The Ornithosauria: An elementary study of the bones of Pterodactyles made from fossil remains found in the Cambridge Upper Greensand, and arranged in the Woodwardian Museum of the University of CambridgeSeeley, H. G. (Harry Govier)
Science
The Ornithosauria: An elementary study of the bones of Pterodactyles made from fossil remains found in the Cambridge Upper Greensand, and arranged in the Woodwardian Museum of the University of Cambridge
Seeley, H. G. (Harry Govier)
Pterosauria
Dentary bone. Broken at both ends, and wanting all its teeth, this
interesting fossil shows the suture where its whole length rests on the
angular bone which almost reached to the termination of the beak, quite
unlike what is seen in any German Pterodactyle.
It is a narrow mandible, less than three quarters of an inch wide, with
the alveolar margins parallel. The palatal surface 1-1/2 inch long,
is divided into 3 equal strips; the middle one being a deep glossal
groove, slightly narrowing in front, and deepening behind, made by two
inclined flat surfaces. The lateral strips are horizontal behind, and
in front slope a little outward. The tooth-sockets are oval, directed
outward, and as long as the interspaces, though these seem to get
longer behind. In an inch and a quarter there are four teeth. Below
the teeth, the sides of the jaw are compressed: though nearly parallel
at the hinder fracture, the flattened surfaces approximate in front
till they meet in a sharp keel, which appears to make an acute angle
of about 45° with the palate; and below, where the jaw is an inch deep
extends for half an inch in front of the suture with the angular bone:
this suture is straight and irregularly concave, and in an inch and a
quarter approximates to within 5/8ths of an inch of the palate.
IV.
Ornithocheirus tenuirostris (Seeley).
Case. Comp. Tablet. Specimen.
=J= _c2_ 12 1
Middle part of a premaxillary bone fractured behind and in front,
slightly distorted by compression; it is 2-1/8th inches long, and
nearly resembles _O. compressirostris_ (Owen). The palate is about
1/2 an inch wide in front, and 5/8ths of an inch wide behind; it is
compressed mesially into a strong angular keel, between which and
the teeth there is a shallow groove on each side. The groove dies
away behind, and the converging parts of the keel occupy the whole
space between the teeth. The teeth-sockets are small, elliptical, not
opposite to each other, and placed along a distinct flattened tooth
area, which looks downward and outward and separates the palate from
the side of the jaw. The first pair of sockets preserved are almost
3/16ths of an inch long and 1/16th of an inch wide. The interspace
between that tooth and the next tooth behind is 7/16 of an inch.
Separated by similar interspaces, behind these on one side are two
sockets, and on the other side one socket. The sides are flattened in
front, and convex behind, (making the section of the jaw lanceolate);
they are compressed and round into a narrow rostral keel. The height
from the palatal ridge to the rostral keel in front is 11/16ths of an
inch; behind it is fractured, but the height was probably 14/16ths of
an inch.
The palatal keel, distance of the teeth, and proportions of the jaw,
distinguish it from O. compressirostris (Owen).
V.
Ornithocheirus Oweni (Seeley).
Case. Comp. Tablet.
=J= _c_ 20
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account