1995 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 1995.

Molluscs

Bivalves

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Camya[2]	gen et sp nov	valid	Hinz-Schallreuter	Early Cambrian	Bornholm	Denmark	type and only species Camya asy
Pojetaia ostseensis[2]	sp nov	nomen dubium	Hinz-Schallreuter	Early Cambrian	Bornholm	Denmark	Probable synonym of P. runnegari

Arthropods

Arachnids

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Uintascorpio[3]	gen et sp nov	valid	Perry	Middle Eocene	Green River Formation	USA	only scorpion from the Green River Formation

Insects

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Aphaenogaster amphioceanica[4]	Sp nov	Valid	De Andrade	Burdigalian	Dominican amber	Dominican Republic	A myrmicin ant	Aphaenogaster amphioceanica
Aphaenogaster praerelicta[4]	Sp nov	Valid	De Andrade	Burdigalian	Mexican amber	Mexico	A myrmicin ant
Baltimartyria[5]	gen nov	valid	Skalski	Early Eocene	Baltic amber		new genus for Micropterix proavitella
Dryinus grimaldii[6]	sp nov	valid	Olmi	Burdigalian	Dominican amber	Dominican Republic	first fossil Dryinus lamellatus group species	Dryinus grimaldii
Electrinocellia[7]	subfam, gen et sp nov	Valid	Engel	Eocene	Baltic amber		sister taxon to the rest of Inocelliidae

Fish

Newly named bony fish

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Asiamericana[8]	Gen et sp nov	dubious	Nesov	Turonian	Bissekty Formation	Uzbekistan	A possible Ichthyodectid. Originally described as possibe Spinosurid teeth

Archosauromorphs

Newly named dinosaurs

• Fossil hunters working on behalf of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum discover a large coprolite from a theropod dinosaur in Maastrichtian strata. In 1997 it is sent to coprolite specialist Karen Chin, who determines that this specimen of fossilized feces was attributable to Tyrannosaurus rex. One year later, in 1998, Karen Chin and others publish a joint paper in Nature announcing the finding.
• Paul Sereno lead an expedition to the Kem Kem region of southeastern Morocco. Among the fossils discovered is a partial skull of Carcharodontosaurus saharicus. Significantly, it preserves a "complete and undistorted braincase" which would later be described in detail along with the structure of the inner ear of C. saharicus by Hans C. E. Larsson in 2001.^[9]

Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.^[10]

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Achelousaurus[11]	Gen et sp nov	valid	Sampson	Campanian	Two Medicine Formation	USA	A centrosaurin ceratopsian	Achelousaurus
Ampelosaurus[12]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Le Loeuff	Maastrichtian	Marnes Rouges Inferieures Formation	France	A titanosaur	Ampelosaurus
"Brontoraptor"		nomen nudum	Redman
Bugenasaura[13]	Gen et sp nov	Junior Synonym of Thescelosaurus[14]	Galton	Lancian	Hell Creek Formation	USA
Chindesaurus[15]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Long & Murry
"Dinotyrannus"[16]	Gen et sp nov	Junior Synonym of Tyrannosaurus	Olshevsky	Lancian	Hell Creek Formation	USA
Einiosaurus[11]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Sampson	Campanian	Two Medicine Formation	USA	A centrosaurin ceratopsian	Einiosaurus
Genusaurus[17]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Accarie et al.
Giganotosaurus[18]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Coria & Salgado					Giganotosaurus
Jainosaurus[19]		Valid	Hunt, Lockley, Lucas, & Meyer
"Jenghizkhan"[20]		Junior Synonym	Olshevsky				Junior Synonym of Tarbosaurus	Tarbosaurus.
Jingshanosaurus[21]		Valid	Zhang & Yang					"Jingshanosaurus"
Kulceratops[8]		Valid	Nesov
"Liassaurus"[22]		nomen nudum	Welles, Powell, & Pickering
"Merosaurus"[22]		nomen nudum	Welles, Powell, & Pickering
Niobrarasaurus[23]		Valid	Carpenter, Dilkes, & Weishampel	Coniacian-Santonian	Niobrara Formation	United States	A nodosaurid.
Saurophaganax[24]		Valid	Chure	Kimmeridgian-Tithonian	Morrison Formation	United States	An allosaurid.	"Saurophaganax"
"Stygivenator"[16]	Gen nov	junior synonym	Olshevsky	Lancian	Hell Creek Formation	USA	Junior synonym of Tyrannosaurus
Texasetes[25]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Coombs	late Albian-early Cenomanian	Paw Paw Formation	United States	A nodosaurid.
"Walkersaurus"[22]		nomen nudum	Welles, Powell & Pickering vide: Pickering	Bajocian		England	material later named Duriavenator	Duriavenator

Newly named birds

Name	Status	Novelty	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Ajaia chione [26]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Steven D. Emslie	Pleistocene	Early Irvingtonian, Bermont Formation	USA:  Florida	A Threskiornithidae.
Ameripodius silvasantosi [27]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Herculano M. F. de Alvarenga	Late Oligocene-Early Miocene	Tremembé Formation	Brazil	A Craciformes, Quercymegapodiidae Mourer-Chauviré, 1992, this is the type species of the new genus.
Anhinga malagurala [28]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Brian Mackness	Early Pliocene	Allingham Formation	Australia:  Queensland	An Anhingidae.
Avisaurus gloriae [29]	Sp. nov.	Valid	David J. Varricchio Luis M. Chiappe	Late Cretaceous	Maastrichtian, Hell Creek Formation	USA:  Montana	An Enantiornithes Walker, 1981, Alexornithiformes Brodkorb, 1976, Avisauridae Brett-Surman et Paul, 1985.
Boluochia zhengi [30]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Zhou Zhonghe	Early Cretaceous	Valanginian, Jiufotang Formation	China	An Enantiornithes Walker, 1981, Longipterygidae Zhang, Zhou, L. H. Hou et Gu, 2000, this is the type species of the new genus.
Confuciusornis sanctus [31]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Hou Lianhai Zhou Zhonghe Gu Yucai Zhang He	Early Cretaceous	Yixian Formation	China	A Confuciusornithiformes Hou, Zhou, Gu et Zhang, 1995, Confuciusornithidae Hou, Zhou, Gu et Zhang, 1995, this is the type species of the new genus.
Corvus moravicus [32]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Jiri Mlikovsky	Early Pleistocene	Stránská Skála	Czech Republic	A Corvidae.
Eudocimus leiseyi [26]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Steven D. Emslie	Pleistocene	Early Irvingtonian, Bermont Formation	USA:  Florida	A Threskiornithidae.
Grus pagei [33]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Kenneth E. Campbell, jr.	Late Pleistocene	Rancho la Brea	USA:  California	A Gruidae.
Hinasuri nehuensis [34]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Claudia P. Tambussi	Middle-Late Pliocene	Monte Hermoso Formation	Argentina	A Rheidae, this is the type species of the new genus.
Idiornis tuberculata [35]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Dieter S. Peters	Middle Eocene	Messel pit: MP 11	Germany:  Hessen	A Gruiformes, Idiornithidae Brodkorb, 1965. The genus Idiornis Oberholser, 1899 was placed in synonymy with the genus Dynamopterus Milne-Edwards, 1892 by Mourer-Chauviré, 2013 [36]
Itardiornis hessae [37]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Cécile Mourer-Chauviré	Late Eocene and Middle Eocene	MP 21 and MP 23	France	A Gruiformes, Messelornithidae Hesse, 1988, this is the type species of the new genus.
Lagopus balcanicus [38]	Sp. nov.	Valid	ppZlatozar N. Boev	Late Pliocene	MN 17, Middle Villafranchian	Bulgaria	A Phasianidae.
Larus lacus [39]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Steven D. Emslie	Late Pliocene	Late Blancan	USA:  Florida	A Laridae.
Larus perpetuus [39]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Steven D. Emslie	Late Pliocene	Late Blancan	USA:  Florida	A Laridae.
Meganhinga chilensis [40]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Herculano M. F. de Alvarenga	Miocene	Cura-Mallín Formation	Chile	An Anhingidae, this is the type species of the new genus.
Menura tyawanoides [41]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Walter E. Boles	?Early Miocene	Riversleigh	Australia:  Queensland	A Menuridae.
Messelornis russelli [37]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Cécile Mourer-Chauviré	Late Paleocene	MP 6	France	A Gruiformes, Messelornithidae Hesse, 1988.
Phalacrocorax filyawi [39]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Steven D. Emslie	Late Pliocene	Late Blancan	USA:  Florida	A Phalacrocoracidae.
Qinornis palaeocenica [42]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Xue Xiangxu	Early-Middle Paleocene	Shimen Basin	China	A Neognathae Pycraft, 1900 Incertae Sedis, this is the type species of the new genus.

Pterosaurs

New taxa

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Plataleorhynchus	gen et sp nov	Valid	Howse and Milner	Early Cretaceous	Purbeck Limestone	England

References

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3. Santiago-Blay, Jorge A.; Soleglad, Michael E.; Fet, Victor (2004). "A redescription and family placement of Uintascorpio Perry, 1995 from the Parachute Creek Member of the Green River Formation (middle Eocene) of Colorado, USA (Scorpiones: Buthidae)" (PDF). Revista Ibérica de Aracnología. 10: 7–16. ISSN 1576-9518.
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5. Mey, Wolfram (2011). "On the systematic position of Baltimartyria Skalski, 1995 and description of a new species from Baltic amber (Lepidoptera, Micropterigidae)". ZooKeys. 130: 331–342. doi:10.3897/zookeys.130.1480.
6. Olmi, Massimo; Guglielmino, Adalgisa (2011). "Revision of fossil species of Dryinus belonging to lamellatus group, with description of a new species (Hymenoptera, Dryinidae)" (PDF). 130: 505–514. doi:10.3897/zookeys.130.133.
7. Engel, M.S. (1995). "A new fossil snake-fly species from Baltic amber (Raphidioptera: Inocelliidae)". Psyche. 102 (3-4): 187–193. doi:10.1155/1995/23626.
8. Nesov, L.A. (1995). "Dinosaurs of northern Eurasia: new data about assemblages, ecology and palaeogeography (in Russian)". University of Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg: 156.
9. "Introduction," Chure (2001). Pg. 20.
10. Olshevsky, George. "Dinogeorge's Dinosaur Genera List". Retrieved 2008-08-07.
11. Sampson, S.D. (1995). "Two new horned dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation of Montana, with a phylogenetic analysis of the Centrosaurinae (Ornithischia: Ceratopsidae)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 15 (4): 743–360. doi:10.1080/02724634.1995.10011259.
12. Le Loeuff, J. (1995). "Ampelosaurus atacis (nov. gen., nov. sp), un nouveau Titanosauridae (Dinosauria, Saurpoda) du Crétacé Supérieur de la haute vallée de l'Aude (France)". C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris. 321 (sér. II a): 693–696.
13. Galton, P.M. 1995. The species of the basal hypsilophodontid dinosaur Thescelosaurus Gilmore (Ornithischia; Ornithopoda) from the Late Cretaceous of North America. Neues Jahrbuch fuer Geologie und Palaeontologie. Abhandlungen 198 (3): pp. 297-311.
14. Boyd, C. A.; Brown, C. M.; Scheetz, R. D.; Clarke, J. A. (2009). "Taxonomic revision of the basal neornithischian taxa Thescelosaurus and Bugenasaura". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 29 (3): 758–770. doi:10.1671/039.029.0328.
15. Long, R.A. and P.A. Murry. 1995. Late Triassic (Carnian and Norian) tetrapods from the Southwestern United States. New Mexico Museum Nat. History Sci. Bull. 4: pp. 1-254.
16. Olshevsky vide Olshevsky, G. 1995. The Origin and Evolution of the Tyrannosaurids. Kyoryugaku Saizensen [Dino-Frontline] 9: 92-119 (part 1); 10:75-99 (part 2)
17. Accarie, H., B. Beaudoin , J. Dejax, G. Fries, J.-C. Michard, and P. Taquet. 1995. Decouverte d’un Dinosaure Theropode nouveau (Genusaurus sisteronis n. g., n. sp.) dans l’Albien marin de Sisteron (Alpes de Haute-Provence, France) et extension au Cretace inferieur de la lignee ceratosaurienne. Compte rendu hebdomadaire des seances de l’Academie des Sciences Paris, tomo 320, 2nd series : pp. 327-334.
18. Coria, R.A. and L. Salgado. 1995. A new giant carnivorous dinosaur from the Cretaceous of Patagonia. Nature. 377: pp. 224-226.
19. Hunt, A.P., M.G. Lockley, S.G. Lucas, and C.A. Meyer. 1995 [George Olshevsky notes 1995, not 1994]. The global sauropod fossil record. In:Aspects of sauropod paleobiology (M.G. Lockley, V.F. dos Santos, C.A. Meyer, and A. Hunt, eds,). Revista de Geociencias, Gaia 10: pp. 261-279.
20. Olshevsky vide Olshevsky, G [with illustrations by T.L. Ford and S. Yamamoto]. 1995. The Origin and Evolution of the Ornithopods. Kyoryugaku Saizensen [Dino-Frontline] 11: 98-119 (part 1); 12: 96-117 (part 2); 13: 97-109 (part 3, 1996);
21. Zhang, Y., and Z. Yang. 1994 [George Olshevsky notes 1995, not 1994]. A new complete ostology of Prosauropoda in Lufeng Basin Yunnan China, Jingshanosaurus. Yunnan Publishing House of Science and Technology, Kunming, China: pp. 1-100.
22. Welles, H. P. Powell & Pickering vide Pickering, S. 1995. A fractal scaling in dinosaurology project (2nd revised printing). Capitola, California: 478 pages;
23. Carpenter, K., D. Dilkes, and D.B. Weishampel. 1995. The Dinosaurs of the Niobrara Chalk Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Kansas). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 15 (2): pp. 275-297.
24. Chure, D.J. 1995. A reassessment of the gigantic theropod Saurophagus maximus from the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Oklahoma, USA. Sixth Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biota: pp. 103-106.
25. Coombs, W.P. 1995. A nodosaurid ankylosaur (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Lower Cretaceous of Texas. J. Vert. Paleontol. 15 (2):pp. 298-312.
26. Steven D. Emslie (1995). "An Early Irvingtonian Avifauna from Leisey Shell Pit". Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History. 37 (1): 299–344.
27. Herculano M. F. de Alvarenga (1995). "Um Primitivo Membro da Ordem Galliformes (Aves) do Terciário Médio da Bacia de Taubaté, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil". Anais da Academia Brasiliera de Cièncias. 67: 33–44.
28. Brian Mackness (1995). "Anhinga malagurala, A New Pygmy Darter form the Early Pliocene Bluff Downs Local Fauna, North- Eastern Queensland". Emu. 95 (4): 265–271. doi:10.1071/mu9950265.
29. David J. Varricchio; Luis M. Chiappe (1995). "A New Enantiornithine Bird from the Upper Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation of Montana". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 15 (1): 201–204. doi:10.1080/02724634.1995.10011219.
30. Zhou Zhonghe (1995). "Discovery of a New Enantiornithine Bird from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning, China" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 33 (2): 99–113.
31. Hou Lianhai; Zhou Zhonghe; Gu Yucai; Zhang He (1995). "Confuciusornis sanctus, a New Late Jurassic Sauriurine Bird from China". Chinese Science Bulletin. 40: 1545–1551. Archived from the original on 2014-08-09.
32. Jiri Mlikovsky (1995). "Early Pleistoceen Birds of Stránska Skála Hill, Czech Republic: 1. Musil's Talus Cone" (PDF). In: R Musil (Ed): Stránka Skála Hill,. Excavation of Open-Air Sediments 1964-1972. Moravian Museum, Brno, Anthropos series. 26: 111–126.
33. Kenneth E. Campbell, jr. (1995). "A Review of the Cranes (Aves: Gruidae) of Rancho La Brea, with the Description of a New Species" (PDF). Museum of Natural History of Los Angeles County, Contributions in Science. 452: 1–13.
34. Claudia P. Tambussi (1995). "The Fossil Rheiformes from Argentina". Courier Forschungsinstitut Senkenberg. 181: 121–129.
35. Dieter S. Peters (1995). "Idiornis tuberculata N. Spec. Ein Weiterer Ungewohnlicher Vogel aus der Grube Messel (Aves: Gruiformes: Cariamidae: Idiornithinae)". Courier Forschungsinstitut Senkenberg. 181: 107–119.
36. Cécile Mourer-Chauviré (2002). "Idiornis Oberholser, 1899 (Aves, Gruiformes, Cariamae, Idiornithidae): a Junior Synonym of Dynamopterus Milne-Edwards, 1892 (Paleogene, Phosphorites du Quercy, France)". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie. 270 (1): 13–22. doi:10.1127/0077-7749/2013/0355.
37. Cécile Mourer-Chauviré (1995). "The Messelornithidae (Aves: Gruiformes) from the Palaeocene of France". Courier Forschungsinstitut Senkenberg. 181: 95–105.
38. Zlatozar N. Boev (1995). "Middle Villafranchian Birds from Varshets (Western Balkan Range-Bulgaria)". Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg. 181: 259–269.
39. Steven D. Emslie (1995). "A Catastrophic Death Assemblage of a New Species of Cormorant and Other Seabirds from the Late Pliocene of Florida". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 15 (2): 313–330. doi:10.1080/02724634.1995.10011232.
40. Herculano M. F. de Alvarenga (1995). "A Large and Probably Flightless Anhinga from the Miocene of Chile". Courier Forschungsinstitut Senkenberg. 181: 149–161.
41. Walter E. Boles (1995). "A Preliminary Analysis of the Passeriformes from Riversleigh, Northwestern Queensland, Australia, with the description of a New Species of Lyrebird" (PDF). Courier Forschungsinstitut Senkenberg. 181: 163–170.
42. Xue Xiangxu (1995). "Qinornis paleocenica - a Palaeocene Bird Discovered in China". Courier Forschungsinstitut Senkenberg. 181: 89–93.