1999 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 1999.

List of years in paleontology (table)
… 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 …
In paleobotany 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 In arthropod paleontology 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 In paleoentomology 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 In paleomalacology 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 In reptile paleontology 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 In archosaur paleontology 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 In mammal paleontology 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 In paleoichthyology 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
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Flora

Ferns and fern allies

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Type locality	Location	Notes	Images
Makotopteris[2]	Gen et sp nov	valid	Stockey, Nishida, & Rothwell	Eocene Ypresian	Eocene Okanagan Highlands Allenby Formation Princeton Chert	Canada  British Columbia	An athyriaceous fern The type species is M. princetonensis

Cycads

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Type locality	Location	Notes	Images
Eostangeria pseudopteris[3]	Sp nov	valid	Kvaček & Manchester	Late Paleocene	upper Fort Union Formation or lower Wasatch Formation	USA  Wyoming	An eostangerioid zamiaceous cycad. Also found in the Eocene John Day Formation of Oregon.

Angiosperms

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Type locality	Location	Notes	Images
Florissantia sikhote-alinensis[4]	comb nov	valid	(Kryshtofovich) Manchester	Miocene	Amgu flora	Russia  Primorsky Krai	A mallow relative, moved from Porana sikhote-alinensis (1921)
Quercus hiholensis[5]	Sp nov	Valid	Borgardt & Pigg	Middle Miocene	"Yakima Canyon Flora"	USA	A white oak, permineralized acorns	†Quercus hiholensis
Sargentodoxa globosa[4]	Comb nov	valid	(Manchester) Manchester	Middle Eocene	Clarno Formation	USA  Oregon	A lardizabalaceous species; New comb for Bumelia? globosa (1994)[4]

Arthropods

Insects

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Cephalotes alveolatus[6]	Comb nov	Valid	(Vierbergen & Scheven)	Burdigalian	Dominican amber	Dominican Republic	A myrmicinae ant, Moved from Zacryptocerus alveolatus (1995)	Cephalotes alveolatus
Cephalotes caribicus[6]	Sp nov	Valid	De Andrade & Baroni Urbani	Burdigalian	Dominican amber	Dominican Republic	A myrmicinae ant.	Cephalotes caribicus
Cephalotes dieteri[6]	Sp nov	Valid	De Andrade & Baroni Urbani	Burdigalian	Dominican amber	Dominican Republic	A myrmicinae ant.	Cephalotes dieteri
Cephalotes hispaniolicus[6]	Sp nov	Valid	De Andrade & Baroni Urbani	Burdigalian	Dominican amber	Dominican Republic	A myrmicinae ant.	Cephalotes hispaniolicus
Cephalotes serratus[6]	Comb nov	valid	(Vierbergen & Scheven, 1995)	Burdigalian	Dominican amber	Dominican Republic	A myrmicinae ant, moved from Exocryptocerus serratus (1995)[7]	Cephalotes serratus
Camponotus crozei[8]	Sp nov	Valid	Riou	Turolian	Montagne d'Andance	France	A formicine ant.	Camponotus crozei
Electrostephanus neovenatus[9]	Sp nov	valid	Aguiar & Janzen	Lutetian	Baltic Amber	Europe	A stephanid wasp
Electrostephanus sulcatus[9]	Sp nov	jr synonym	Aguiar & Janzen	Lutetian	Baltic Amber	Europe	A stephanid wasp, Moved to Denaeostephanus sulcatus
Neoephemera antiqua[10]	sp. nov	valid	Sinitchenkova	Ypresian	Klondike Mountain Formation	USA	A neoephemerid mayfly	Neoephemera antiqua
Pachycondyla rebekkae[11]	sp. nov	valid	Rust & Andersen	Ypresian	Fur Formation	Denmark	A Myrmeciinae ant moved to Ypresiomyrma rebekkae (2006)[12]	Pachycondyla rebekkae
Penthetria intermedia[13]	Comb nov	valid	(Scudder)	Priabonian	Florissant Formation	United States  Colorado	A bibionid fly Originally Mycetophaetus intermedius (1892)[14] Moved from Plecia intermedia (1959)[15]

Mollusca

Newly named bivalves

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Concavodonta ovalis[16]	sp nov	Valid	Sánchez	Caradoc	Don Braulio Formation	Argentina	third species in the genus
Concavodontinae[16]	subfam nov	Valid	Sánchez	Ordovician			one of two Subfamilies in Praenuculidae
Cuyopsis[16]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Sánchez	Caradoc	Don Braulio Formation	Argentina	Monotypic with the species C. symmetricus
Emiliania[16]	Gen et sp nov	homonym	Sánchez	Caradoc	Don Braulio Formation	Argentina	genus name preoccupied by Emiliania Hay & Mohler, 1967, renamed to Emiliodonta
Hemiconcavodonta[16]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Sánchez	Caradoc	Don Braulio Formation	Argentina	third genus in the subfamily Concavodontinae
Praenuculinae[16]	subfam nov	Valid	Sánchez	Ordovician			one of two Subfamilies in Praenuculidae
Similodonta ceryx[17]	Sp nov	Valid	Cope	Middle Ordovician	Gilfach Farm No. 1 Borehole	Wales	oldest species in the genus Similodonta
Trigonoconcha[16]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Sánchez	Caradoc	Don Braulio Formation	Argentina	Monotypic with the species T. acuta
Villicumia[16]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Sánchez	Caradoc	Don Braulio Formation	Argentina	Monotypic with the species V. canteraensis

Fish

Newly named actinopterygii ("ray-finned fish")

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Nardovelifer[18]	gen et sp nov	Valid	C. Sorbini & L. Sorbini	Campanian	Nardo	Italy		Nardovelifer altipinnis

Reptiles

Archosauromorphs

• Ornithomimid gastroliths documented.^[19]

Newly named dinosauriforms

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Eucoelophysis[20]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Sullivan & Lucas	Norian	Chinle Formation, New Mexico	USA	Sister genus to the Dinosaurs; first identified as a relative of coelophysid.

Newly named dinosaurs

Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.^[21]

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Achillobator[22]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Perle, Norell, & Clark	Late Cretaceous	Bayan Shireh Formation	Mongolia	A large dromaeosaurid.	Achillobator
Agustinia[23]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Bonaparte	Albian	Lohan Cura Formation	Argentina	An armored sauropod	Agustinia
"Airakoraptor"[22]	gen nov	Nomen nudum	Perle, Norell, & Clark			Mongolia	A dromaeosaurid, now Kuru kulla, which was later described in 2021.
Animantarx[24]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Carpenter, Kirkland, Burge, & Bird	Late Cretaceous	Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah	USA	Nodosaur whose name means "living citadel."	Animantarx ramaljonesi
"Archaeoraptor"[25]		Hoax	Stephen Czerkas vide:C. P. Sloan vide:Olson				Chimera of Yanornis and Microraptor.
Atlasaurus[26]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Monbaron, Russell, & Taquet	Middle Jurassic	Tiougguit Formation	Morocco	A primitive sauropod
Beipiaosaurus[27]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Xu, Tang, & Wang	Early Cretaceous	Yixian Formation	China	A therizinosaur	Beipiaosaurus
"Bilbeyhallorum"[28]		Nomen nudum	Burge, Bird, McClelland, & Cicconetti	Aptian	Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah	USA	informal name for Cedarpelta.
Cedarosaurus[29]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Tidwell, Carpenter, & Brooks	Barremian	Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah	USA	A sauropod.
Chaoyangsaurus[30]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Zhao, Cheng, & Xu	Late Jurassic	Tuchengzi Formation	China	An extremely primitive ceratopsian	Chaoyangsaurus
Dinheirosaurus[31]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Bonaparte & Mateus	Kimmeridgian	Alcobaça Formation	Portugal	A diplodocid.
"Eugongbusaurus"[32]	gen nov	Nomen nudum	Knoll	Late Jurassic	Shishugou Formation	China	A ?hypsilophodont that hasn't yet been formally named.
Gondwanatitan[33]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Kellner & Azevedo	Late Cretaceous	Adamantina Formation	Brazil	A titanosaur
Guaibasaurus[34]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Bonaparte, Ferigolo, & Ribeiro	Late Triassic	Caturrita Formation	Brazil	A sauropodomorph.	Guaibasaurus
Jobaria[35]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Sereno, et al	Middle Jurassic	Tiourarén Formation	Niger	A eusauropod	Jobaria
Lessemsaurus[36]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Bonaparte	Late Triassic	Los Colorados Formation	Argentina	A primitive sauropodomorph	Lessemsaurus sauropoides
Lirainosaurus[37]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Sanz et al	Late Cretaceous	Vitoria Formation	Spain	A titanosaur.
Lurdusaurus[38]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Taquet & Russell	Aptian	Elrhaz Formation	Niger	A hadrosaur	Lurdusaurus
"Newtonsaurus"[39]	gen et sp nov	Nomen nudum	Welles vide: Welles & Pickering	Late Triassic	Rhaetic beds	Wales	Informal name	"Newtonsaurus"
Nigersaurus[35]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Sereno et al	Early Cretaceous	Elrhaz Formation	Niger	A rebbachisaurid	Nigersaurus
Nodocephalosaurus[40]	gen et sp nov	Valid taxon	Sullivan	Campanian	Kirtland Formation	USA	An ankylosaurid
Proyandusaurus[32]	gen nov	synonym	Knoll	Bajocian	Shaximiao Formation	China	informal name for Hexinlusaurus
Qantassaurus[41]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Rich & Vickers-Rich	Early Cretaceous	Wonthaggi Formation	Australia	A possible hypsilophodontid	Qantassaurus intrepidus
Santanaraptor[42]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Kellner	Cenomanian	Santana Formation	Brazil	A theropod	Santanaraptor placidus
Saturnalia[43]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Langer, Abdala, Richter, & Benton	Carnian	Santa Maria Formation	Brazil  Zimbabwe	A basal sauropodomorph	Saturnalia
Sinornithosaurus[44]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Xu, Wang, & Wu	Aptian	Yixian Formation	China	A Dromaeosaurid	Sinornithosaurus
Tangvayosaurus[45]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Allain et at	Early Cretaceous	Grès Supérior Formation	Laos	A titanosaur
Tehuelchesaurus[46]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Rich et al	Middle Jurassic	Cañadon Asfalto Formation	Argentina	A eusauropod

Newly named birds

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Amplibuteo concordatus [47]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Steven D. Emslie Nicholas J. Czaplewski	Late Pliocene	Florida and Arizona	USA:  Florida;  Arizona	An Accipitridae.
Anatalavis oxfordi [48]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Storrs L. Olson	Early Eocene	Ypresian, London Clay, MP 8	UK:  England	An Anseranatidae, Anatalavinae Olson, 1999. In 2002 Jíří Mlíkovský made this species the type species of his not widely accepted new genus Nettapterornis.[49]
Aquila bivia [47]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Steven D. Emslie Nicholas J. Czaplewski	Late Pliocene	Florida	USA:  Florida;  Arizona	An Accipitridae.
Argornis caucasicus [50]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Aleksandr A. Karkhu	Late Eocene	Northern Caucasus	Russia	An Apodiformes, Jungornithidae Karkhu, 1988.
Canadaga arctica [51]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Hou Lianhai	Late Cretaceous	Middle Maastrichtian	Canada:  Nunavut	A Hesperornithidae Marsh, 1872.
Changchengornis hengdaoziensis [52]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Ji Qiang Luis M. Chiappe Ji Shu’an	Early Cretaceous	Chaomidianzi Formation	China	A Confuciusornithidae Hou, Zhou, Gu et Zhang, 1995.
Chaunoides antiquus [53]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Herculano M. F. de Alvarenga	Late Oligocene or Early Miocene	Tremembé Formation	Brazil	An Anhimidae.
Chauvireria bulgarica [54]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Boev	Pleistocene		Bulgaria	A Phasianidae.
Confuciusornis dui [55]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Hou Lianhai Larry D. Martin Zhou Zhonghe Alan Feduccia Zhang Fucheng	Early Cretaceous	Yixian Formation	China	A Confuciusornithidae Hou, Zhou, Gu et Zhang, 1995.
Dryolimnas augusti [56]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Cécile Mourer-Chauviré Roger Bour Sonia Ribes François Moutou	Holocene	Réunion	Réunion	A Rallidae.
Emberiza alcoveri [57]	Sp. nov.	Valid	J. C. Rando M. Lopez B. Seguí	Late Pleistocene-Holocene	Canary Islands, Tenerife	Spain:  Canary Islands	An Emberizidae.
Eocuculus cherpinae [58]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Robert M. Chandler	Late Eocene	Early Chadronian	USA:  Colorado	A ?Cuculidae.
Eoenantiornis buhleri [59]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Hou Lianhai Larry D. Martin Zhou Zongzhe Alan Feduccia	Early Cretaceous	Yixian Formation	China	An Enantiornithes Walker, 1981, Eoenantiornithiformes Hou, Martin, Zhou et Feduccia, 1999, Eoenantiornithidae Hou, Martin, Zhou et Feduccia, 1999, this is the type species of the new genus.
Falco bakalovi [60]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Zlatozar N. Boev	Late Pliocene	Villafranchian, MN 17	Bulgaria	A Falconidae.
Gallinula balcanica [61]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Zlatozar N. Boev	Late Pliocene	Villafranchian, MN 17	Bulgaria	A Rallidae.
Graculavus augustus [62]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Sylvia Hope	Late Cretaceous	Late Maastrichtian, Lance Formation	USA:  Wyoming	A Graculavidae Fürbringer, 1888.
Gurilynia nessovi [63]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Evgeny N. Kurochkin	Late Cretaceous	Gurilyn Tsav	Mongolia	An Enantiornithes Walker, 1981, Alexornithiformes Brodkorb, 1976, Enantiornithidae Nessov & Borkin, 1983.
Hebeiornis fengningensis [64]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Yan	Early Cretaceous	Yixian Formation	China	Ornithothoraces Chiappe et Calvo, 1994, this is the type species of the new genus. Vescornis hebeiensis Zhang, Ericson et Zhou, 2004. is a junior synonym.[65]
Liaoxiornis delicatus [66]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Hou Lianhai Chen Peiji	Early Cretaceous	Yixian Formation	China	A Liaoxiornithidae L. H. Hou et Chen, 1999, this is the type species of the new genus. Lingyuanornis parvus Ji & Ji, 1999. is a junior synonym.[67]
Longmornis robustirostrata [68]	Gen, nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Walter E. Boles	?Early Miocene	Riversleigh	Australia:  Queensland	An Oriolidae, this is the type species of the new genus.
Loxia patevi [69]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Zlatozar N. Boev	Late Pliocene	MN 17	Bulgaria	A Fringillidae.
Masillapodargus longipes[70]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Gerald Mayr	Middle Eocene	Messel pit, MP 11	Germany:  Hessen	A stem Podargidae, this is the type species of the new genus.
Ngawupodius minya [71]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Walter E. Boles Tessa J. Ivison	Late Oligocene	Namba Formation	Australia:  South Australia	A stem Megapodiidae, this is the type species of the new genus.
Nupharanassa bohemica [72]	Sp. nov.	Valid ?	Jirí Mlíkovský	Early Miocene	MN 4b	Czech Republic	A Jacanidae. Mourer-Chauviré, 1999 transferred this species to the genus Geranopterus Milne-Edwards, 1892 and later it was placed in the Geranopteridae Mayr & Mourer-Chauviré, 2000.[73]
Paraprefica kelleri[70]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Gerald Mayr	Middle Eocene	Messel pit, MP 11	Germany:  Hessen	A stem Nyctibiidae, this is the type species of the new genus.
Paraprefica major[70]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Gerald Mayr	Middle Eocene	Messel pit, MP 11	Germany:  Hessen	A stem Nyctibiidae.
Pelecanus schreiberi [74]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Strorrs L. Olson	Early Pliocene	Yorktown Formation	USA:  North Carolina	A Pelecanidae.
Primotrogon wintersteini[75]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Gerald Mayr	Middle Oligocene	MP 23	France	A stem Trogonidae, the type species of the new genus.
Pumiliornis tessellatus[76]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Gerald Mayr	Middle Eocene	Messel pit, MP 11	Germany:  Hessen	Order and family Incerta Sedis, the type species of the new genus.
Regulus bulgaricus [77]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Zlatozar N. Boev	Late Pliocene	MN 17	Bulgaria	A Regulidae.
Scolopax carmesinae [78]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Bartomeu Seguí	Late Pliocene	Menorca, MN 17-18	Spain:  Menorca	A Scolopacidae.
Selmes absurdipes [79]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Dieter S. Peters	Middle Eocene	Messel pit, MP 11; MP 13	Germany:  Hessen;  Saxony-Anhalt	A Coliiformes, Selmeidae Zelenkov et Dyke, 2008, the type species of the new genus.
Tyto neddi [80]	Sp. nov.	Valid	David W. Steadman William B. Hilgartner	Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene	Barbuda	Antigua and Barbuda	A Tytonidae.
Yandangornis longicaudus [81]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Cai Zhengquan Zhao Lijun	Early Late Cretaceous	Santonian	China	An Enentiornithes, this is the type species of the new genus.

Newly named pterosaurs

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Dendrorhynchoides[82]	gen nov	Valid	Ji S.-A., Ji Q., & Padian	Aptian	Yixian Formation	China	A new genus for "Dendrorhynchus" curvidentatus (Ji & Ji, 1998)
Siroccopteryx	gen et sp nov	junior synonym?	Mader & Kellner	Cenomanian	Kem Kem Formation	Morocco	possibly a jr synonym of Coloborhynchus?
Tendaguripterus[83]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Unwin & Heinrich	Kimmeridgian	Tendaguru Formation	Tanzania	Monotypic with the species T. recki

Lepidosauromorphs

Newly named plesiosaurs

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Callawayasaurus[84]	gen nov	Valid	Carpenter	Aptian	Paja Formation	Colombia	New genus for the species "Alzadasaurus" colombiensis Wells, 1962

Newly named scincomorphans

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Pachygenys[85]	gen nov	Valid	Gao and Cheng	Early Cretaceous	Eastern China	China	Has a distinctly small amount of dentary teeth.

Other Animals

Name	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Charniodiscus yorgensis	Disputed	Borchvardt et Nessov	Ediacaran	Zimnie Gory Formation and Ust-Pinega Formation	Russia