| Altmuehlopterus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Holotype fossil BSP AS.I.745 in Jura Museum Eichstätt | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Infraorder: | †Eupterodactyloidea |
| Genus: | †Altmuehlopterus Vidovic & Martill, 2017 |
| Species: | †A. rhamphastinus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Altmuehlopterus rhamphastinus (Wagner, 1851) | |
Altmuehlopterus (meaning "Altmühl River wing") is a genus ofpterosaur belonging to thePterodactyloidea. It lived in theLate Jurassic of what is nowGermany. It was formerly known as"Daitingopterus" (meaning "Daiting Wing"), anomen nudum, informally coined in 2004.[1]
In 1851,Johann Andreas Wagner named a new species ofOrnithocephalus (a now-obsolete name for the genusPterodactylus),Ornithocephalus ramphastinus. Thespecific name referred to thetoucan genusRamphastos, in view of the large beak-like snout of the pterosaur.[2] In 1859/1860,Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer corrected the specific name torhamphastinus.[3] Although this was incorrect by modern standards, the new spelling has become valid by being accepted and used by subsequent authors, under articleICZN 33.3.1.[4]
Theholotype,BSP AS.I.745, was probably found atMörnsheim nearDaiting in a layer of theMalm Zeta 3, dating from theTithonian. It consists of a partly articulated skeleton with skull, preserved on a plate and counterplate.
In 1871,Harry Govier Seeley included the specimen in the type material ofDiopecephalus, without, however, designating it as the holotype of this genus.[5] For this reason,Peter Wellnhofer felt free to name the specimen as a second species ofGermanodactylus in 1970:Germanodactylus rhamphastinus.[6] In 2004, Michael Maisch e.a. concluded that it represented a new genus, which they indicated as "Daitingopterus" in a diagram.[1] It remained anomen nudum.[7]
In 2017, Steven Vidovic and David Martill validly named a separate genusAltmuehlopterus. The generic name combines a reference to the riverAltmühl, running throughSolnhofen, with a Latinised Greekpteron, "wing".[7]
