Amblydectes

Amblydectes
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous
A. crassidens holotype
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Pterosauria
Suborder: †Pterodactyloidea
Family: †Anhangueridae
Subfamily: †Tropeognathinae
Genus: †Amblydectes
Hooley, 1914
Type species
†Amblydectes crassidens
Hooley, 1914
Synonyms
  • Ornithocheirus crassidens
    Seeley, 1870
  • Ornithocheirus eurygnathus
    Seeley, 1870
  • Amblydectes eurygnathus
    Seeley, 1870
A. eurygnathus holotype, a possible synonym of A. crassidens

Amblydectes is a genus of pterosaur known from jaw fragments. It apparently had a jaw flattened towards the tip and triangular in cross-section. It has at times been synonymized with Coloborhynchus, Criorhynchus, Lonchodectes, or Ornithocheirus. A 2013 study found A. crassidens and A. eurygnathus to be nomina dubia, with A. platystomus possibly belonging to a separate, yet unnamed genus.[1] A 2021 study found A. crassidens to be a valid genus within Anhangueridae, while A. platystomus was placed in the new genus Draigwenia. A. eurygnathus was found to possibly be a junior synonym of A. crassidens.[2]

  1. ^ Rodrigues, T.; Kellner, A. (2013). "Taxonomic review of the Ornithocheirus complex (Pterosauria) from the Cretaceous of England". ZooKeys (308): 1–112. doi:10.3897/zookeys.308.5559. PMC 3689139. PMID 23794925.
  2. ^ Holgado, Borja (2021-12-03). "On the validity of the genus Amblydectes Hooley 1914 (Pterodactyloidea, Anhangueridae) and the presence of Tropeognathinae in the Cambridge Greensand". Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. 93 (suppl 2): e20201658. doi:10.1590/0001-3765202120201658. ISSN 0001-3765. PMID 34877964. S2CID 244884444.