1959 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 1959.

Arthropods

Newly named insects

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Penthetria? fryi[2]	Sp nov	valid	Rice	Ypresian	Driftwood Shales	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly	Penthetria (?) fryi
Penthetria whipsawensis[2]	Sp nov	valid	Rice	Ypresian	Allenby Formation	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly	Penthetria whipsawensis
Plecia angustipennis[2]	Comb nov	valid	(Handlirsch)	Ypresian	"Horsefly Shales"	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly Moved from Penthetria angustipennis (1910)[3]	Plecia angustipennis
Plecia avus[2]	Comb nov	valid	(Handlirsch)	Ypresian	Allenby Formation	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly Moved from Penthetria avus (1910)[3]	Plecia avus
Plecia cairnesi[2]	Sp nov	valid	Rice	Ypresian	Driftwood Shales	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly	Plecia cairnesi
Plecia canadensis[2]	Comb nov	valid	(Handlirsch)	Ypresian	Allenby Formation	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly Moved from Penthetria canadensis (1910)[3]	Plecia canadensis
Plecia curtula[2]	Comb and syn nov	valid	(Handlirsch)	Ypresian	"Horsefly Shales"	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly Moved from Penthetria curtula (1910)[3] Senior synonym of Penthetria avunculus (1910)[2]	Plecia curtula
Plecia dilatata[2]	Comb nov	valid	(Handlirsch)	Ypresian	"Horsefly Shales"	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly Moved from Penthetria dilatata (1910)[3]	Plecia dilatata
Plecia elatior[2]	Comb nov	valid	(Handlirsch)	Ypresian	Allenby Formation	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly Moved from Penthetria elatior (1910)[3]	Plecia elatior
Plecia intermedia[2]	Comb nov	jr synonym	(Scudder)	Priabonian	Florissant Formation	United States Colorado	A bibionid fly Moved from Mycetophaetus intermedius (1892)[4] Moved to Penthetria intermedia (1999)[5]
Plecia kelownaensis[2]	Sp nov	valid	Rice	Ypresian	Coldwater Beds	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly	Plecia kelownaensis
Plecia minutula[2]	Sp nov	valid	Rice	Ypresian	Allenby Formation	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly	Plecia minutula
Plecia nana[2]	Comb nov	valid	(Handlirsch)	Ypresian	Allenby Formation	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly Moved from Penthetria nana (1910)[3]	Plecia nana
Plecia pictipennis[2]	Comb and syn nov	valid	(Handlirsch)	Ypresian	Allenby Formation	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly Moved from Penthetria pictipennis (1910)[3] Senior synonym of Penthetria lambei, Pe. ovalis, & Pe. separanda (1910)[2]	Plecia pictipennis
Plecia platyptera[2]	Comb nov	valid	(Handlirsch)	Ypresian	"Horsefly Shales"	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly Moved from Penthetria platyptera (1910)[3]	Plecia platyptera
Plecia pulchra[2]	Comb nov	valid	(Handlirsch)	Ypresian	Allenby Formation	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly Moved from Penthetria pulchra (1910)[3]	Plecia pulchra
Plecia pulla[2]	Comb and syn nov	valid	(Handlirsch)	Ypresian	Allenby Formation	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly Moved from Penthetria pulla (1910)[3] Senior synonym of Penthetria brevipes (1910)[2]	Plecia pulla
Plecia reducta[2]	Comb nov	valid	(Handlirsch)	Ypresian	"Horsefly Shales"	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly Moved from Penthetria reducta (1910)[3]	Plecia reducta
Plecia transitoria[2]	Comb and syn nov	valid	(Handlirsch)	Ypresian	"Horsefly Shales"	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly Moved from Penthetria transitoria (1910)[3] Senior synonym of Penthetria falcatula & Pe. fragmentum (1910)[2]	Plecia transitoria
Plecia tulameenensis[2]	Sp nov	valid	Rice	Ypresian	Allenby Formation	Canada British Columbia	A bibionid fly	Plecia tulameenensis

Conodonts

German paleontologist Klaus J. Müller (1923-2010) described the conodont family Westergaardodinidae.^[6]

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Dollymae[7]		valid	Hass	Carboniferous			Type species D. sagittula
Furnishina[6]	Gen et sp nov.	valid	Müller	Cambrian			Type species F. furnishi
Hertzina[6]		valid	Müller	Cambrian			Type species H. bisulcata
Westergaardodina[6]	Gen et sp nov	valid	Müller	Cambrian			Type species W. bicuspidata

Archosauromorphs

Incertae sedis

Name	Status	Authors		Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Palaeosauriscus[8]	Junior synonym	Kuhn		Late Triassic			Junior synonym of Palaeosaurus.

Newly named pseudosuchians

Name	Status	Authors		Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Clarencea[9]	Junior synonym	Brink		Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian)

Newly named dinosaurs

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

Name	Status	Authors		Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Chialingosaurus[11]	Valid taxon.	Yang Zhongjian (as Young C. C.)		Late Jurassic (Bathonian-Callovian)		China	A stegosaur.	Chialingosaurus
Pachysauriscus[8]	Disputed	Kuhn		Late Triassic (Norian)			Possible junior synonym of Plateosaurus.

Plesiosaurs

Newly named Plesiosaurs

Name Status Authors Age Unit Location Notes Stretosaurus Nomen dubium Tarlo Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) A dubious pliosaurid belonging to Thalassophonea.

Birds

Newly named birds

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Anthropodyptes [12]	Gen. et Sp. nov.	valid	Simpson	Middle Miocene, Balcombian Stage		Australia	A Spheniscidae, type species A. gilli
Bathoceleus [13]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	valid	Brodkorb	Pleistocene-Late Holocene	Banana Hole, New Providence Island	Bahamas	A Picidae, type species B. hyphalus.
Burhinus nanus [13]	Sp. nov.	valid	Brodkorb	Pleistocene-Late Holocene	Banana Hole, New Providence Island	Bahamas	A Burhinidae.
Caracara creightoni [13]	Sp. nov.	valid	Brodkorb	Pleistocene	Banana Hole, New Providence Island	Bahamas	A Falconidae.
Colinus suilium [14]	Sp. nov.	valid	Brodkorb	Middle Pleistocene	Reddics beds, Arredondo clay	USA Florida	An Odontophoridae.
Cremaster tytthus [14]	Gen. et Sp. nov.	valid	Brodkorb	Middle Pleistocene	Arredondo clay	USA Florida	An Icteridae, type species C. tytthus.
Henocitta [15]	Gen. et Sp. nov.	valid	Holman	Pleistocene	Arredondo clay	USA Florida	A Corvidae, type species H. brodkorbi.
Falco readei [14]	Sp. nov.	synonym	Brodkorb	Pleistocene	Arredondo clay	USA Florida	A Falconidae, moved to Milvago readei.
Pliogyps [16]	Gen. et Sp. nov.	valid	Tordoff	Pliocene	Rexroad Formation	USA Kansas	A Cathartidae, type species P. fisheri
Coltonia recurvirostra [17]	Sp. nov.	synonym	Hardy	Early Eocene	Colton Formation	USA Utah	A Presbyornithidae, moved to Presbyornis recurvirostrus.

Pterosaurs

New taxa

Name	Status	Authors		Age	Unit	Location	Notes
Titanopteryx	Preoccupied	Arambourg		Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)	Phosphate deposits	Israel Senegal USA ( New Jersey)	Later renamed Arambourgiana Nesov, Kanznyshkina, and Cherepanov, 1987