1944 in paleontology

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 1944.

Plants

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Type locality	Location	Notes	Images
Cornus republicensis[2]	Nom nov	jr synonym	LaMotte	Ypresian	Tom Thumb Tuff Klondike Mountain Formation	USA Washington	A replacement name for Cornus acuminata Berry, 1929 Moved to Schoepfia republicensis in 1987	Schoepfia republicensis

Arthropods

Newly named crustaceans

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Type locality	Location	Notes	Images
Palaeophoberus portlandicus[3]	Sp nov	Valid	Roger & Lapparent	Late Jurassic (Tithonian)	Hannaches	France	A stenochirid

Conodonts

Name	Status	Authors		Location	Images
Siphonodella[4]	valid	Edward Branson Maurice Mehl		Austria China Germany Russia USA ( Virginia)

Dinosaurs

• The only known fossils of Poekilopleuron are destroyed during the Allied liberation of Normandy.^[5]

Newly named dinosaurs

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

Name	Status	Authors		Location	Notes	Images
Sanpasaurus[7]	Nomen dubium.	Yang Z. J. (as Young C. C.)		China	It has been argued that his remains were ornithopods or sauropods. They are now the remains of a sauropod.

Plesiosaurs

New taxa

Name Status Authors Location Notes Sinopliosaurus Valid Young China