Ornithocheirus fossil map
Where fossils of Ornithocheirus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 100 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 100 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Pterosaurs |
|---|---|
| Lived | 132.6–89.8 million years ago (Hauterivian to Turonian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Named by | Seeley 1869 |
| Fossil records | 12 occurrences at 10 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United Kingdom, France, Portugal, DR Congo, Russia, Germany, Morocco |
| Rock formations | txn:NF, West Melbury Marly Chalk, Calcaires à Spatangues, Zig Zag Chalk, Ifezouane |
About Ornithocheirus
Ornithocheirus (from Ancient Greek "ὄρνις", meaning bird, and "χεῖρ", meaning hand) is a pterosaur genus known from fragmentary fossil remains uncovered from sediments in the United Kingdom and possibly Morocco.
Several species have been referred to the genus, most of which are now considered as dubious species, or members of different genera, and the genus is now often considered to include only the type species, Ornithocheirus simus. Species have been referred to Ornithocheirus from the mid-Cretaceous period of North America, Europe and South America, but O. simus is known mostly from the United Kingdom, though a specimen referred to O. cf. simus is also known from the Late Cretaceous Kem Kem Group of Morocco.
Because O. simus was originally named based on poorly preserved fossil material, the genus Ornithocheirus has suffered enduring problems of zoological nomenclature.
Fossil remains of Ornithocheirus have been recovered mainly from the Cambridge Greensand of England, dating to the beginning of the Albian stage of the early Cretaceous period, about 110 million years ago. Additional fossils from the Santana Formation of Brazil are sometimes classified as species of Ornithocheirus, but have also been placed in their own genera, most notably Tropeognathus.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Ornithocheirus (revision 1379243108), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q131373.
