2009 in paleontology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 2009.
Arthropods
Cephalopods
Three new species of extinct Octopoda discovered in 2009. The species – Keuppia hyperbolaris, Keuppia levante, and Styletoctopus annae – lived about 95 million years ago, and bear a strong resemblance to modern octopuses, suggesting that the Octopoda order has remained relatively unchanged for tens of millions of years. The fossils included evidence of arms, muscles, rows of suckers, ink, and internal gills. The discovery was made by a team led by Dirk Fuchs of the Freie University, which is located at Berlin, Germany.[2] The fossils were found at Hakel and Hadjoula, Lebanon.[3] Various new ammonoid taxa were named, including Ivoites.
| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Fuchs, Bracchi, & Weis |
Upper Cenomanian |
 | ||||
|
gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Fuchs, Bracchi, & Weis |
Upper Cenomanian |
|||||
|
Ivoites[5] |
gen nov |
Valid |
De Baets, Klug, & Korn |
|||||
Cartilaginous fish
| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Gen. et sp. nov |
Valid |
Wang et al. |
Late Permian |
Fangshankou Formation |
A member of Hybodontoidea. Genus includes new species G. tungshengi. |
|||
|
Papilionichthys[7] |
Gen. et sp. nov |
Valid |
|
A member of Iniopterygidae. The type species is P. stahlae. |
||||
|
Rainerichthys[7] |
Gen. et sp. nov |
Valid |
|
A member of Iniopterygidae. The type species is R. zangerli. |
||||
Bony fish
| Name | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aphanius yerevanicus[8] |
Valid |
|
Late Miocene |
A pupfish, a species of Aphanius. | |||
| Carpathoserranoides[9] |
Valid |
|
A member of Percoidei. The type species is C. brnoensis; genus also includes C. polonicus. | ||||
| Caucasoserranoides[9] |
Valid |
|
A member of Percoidei. The type species is C. morozkiensis. | ||||
| Eophryne[10] |
Valid |
|
Eocene (late Ypresian) |
Monte Bolca locality |
A frogfish. The type species is Eophryne barbutii. | ||
| Gogosardina[11] |
Valid |
|
Late Devonian |
An early ray-finned fish. Genus includes new species G. coatesi. | |||
| Heddleichthys[12] |
Valid |
|
Famennian (Late Devonian) |
Dura Den Formation |
|||
| Hendrixella[13] |
Valid |
|
Eocene (late Ypresian) |
Monte Bolca locality |
A member of Percoidei of uncertain phylogenetic placement. The type species is Hendrixella grandei. | ||
| Langlieria[14] |
Valid |
|
Famennian (Late Devonian) |
Evieux Formation |
|||
| Oligoserranoides[9] |
Valid |
|
Abkhazia |
A member of Percoidei. The type species is "Smerdis" budensis Heckel (1856); genus also includes "Serranus" comparabilis Daniltshenko (1960). | |||
| Ridewoodichthys[15] |
Valid |
|
Early Paleocene |
An arowana; a new genus for "Brychaetus" caheni Taverne (1969). | |||
| Ungarnia[9] |
Valid |
|
A member of Percoidei. The type species is "Serranus" transsylvanicus Bohm (1942). | ||||
- Shimada, K.; Everhart, M.J. (2009). "First record of Anomoeodus (Osteichthyes: Pycnodontiformes) from the Upper Cretaceous Niobrara Chalk of western Kansas". Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. 112 (1/2): 98–102. doi:10.1660/062.112.0212. S2CID 83951062.
Amphibians
Newly named amphibians
| Name | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Valid |
|
Late Carboniferous |
|||||
|
Valid |
|
Lower Cretaceous |
Possible stem neobatrachian |
||||
|
Valid |
|
Lower Cretaceous |
A hyloid | ||||
|
Valid |
|
The smallest known ostodolepid microsaur | |||||
|
Valid |
|
Turonian |
|||||
|
Valid |
|
Early Cretaceous |
A cryptobranchoid salamander | ||||
|
Valid |
|
Early Permian |
|||||
Basal reptiles
Newly named basal reptiles
| Name | Status | Authors | Discovery year | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Valid |
|
A basal parareptile | ||||||
|
Valid |
|
early Late Olenekian |
Czatkowice 1 |
|||||
Turtles
Newly named turtles
| Name | Status | Authors | Discovery year | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Valid |
|
Turonian (Late Cretaceous) |
||||||
|
Valid |
|
Late Cretaceous |
||||||
|
Valid |
|
Late Jurassic/Lower Cretaceous |
||||||
|
Valid |
|
Paleocene |
|
New genus for "Plesiobaena" putorius Gaffney, 1972 | ||||
|
Valid |
|
Holocene |
A tortoise. | |||||
|
Valid |
|
A basal member of Testudinata. The type species is C. tenertesta. The genus Chinlechelys was considered to be a junior synonym of the genus Proganochelys by Joyce (2017), though the author maintained C. tenertesta as a distinct species within the latter genus.[30] | ||||||
|
Junior synonym |
|
Early Paleocene |
|
Junior synonym of Hutchemys.[32] | ||||
|
Valid |
|
Middle Jurassic |
||||||
|
Valid |
|
Paleocene |
|
A plastomenine softshell turtles | ||||
|
Valid |
Late Cretaceous |
|||||||
|
Valid |
|
Maastrichtian |
|
A baenid | ||||
|
Valid |
|
Late Cretaceous |
|
A baenid | ||||
|
Junior synonym |
|
Early Paleocene |
|
Junior synonym of Hutchemys.[32] | ||||
Archosauromorphs
Basal archosauromorphs
| Newly named basal archosauromorphs | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
|
Valid |
|
earliest Late Olenekian |
Czatkowice 1 |
A long−necked archosauromorph |
|||
Archosaurs
Lepidosauromorphs
Basal lepidosauromorphs
| Newly named basal lepidosauromorphs | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
|
Valid |
Early Olenekian |
Czatkowice 1 |
A basal kuehneosaurid |
||||
|
Valid |
|
earliest Late Olenekian |
Czatkowice 1 |
A basal lepidosauromorph | |||
Plesiosaurs
- In 2009, in Svalbard, Norway a new pliosaur was found by Jorn Hurum. It currently is codenamed as "Predator X."
- O'Keefe, F. R.; Street, H. P. (2009). "Osteology of the cryptocleidoid plesiosaur Tatenectes laramiensis, with comments on the taxonomic status of the Cimoliasauridae". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 29 (1): 48–57. Bibcode:2009JVPal..29...48O. doi:10.1671/039.029.0118. S2CID 31924376.
| Newly named plesiosaurs | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
|
Valid |
|
Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) |
 | ||||
|
Valid |
|
Early Cretaceous (Albian) |
Replacement name for Nichollsia Druckenmiller & Russell, 2008, preoccupied by an isopod genus Nichollsia Chopra & Tiwari, 1950 |
 | |||
|
Disputed |
|
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) |
A member of Polycotylidae. The type species is R. singularis. | ||||
Squamates
| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sp. nov |
Valid |
Schulp, Bardet & Bouya |
A mosasaur. |
|||||
|
Gen. et sp. nov |
Valid |
Head et al. |
Paleocene |
Cerrejón Formation |
In February, the fossils of 28 individual T. cerrejonensis (Titanoboas) were announced to have been found in the coal mines of Cerrejón, La Guajira, Colombia.[45] |
|||
Synapsids
Non-mammalian
| Name | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Valid |
|
Middle Triassic (Ladinian) |
|||||
|
Valid |
|
Middle Permian (Roadian) |
.jpg) | ||||
|
Valid |
|
Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) |
Mammals
Plants
Relevant research in other sciences
Evolutionary biology
- A study is published that proposes that females from certain taxa use ornaments as a criterion for mate choice because other dimorphic structures, like biological "weaponry" could be used to coerce or force them to mate.[50]
- A study concludes that biotic factors have more pronounced local and short term evolutionary impacts than abiotic factors, which in turn have a more pronounced effect through time and on biodiversity as a whole.[51]
Extinction
A study noting the effects of the KT mass extinction on Earth's modern biota is published.[52]
Geology
- Zhang, H.; Wei, Z.-L.; Liu, X.-M.; Li, D. (2009). "Constraints on the age of the Tuchengzi Formation by LA-ICP-MS dating in northern Hebei-western Liaoning, China". Science China Earth Sciences. 52 (4): 461–470. Bibcode:2009ScChD..52..461Z. doi:10.1007/s11430-009-0052-9. S2CID 129751106.
Ichnology
- Bedatou, E.; Melchor, R.N.; Genise, J.F. (2009). "Complex palaeosol ichnofabrics from Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous volcaniclastic successions of central Patagonia, Argentina". Sedimentary Geology. 218 (1–4): 74–102. Bibcode:2009SedG..218...74B. doi:10.1016/j.sedgeo.2009.04.005.
Paleobiogeography
- Pereda-Suberbiola X (2009). "Biogeographical affinities of Late Cretaceous continental tetrapods of Europe: a review". Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France. 180 (1): 57–71. doi:10.2113/gssgfbull.180.1.57.
Paleoecology
- Nicolas M., Rubidge B.S. (2009). "Changes in Permo-Triassic terrestrial tetrapod ecological representation in the Beaufort Group (Karoo Supergroup) of South Africa". Lethaia. 43: 45–59. doi:10.1111/j.1502-3931.2009.00171.x.