1996 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 1996.

Arthropods

Newly named crustaceans

Prehistoric crustaceans described in 1996
Name Status Authors Age Unit Location Notes Images Cancer (Metacarcinus) starri[2] Valid Berglund Goedert Early Miocene Clallam & Pysht Formations  USA A crab

Newly named insects

Prehistoric insects described in 1996
Name Novelty Status Authors Age Unit Location Notes Images Burmomyrma rossi[3] Gen et sp. nov Valid Dlussky Late Aptian to Early Cenomanian Burmese amber  Myanmar A possible Aneuretin ant Burmomyrma rossi Haidomyrmex cerberus[4] Gen et sp. nov Valid Dlussky Late Aptian to Early Cenomanian Burmese amber  Myanmar A Sphecomyrmin ant Haidomyrmex cerberus

Amphibians

Temnospondyls

Name	Status	Authors		Notes
Tatrasuchus[5]	Valid	Maryańska & Shishkin

Plesiosaurs

New taxa

Name Status Authors Notes Pachycostasaurus Valid Cruickshank Martill Plesiopleurodon Valid Carpenter Thalassiodracon Valid Storrs Taylor

Dinosaurs

• In the summer excavation resumed on the Talkeetna Mountains Hadrosaur, discovered in a quarry near the Glenn Highway, approximately 150 miles northeast of Anchorage.^[6]

Newly named dinosaurs

Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.^[7]

Name	Status	Authors		Notes	Images
"Angaturama'"[8]	Junior synonym of Irritator	Kellner	Campos
Bagaraatan[9]	Valid taxon	Halszka Osmólska
Deltadromeus[10]	Valid taxon	Paul Sereno Duthiel Iarochene Larsson	Lyon Magwene Sidor Varricchio Jeffrey A. Wilson.		Deltadromeus
Gasparinisaura[11]	Valid taxon	Rodolfo Coria	Salgado		Gasparinisaura
Irritator[12]	Valid taxon	Martill Cruickshank Frey	Small M. Clarke		Irritator
Ligabueino[13]	Valid taxon	Jose Bonaparte
"Jensenosaurus"[14]	Junior synonym of Supersaurus	George Olshevsky vide: B. D. Curtice Stadtman	L. J. Curtice,		Supersaurus
"Luanpingosaurus"	Junior synonym of Psittacosaurus	Cheng Zhengwu vide: Chen P. Cheng Zhengwu	et al.
"Magulodon"[15]	Nomen nudum	Kranz Cheng Zhengwu	et al.
Neovenator[16]	Valid taxon	Hutt Martill	Barker		Neovenator
Parvicursor[17]	Valid taxon	Karhu	Rautian
Patagonykus[18]	Valid taxon	Novas
Pawpawsaurus[19]	Valid taxon	Lee
Pellegrinisaurus[20]	Valid taxon	Salgado
Qinlingosaurus[21]	Valid taxon	Xue Zhang Y. X. Bi	Yue Chen D.
Rayososaurus[13]	Valid taxon	Jose Bonaparte
Shanyangosaurus[21]	Valid taxon	Xue Zhang Y. X. Bi	Yue Chen D.
Siamotyrannus[22]	Valid taxon	Buffetaut Suteethorn	Tong
Sigilmassasaurus[23]	Valid taxon	Dale A. Russell
Sinosauropteryx[24]	Valid taxon	Ji Q.	Ji S.		Sinosauropteryx

Birds

Newly named birds

Name	Novelt	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Anas ganii [25]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Nikolay I. Burchak-Abramovich K. L. Sushpanov A. L. David	Late Early Pleistocene		Moldova	An Anatidae.
Anas marecula [26]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Storrs L. Olson Pierre Jouventin	Holocene	Amsterdam Island	French Southern and Antarctic Lands	An Anatidae.
Anhinga fraileyi [27]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Kenneth E. Campbell, jr.	Late Miocene	Huayquerian	Peru	An Anhingidae.
"Branta" minor [28]	Valid	Eugen Kessler Erika Gal	Late Miocene	MN 9	Moldova	An Aves Incertae Sedis, it is not an Anatidae.
Copepteryx hexeris [29]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Storrs L. Olson Yoshikazu Hasegawa	Late Oligocene	Ainoshima Formation	Japan	A Pelecaniformes, Plotopteridae Howard, 1969, this is the type species of the new genus.
Copepteryx titan [29]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Storrs L. Olson Yoshikazu Hasegawa	Late Oligocene	Ainoshima Formation	Japan	A Pelecaniformes, Plotopteridae Howard, 1969.
Eoalulavis hoyasi [30]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	José L. Sanz Luis M. Chiappe Bernardo P. Pérez-Moreno Angela D. Buscaliono José J. Moratalla Francisco Ortega Francisco J. Poyato-Ariza	Early Cretaceous	Neocomian	Spain:  Castilla-La Mancha	An Ornithothoraces Chiappe & Calvo, 1994, Enantiornithes. Walker, 1981, this is the type species of the new genus.
Nanantius valifanovi [31]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Evgeny N. Kurochkin	Late Cretaceous	Late Campanian	Mongolia	An Enantiornithes Walker, 1981, Alexornithidae Brodkorb, 1976, Gobipteryginae Elzanowski, 1974.
Nandayus vorohuensis [32]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Eduardo P. Tonni Jorge Noriega	Late Pliocene	Orohué Formation	Argentina	A Psittacidae.
Otis bessarabicus [28]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Eugen Kessler Erika Gal	Late Miocene	MN 9	Moldova	An Otididae.
Struthio coppensi [33]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Cécile Mourer-Chauviré Brigitte Senut Martin Pickford Pierre Mein	Early Miocene	Karingarab	Namibia	A Struthionidae.
?Tringa grigorescui [28]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Eugen Kessler Erika Gal	Middle Miocene	MN 8	Romania	A Scolopacidae, not sure it is a Tringa.
Vorona berivotrensis [34]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Catharine A. Forster Luis M. Chiappe David W. Krause Scott D. Sampson	Late Cretaceous	Campanian, Maevarano Formation	Madagascar	An Ornithothoraces Chiappe et Calvo, 1994 .

Pterosaurs

New taxa

Name Status Authors Notes Kepodactylus Valid Harris, J.D. Carpenter

Fossil eggs

New ootaxa

Name Status Authors Notes Dispersituberoolithus Valid Zelenitsky et al. Probably laid by a primitive neognath.[35] Gobioolithus Valid Mikhailov Formerly called "Gobipteryx eggs", though they are not presently considered to be eggs of Gobipteryx.[36]

Footnotes

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. Berglund, R.E.; Goedert J.L. (1996). "A new crab (Brachyura: Cancridae) from Lower Miocene rocks of the Northwestern Olympic Peninsula, Washington". Journal of Paleontology. 70 (5): 830–835. JSTOR 1306484.
3. Dlussky, G. M. (1996). "Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Burmese amber" (PDF). Paleontological Journal. 30 (4): 449–454.
4. Barden, P.; Grimaldi, D. (2012). "Rediscovery of the bizarre Cretaceous ant Haidomyrmex Dlussky (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with two new species" (PDF). American Museum Novitates. 3755: 1–16. doi:10.1206/3755.2.
5. Teresa Maryańska; Mikhail A. Shishkin (1996). "New cyclotosaurid (Amphibia: Temnospondyli) from the Middle Triassic of Poland and some problems of interrelationships of capitosauroids". Prace Muzeum Ziemi. 43: 53–83.
6. "Location and Geologic Setting," in Pasche and May (2001); page 220.
7. Olshevsky, George. "Dinogeorge's Dinosaur Genera List". Retrieved 2008-08-07.
8. Kellner, A.W.A., D. de A. Campos. 1996. First Early Cretaceous theropod dinosaur from Brazil with comments on Spinosauridae. Neues Jahrbuch Geol. Palaontol. Abhandlungen Stuttgart 199 (2): pp. 151-166.
9. Osmolska, H. 1996. An unusual theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 41 (1): pp. 1-38.
10. Sereno, P.C.; Dutheil, D.B.; Iarochene, M.; Larsson, H.C.E.; Lyon, G.H.; Magwene, P.M.; Sidor, C.A.; Varricchio, D.J.; Wilson, J.A. (1996). "Predatory dinosaurs from the Sahara and Late Cretaceous faunal differentiation". Science. 272: 986–991. doi:10.1126/science.272.5264.986. PMID 8662584.
11. Coria, R.A. and L. Salgado. 1996. A Basal Iguanodontian (Ornithischia: Ornithopoda) from the Late Cretaceous of South America. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 16 (3): pp. 445-457.
12. Martill, D.M.; Cruickshank, A.R.I.; Frey, E.; Small, P.G.; Clarke, M. (1996). "A new crested maniraptoran dinosaur from the Santana Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of Brazil". J. Geol. Soc. London. 153 (1): 5–8. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.153.1.0005.
13. Bonaparte, J.F. (1996). "Cretaceous tetrapods of Argentina". Münchner Geowissenschaftliche Abhandlungen (A). 30: 73–130.
14. Olshevsky vide Curtice, B.D., K.L. Stadtman, and L.J. Curtice. 1996. A reassessment of Ultrasauros Macintoshi (Jensen, 1985). The continental Jurassic (M. Morales, ed.). Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin 60: pp. 87-95.
15. Kranz, P.M. (1996). "Notes on the Sedimentary Iron Ores of Maryland and their Dinosaurian Fauna". Maryland Geological Survey Special Publication. 3: 87–116.
16. Hutt, S., D.M. Martill, and M.J. Barker. 1996. The first European allosaurid dinosaur (Lower Cretaceous, Wealden Group, England). N. Jb. Geol. Paläont. Mh. 10: pp. 635-644.
17. Karhu, A.A.; Rautian, A.S. (1996). "A new family of Maniraptora (Dinosauria: Saurischia) from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia". Paleontological Journal. 30 (5): 583–592.
18. Novas, F.E. (1996). "Alvarezsauridae, Cretaceous basal birds from Patagonia and Mongolia". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 39 (3): 675–702.
19. Lee, Y.-N. (1996). "A new nodosaurid ankylosaur (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Paw Paw Formation (Late Albian) of Texas". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 16 (2): 232–245. doi:10.1080/02724634.1996.10011311.
20. Salgado, L (1997). "Pellegrinisaurus powelli nov. gen. et. sp. (Sauropoda, Titanosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Lago Pellegrini, Northwestern Patagonia, Argentina". Ameghiniana. 33 (4): 355–365.
21. Xue, X., Y. Zhang, Y. Bi, L. Yue, and D. Chen. 1996. The development and environmental changes of the Intermontane Basins in the eastern part of Qinling Mountains. Geological Publishing House, Beijing: pp. 1-181.
22. Buffetaut, E.; Suteethorn, V.; Tong, H. (1996). "The earliest known tyrannosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Thailand". Nature. 381: 689–691. doi:10.1038/381689a0.
23. Russell, D.A. 1996. Isolated dinosaur bones from the Middle Cretaceous of the Tafilalt, Morocco. Museum Natl. d'Histoire Nat. (Paris) Bull. (ser. 4) 18 (Section C, Nos. 2-3) : pp. 349-402.
24. Ji, Q.; Ji, S.-A. (1996). "On the discovery of the earliest bird fossil in China and the origin of birds". Chinese Geology. 233: 30–33.
25. Nikolay I. Burchak-Abramovich; K. L. Sushpanov; A. L. David (1996). "Новый вид утки рода Anas позднего плиоцена Молдовы [A new species of the genus Anas duck from the Late Pliocene Moldova]". Bul. Acad. Ştiinţe Repub. Moldova. Şt. biol. chim. 1996. №1. С.: 38–42. doi:10.2307/1369501.
26. Storrs L. Olson; Pierre Jouventin (1996). "A New Species of Small Flightless Duck from Amsterdam Island, Southern Indian Ocean (Anatidae: Anas)" (PDF). The Condor. 98 (1): 1–9. doi:10.2307/1369501.
27. Kenneth E. Campbell, jr. (1996). "A New Species of Giant Anhinga (Aves: Pelecaniformes: Anhingidae) from the Upper Miocene (Huyquerian) of Amazonian Peru" (PDF). Museum of Natural History of Los Angeles County, Contributions in Science. 460: 1–9.
28. Eugen Kessler; Erika Gal (1996). "New Taxa in the Neogene Bird Fauna from Eastern Paratethys". Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai Studia Biologica. 41: 73–79.
29. Storrs L. Olson; Yoshikazu Hasegawa (1996). "A New Genus and Two New Species of Gigantic Plotopteridae from Japan (Aves: Pelecaniformes)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 16 (4): 742–751. doi:10.1080/02724634.1996.10011362.
30. José L. Sanz; Luis M. Chiappe; Bernardo P. Pérez-Moreno; Angela D. Buscaliono; José J. Moratalla; Francisco Ortega; Francisco J. Poyato-Ariza (1996). "An Early Cretaceous Bird from Spain and Its Implications for the Evolution of Avian Flight" (PDF). Nature. 382: 442–445. doi:10.1038/382442a0.
31. Evgeny N. Kurochkin (1996). "A New Enantiornithid of the Mongolian Late Cretaceous, and a General Appraisal of the Infraclass Enantiornithes". Palaeontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moskou, Special Issue. 1996: 1–60.
32. Eduardo P. Tonni; Jorge Noriega (1996). "Uno Nova Especie de Nandayus Bonaparte, 1854. (Aves: Psittaciformes) del Plioceno Tardio de Argentina". Revista Chilena de Historia Natural. 69: 97–104.
33. Cécile Mourer-Chauviré; Brigitte Senut; Martin Pickford; Pierre Mein (1996). "Le Plus Ancien Représentant de Genre Struthio (Aves, Struthionidae), Struthio coppensi n. sp. du Miocène Inférieur de Namibie". Académie des Sciences, Comptes Rendus, ser. 2A. 322 (1): 325–332.
34. Catharine A. Forster; Luis M. Chiappe; David W. Krause; Scott D. Sampson (1996). "The First Cretaceous Bird from Madagascar". Nature. 382: 532–534. doi:10.1038/382532a0.
35. Zelenitsky, D. K.; Hills, L. V.; Currie, P. J. (1996). "Parataxonomic classification of ornithoid eggshell fragments from the Oldman Formation (Judith River Group; Upper Cretaceous), southern Alberta". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 33: 1655–1667. doi:10.1139/e96-126.
36. Mikhailov, Konstantin (1996). "Bird Eggs in the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia". Paleontological Journal. 30 (1): 114–116.

References

• Pasch, A. D., K. C. May. 2001. Taphonomy and paleoenvironment of hadrosaur (Dinosauria) from the Matanuska Formation (Turonian) in South-Central Alaska. In: Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Ed.s Tanke, D. H., Carpenter, K., Skrepnick, M. W. Indiana University Press. Pages 219-236.