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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 1988.

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
Anserimimus[4]	Valid taxon	Rinchen Barsbold			"Giraffatitan" Orodromeus Nanotyrannus
"Cathetosaurus"[5]	Junior synonym of Camarasaurus	Jim Jensen
"Chassternbergia"[6]	Junior synonym of Edmontonia	Robert Bakker
"Denversaurus"[6]	Junior synonym of Edmontonia	Robert Bakker
"Giraffatitan"	Junior synonym of Brachiosaurus	Gregory S. Paul
"Hironosaurus"	Nomen nudum	Kunihiko Hisa
"Kagasaurus"	'Nomen nudum	Kunihiko Hisa
Kotasaurus[7]	Valid taxon	P. Yadagiri
Nanotyrannus[8]	Possible junior synonym of Tyrannosaurus.	Robert Bakker Williams	Phillip Currie
Orodromeus[9]	Valid taxon	Jack Horner	David Weishampel
"Protognathus"[10]	Later renamed Protognathosaurus by George Olshevsky	Zhang Y. H.
"Stenotholus"[11]	Junior synonym of Stygimoloch	Giffin Gabriel	Johnson

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. ^ Barsbold, R. 1988. A new late Cretaceous ornithomimid of Mongolia [in Russian]. Paleontol. J. 1: pp. 122-125.
5. ^ Jensen, J.A. 1988. A fourth new sauropod dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic of the Colorado Plateau and sauropod bipedalism. Great Basin Nat. 48 (2), pp. 121-145.
6. ^ ^{a b} Bakker, R. T. 1988. Review of the late Cretaceous Nodosaurid Dinosauria, Denversaurus schlessmani, a new armor-plated dinosaur from the Latest Cretaceous of South Dakota, the Last Survivor of the Nodosaurians, with comments on Stegosaur-Nodosaur Relationships. Hunteria 1 (3), pp. 3-23.
7. ^ Yadagiri, P. 1988. A new sauropod Kotasaurus yamanpalliensis from Lower Jurassic Kota Formation of India. Records of the Geological Survey of India 116 (3-8): pp. 102-127.
8. ^ Bakker, R.T., M. Williams, and P. Currie. 1988. Nanotyrannus, a new genus of pygmy tyrannosaur, from the latest Cretaceous of Montana. Hunteria 1: pp. 1-30.
9. ^ Horner, J.R. and D.B. Weishampel. 1988. A comparative embryological study of two ornithischian dinosaurs. Nature 332: pp. 256- 257.
10. ^ Olshevsky, G. 1991. A Revision of the Parainfraclass Archosauria Cope, 1869, Excluding the Advanced Crocodylia. Mesozoic Meanderings 2 (1st printing): iv + 196 pages.
11. ^ Giffin, E. B., D.L. Gabriel, and R.E. Johnson. 1987. A new pachycephalosaurid skull (Ornithischia) from the Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation of Montana. J. Vert. Palaeontol. 7 (4); pp. 398-407.