Spathagnathus

Spathagnathus (meaning "spatula jaw") is a genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Late Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone of Germany. The type and only species is Spathagnathus roeperi, known from a single jawbone. It is the oldest known member of Gnathosaurinae, and the second pterosaur from the Solnhofen's Brunn quarry after the rhamphorhynchid Bellubrunnus. The unique dental anatomy of the taxon is thought to indicate a diet of tough, hard-shelled prey items.

== Discovery and naming == thumb|left|Solnhofen localities in Germany; Spathagnathus is known from Brunn In 1993, Simone Kaulfuß, Maren Sendelbach and Andreas Heiner, students at the Schule für Präparationstechnische Assistenten in Bochum, in the chalk quarry of Brunn discovered a pterosaur snout. Starting in 1993, the quarry was systematically being excavated under the direction of Martin Röper and Monika Rothgaenger. Pterosaur finds were rare, with the exception of the type specimen of Bellubrunnus. The snout fossil was accessioned by the Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie at Munich. After preparation, it was preliminarily described by Oliver Rauhut and colleagues in 2017. These authors concluded that the specimen represented a novel species, likely a member of the Gnathosaurinae, and that it would be named in a later publication.