Hornung, Comments on “ORNITHOCHEIRUS HILSENSIS” PJVP, 17(1) (2020) PalArch Foundation 1 Hornung, Jahn Jochen. Comments on “Ornitocheirus hilsensis” Koken, 1883 - One of the Earliest Dinosaur Discoveries in Germany. – Palarch’s Journal of Vertebrate Palae- ontology 17(1) (2020), 1-12. ISSN 1567-2158. 12 pages + 2 fgures. Keywords: Ornithocheirus hilsensis, pterosaur, theropod, Lower Cretaceous, northern Germany COMMENTS ON “ORNITHOCHEIRUS HILSENSIS” KOKEN, 1883 – ONE OF THE EARLIEST DINOSAUR DISCOVERIES IN GERMANY Jahn Jochen Hornung * *Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum Hannover, Willy-Brandt-Allee 5, D-30169 Hannover, Germany, jahn.hornung@yahoo.de (ORCID: 0000-0002-4929-5490) ABSTRACT Based on a detailed morphological comparison of the original fgures, the lost holotype of “Ornithocheirus hilsensis” is identifed as the distal part of the proximal pedal phalanx from digit I of a large-sized theropod. Te distinctness in the morphology of the distal epiphysis of this element from that present in the manus and in pedal digits II-IV of most theropods may have contributed to the ambiguous interpretation of this specimen in the course of discussion since the 1880s. Features that have been interpreted as indicating pneu- maticity – that would support a pterosaur afliation – can be alternatively explained by taphonomic and dia- genetic processes. Aside of this unresolved question, the published information do not indicate the presence of any pterosaur synapomorphies. Although clearly a nomen dubium, “Ornithocheirus hilsensis” is a precious record of a large-sized theropod near the Valanginian/Hauterivian boundary of Central Europe. It is fur- thermore of signifcance as one of the historically earliest documented remains of a dinosaur from Germany.