Comments on “Ornithocheirus hilsensis” Koken, 1883 – One of the earliest dinosaur discoveries in Germany

Abstract

Based on a detailed morphological comparison of the original figures, the lost holotype of Ornithocheirus hilsensis is identified as the distal part of the proximal pedal phalanx from digit I of a large-sized theropod. The distinctness in the morphology of the distal epiphysis of this element from that present in the manus and in pedal digits II-IV of most theropods may have contributed to the ambiguous interpretation of this specimen in the course of discussion since the 1880s. Features that have been interpreted as indicating pneumaticity that would support a pterosaur affiliation can be alternatively explained by taphonomic and diagenetic processes. Aside of this unresolved question, the published information do not indicate the presence of any pterosaur synapomorphies. Although clearly a nomen dubium, Ornithocheirus hilsensis is a precious record of a large-sized theropod near the Valanginian/Hauterivian boundary of Central Europe. It is furthermore of significance as one of the historically earliest documented remains of a dinosaur from Germany.