Foreshore at Saltwick Bay (Jurassic of the United Kingdom)

Where: England, United Kingdom (54.5° N, 0.6° W)

• Paleocoordinates: 42.9° N, 16.6° E (Wright 2013)

• coordinate stated in text

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: Hildoceras bifrons Zone, Peronoceras fibulatum subzone ammonoid zone, Alum Shale Member (Whitby Mudstone Formation), Early/Lower Toarcian (183.0 - 182.0 Ma)

• Upper Alum Shale Member of the Whitby Mudstone Formation (Lower Toarcian)... several of these concretion horizons are known from the Alum Shale Member, and that containing the pterosaur specimen described here is typical of those found in the Cement Shale Beds of the Hildoceras bifrons Zone, Peronoceras fibulatum subzone

Environment/lithology: marine; concretionary, calcareous mudstone

• Dark grey, calcareous mudstone concretion...The distinctive concretion comes from the upper Alum Shale Member of the Whitby Mudstone Formation (Lower Toarcian), which consists of 28 m of alternating layers of shale and calcareous concretions of variable thickness (Simms et al., 2004). Several of these concretion horizons are known from the Alum Shale Member, and that containing the pterosaur specimen described here is typical of those found in the Cement Shale Beds of the Hildoceras bifrons Zone, Peronoceras fibulatum subzone.

Size class: macrofossils

Collected by David Groocock in 18th October 2011; reposited in the BMNH

Collection methods: surface (float),

• NHMUK: Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom (formerly BMNH)

Primary reference: M. O'Sullivan, D. M. Martill, and D. Groocock. 2013. A pterosaur humerus and scapulocoracoid from the Jurassic Whitby Mudstone Formation, and the evolution of large body size in early pterosaurs. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association [R. Benson/R. Benson]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 144583: authorized by Roger Benson, entered by Roger Benson on 13.05.2013

Creative Commons license: CC0 (CC0)

Taxonomic list

Show authors, comments, and common names
Reptilia
 Pterosauria -
? Parapsicephalus purdoni
? Parapsicephalus purdoni Newton 1888 pterosaur
BMNH R36634, an associated left humerus and scapulocoracoid. Referral of the specimen here to Parapsicephalus purdoni is tentative, given that this taxon is known only from a partial skull. Referral is based on stratigraphic and geographical occurrence and morphometric analysis in which the humeral length was compared to squamosal-narial length of the skull of Dorygnathus, to which some authors have referred Parapsicephalus