Pterodactylus_bucklandi
Rhamphocephalus
Extinct genus of reptiles
Rhamphocephalus ("beak head") is an extinct genus of fossil reptile from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian stage) Great Oolite Group of Gloucestershire, England. The name was erected as a genus of pterosaur[1] and became a 'wastebasket taxon' for British Jurassic pterosaur remains until a recent revision.[2] Rhamphocephalus comprises several named species, two of which are pterosaurian, but the type species - R. prestwichi - is based on remains now identified as a thalattosuchian. Because it is poorly preserved and lacks features that distinguish it from other thalattosuchians, R. prestwichi is considered an invalid species and the genus Rhamphocephalus is a nomen dubium.[2] Reassessments of other Rhamphocephalus species suggest they are also undiagnostic to species level, although they have properties allowing referral to some Jurassic pterosaur groups.[2]