2008 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 2008.

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Important finds in 2008

Protozoa

New taxa

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Paleoleishmania neotropicum[2]	sp nov	Valid	Poinar	Burdigalian	Dominican amber	Dominican Republic	second record, and youngest, of the extinct genus Paleoleishmania	Paleoleishmania neotropicum

Plants

Ferns and fern allies

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymy	Notes	Images
Calcaropteris[3]	Gen et 2 sp nov	valid	Miller & Hickey	Cretaceous Late Albian	Winthrop Formation	USA  Washington		A matoniaceous morphogenus. The type species is C. boeselii Also includes C. bifurcata
Cladophlebis baja-beeceensis[3]	Sp nov	valid	Miller & Hickey	Cretaceous Late Albian	Winthrop Formation	USA  Washington		A osmundaceous foliage morphospecies.
Cladophlebis methowensis[3]	Sp nov	valid	Miller & Hickey	Cretaceous Late Albian	Winthrop Formation	USA  Washington		A osmundaceous foliage morphospecies.
Furcillopteris[3]	Gen, sp, et comb nov	valid	(R.W. Brown) Miller & Hickey	Paleocene Danian	Fort Union Formation	USA  Colorado		A fern morphogenus of uncertain affinity. The type species is Dryopteris serrata (1962) Also includes F. oblongata
Microphyllopteris delicata[3]	Sp nov	valid	Miller & Hickey	Cretaceous Late Albian	Winthrop Formation	USA  Washington		A gleicheniaceous morphospecies.
Microphyllopteris gieseckiana[3]	Comb nov	valid	(Heer) Miller & Hickey	Cretaceous Late Albian	Winthrop Formation	USA  Washington	Gleichenites nordenskioldi auct. non (Heer) Seward nee Bell, 1956)	A gleicheniaceous morphospecies. Moved from Gleichenia gieseckiana (1868)
Neocalamites vaganta[3]	Sp nov	valid	Miller & Hickey	Cretaceous Late Albian	Winthrop Formation	USA  Washington		An apocalamitaceous morphospecies.
Paramatonia[3]	Gen et sp nov	valid	Miller & Hickey	Cretaceous Late Albian	Winthrop Formation	USA  Washington		A matoniaceous morphogenus. The type species is P. linearis
Sectilopteris[3]	Gen et 3 comb nov	valid	(Fontaine) Miller & Hickey	Cretaceous Aptian	Patuxent Formation	USA  Virginia		A fern morphogenus of uncertain affinity. The type species is Sphenopteris latiloba (1886) Also includes Sphenopteris newberryi (1956) & Hymenopteris psilotoides (1824)
Winthropteris[3]	Gen et sp nov	valid	Miller & Hickey	Cretaceous Late Albian	Winthrop Formation	USA  Washington		A blechnaceous morphogenus. The type species is W. ovalis

Angiosperms

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Dillhoffia[4]	Gen. et sp. nov.	Valid	Manchester & Pigg	Ypresian	Unnamed Formation, Kamloops Group	Canada		Dillhoffia cachensis
Pluricarpellatia[5]	Gen. et sp. nov.	Valid	Mohr, Bernardes-de-Oliveira & Taylor	Early Cretaceous	Crato Formation	Brazil

Monocots

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Montrichardia aquatica[6]	sp nov	Valid	Herrera et al	Middle to late Paleocene	Cerrejón Formation	Colombia	only fossil record of the genus Montrichardia
Petrocardium[6]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Herrera et al	Middle to late Paleocene	Cerrejón Formation	Colombia	Two named species Petrocardium cerrejonense and Petrocardium wayuuorum

Arthropoda

Arachnomorphs

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Dicranocaris[7]	Gen et sp nov	valid	Briggs, Lieberman, Hendricks, Halgedahl & Jarrard	Middle Cambrian	Wheeler Formation Marjum Formation	United States	An arachnormorph of uncertain classification. Type species D. guntherorum
Nettapezoura[7]	Gen et sp nov	valid	Briggs, Lieberman, Hendricks, Halgedahl & Jarrard	Middle Cambrian	Marjum Formation	United States	An arachnormorph of uncertain classification. Type species N. basilika
Palaeosiro[8]	Gen et sp nov	valid	Poinar	Cenomanian	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A stylocellid harvestman. Type species P. burmanicum

Crustaceans

Research

• Schram (2008) publishes an adjustment to the taxonomy of Paleozoic stomatopods, erecting the family Archaeocarididae.^[9]

Insects

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Cataglyphoides[10]	Gen et sp et comb nov	Valid	Dlussky	Middle Eocene	Baltic amber	Europe	Fossil formicine ant, two species C. constrictus (Mayr, 1868) & C. intermedius Dlussky, 2008	Cataglyphoides constrictus
Dolichoderus punctatus[11]	Sp nov	Valid	Dlussky	Middle Eocene	Baltic amber	Europe	Fossil dolichoderine ant	Dolichoderus punctatus
Electropodagrion[12]	Gen et sp nov	valid	Azar & Nel	Middle Eocene	Baltic Amber	Europe	A Megapodagrionidae damselfly
Elektroepyris[13]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Perrichot & Nel	Eocene	Oise amber	France	A bethylid wasp	Elektroepyris magnificus
Formosibittacus[14]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Li, Ren & Shih	Middle Jurassic	Jiulongshan Formation	China	A bittacid
Haidomyrmodes[15]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Perrichot et al	Middle Cretaceous	Charentese amber	France	A Sphecomyrminae ant, type species H. mammuthus	Haidomyrmodes mammuthus
Jurahylobittacus[14]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Li, Ren & Shih	Middle Jurassic	Jiulongshan Formation	China	A bittacid
Lutzomyia adiketis[2]	sp nov	Valid	Poinar	Burdigalian	Dominican amber	Dominican Republic	Vector for the extinct Trypanosomatidae species Paleoleishmania neotropicum	Lutzomyia adiketis
Proraphidia gomezi[16]	sp nov	Valid	Jarzembowski	Lower Cretaceous	Lower Weald Clay	England
Proraphidia hopkinsi[16]	sp nov	Valid	Jarzembowski	Barremian		Spain
Proteroscelio gravatus[17]	Sp nov	valid	Johnson, Musetti & Masner	Early Cretaceous (Aptian)	Lebanese Amber	Lebanon	A member of Platygastroidea.
Rhabdepyris gallicus[13]	Sp nov	Valid	Perrichot & Nel	Eocene	Oise amber	France	A bethylid wasp	Rhabdepyris gallicus
Sinomeganeura[18]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Ren, Nel, & Prokop	Namurian	Tupo Formation	China	Third Namurian age Meganeuridae griffenfly described.
Sinoprotelenomus[17]	Nom nov	valid	Zhang in Johnson, Musetti & Masner	Miocene		China	A member of Platygastroidea; replacement name for Protelenomus Zhang (1989).
Sphecomyrmodes occidentalis[15]	Sp nov	jr syn	Perrichot et al	Middle Cretaceous	Charentese amber	France	A stem group ant jr synonym of Gerontoformica occidentalis	Gerontoformica occidentalis
Syndesus ambericus[19]	Sp nov	Valid	Woodruff	Burdigalian	Dominican amber	Dominican Republic	A stag beetle
Termitaradus avitinquilinus[20]	Sp nov	Valid	Grimaldi & Engel	Burdigalian	Dominican amber	Dominican Republic	A termite bug

Xiphosurans

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Lunataspis	gen et sp nov	Valid taxon	Nowlan, Rudkin, & Young	Late Ordovician	Churchill River Group?	Canada

Fishes

Bony fish

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Arquatichthys[21]		Valid	Lu & Zhu	Devonian (Pragian)	Posongchong Formation	China	A basal member of Dipnomorpha. The type species is A. porosus.
Donnrosenia[22]		Valid	Long, Choo, & Young	Devonian (Givetian)	Aztec Siltstone	Antarctica	A basal member of Actinopterygii. Genus includes new species D. schaefferi.
Genyonemus whistleri[23]		Valid	Takeuchi & Huddleston	Late Miocene	Puente Formation	United States	A relative of the white croaker.
Hiodon woodruffi[24]	Comb nov	valid	(Wilson)	Ypresian	Klondike Mountain Formation	United States  Washington	A mooneye, Moved from Eohiodon woodruffi Wilson 1978	Hiodon woodruffi
Tarachomylax multicostatus[25]		Valid	Qiao & Zhu	Devonian (Emsian)	Chuandong Formation	China	A lungfish.

Cartilaginous fish

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Thrinacoselache[26]	Gen. et. sp. nov.	Jr. synonym	Grogan & Lund	Carboniferous (Serpukhovian)	Bear Gulch Limestone	USA	Type species is T. gracia. Genus now a junior synonym of Thrinacodus.

Placoderms

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Gavinaspis[27]	Gen. et. sp. nov.	Valid	Dupret & Zhu	Early Devonian (Lochkovian)	Xitun Formation	China	A phyllolepid.
Materpiscis[28]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Long, Trinajstic, Young, & Senden	Late Devonian	Gogo Formation	Australia	discovered with fossilized embryo.	Materpiscis embryo features

General research

• Hilton & Grande redescribe the fossil mooneyes of western North America synonymizing the genus Eohiodon with Hiodon.^[24]
• Cicimurri, Paris, & Everhart describe a partial dentition from a Holocephali chimaeroid fish found in the Niobrara Chalk.^[29]

Amphibians

Jenkins, F. A., jr, Shubin, N. H., Gatesy, S. M., and Warren, A., 2008, Gerrothorax pulcherrimus from the Upper Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation of East Greenland and a reassessment of head lifting in temnospondyl feeding: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, v. 28, n. 4, p. 935-950.

Newly named amphibians

Name	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Beelzebufo[30]	Valid taxon	Evans Jones Krause	Late Cretaceous (70 mya)	Maevarano Formation	Madagascar		An artist's depiction of Beelzebufo
Gerobatrachus[31]	Valid taxon	Anderson Reisz Scott Fröbisch Sumida	Early Permian (290 mya)		USA ( Texas)
Oumtkoutia[32]	Valid taxon	Rage Dutheil	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Kem Kem Beds	Morocco	A pipid anuran.

Archosaurs

Newly named pseudosuchians

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Acynodon adriaticus[33]	Sp. nov	Valid	Delfino, Martin & Buffetaut	Late Cretaceous		Italy
Dakosaurus carpenteri[34]	Sp. nov	Valid	Wilkinson, Young & Benton	Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian)	Kimmeridge Clay Formation	United Kingdom	A metriorhynchid crocodyliform. Originally described as a species of Dakosaurus, subsequently transferred to the separate genus Torvoneustes.[35]
Gryposuchus croizati[36]	Sp. nov	Valid	Riff & Aguilera	Late Miocene	Urumaco Formation	Venezuela
Guarinisuchus[37]	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Barbosa, Kellner & Viana	Early Paleocene (Danian)	Maria Farinha Formation	Brazil	A dyrosaurid crocodyliform. Genus includes new species G. munizi.
Ocepesuchus[38]	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Jouve et al.	Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)	Ouled Abdoun Basin	Morocco	A member of Gavialoidea. Genus includes new species O. eoafricanus.
Postosuchus alisonae[39]	Sp. nov	Valid	Peyer et al.	Late Triassic	Newark Supergroup	United States ( North Carolina)
Sierritasuchus[40]	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Parker, Stocker & Irmis	Late Triassic	Tecovas Formation	United States ( Texas)	An aetosaur Genus includes new species S. macalpini.
Sphagesaurus montealtensis[41]	Sp. nov	Valid	Andrade & Bertini	Late Cretaceous	Adamantina Formation	Brazil	A sphagesaurid crocodyliform. Originally described as a species of Sphagesaurus, but subsequently transferred to the genus Caipirasuchus.[42]
Wargosuchus[43]	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Martinelli & Pais	Late Cretaceous	Bajo de La Carpa Formation	Argentina	A baurusuchid crocodyliform. Genus includes new species W. australis.

Newly named pterosaurs

Name Status Location Authors Notes Elanodactylus Valid  China Andres Ji, Q. Hongshanopterus Valid  China Xiaolin Wang de Almeida et al. Mythunga Valid  Australia Molnar Thulborn, R.A. Nemicolopterus Valid  China Wang Kellner et al. Raeticodactylus Junior synonym   Switzerland Stecher Jr. synonym of Caviramus Shenzhoupterus Valid  China Lü J. Unwin et al. Volgadraco Valid  Russia Averianov Arkhangelsky Pervushov

Dinosaurs

• Oviraptorosaurian eggs with embryonic skeletons are discovered for the first time in China.^[44]
• Mongolian Late Jurassic theropod fossils are found for the first time.^[45]
• A new study on morphological variation in shed theropod teeth from the Mil River Formation is published.^[46]

Newly named dinosaurs

28 new dinosaur genera were erected in 2008. Data courtesy of George Olshevky's dinosaur genera list.^[47]

Name	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Austroraptor[48]	Valid	Novas Pol et al.[CAL 1]	Campanian–Maastrichtian	Allen Formation	Argentina	The largest dromaeosaurid yet discovered in the Southern Hemisphere.	Austroraptor
Dakotadon[49]	Valid	Paul	Barremian	Lakota Formation	USA ( South Dakota)	A new genus for "Iguanodon" lakotaensis (Weishampel and Bjork, 1989).
Daxiatitan[50]	Valid	You Li et al.[CAL 2]	Lower Cretaceous	Lanzhou Basin	China	A basal titanosaur.	Daxiatitan
Diceratus[51]	Junior synonym	Mateus	Late Cretaceous			Objective junior synonym of Nedoceratops; possible junior synonym of Triceratops.
Dollodon[49]	Valid	Paul	Barremian	Bernissart	Belgium	An iguanodontian.	Dollodon
Dongyangosaurus[52]	Valid	Lü Azuma et al.[CAL 3]	early Late Cretaceous	Fangyang Formation	China	A titanosauriform.
Duriavenator[53]	Valid	Benson	Bajocian	Dorset	United Kingdom	A megalosaurid.	Duriavenator
Eocarcharia[54]	Valid	Sereno Brusatte	Aptian/Albian	Elrhaz Formation	Niger	A carcharodontosaurid.	Eocarcharia
Eomamenchisaurus[55]	Valid	Lü Li et al.[CAL 4]	Middle Jurassic	Zhanghe Formation	China	A mamenchisaurid.
Epidexipteryx[56]	Valid	Zhang Zhou et al.[CAL 5]	Late Jurassic	Daohugou Beds	China	An avialian.	Epidexipteryx
Gobiceratops[57]	Valid	Alifanov	Late Cretaceous	Baruungoyot Formation	Mongolia	Possible junior synonym of Bagaceratops.
Kryptops[54]	Valid	Sereno Brusatte	Aptian/Albian	Elrhaz Formation	Niger	An abelisaurid.	Kryptops
Loricatosaurus[58]	Valid	Maidment Norman et al.[CAL 6]	Callovian		England  France	A stegosaurid.
Microceratus[51]	Nomen dubium	Mateus	Campanian		China
Orkoraptor[59]	Valid	Novas Ezcurra Lecuona	Maastrichtian	Pari Aike Formation	Argentina	A neovenatorid.	Orkoraptor
Peloroplites[60]	Valid	Carpenter Bartlett et al.[CAL 7]	Lower Cretaceous	Cedar Mountain Formation	USA	A nodosaurid ankylosaur.
Pitekunsaurus[61]	Valid	Filippi Garrido	Campanian	Anacleto Formation	Argentina	A titanosaur.
Qingxiusaurus[62]	Valid	Mo Huang et al.[CAL 8]	Late Cretaceous		China	A titanosaur.
Sahaliyania[63]	Valid	Godefroit Hai et al.[CAL 9]	Maastrichtian	Yuliangze Formation	China	A lambeosaurine hadrosaurid.
Similicaudipteryx[64]	Valid	He Wang Zhou	Aptian	Jiufotang Formation	China	A caudipterid oviraptorosaur.	Similicaudipteryx
Tastavinsaurus[65]	Valid	Canudo Royo-Torres Cuenca-Bescós	Aptian	Xert Formation	Spain	A titanosauriform. Lurasiformes.	Tastavinsaurus
Uberabatitan[66]	Valid	Salgado Carvalho	Upper Cretaceous	Marília Formation	Brazil	A titanosaur.	Tethyshadros
Wulagasaurus[63]	Valid	Godefroit Hai et al.[CAL 9]	Maastrichtian	Yuliangze Formation	China	A saurolophine hadrosaurid.

Newly named birds

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Aegolius martae[67]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Marco Pavia	Early/Middle Pleistocene	Sicily	Italy:  Sicily	A Strigidae.
Bermuteo avivorus[68]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Storrs L. Olson	Late Pleistocene		Bermuda	An Accipitridae, this is the type species of the new genus.
Bountyphaps obsoleta[69]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Trevor H. Worthy Graham M. Wragg	Subrecent	Henderson Island	Pitcairn	A Columbidae, this is the type species of the new genus.
Calonectris wingatei[70]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Storrs L. Olson	Middle Pleistocene		Bermuda	A Procellariidae.
Caracara tellustris[71]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Storrs L. Olson	Holocene		Jamaica	A Falconidae.
Cathayornis chabuensis[72]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Li Jianjun Li Zhiheng Zhang Yuguang Zhou Zhonghe Bai Zhiqiang Zhang Lifu Ba Tuya	Early Cretaceous	Jinchuan Formation	China	A Cathayornithidae Zhou, Jin et Zhang, 2006, Enantiornithes Walker, 1981.
Certhiops rummeli[73]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Albrecht Manegold	Early Miocene	MN 3	Germany:  Bavaria	A Certhioidea, this is the type species of the new genus.
Didactylornis jii[74]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Yuan Chongxi	Lower Cretaceous	Jiufotang Formation	China	Basal pygostylia, Sapeornithidae, this is the type species of the new genus.
Enantiophoenix electrophyla[75]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Andrea Cau Paolo Arduini	Upper Cretaceous		Lebanon	An Enantiornithes Walker, 1981, Avisauridae Brett-Surman et Paul, 1985, this is the type species of the new genus.
Eoconfuciusornis zhengi[76]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Fucheng Zhang Zhonghe Zhou Michael Benton	Lower Cretaceous	Dabeigou Formation	China	A Primitive Confuciusornithidae Hou, Zhou, Gu et Zhang, 1995, this is the type species of the new genus.
Ephippiorhynchus tchoufour[77]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Antoine Louchart Yohannes Haile-Selassie Patrick Vignaud Androssa Likius Michel Brunet	Late Miocene	ca 7 Ma	Chad	A Ciconiidae.
Eurotrochilus noniewiczi[78]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Zygmunt Bochenski Zbigniew Bochenski	Early Oligocene	Late Rupelian	Poland	A new European species of the Trochilidae.
Foudia delloni[79]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Anthony S. Cheke Julian P. Hume	Subrecent	Not seen since 1672	Réunion	The original Foudia from Réunion.
Hokkaidornis abashiriensis[80]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Kazuhiko Sakurai Masaichi Kimura Takayuki Katoh	Late Oligocene	Tokoro Formation	Japan	A Plotopteridae Howard, 1969, this is the type species of the new genus.
Jabiru codorensis[81]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Stig A. Walsh Rodolfo Sánchez	Early Pliocene	Codore Formation, Middle El Jebe Member	Venezuela	A Ciconiidae.
Leptoptilos patagonicus[82]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Jorge I. Noriega Gerardo Cladera	Late Miocene	Puerto Madryn Formation	Argentina	A Ciconiidae.
Manuherikia douglasi[83]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Trevor H. Worthy Alan J. D. Tennyson Suzanne J. Hand R. Paul Scofield	Early-Middle Miocene	Bannockburn Formation	New Zealand	An Anatidae, Anserinae.
Megadyptes waitaha[84]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Sanne Boessenkool Jeremy J. Austin Trevor H. Worthy R. Paul Scofield Alan Cooper Philip J. Seddon Jonathan M. Waters	Late Holocene	Subrecent	New Zealand	A Spheniscidae, when it became extinct it made room for Megadyptes antipodes.
Mopsitta tanta[85]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	David W. Waterhouse Bent E. K, Lindow Nikita V. Zelenkov Gareth J. Dyke	Early Eocene, Ypresian	Fur Formation	Denmark	Described in the Psittaciformes, Gerald Mayr, 2009 sees no reasons to place the species in Psittaciformes.
Palaeortyx volans[86]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Ursula B. Göhlich Marco Pavia	Neogene	Gargano	Italy	A Phasianidae.
Pelagornis mauretanicus[87]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Cécille Mourer-Chauviré Denis Geraads	Late Pliocene	Ahl al Oughlam	Morocco	A Pelagornithidae Fürbringer, 1888.
Pengornis houi[88]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Zhou Zhonghe Julia A. Clarke Zhang Fucheng	Early Cretaceous	Jiufotang Formation	China	An Enantiornithes Walker, 1981, this is the type species of the new genus and the type genus of the new family Pengornithidae Wang, O'Connor, Zheng, Wang, Hu et Zhou, 2014.
Phaethusavis pelagicus[89]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Estelle Bourdon Mbarek Amaghzaz Baâdi Bouya	Early Eocene	Early Ypresian	Morocco	A Phaethontidae, this is the type species of the new genus.
Pleistovultur nevesi[90]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Herculano M. F. de Alvarenga Guilherme R. R. Brito Rafael Migotto Alex Hubbe Elizabeth Höfling	Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene		Brazil	A Cathartidae, this is the type species of the new genus.
Thomasococcyx philohippus[91]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	David W. Steadman	Early Miocene	Hemingfordian LMA	USA:  Florida	A Cuculidae, this is the type species of the new genus.
Tirarinetta kanunka[92]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Trevor H. Worthy	Pliocene	Tirari Formation	Australia  South Australia	An Anatidae, this is the type species of the new genus.
Zhongornis haoae[93]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Valid	Gao Chunling Luis M. Chiappe Meng Qinjing Jingmai O'Connor Wang Xuri Cheng Xiaodong Liu Jinyuan	Lower Cretaceous	Yixian Formation	China	Basal Aves, this is the type species of the new genus.
Zygodactylus luberonensis[94]	Sp. nov.	Valid	Gerald Mayr	Early Oligocene	MP 23-24	France	A Zygodactylidae Brodkorb, 1971, ?Piciformes.

Other publications

• Hutchinson, J.R., Miller, C., Fritsch, G., and Hildebrandt, T. 2008. The anatomical foundation for multidisciplinary studies of animal limb function: examples from dinosaur and elephant limb imaging studies; pp. 23–38 in Endo, H. and Frey, R. (eds.), Anatomical Imaging: Towards a New Morphology. Springer Verlag, Tokyo.
• Witmer, L.M., Ridgely, R.C., Dufeau, D.L., and Semones, M.C. 2008. Using CR to peer into the past: 3D visualization of the brain and ear regions of birds, crocodiles, and nonavian dinosaurs; pp. 67–88 in Endo, H. and Frey, R. (eds.), Anatomical Imaging: Towards a New Morphology. Springer Verlag, Tokyo.

Turtles

Newly named turtles

Currently valid turtle genera named in 2008
Name	Status	Location	Authors	Images
Condorchelys[95]	Valid taxon	Argentina	Sterli
Kharakhutulia[96]	Valid taxon	Mongolia	Sukhanov, Danilov & Syromyatnikova
Odontochelys[97]	Valid taxon	China	Li et al.	Odontochelys

Squamates

new taxa

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Itaboraiophis[98]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Rage	Middle Paleocene		Brazil	A "booid"-grade snake of uncertain phylogenetic placement. The type species is Itaboraiophis depressus.
Kuwajimalla[99]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Evans & Manabe	Early Cretaceous (Valanginian to Hauterivian)	Kuwajima Formation	Japan	A polyglyphanodontian lizard. The type species is Kuwajimalla kagaensis.
Merkurosaurus[100]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Klembara	Early Miocene		Czech Republic	A member of Anguimorpha, might be related to the Chinese crocodile lizard. The type species is Merkurosaurus ornatus.
Ovoo[101]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Norell, Gao, & Conrad	Late Cretaceous	near Ukhaa Tolgod	Mongolia	one of the oldest monitor lizards
Paraungaliophis[98]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Rage	Middle Paleocene		Brazil	A snake related to members of the genus Ungaliophis. The type species is Paraungaliophis pricei.
Paulacoutophis[98]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Rage	Middle Paleocene		Brazil	A booid-grade snake of uncertain phylogenetic placement. The type species is Paulacoutophis perplexus.
Prognathodon kianda[102]	sp nov	Valid	Schulp et al.	Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)		Angola	A mosasaur.
Selmasaurus johnsoni[103]	sp nov	Valid	Polcyn & Everhart	Late Cretaceous (early Santonian)	Niobrara Chalk	United States	A mosasaur.
Taniwhasaurus mikasaensis[104]	sp nov	Valid	Caldwell, Konishi, Obata, & Muramoto	upper Santonian-lower Campanian		Japan	Third identified species for the genus Taniwhasaurus
Tianyusaurus[105]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Lü et al.	Late Cretaceous	Qiupa Formation	China	A polyglyphanodontian lizard. The type species is Tianyusaurus zhengi.
Tinosaurus indicus[106]	Sp nov	Valid	Prasad & Bajpai	Early Eocene	Cambay Shale	India	An agamid lizard, a species of Tinosaurus.
Vallecillosaurus[107]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Smith & Buchy	Late Cretaceous (early Turonian)	Agua Nueva Formation	Mexico	A member of Mosasauroidea of uncertain phylogenetic placement. The type species is Vallecillosaurus donrobertoi.
Vastanagama[106]	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Prasad & Bajpai	Early Eocene	Cambay Shale	India	An agamid lizard. The type species is Vastanagama susani.

New papers

• Everhart, M.J. (2008). "A bitten skull of Tylosaurus kansasensis (Squamata: Mosasauridae) and a review of mosasaur-on-mosasaur pathology in the fossil record". Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. 111 (3/4): 251–262. doi:10.1660/0022-8443-111.3.251. S2CID 85647383.
• Everhart, M.J. 2008. The mosasaurs of George F. Sternberg, paleontologist and fossil photographer. Proceedings of the Second Mosasaur Meeting, Fort Hays Studies Special Issue 3, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas, pp. 37–46.
• Polcyn, M.J. and Everhart, M.J. 2008. Description and phylogenetic analysis of a new species of Selmasaurus (Mosasauridae: Plioplatecarpinae) from the Niobrara Chalk of western Kansas. Proceedings of the Second Mosasaur Meeting, Fort Hays Studies Special Issue 3, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas, pp. 13–28.
• Polcyn, M.J., Bell, G.L., Jr., Shimada, K. and Everhart, M.J. 2008. The oldest North American mosasaurs (Squamata: Mosasauridae) from the Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) of Kansas and Texas with comments on the radiation of major mosasaur clades. Proceedings of the Second Mosasaur Meeting, Fort Hays Studies Special Issue 3, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas, pp. 137–155.
• Everhart, M.J. 2008. Rare occurrence of a Globidens sp. (Reptilia; Mosasauridae) dentary in the Sharon Springs Member of the Pierre Shale (Middle Campanian) of Western Kansas. p. 23-29 in Farley G. H. and Choate, J.R. (eds.), Unlocking the Unknown; Papers Honoring Dr. Richard Zakrzewski, Fort Hays Studies, Special Issue No. 2, 153 p., Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS.

Sauropterygians

New taxa

Name Status Authors Notes Glyphoderma[108] Valid Zhao et al. Nichollsia renamed Druckenmiller Russell Nichollsia preoccupied by a genus of isopod, renamed in 2009 to Nichollssaura Occitanosaurus Synonym Bardet Fernandez Garcia-Ramos Superbiola Pinuela Ruiz-Omenaca Vincent Junior Synonym of Microcleidus. Wumengosaurus[109] Valid Jiang et al.

Synapsids

Non-mammalian

Name	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Alrausuchus[110]	Valid	Ivakhnenko	Middle Permian		Russia	A new genus for "Biarmosuchus" tagax
Megawhaitsia[111]	Valid	Ivakhnenko	Upper Permian		Russia

Mammal

Newly named mammals
Name	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Albireo savagei[112]	Valid	Barnes	Late Pliocene	Pismo Formation	United States ( California)	A member of Delphinoidea belonging to the family Albireonidae, a species of Albireo.
Cantalera[113]	Valid	Badiola Canudo Cuenca-Bescós	Early Cretaceous (late Hauterivian-early Barremian)		Spain	A multituberculate belonging to the family Pinheirodontidae. The type species is C. abadi.
Crenatocetus[114]	Valid	McLeod Barnes	Eocene		United States ( North Carolina)	A member of Protocetidae. The type species is Crenatocetus rayi.
Cynarctoides whistleri[115]	Valid	Wang Tedford	Hemingfordian		United States ( California and  Texas)	A member of Canidae belonging to the subfamily Borophaginae, a species of Cynarctoides.
Diceratherium radtkei[116]	Valid	Prothero Rasmussen	Arikareean	Cabbage Patch beds Harrison Formation Sharps Formation	United States ( South Dakota,  Montana and  Nebraska)
Djourabus[117]	Valid	Peigné et al.	Late Miocene		Chad	A member of Mustelidae belonging to the subfamily Lutrinae. The type species is D. dabba.
Floridameryx[118]	Valid	Webb	Late Miocene to earliest Pliocene		United States ( Florida and  New Mexico)	A member of Gelocidae belonging to the subfamily Pseudoceratinae. The type species is F. floridanus; genus also includes "Pseudoceras" klausi Frick (1937).
Fossendorhinus[119]	Valid	Mihlbachler	Uintan			A member of Brontotheriidae; a new genus for "Telmatherium" diploconus Osborn (1895)
Fredszalaya[120]	Valid	Shockey Anaya	Late Oligocene		Bolivia	A member of Borhyaenidae. The type species is Fredszalaya hunteri.
Glibia namibiesis[121]	Valid	Pickford Senut Morales Mein Sanchez	Eocene (Lutetian)		Namibia	A rodent belonging to the family Zegdoumyidae, a species of Glibia.
Merycopotamus thachangensis[122]	Valid	Hanta Ratanasthien Kunimatsu Saegusa Nakaya Nagaoka Jintasakul	Late Miocene		Thailand
Metalopex[123]	Valid	Tedford Wang	Late Clarendonian to early Hemphillian	Ash Hollow Formation Kern River Formation Rattlesnake Formation Thousand Creek Formation	United States ( Arizona,  California,  Nebraska,  Oregon,  Texas,  Idaho and  Oregon)	A fox. The type species is Metalopex merriami.
Mioheteromys crowderensis[124]	Valid	Lindsay Reynolds	Late Hemingfordian to Barstovian	Barstow Formation Crowder Formation	United States	A rodent belonging to the family Heteromyidae, a species of Mioheteromys.
Namahyrax[121]	Valid	Pickford Senut Morales Mein Sanchez	Eocene (Lutetian)		Namibia	A hyrax. The type species is Namahyrax corvus.
Namaia[121]	Valid	Pickford Senut Morales Mein Sanchez	Eocene (Lutetian)		Namibia	Probably a member of the family Adapidae.[125] The type species is Namaia bogenfelsi. The generic name turned out to be preoccupied; Pickford and Uhen (2014) created a replacement name Notnamaia.[126]
Namalestes[121]	Valid	Pickford Senut Morales Mein Sanchez	Eocene (Lutetian)		Namibia	A member of Cimolesta belonging to the family Todralestidae. The type species is Namalestes gheerbranti.
Namatherium[121]	Valid	Pickford Senut Morales Mein Sanchez	Eocene (Lutetian)		Namibia	An embrithopod. The type species is Namatherium blackcrowense.
Nasamplus[119]	Valid	Mihlbachler	Late Eocene (Ulangochuian)			A member of Brontotheriidae; a new genus for "Metatitan" progressus Granger and Gregory (1943).
Pollyosbornia[119]	Valid	Mihlbachler	Uintan	Uinta Formation	United States ( Wyoming)	A member of Brontotheriidae; a new genus for "Telmatherium" altidens Osborn (1908).
Prepomonomys[121]	Valid	Pickford Senut Morales Mein Sanchez	Eocene (Lutetian)		Namibia	A rodent belonging to the family Diamantomyidae. The type species is Prepomonomys bogenfelsi.
Proadinotherium saltoni[120]	Valid	Shockey Anaya	Late Oligocene		Bolivia	A member of Toxodontidae, a species of Proadinotherium.
Siamoadapis[127]	Valid	Chaimanee Yamee Tian Chavasseau Jaeger	Middle Miocene		Thailand
Silicamys[121]	Valid	Pickford Senut Morales Mein Sanchez	Eocene (Lutetian)		Namibia	A rodent belonging to the family Myophiomyidae. The type species is Silicamys cingulatus.
Sivaonyx beyi[117]	Valid	Peigné et al.	Late Miocene		Chad	A member of Mustelidae belonging to the subfamily Lutrinae.
Stenomylus taylori[128]	Valid	Cassiliano	Miocene (Hemingfordian)	Zia Formation	United States ( New Mexico)	A camelid.
Teilhardina magnoliana[129]	Valid	Beard	Early Eocene	Tuscahoma Formation	United States ( Mississippi)
Wickia[119]	Valid	Mihlbachler	Uintan	Sand Wash Basin Washakie Formation	United States ( Colorado)	A member of Brontotheriidae. The type species is Wickia brevirhinus.

Related happenings in geology

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