeley in 1870 as a species ofOrnithocheirus. Itsholotype is CAMSM B 54625, a snout. In 2001, this species was moved toColoborhynchus byDavid Unwin, who also synonymizedOrnithocheirus reedi (known from a lost specimen) with it. Rodrigues and Kellner recognized that the species was distinct fromColoborhynchus, but did not give it a new name pending the discovery of more complete material.[2]
In 2018, Jacobset al. named a new species ofColoborhynchus,C. fluviferox from theIfezouane Formation of theKem Kem Group ofMorocco based on a partial snout, and also tentatively referred another specimen from the same locality to a different, unnamed species.[3] A 2020 review of a subfamily calledColoborhynchinae by Borja Holgado and Rodrigo Pêgas moved bothC. capito andC. fluviferox to a new genus,Nicorhynchus, and also associated the unnamed Ifezouane Formation coloborhynchine toN. fluviferox. The nameNicorhynchus is derived from the Old Englishnicor (knucker, a kind of water dragon) and the Ancient Greekrhynchos ("snout"), in reference to its likely ecology as a fish-eating, flying reptile found in river and marine deposits.[1]
However, a review of Kem Kem pterosaurs found the traits that distinguishNicorhynchus fromColoborhynchus to be subtle enough to justify their synonymy, stating that the material was damaged and fragmentary enough to support this.[4]
The speciesN. capito represents the second largest knownanhanguerid (after aTropeognathus specimen),[5] and indeed the second largest toothed pterosaur known afterTropeognathus. A referred specimen from theCambridge Greensand ofEngland described in 2011 consists of a very large upper jaw tip which displays the tooth characteristics that distinguishN. capito from other species. The jaw tip is nearly 10 cm (3.9 in) tall and 5.6 cm (2.2 in) wide, with teeth up to 1.3 cm (0.51 in) in base diameter. If the proportions of this specimen were consistent with species ofColoborhynchus, the total skull length could have been up to 75 cm (30 in), leading to an estimated wingspan of 7 m (23 ft).[6]
The describers of the genus, Holgado and Pêgas, had recoveredNicorhynchus within the subfamily Coloborhynchinae, which in turn was within the family Anhangueridae, sister taxon toUktenadactylus. Their cladogram is shown below.[1]
