2005 in paleontology

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Paleontology, palaeontology or palæontology (from Greek: paleo, "ancient"; ontos, "being"; and logos, "knowledge") is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because mankind has 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 2005.

Plants

Newly named plants

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Archaeamphora	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Li	Early Cretaceous	Jianshangou Formation	China	The type species is Archaeamphora longicervia	Archaeamphora longicervia
Fothergilla malloryi	sp nov	Valid	Radtke, Pigg, & Wehr	Ypresian	Klondike Mountain Formation, Washington	USA	Oldest confirmed member of the genus Fothergilla	Fothergilla malloryi
Corylopsis readae	sp nov	Valid	Radtke, Pigg, & Wehr	Ypresian	Klondike Mountain Formation, Washington	USA	One of the oldest occurrences of Corylopsis

Protozoa

New taxa

Name	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Trypanosoma antiquus	Valid	Poinar	Burdigalian	Dominican amber	Dominican Republic	Oldest record of the vector association between Triatoma and Trypanosoma

Arthropoda

New taxa

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Acropyga glaesaria	Sp nov	Valid	Lapolla	Burdigalian	Dominican amber, Hispaniola	Dominican Republic	Oldest record of trophophoresy in ants	Acropyga glaesaria
Araripenymphes	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Menon, Martins-Neto, Martill	Aptian	Crato Formation	Brazil	A nymphid lacewing
Cananeuretus	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Engel & Grimaldi	Campanian	Canadian amber	Canada	A possible Aneuretinae ant. Type sp. C. occidentalis
Dinokanaga	Ge et sp nov	Valid	Archibald	Ypresian	"Tranquille Shale", British Columbia	Canada	Six species named D. andersoni, D. dowsonae, D. hillsi, D. sternbergi, D. webbi, D. wilsoni	Dinokanaga andersoni
Myanmyrma	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Engel & Grimaldi	Earliest Cenomanian	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A unplaced crown group ant. Type sp. M. gracilis	File:Myanmyrma gracilis AMNH-BU014 holotype 01.jpg Myanmyrma gracilis
Sphecomyrma	Gen et sp nov	jr synonym	Engel & Grimaldi	Cenomanian	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A stem group ant, jr syn of Gerontoformica orientalis	File:Gerontoformica orientalis IGRBU001 profile.jpg G. orientalis worker
Triatoma dominicana	Sp nov	Valid	Poinar	Burdigalian	Dominican amber, Hispaniola	Dominican Republic	Oldest record of the vector association between Triatoma and Trypanosoma

Xiphosurans

• Fossils of Lunataspis, the earliest known xiphosuran, are discovered in Canada. It was not given a formal description until 2008, however.

Plesiosaurs

New taxa

Name Status Authors Notes Eromangasaurus Valid Kear

Archosauromorphs

Newly named dinosaurs

Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.

Name	Status	Authors	Discovery year	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Appalachiosaurus	Valid taxon	Carr Williamson Schwimmer						File:Appalachiosaurus montgomeriensis.jpg Appalachiosaurus Auroraceratops File:Brachytrachelopan BW.jpg Brachytrachelopan Buitreraptor File:Buitreraptor-Deinonychus.jpg Buitreraptor Falcarius Jinfengopteryx Jinfengopteryx File:Jinfengopteryx Scale.svg Jinfengopteryx Lanzhousaurus File:Nemegtomaia barsboldi profile1.jpg Nemegtomaia Tanycolagreus
Archaeodontosaurus	Valid taxon	Eric Buffetaut
Auroraceratops	Valid taxon	You Li D. et al.
"Bakesaurus"	Nomen nudum	Zhou S.
Baurutitan	Valid taxon	Kellner Campos Trotta
Brachytrachelopan	Valid taxon	Rauhut Remes et al.
Buitreraptor	Valid taxon	Makovicky Apesteguía Agnolín
Cathartesaura	Valid taxon	Gallina Apesteguía
Changchunsaurus	Valid taxon	Zan Chen J. et al.
Chebsaurus	Valid taxon	Mahammed Läng et al.
Condorraptor	Valid taxon	Rauhut
Daanosaurus	Valid taxon	Ye Gao Y. Jiang
Dalianraptor	Valid taxon	Gao C. Liu J.					Possibly a misidentified bird.
Dashanpusaurus	Valid taxon	Peng G. Ye et al.
Dubreuillosaurus	Valid taxon	Allain
Falcarius	Valid taxon	James Kirkland Zanno et al.
Ferganocephale	Valid taxon	Averianov T. Martin Bakirov
Galveosaurus	Valid taxon	Sánchez-Hernández
"Galvesaurus"	Junior synonym.	Barco Canudo et al.					Junior synonym of Galveosaurus.
Hagryphus	Valid taxon	Zanno Sampson
Hexinlusaurus	Valid taxon	Barrett Butler Knoll
Hungarosaurus	Valid taxon	Ösi
Jinfengopteryx	Valid taxon	Ji Q. Ji S. et al.
Karongasaurus	Valid taxon	Gomani
Lanzhousaurus	Valid taxon	You Ji Q. Li D.
Nemegtomaia	Valid taxon	Lü Tomida et al.
Neuquenraptor	Valid taxon	Novas Pol					May be a subjective junior synonym of Unenlagia.
Pedopenna	Valid taxon	Xu X. Zhang F.
Penelopognathus	Valid taxon	Godefroit Li H. Shang
Puertasaurus	Valid taxon	Novas Salgado et al.
Shixinggia	Valid taxon	Lü Zhang B.
Stormbergia	Valid taxon	Butler
Tanycolagreus	Valid taxon	Carpenter Miles Cloward
Trigonosaurus	Valid taxon	Campos Kellner et al.
Tyrannotitan	Valid taxon	Novas de Valais et al.
Xinjiangovenator	Valid taxon	Rauhut Xu X.

Newly named birds

Name	Status	Novelty	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Afrocygnus chauvireae	Valid	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Antoine Louchart Patrick Vignaud Andossa Likius Hassane Taisso Mackaye Michel Brunet	Late Miocene	Anthracotheriid Unit	Chad	An Anatidae, the oldest from Africa.
Aquila nipaloides	Valid	Sp. nov.	Antoine Louchart Claudia Bedetti Marco Pavia	Pleistocene	Corsica and Sardinia	France: Corsica; Italy: Sardinia	An Island Accipitridae.
Chascacocolius cacicirostris	Valid	Sp. nov.	Gerald Mayr	Early Middle Eocene	Messel pit, MP 11	Germany: Hessen	A Coliiformes, Chascacocoliidae Zelenkov et Dyke, 2008.
Ciconia louisebolesae	Valid	Sp. nov.	Walter E. Boles	Late Oligocene-Early Miocene	Riversleigh	Australia: Queensland	A Ciconiidae.
Crossvallia unienwillia	Valid	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Claudia P. Tambussi Marcelo A. Reguero Sergio A. Marenssi Sergio N. Santillana	Late Paleocene	Cross Valley Formation	Antarctica	A Spheniscidae.
Dalianraptor cuhe	Valid	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Gao Chunling Liu Jinyuan	Early Cretaceous, Early Albian	Jiufotang Formation	China	An Ornithurae Haeckel, 1866. This is the type species of the genus.
Eurofluvioviridavis robustipes	Valid	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Gerald Mayr	Early Eocene	MP 8; Messel pit, MP 11	UK: England; Germany: Hessen	A Podargiformes, Fluvioviridavidae Mayr, 2005.
Gallinula disneyi	Valid	Sp. nov.	Walter E. Boles	Oligocene-Miocene	Riversleigh	Australia: Queensland	A Rallidae, in 2011 this species becomes the type species of the new genus Australlus Worthy et Boles, 2011.
Gallirallus vekamatolu	Valid	Sp. nov.	Jeremy J. Kirchman David W. Steadman	Holocene	‘Eua	Tonga	A Rallidae.
Hongshanornis longicresta	Valid	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Zhou Zhonghe Zhang Fucheng	Early Cretaceous	Yixian Formation	China	An Ornithuromorphae Chiappe, Ji, Ji et Norell, 1999, Hongshanornithidae O’Connor, Gao et Chiappe, 2010. This is the type species of the genus.
Limnofregata hasegawai	Valid	Sp. nov.	Storrs L. Olson Hiroshige Matsuoka	Late Early Eocene	Green River Formation	USA (Wyoming)	An Fregatidae, Limnofregatinae Olson, 1977.
Lithoptila abdounensis	Valid	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Estelle Bourdon Baâdi Bouya Mohamed Iarochène	Late Paleocene-Early Eocene	Thanetian	Morocco	A Prophaethontidae Harrison et Walker, 1976.
Oxyura vantetsi	Valid	Sp. nov.	Trevor H. Worthy	Holocene	Lake Poukawa	New Zealand	An Anatidae, extinct since the 16th century.
Parvigrus pohli	Valid	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Gerald Mayr	Early Oligocene	Pichovet, Vachères, Southern France	France	A Parvigruidae Mayr, 2005.
Perugyps diazi	Valid	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Marcelo Stucchi Steven D. Emslie	Late Miocene-Early Pliocene	Pisco Formation	Peru	A Cathartidae.
Protocypselomorphus manfredkelleri	Valid	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Gerald Mayr	Early Middle Eocene	Messel pit, MP 11	Germany: Hessen	A Cypselomorphae (Sensu Mayr, 2002).
?Primotrogon pumilio	Valid	Sp. nov.	Gerald Mayr	Early Middle Eocene	Messel pit, MP 11	Germany: Hessen	A Trogonidae, In 2009 Mayr creates the new genus Masillatrogon for this species and makes ?Primotrogon pumilio its type species.
Pseudoseisuropsis cuelloi	Valid	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Santiago Claramunt Andrès Rinderknecht	Late Pleistocene	Coastal cliffs near Rio de la Plata estuary	Uruguay	A Furnariidae.
Rallus eivissensis	Valid	Sp. nov.	Miquel McMinn M. Palmer Josep A. Alcover	Pleistocene, Holocene	Ibiza	Spain: Ibiza	A Rallidae.
Rhodacanthis forfex	Valid	Sp. nov.	Helen F. James Storrs L. Olson	Holocene	Kauai	USA: Hawaii	A Fringillidae, Carduelinae, Drepanidini.
Rhodacanthis litotes	Valid	Sp. nov.	Helen F. James Storrs L. Olson	Holocene	Oahu	USA: Hawaii	A Fringillidae, Carduelinae, Drepanidini.
Rupelramphastoides knopfi	Valid	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Gerald Mayr	Early Oligocene	Rupelian	Germany: Baden-Württemberg	A Pici (sensu Simpson and Cracraft, 1981), family incertae sedis (confer Ramphastidae Vigors, 1825)
Struthio kakesiensis	Valid	Sp. nov.	Terry Harrison Charles P. Msuya	Pliocene	Lower Laetoli Beds	Tanzania	Known from eggshells
Struthio linxiaensis	Valid	Sp. nov.	Hou Lianhai Zhou Zhonghe Zhang Fu-Cheng Wang Zhao	Late Miocene	Liushu Formation	China	Transferred to, and made the type species of a new genus Orientornis Wang, 2008.
Vegavis iaai	Valid	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	Julia A. Clarke Claudia P. Tambussi Jorge L. Noriega Gregory M. Erickson Richard A. Ketcham	Late Cretaceous	Middle to Late Maastrichtian	Antarctica	An ?Anseriformes. This is the type species of the genus.

Newly named pterosaurs

Name	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Bakonydraco	Valid	Weishampel Jianu	Upper Cretaceous	Csehbánya Formation	Hungary	The type species is Bakonydraco galaczi.
Boreopterus	Valid	Lü Ji	Lower Cretaceous	Yixian Formation	China	The type species is Boreopterus cuiae.
Caulkicephalus	Valid	Steel Martill Unwin Winch	Early Cretaceous	Wessex Formation	England	The type species is Caulkicephalus trimicrodon.
Eoazhdarcho	Valid	Lü Ji	Early Cretaceous	Jiufotang Formation	China	The type species is Eoazhdarcho liaoxiensis.
Eopteranodon	Valid	Lü Zhang	Early Cretaceous	Yixian Formation	China	The type species is Eopteranodon lii.
Feilongus	Valid	Wang Kellner Zhou Campos	Early Cretaceous	Yixian Formation	China	The type species is Feilongus youngi.
Huaxiapterus	Synonym	Lü Yuan	Early Cretaceous	Jiufotang Formation	China	The type species is Huaxiapterus jii. Huaxiapterus is a junior synonym of Sinopterus
Liaoxipterus	Valid	Dong Lü	Early Cretaceous	Jiufotang Formation	China	The type species is Liaoxipterus brachyognathus.
Nurhachius	Valid	Wang Kellner Zhou Campos	Early Cretaceous	Jiufotang Formation	China	The type species is Nurhachius ignaciobritoi.
Paranurognathus	Synonym	Peters				The type species is Paranurognathus tischlingeri. Paranurognathus is a junior synonym of Anurognathus.

Synapsids

Non-mammalian

Name	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Irajatherium	Valid	Martinelli Bonaparte Schultz Rubert	Upper Triassic	Caturrita Formation	Brazil	The type species is Irajatherium hernadezi.
Madysaurus	Valid	Tatarinov	Triassic	Magygen Formation	Kyrgyzstan	The type species is Madysaurus sharovi.
Putillosaurus	Valid	Surkov	Lower Triassic		Russia	The type specie is Putillosaurus sennikovi.

Footnotes

Complete author list

As science becomes more collaborative, papers with large numbers of authors are becoming more common. To prevent the deformation of the tables, these footnotes list the contributors to papers that erect new genera and have many authors.