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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.^[1] This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised faeces (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 in the year 1980.

Dinosaurs

Newly named dinosaurs

Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list^[2] and Dr. Jeremy Montague's dinosaur genus database.^[3]

Name	Status	Authors		Notes	Images
Callovosaurus[4]	Valid taxon	Peter Galton			Erlikosaurus Minmi Noasaurus Saltasaurus
Dracopelta[5]	Valid taxon	Peter Galton
Erlikosaurus[6]	Valid taxon	Altangerel Perle vide: Rinchen Barsbold	Altangerel Perle
Kakuru[7]	Valid taxon	Ralph Molnar	Pledge
Minmi[8]	Valid taxon	Ralph Molnar
Noasaurus[9]	Valid taxon	Jose Bonaparte	J. Powell
Saltasaurus[9]	Valid taxon	Jose Bonaparte	Jaime Eduardo Powell
Zephyrosaurus[10]	Valid taxon	Hans-Dieter Sues

Plesiosaurs

New taxa

Pterosaurs

New taxa

References

Paleontology portal

1. ^ Newman, Garfield, et al (2001). Echoes from the past: world history to the 16th century. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. ISBN 0-07-088739-X.  
2. ^ Olshevsky, George. "Dinogeorge's Dinosaur Genera List". http://www.polychora.com/dinolist.html. Retrieved 2008-08-07.  
3. ^ Montague, Jeremy. "Dr. Montague's Database". http://www.barry.edu/bio300/pdf/montague%20dino%20web%20data%2012-3-2005.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-29.  
4. ^ Galton, P.M. 1980. European Jurassic ornithopod dinosaurs of the families Hypsilophodontidae and Camptosauridae. N. Jb. Geol. Paläont. Abh. 160 (1): pp. 73-95.
5. ^ Galton, P.M. 1980. Partial skeleton of Dracopelta zbyszewskii n.gen. and n.sp., an ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal. Géobios 13: pp. 451-457.
6. ^ Perle vide Barsbold, R. and A. Perle. 1980. Segnosauria, a new infraorder of carnivorous dinosaurs. Acta Palaeontol. Polonica 25: pp. 185- 195.
7. ^ Molnar, R.E. and N.S. Pledge. 1980. A new theropod dinosaur from South Australia. Alcheringa 4: pp. 281-287.
8. ^ Molnar, R.E. 1980. An ankylosaur (Ornithischia: Reptilia) from the Lower Cretaceous of southern Queensland. Mem. Queensland Mus. 20: pp. 77- 87.
9. ^ ^{a b} Bonaparte, J.F. and J.E. Powell. 1980. A continental assemblage of tetrapods from the Upper Cretaceous beds of El Brete, northwest Argentina (Sauropoda-Coelurosauria-Carnosauria- Aves). Mém. Soc. géol. Fr. N.S. 139: pp. 19-28.
10. ^ Sues, H.-D. 1980. Anatomy and relationships of a new hypsilophodontid dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of North America. Palaeontographica. Abt. (A) 169: pp. 51-72.