. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Geology. THE PTERODACTYLOIDS FROM THE PURBECK LIMESTONE FORMATION OF DORSET Family ORNITHOCHEIRIDAE Seeley, 1870 Systematic note. Bennett (1989) has proposed uniting a range of advanced pterodactyloids including the orni- thocheirids, pteranodontids and 'Ornithodesmus' in one fam- ily under the name Pteranodontidae Marsh, 1876. In this work, we follow the practice of Wellnhofer (1991b) in divid- ing these forms into several families, pending a more compre- hensive analysis of their relationships. Genus ORNITHOCHEIRUS Seeley, 1869 TYPE SPECIES
. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Geology. THE PTERODACTYLOIDS FROM THE PURBECK LIMESTONE FORMATION OF DORSET Family ORNITHOCHEIRIDAE Seeley, 1870 Systematic note. Bennett (1989) has proposed uniting a range of advanced pterodactyloids including the orni- thocheirids, pteranodontids and 'Ornithodesmus' in one fam- ily under the name Pteranodontidae Marsh, 1876. In this work, we follow the practice of Wellnhofer (1991b) in divid- ing these forms into several families, pending a more compre- hensive analysis of their relationships. Genus ORNITHOCHEIRUS Seeley, 1869 TYPE SPECIES. Ornithocheirus compressirostris (Owen) See- ley: from the Turonian of Burham, Kent, England (see Wellnhofer 1978 pp. 55-56 for discussion of the identity of the type species of Ornithocheirus). 83 'Ornithocheirus' sp. A Fig. 8 Material. BMNH R. 11958, the anterior region of a man- dible of a pterodactyloid exposed in ventral aspect (Fig. 8). The specimen is somewhat crushed and the teeth have all been lost. Ex Corfe Castle Museum collection, purchased by BM(NH) from Dorset County Museum in 1958. Type locality. 'Near Swanage', Dorset. The precise local- ity is not known. Horizon. 'Middle Purbeck Beds', Purbeck Limestone For- mation; Tithonian, Upper Jurassic or Berriasian, Lower Cretaceous. The precise horizon is not known. Description. BMNH R. 11958 comprises the anterior region of a pterodactyloid mandible exposed in ventral aspect on a block of limestone (Fig. 8). It consists of a complete elongate symphysial region and posteriorly incomplete rami, the length of the incomplete specimen being 208 mm in the midline. The symphysial region is 118 mm long and relatively narrow, passing from 9 mm width near the tip, to 20 mm width where the rami diverge. There is a slight spatulate expansion of the tip. A short section of the symphysis is visible in dorsal aspect and shows the presence of a median trough with a deep 'V-shaped cross-section, and a few oval alveoli. The buccal shel
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