1948 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 1948.

List of years in paleontology (table)
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In science 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951
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Arthropods

Newly named insects

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Metanephrocerus[2]	Gen nov	valid	Aczél	Priabonian	Baltic Amber	Europe	A big-headed fly; new genus for Protonephrocerus collini

Archosauromorphs

Newly named dinosaurs

Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.^[3]

Name	Status	Authors		Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Lukousaurus	Valid taxon	Yang Zhongjian (as Young C. C.)		Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian)	Lower Lufeng Series	China	May be a crocodylomorph rather than a theropod.[4]
Sinosaurus[5]	Valid taxon	Yang Zhongjian (as Young C. C.)		Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian)	Lower Lufeng Series	China	A dilophosaurid. (Formerly Dilophosaurus sinensis)	Sinosaurus

Pterosaurs

New taxa

Name	Status	Authors		Age	Unit	Location	Notes
Batrachognathus	Valid	Rjabinin		Late Jurassic (Oxfordian-Kimmeridgian)	Karabastau Svita	Kazakhstan	An anurognathid.

Synapsids

Non-mammalian

Name	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Clelandina	Valid	Broom	Late Permian	Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone Dicynodon Assemblage Zone Tropidostoma Assemblage Zone	South Africa	A gorgonopsid.
Digalodon	Valid	Broom and Robinson	Late Permian	Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone	South Africa  Zambia	For a time considered a junior synonym, its validity was reinstated in 2015.
Koupia	Valid	Boonstra	Middle Permian	Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone	South Africa	A dicynodont.
Pardocephalus	Junior synonym	Broom	Late Permian	Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone	South Africa	A junior synonym of the gorgonopsid Aelurognathus
Robertia	Valid	Boonstra	Middle Permian	Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone	South Africa	A pylaecephalid. Like Diictodon, it was also a burrower.	Robertia
Smilesaurus	Valid	Broom	Late Permian	Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone	South Africa	A junior synonym of the gorgonopsid Aelurognathus.
Tetracynodon	Valid	Broom and Robinson	Late Permian-Early Triassic	Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone	South Africa	A lycideopid therocephalian.

References

• Paleontology portal

1. Gini-Newman, Garfield; Graham, Elizabeth (2001). Echoes from the past: world history to the 16th century. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. ISBN 9780070887398. OCLC 46769716.
2. Kehlmaier, C; Dierick, M; Skevington, JH (2014). "Micro-CT studies of amber inclusions reveal internal genitalic features of big-headed flies, enabling a systematic placement of Metanephrocerus Aczel, 1948 (Insecta: Diptera: Pipunculidae)". Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny. 72 (1): 23–36.
3. Olshevsky, George. "Dinogeorge's Dinosaur Genera List". Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
4. R. B. Irmis. 2004. First report of Megapnosaurus (Theropoda: Coelophysoidea) from China. PaleoBios 24(3):11-18
5. Young C.-C. 1948. On two new saurischians from Lufeng, Yunnan. Bull. Geol. Soc. China 28: pp. 75-90.