Ornithocheiridae

Ornithocheirids Temporal range: Valanginian-Turonian, ~140–90 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Restored skeleton of Tropeognathus mesembrinus in the National Museum of Brazil
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	†Pterosauria
Suborder:	†Pterodactyloidea
Clade:	†Ornithocheiriformes
Clade:	†Ornithocheirae
Family:	†Ornithocheiridae Seeley, 1870
Type species
†Pterodactylus simus Owen, 1861
Genera
†Araripesaurus? †Arthurdactylus? †Camposipterus? †Caulkicephalus? †Cimoliopterus? †Haliskia? †Tropeognathus? †Ornithocheirinae †Coloborhynchus? †Ferrodraco? †Mythunga? †Ornithocheirus †Siroccopteryx? †Thapunngaka? †Uktenadactylus?
Synonyms
Criorhynchidae Hooley, 1914

Ornithocheiridae (or ornithocheirids, meaning "bird hands") is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. These pterosaurs were among the last to possess teeth. Members that belong to this group lived from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods (Valanginian to Turonian stages), around 140 to 90 million years ago.

Ornithocheirids are generally infamous for having an enormously controversial and very confusing taxonomy. Although agreements that these animals were related, and therefore similar to istiodactylids and pteranodontians, there is still no virtual consensus over the exact content and interrelationships of this group.^[1] Ornithocheirids were the most successful pterosaurs during their reign, and were also the largest pterosaurs before the appearance of the azhdarchids such as Quetzalcoatlus. Ornithocheirids were excellent fish hunters, using various flight techniques to catch their prey, and were also capable of flying great distances without flapping constantly. Paleontologists suspect that ornithocheirids were the ancestors of the pteranodontians; this is due to many shared aspects, such as unique flying techniques, capability of long-distance flights, and most of their diet, which mainly consisted of fish.