Altmuehlopterus
Altmuehlopterus is a genus of pterosaur belonging to the Pterodactyloidea. It lived in the Late Jurassic of what is now Germany. It was formerly known as "Daitingopterus", a nomen nudum, informally coined in 2004.
Discovery and naming
In 1851, Johann Andreas Wagner named a new species of Ornithocephalus, Ornithocephalus ramphastinus. The specific name referred to the toucan genus Ramphastos, in view of the large beak-like snout of the pterosaur. In 1859/1860, Christian [Erich Hermann von Meyer] corrected the specific name to rhamphastinus. Although this was incorrect by modern standards, the new spelling has become valid by being accepted and used by subsequent authors, under article International [Code of Zoological Nomenclature|ICZN] 33.3.1.The holotype, BSP AS.I.745, was probably found at Mörnsheim near Daiting in a layer of the Malm Zeta 3, dating from the Tithonian. 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 of Diopecephalus, without, however, designating it as the holotype of this genus. For this reason, Peter Wellnhofer felt free to name the specimen as a second species of Germanodactylus in 1970: Germanodactylus rhamphastinus. In 2004, Michael Maisch e.a. concluded that it represented a new genus, which they indicated as "Daitingopterus" in a diagram. It remained a nomen nudum.
In 2017, Steven Vidovic and David Martill validly named a separate genus Altmuehlopterus. The generic name combines a reference to the river Altmühl, running through Solnhofen, with a Latinised Greek pteron, "wing".