1990 in paleontology

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Paleontology or palaeontology (from Greek: paleo, "ancient"; ontos, "being"; and logos, "knowledge") is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils.^[1] This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 1990.

Fungal paleontology

newly named fungi

Name	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Coprinites[2]	Valid	Poinar Singer	Burdigalian (Miocene)	Dominican amber.	Dominican Republic	first mushroom genus described from the fossil record

Paleozoology

Arthropods

newly named insects

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Casaleia[3]	Gen nov	valid	Pagliano & Scaramozzino	Middle Miocene	Chon-Tyz mine	Kyrgyzstan	A replacement name for "Protamblyopone" Dlussky 1981.

Conodont paleozoology

German paleontologist and stratigrapher Heinz Walter Kozur (1942-2013) described the conodont genera Clarkina and Chiosella.^[4]

Vertebrate paleozoology

Actinopterygii ("Ray-finned Fish")

Newly named taxa

Name	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Veronavelifer	Valid	Bannikov	Eocene	Monte Bolca	Italy		Veronavelifer sorbiniis

Dinosaurs

• All Anatosaurus species except A. copei were moved to the previously existing genus Edmontosaurus by Brett-Surman
• "Seismosaurus" gastroliths documented.^[5]

Newly named dinosaurs

Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.^[6]

Name	Status	Authors		Notes	Images
Agilisaurus[7]	Valid taxon	Peng G.			Agilisaurus Anatotitan copei Bellusaurus Epachthosaurus "Kitadanisaurus" "Gryposaurus"
Anatotitan[8]	Valid taxon formerly called Anatosaurus copei	Brett-Surman vide: Chapman	Michael K. Brett-Surman
Bellusaurus[9]	Valid taxon	Dong Zhiming
Breviceratops[10]	Valid taxon	Kurzanov
Drinker[11]	Valid taxon	Robert Bakker Galton	Siegwarth Filla
Emausaurus[12]	Valid taxon	Haubold
Epachthosaurus[13]	Valid taxon	Jaime Eduardo Powell
"Futabasaurus"	Nomen nudum; later applied to a plesiosaur.	David Lambert
“Hadrosauravus"[14]	Nomen nudum	David Lambert
“Hisanohamasaurus”[14]	Nomen nudum	David Lambert
“Katsuyamasaurus"[14]	Nomen nudum	David Lambert
"Kitadanisaurus"[14]	Nomen nudum	David Lambert
"Madsenius"[14]	Nomen nudum	David Lambert
Monkonosaurus[15]	Valid taxon	Zhao X. vide: Dong Zhiming
Richardoestesia	Valid taxon	Phillip Currie Rigby and	R.E. Sloan
“Sugiyamasaurus"[14]	Nomen nudum	David Lambert
Yimenosaurus[16]	Valid taxon	Bai vide: Bai Yang J.	Wang G.H.

Newly named birds

Name	Status	Novelty	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Agnopterus sicki [17]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Herculano M. F. de Alvarenga	Late Oligocene / Early Miocene	Bacia de Taubate	Brazil	A Phoenicopteriformes, Agnopteridae Lambrecht, 1933.
Anser arenosus [18]	Valid	Sp. nov.	K. Jeffrey Bickart	Late Miocene	Late Hemphillian, Big Sandy Formation	USA:  Arizona	An Anatidae.
Anser arizonae [18]	Valid	Sp. nov.	K. Jeffrey Bickart	Late Miocene	Late Hemphillian, Big Sandy Formation	USA:  Arizona	An Anatidae.
Brachyramphus dunkeli [19]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Robert M. Chandler	Late Pliocene	Blancan, San Diego Formation	USA:  California	An Alcidae.
Branta woolfendeni [18]	Not Valid	Sp. nov.	K. Jeffrey Bickart	Late Miocene	Late Hemphillian, Big Sandy Formation	Mongolia;  USA:  Arizona	An Anatidae, placed in synonymy with Bonibernicla ponderosa Kurochkin, 1985 by Zelenkov, 2012.[20]
Cerorhinca reai [19]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Robert M. Chandler	Late Pliocene	Blancan, San Diego Formation	USA:  California	An Alcidae.
Chlamydotis mesetaria [21]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Antonio Sanchez Marco	Early Pliocene	MN 15	Spain:  Castile and León	An Otididae.
Corvus galushai [18]	Valid	Sp. nov.	K. Jeffrey Bickart	Late Miocene	Late Hemphillian, Big Sandy Formation	USA:  Arizona	A Corvidae.
Cygnus mariae [18]	Valid	Sp. nov.	K. Jeffrey Bickart	Late Miocene	Late Hemphillian, Big Sandy Formation	USA:  Arizona	An Anatidae.
Diomedea howardae [19]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Robert M. Chandler	Late Pliocene	Marine Beds	USA:  California	A Diomedeidae.
Himantopus olsoni [18]	Valid	Sp. nov.	K. Jeffrey Bickart	Late Miocene	Late Hemphillian, Big Sandy Formation	USA:  Arizona	A Recurvirostridae
“Ichthyornis” minusculus [22]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Lev A. Nessov	Late Eocene	Coniacian, Bisekty Formation	Uzbekistan	Possibly a Enantiornithes Walker, 1981.
Kievornis rogovitshi [23]	Valid	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Alexander O. Averianov Olga R. Potapova Lev A. Nessov	Late Eocene	MP 17-20	Ukraine	An Aves Incertae Sedis, possibly a Procelariiformes or a Phaethontidae, this is the type species of the new genus.
Melanitta ceruttii [19]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Robert M. Chandler	Late Pliocene	Blancan, San Diego Formation	USA:  California	An Anatidae, transferred to the genus Histrionicus Lesson, 1828 by Storrs L. Olson & Pamela C. Rasmussen, 2001 [24]
Palaeeudyptes klekowskii [25]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Andrezej Myrcha Andrzej Tatur Rodolfo Del Valle	Late Eocene	La Meseta Formatie on Seymour Island	Antarctica	A Spheniscidae.
Podiceps arndti [19]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Robert M. Chandler	Late Pliocene	Blancan, San Diego Formation	USA:  California	A Podicipedidae.
Puffinus gilmorei [19]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Robert M. Chandler	Late Pliocene	Marine Beds	USA:  California	A Procellariidae.
Puffinus holei [26]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Cyril A. Walker Graham M. Wragg Colin J. O. Harrison	Late Pleistocene MQ 2C; Late Pleistocene MQ 2C-D; Early Holocene MQ 2E	Portugal, Spain: Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, Portugal	Portugal;  Spain:  Canary Islands	A Procellariidae, Mourer-Chauviré & Antunes, 2000 [27] emended the spelling to Puffinus holeae.
Puffinus olsoni [28]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Miquel McMinn Damià Jaume Josep A. Alcover	Holocene	Fuerteventura	Spain:  Canary Islands	A Procellariidae.
Rissa estesi [19]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Robert M. Chandler	Late Pliocene	Blancan, San Diego Formation	USA:  California	A Laridae.
Songzia heidangkouensis [29]	Valid	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Hou LianHai	Early Eocene	Yangxi Formation	China	A Ralliformes, Songziidae Hou, 1990, this is the type species of the new genus.
Stictocarbo kumeyaay [19]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Robert M. Chandler	Late Pliocene	Blancan, San Diego Formation	USA:  California	A Phalacrocoracidae, transferred to the genus Phalacrocorax Brisson, 1760.
Sula clarki [19]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Robert M. Chandler	Late Pliocene	Blancan, San Diego Formation	USA:  California	A Sulidae.
Struthio dmanisensis [30]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Nikolay I. Burchak-Abramovich Abesalom K. Vekua	Early Pleistocene	Dmanisi	Georgia	A Struthionidae.
Synthliboramphus rineyi [19]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Robert M. Chandler	Late Pliocene	Blancan, San Diego Formation	USA:  California	An Alcidae.
Tetrastes dalianensis [31]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Hou LianHai	Late Pliocene	Talien	China	A Phasianidae, transferred to the genus Bonasa Stephen, 1819.

Synapsids

Non-mammalian

Name	Status	Authors	Discovery year	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
'	Valid
'	Valid

References

1. Gini-Newman, Garfield; Graham, Elizabeth (2001). Echoes from the past: world history to the 16th century. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. ISBN 9780070887398. OCLC 46769716.
2. Poinar, G.; Singer, R. (1990). "Upper Eocene gilled mushroom from the Dominican Republic". Science. 248 (4959): 1099–1101. doi:10.1126/science.248.4959.1099. PMID 17733372.
3. Dlussky, G.M.; Putyatina, T.S. (2014). "Early Miocene ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Radoboj, Croatia". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 272 (3): 237–285. doi:10.1127/0077-7749/2014/0409.
4. Kozur, Cour Forschungsinst Senckenb, 1990, volume 117, page 414
5. Gillette, D. (1990). Sanders, Manley, and Carpenter (2001), "Table 12.1" page 167.
6. Olshevsky, George. "Dinogeorge's Dinosaur Genera List". Retrieved 2008-08-07.
7. Peng, G-Z. 1990. A new small ornithopod (Agilisaurus louderbacki gen et sp. nov.) from Zigong, Sichuan, China. Zigong Dinosaur Museum Newsletter 2: pp. 19 - 27.
8. Brett-Surman vide Chapman, R.E., and M.K. Brett- Surman. 1990. Morphometric observations on hadrosaurid dinosaurs (Chapter 12). In: Dinosaurs Systematics: Perspectives and Approaches (K. Carpenter. and P.J. Currie, P.J., eds.). Cambridge University Press, New York: pp. 163- 177.
9. Dong, Z. 1990. Sauropoda from the Kelameili Region of the Junggar Basin, Xinjiang Autonomous Region. (Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Academia Sinica) Vertebrata PalAsiatica 28 (1 - January): pp. 43-58.
10. Kurzanov, S.M. 1991. A new Late Cretaceous protoceratopsid genus from Mongolia. Paleontological Journal 1990: pp. 85-91.
11. Bakker, R.T., P. Galton, J. Siegwarth, and J. Filla. 1990. A new latest Jurassic vertebrate fauna, from the highest levels of the Morrison Formation at Como Bluff, Wyoming, with comments on Morrison biochronology Part IV. The dinosaurs: a new Othnielia-like hypsilophodontoid. Hunteria, 2: pp. 8-13.
12. Haubold, H. 1990. Ein neuer dinosaurier (Ornithischa, Thyreophora) aus dem unteren Jura des Hordlichen Mitteleuropa: Reviue de Paleobiologie 9 (1) : pp. 149-177.
13. Powell, J.E. 1986. Revision de los titanosauridos de America del Sur Argentina. Unpublished doctoral thesis. Universidad Nacional de Tucuman, Tucuman, Argentina.
14. Lambert, D., and the Diagram Group. 1990. The Dinosaur Data Book. Avon Books (320 pages).
15. Zhao vide Dong, Z. 1990. Stegosaurs of Asia. In: Dinosaur systematics: approaches and perspectives (K. Carpenter and P.J. Currie, eds.). Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK: pp. 255- 268.
16. Bai, Z., J. Yang, and G. Wang. 1990. A new genus of prosauropod from the Yuxi (region) of Yunnnan Province [Yunnan Yuxi yuanxijiao lei yi xin shu]. Yuxi Cultural Organization [Yuxi Wen Tuan] 1 (October 1990): pp. 14-23 + plate 1.
17. Herculano M. F. de Alvarenga (1990). "Flamingos Fósseis da Bacia de Taubaté, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil: Descrição de Nova Espécie". Anais da Academia Brasileira Ciências. 62 (1): 335–345.
18. K. Jeffrey Bickart (1990). "The Birds of the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene Big Sandy Formation, Mohave County, Arizona" (PDF). Ornithological Monographs. 44 (1): 1–72. doi:10.2307/40166673.
19. Robert M. Chandler (1990). "Fossil Birds of the San Diego Formation, Late Pliocene, Blancan, San Diego County, California" (PDF). Ornithological Monographs. 44 (2): 73–161. doi:10.2307/40166674.
20. Nikita V. Zelenkov (2012). "Neogene Geese and Ducks (Aves: Anatidae) from Localities of the Great Lakes Depression, Western Mongolia". Paleontological Journal. 46 (1): 607–619.
21. Antonio Sanchez Marco (1990). "A New Bustard (Otididae; Aves) from the Early Pliocene of Layna (Soria, Spain)". Paleontologia i Evolució. 23: 223–229.
22. Lev A. Nessov (1990). "Small Ichthyonithiform Bird and Other Bird Remains from Bissekty Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of Central Kizylkum Desert". Trudy Zoologicheskogo Instituta Akademii Nauk SSSR. 210: 59–62.
23. Alexander O. Averianov, Olga R. Potapova & Lev A. Nessov (1990). "On the First Findings of Ancient Bird Bones in the Fatherland". Trudy Zoologicheskogo Instituta, Akademiya Nauk SSSR. 210: 3–9.
24. Storrs L. Olson & Pamela C. Rasmussen (2001). "Miocene and Pliocene Birds from the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina" (PDF). Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology. 90: 233–365.
25. Andrezej Myrcha, Andrzej Tatur & Rodolfo Del Valle (1990). "A New Species of Fossil Penguin from Seymour Island, West Antarctica". Alcheringa. 14 (3): 195–205. doi:10.1080/03115519008619055.
26. Cyril A. Walker, Graham M. Wragg & Colin J. O. Harrison (1990). "A New Shearwater from the Pleistocene of the Canary Islands and Its Bearings on the Evolution of Certain Puffinus Shaerwaters". Historical Biology. 3 (3): 203–224. doi:10.1080/08912969009386522.
27. Cécile Mourer-Chauviré & Miguel Telles Antunes (2000). "L'Avifane Pléistocène et Holocène de Gruta da Figueira Brava (Arrabida, Portugal)". Memorias da Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Classe de Ciências. 38: 117–149.
28. Miquel McMinn, Damià Jaume & Josep A. Alcover (1990). "Puffinus olsoni n.sp.: Nova Espècie de Baldritja Recentment Extingida Provinent de Depòsits Espeleològics de Fuerteventura i Lanzarote (Illes Canàries, Atlàntic Oriental)". Endins. 16: 63–71.
29. Hou LianHai (1990). "An Eocene Bird from Songzi, Hubei Province" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 28 (1): 34–42.
30. Nikolay I. Burchak-Abramovich & Abesalom K. Vekua (1990). "The Fossil Ostrich Struthio dmanisensis sp. n. from the Lower Pleistocene of Eastern Georgia". Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia. 33 (7): 121–132.
31. Hou LianHai (1990). "?". ?.

• Gillette, D (1990). "Gastrolithes of a sauropod dinosaur from New Mexico". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 10 (suppl. 3): 24A. doi:10.1080/02724634.1990.10011841.
• Sanders F, Manley K, Carpenter K. Gastroliths from the Lower Cretaceous sauropod Cedarosaurus weiskopfae. In: Tanke D.H, Carpenter K, editors. Mesozoic vertebrate life: new research inspired by the paleontology of Philip J. Currie. Indiana University Press; Bloomington, IN: 2001. pp. 166–180.