page_title: Coloborhynchus
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Coloborhynchus / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Coloborhynchus fluviferox (Pterosauria:Ornithocheiridae) from the middle Cretaceous of Morocco, North Africa. Pencil and charcoal on paper by Nick Longrich. Additional digital editing by Nick Longrich.
context_page_description: Coloborhynchus is a genus in the pterosaur family Ornithocheiridae, and is known from the Lower Cretaceous of England, and depending on which species are included, possibly the Albian and Cenomanian ages as well. It is the largest known toothed pterosaur.
context_section_description: The type specimen of Coloborhynchus is known only from a partial upper jaw. Therefore, according to Rodrigues and Kellner's 2008 re-evaluation on Coloborhynchus clavirostris, it can only be differentiated from its relatives based on its unique combination of tooth socket positions. In Coloborhynchus, the two front teeth pointed forward and were higher on the jaw than the other teeth, while the next three pairs of teeth pointed to the sides. The final two (preserved) pairs of teeth pointed downward. Finally, a unique oval depression was located below the first pair of teeth.
  Like the related Anhanguera and Uktenadactylus, the tip of the snout flared out into a wider rosette, in contrast to the narrow posterior jaws. However, whereas the rosettes of species typically assigned to Anhanguera were rounded and spoon-shaped, those of coloborhynchus were robust and box-shaped.
  Also like its close relatives, Coloborhynchus had a keel-shaped crest on the front of its jaws, though it was broad and thinned from base to top, rather than the uniformly thin crests of its relatives. This kind of thickened crest is also seen in Siroccopteryx moroccensis, which may be its closest relative or a member of the same genus. It also had a straight, rather than curved, front margin, unlike its relatives, and begins at the tip of the snout, rather than further back as in other species.
  A second specimen showing all of these same unique features was reported to Brazilian paleontologist Alexander Kellner by Darren Naish in 2007, and likely represents a second specimen of C. clavirostris, though it has not yet been described.
  The possible species Coloborhynchus capito represents the second largest known ornithocheirid (after a Tropeognathus specimen), and indeed the largest toothed pterosaur known. A referred specimen from the Cambridge Greensand of England described in 2011 consists of a very large upper jaw tip which displays the tooth characteristics that distinguish C. capito from other species. The jaw tip is nearly 10 cm tall and 5.6 cm wide, with teeth up to 1.3 cm in base diameter. If the proportions of this specimen were consistent with other known species of Coloborhynchus, the total skull length could have been up to 75 cm, leading to an estimated wingspan of 7 metres (23 ft). However, this species may belong to a different genus.
  A rostrum fragment diagnostic to Coloborhynchus sp. is known from the Wessex Formation of England.
caption: Life restoration of the species C. fluviferox
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