1840 in paleontology

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Paleontology or palaeontology 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 1840.

Arthropods[edit]

Crustaceans[edit]

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Alvis^[2]	Gen. et. sp. nov.	Jr synonym	Münster	Jurassic	Solnhofen Limestone	Germany	Type species is A. octopus, initially described as an isopod, now a junior synonym of Pseudastacus.^[3]
Norna^[2]	Gen. et. sp. nov.	Valid	Münster	Jurassic	Solnhofen Limestone	Germany	A peracarid initially described as an isopod, type species is N. lithophila.^[3]
Sculda^[2]	Gen. et. sp. nov.	Valid	Münster	Late Jurassic (Tithonian)	Solnhofen Limestone	Germany	A mantis shrimp initially described as an isopod, type species is S. pennata.	Sculda
Urda^[2]	Gen. et. sp. nov.	Valid	Münster	Jurassic - Cretaceous		Germany	An isopod, species named include U. rostrata, U. decorata, U. cincta & U. elongata.

Anapsids[edit]

Newly named anapsids[edit]

Name	Status	Authors		Age	Unit	Location	Notes
Palaeosaurus	Preoccupied	Fitzinger		Early Permian	Unnamed unit (coal deposits)	Czech Republic	Preoccupied by a non-dinosaurian archosaur named by Geoffroy Saint-Hilare in 1833. Renamed Sphenosaurus. A procolophonid.

Archosauromorphs[edit]

Newly named basal archosauromorphs[edit]

Name	Status	Authors		Age	Unit	Location	Notes
Paleosaurus	Nomen dubium	Riley	Stutchbury	Late Triassic (?Rhaetian)	Magnesian Conglomerate	England	An archosaur of unknown affinities

Newly named dinosaurs[edit]

Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.^[4]

Name	Status	Authors		Notes
Hylosaurus^[5]	Jr. synonym	Fitzinger		Junior synonym of Hylaeosaurus.
Therosaurus^[5]	Valid	Fitzinger		An iguanodont. New name for "Iguanodon" mantelli von Meyer (1832) (=Iguanodon anglicus Holl (1829)).

Plesiosaurs[edit]

Newly named plesiosaurs[edit]

Name	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes
Plesiosaurus arcuatus	Valid	Owen	Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian)	Blue Lias	United Kingdom	A rhomaleosaurid.
Plesiosaurus brachyspondylus	Valid	Owen	Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian)	Kimmeridge Clay Formation	United Kingdom	A thalassophonean pliosaurid.
Plesiosaurus hawkinsii	Valid	Owen	Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian)	Blue Lias	United Kingdom	A pliosaurid.
Plesiosaurus rugosus	Valid	Owen	Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian)	Blue Lias	United Kingdom	A microcleidid.
Plesiosaurus trochantericus	Valid	Owen	Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian)	Kimmeridge Clay Formation	United Kingdom	A cryptoclidid.

Mammals[edit]

Newly named cetaceans[edit]

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors		Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Squalodon^[6]	Gen. nov.	Valid	Grateloup		Early Miocene (Burdigalian)	Unnamed unit	France	A squalodontid.	Squalodon

References[edit]

^ 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.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Münster, G (1840). "Ueber einige Isopoden in den Kalkschiefern von Bayern" (PDF). Beiträge zur Petrefactenkunde (in German). 3: 19–23.
^ ^a ^b Moore, R. C.; Brooks, H. K.; Glaessner, M. F.; Rolfe, W. D. Ian; Manning, Raymond B.; Holthuis, L. B.; Hessler, Robert R. (1969-01-01). "Part R, Arthropoda 4, vol. 1 & 2, ch. 4, p. 295-566". Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. doi:10.17161/dt.v0i0.5629. ISSN 2153-621X.
^ Olshevsky, George. "Dinogeorge's Dinosaur Genera List". Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
^ ^a ^b Fitzinger, L.J. 1840. Über Palaeosaurus sternbergii, eine neue Gattung vorweltlicher Reptilien und die Stellung dieser Thiere im Systeme überhaupt. Wiener Mus. Annalen II: pp. 175-187 + plate XI.
^ Grateloup, Jean-Pierre Silvestre de (1840). Description d'un fragment de machoire fossile d'un genre nouveau de reptile (saurien) : de taille gigantesque voison de l'iguanodon, trouvé dans les grès marins à Léognan près Bordeaux (Gironde) (1840) (in French). [S.l: s.n.]

[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.

[:0-2] Münster, G (1840). "Ueber einige Isopoden in den Kalkschiefern von Bayern" (PDF). Beiträge zur Petrefactenkunde (in German). 3: 19–23.

[:1-3] Moore, R. C.; Brooks, H. K.; Glaessner, M. F.; Rolfe, W. D. Ian; Manning, Raymond B.; Holthuis, L. B.; Hessler, Robert R. (1969-01-01). "Part R, Arthropoda 4, vol. 1 & 2, ch. 4, p. 295-566". Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. doi:10.17161/dt.v0i0.5629. ISSN 2153-621X.

[ddinogeorge-4] Olshevsky, George. "Dinogeorge's Dinosaur Genera List". Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2008-08-07.

[fitzinger1840-5] Fitzinger, L.J. 1840. Über Palaeosaurus sternbergii, eine neue Gattung vorweltlicher Reptilien und die Stellung dieser Thiere im Systeme überhaupt. Wiener Mus. Annalen II: pp. 175-187 + plate XI.

[6] Grateloup, Jean-Pierre Silvestre de (1840). Description d'un fragment de machoire fossile d'un genre nouveau de reptile (saurien) : de taille gigantesque voison de l'iguanodon, trouvé dans les grès marins à Léognan près Bordeaux (Gironde) (1840) (in French). [S.l: s.n.]

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