A new edentulous pterosaur from the Cretaceous Kem Kem beds of south eastern Morocco

A new genus and species, Xericeps curvirostris gen. et sp. nov., is erected for a highly distinctive pterosaur mandible from the mid-Cretaceous (?Albian to lower Cenomanian) Kem Kem beds of south east Morocco. The new taxon is referred to Azhdarchoidea based on the absence of teeth, slenderness of its mandible with sulcate occlusal surface, presence on the posterior section of the mandibular symphysis of short paired ridges bounding a central groove, and the presence of elongate foramina on its occlusal and lateral surfaces. A slight dorsal curvature determines it as a distinct genus of azhdarchoid, as does an autapomorphy: the presence of a continuous longitudinal groove on the ventral midline of the mandibular symphysis. The new species brings to three the number of named pterosaurs from the Kem Kem beds and together with an unnamed tapejarid, points to a relatively diverse pterosaur assemblage in these deposits.