Kingdom Animalia Class Reptilia Suborder †Pterodactyloidea Rank Species | Phylum Chordata Order †Pterosauria Family †Lonchodectidae | |
Similar Cretornis, Lonchodectes, Camposipterus, Lonchodraco, Coloborhynchus |
"Palaeornis" cliftii is a pterosaur species known from parts of a single humerus (upper arm bone) found in early Cretaceous period rocks of the upper Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation, England. "P." cliftii represents one of the earliest pterosaur discoveries in England, and has a long and complicated history of controversy and nomenclature.
The name Palaeornis had previously been used for a genus of parakeet (now considered a synonym of Psittacula) by Vigors in 1825. Mantell was apparently aware of this, and in some later publications used the name "Palaeornithis" (Mantell, 1848) as a replacement.
References
Palaeornis cliftii Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA