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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 1985.

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
Abelisaurus[4]	Valid taxon	Jose Bonaparte	Novas		Abelisaurus Camelotia Carnotaurus Gasosaurus Supersaurus
"Aliwalia"[5]	Junior synonym.	Peter Galton		Junior subjective synonym of Eucnemosaurus.
"Avisaurus"[6]	Misidentification.	Michael K. Brett-Surman	Paul	Actually a enantiornithan bird.
Blikanasaurus[7]	Valid taxon	Peter Galton	van Heerden
Camelotia[8]	Valid taxon	Peter Galton
Carnotaurus[9]	Valid taxon	Jose Bonaparte
"Dachungosaurus"[10]	Nomen nudum.	Zhao X. (as Chao S.)
"Dystylosaurus"[11]	Junior synonym.	Jim Jenson		Junior synonym of Supersaurus.
Gasosaurus[12]	Valid taxon	Dong Zhiming
"Jurapteryx"[13]	Disputed.	Howgate		Possible junior subjective synonym of Archaeopteryx.
Kunmingosaurus[10]	Valid taxon	Zhao X. (as Chao S.)
"Mifunesaurus"	Nomen nudum	Hisa
"Moshisaurus"	Nomen nudum.	Hisa		Same as Mamenchisaurus.
"Oshanosaurus"[10]	Nomen nudum.	Zhao X. (as Chao S.)
"Palaeolimnornis"[14]	Nomen nudum.	Jurcsák	Kessler	An informal name applied to a genus that suffered from considerable taxonomic confusion. Finally named Palaeocursornis. Probably a misidentified bird as well.
Postosuchus	Misidentification.	Sankar Chatterjee		Actually a rauisuchian archosaur.
"Sanchusaurus"	Nomen nudum	Hisa		Same as Gallimimus.
Supersaurus[11]	Valid taxon	Jim Jenson
"Ultrasaurus"[11]	Preoccupied name.	Jim Jenson		Preoccupied by Kim H. M., 1983 and renamed Ultrasauros.
"Xuanhuasaurus"[10]	Nomen nudum.	Zhao X. (as Chao S.)		Later renamed Xuanhuaceratops in 2006

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. ^ Bonaparte, J.F. and F.E. Novas. 1985. Abelisaurus comahuensis, ng, n. sp., Carnosauria from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. Ameghiniana 21: pp. 259-265.
5. ^ Galton, P.M. 1985. The poposaurid thecodontian Teratosaurus suevicus v. Meyer, plus referred specimens mostly based on prosauropod dinosaurs, from the Middle Stubensandstein (Upper Triassic) of Nordwurttenburg. Stuttgarter Beitr. Naturk. (ser. B) 116: pp. 1-29.
6. ^ Brett-Surman, M.K. and G.S. Paul. 1985. A new family of bird-like dinosaurs linking Laurasia and Gondwanaland. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 5: pp. 133-138.
7. ^ Galton, P.M. and Heerden, J. 1985. Partial hindlimb of Blikanasaurus cromptoni n. gen. and n. sp. representing a new family of prosauropod dinosaurs from the Upper Triassic of South Africa. Geobios 18: pp. 509-516.
8. ^ Galton, P. M. 1985. Notes on the Melanorosauridae, a family of large prosauropod dinosaurs (Saurischia, Sauropodomorpha). Geobios 19: pp. 671-676.
9. ^ Bonaparte, J.E. 1985. A horned Cretaceous Carnosaur from Patagonia. Natl. Geogr. Res. Winter: pp. 149-152.
10. ^ ^{a b c d} Chao Shichin. 1985. The reptilian fauna of the Jurassic in China. In: The Jurassic System of China (Wang S., Z. Cheng, and N. Wang, eds.). Geological Publishing House, Beijing: pp. 286-289, 347, pl. 10, 11 [in Chinese].
11. ^ ^{a b c} Jensen, J.A. 1985. Three new sauropod dinosaurs from the Upper Jurassic of Colorado. Great Basin Nat. 45 (4): pp. 679-709.
12. ^ Dong, Z. and Z. Tang. 1985. Note on the mid Jurassic carnosaur (Gasosaurus constructus gen. et sp. nov.) from Suchuan Basin. China. Vertebrate Palasiatica 23 (1): pp. 77-83.
13. ^ Howgate, M.E. 1985. Problems of the Osteology of Archaeopteryx: Is the Eichstatt Specimen a Distinct Genus? In: The beginnings of birds. Proceedings of the International Archaeopteryx Conference, Eichstatt (1984): pp. 105-112.
14. ^ Jurcsak, T. and E. Kessler. 1985. La paleofaune de Comet- implications phylogenetiques et ecologiques. Evolution et Adaptation 11: pp. 137-147.