Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoriclife 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 2008.
Hilton & Grande redescribe the fossil mooneyes of western North America synonymizing the genus Eohiodon with Hiodon.[23]
Cicimurri, Paris, & Everhart describe a partial dentition from a Holocephali chimaeroid fish found in the Niobrara Chalk.[28]
Amphibians
Jenkins, F. A., jr, Shubin, N. H., Gatesy, S. M., and Warren, A., 2008, Gerrothorax pulcherrimus from the Upper Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation of East Greenland and a reassessment of head lifting in temnospondyl feeding: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, v. 28, n. 4, p. 935-950.
An Enantiornithes Walker, 1981, this is the type species of the new genus and the type genus of the new family Pengornithidae Wang, O'Connor, Zheng, Wang, Hu et Zhou, 2014.
Hutchinson, J.R., Miller, C., Fritsch, G., and Hildebrandt, T. 2008. The anatomical foundation for multidisciplinary studies of animal limb function: examples from dinosaur and elephant limb imaging studies; pp. 23–38 in Endo, H. and Frey, R. (eds.), Anatomical Imaging: Towards a New Morphology. Springer Verlag, Tokyo.
Witmer, L.M., Ridgely, R.C., Dufeau, D.L., and Semones, M.C. 2008. Using CR to peer into the past: 3D visualization of the brain and ear regions of birds, crocodiles, and nonavian dinosaurs; pp. 67–88 in Endo, H. and Frey, R. (eds.), Anatomical Imaging: Towards a New Morphology. Springer Verlag, Tokyo.
An agamid lizard. The type species is Vastanagama susani.
New papers
Everhart, M.J. (2008). "A bitten skull of Tylosaurus kansasensis (Squamata: Mosasauridae) and a review of mosasaur-on-mosasaur pathology in the fossil record". Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. 111 (3/4): 251–262. doi:10.1660/0022-8443-111.3.251. S2CID85647383.
Everhart, M.J. 2008. The mosasaurs of George F. Sternberg, paleontologist and fossil photographer. Proceedings of the Second Mosasaur Meeting, Fort Hays Studies Special Issue 3, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas, pp. 37–46.
Polcyn, M.J. and Everhart, M.J. 2008. Description and phylogenetic analysis of a new species of Selmasaurus (Mosasauridae: Plioplatecarpinae) from the Niobrara Chalk of western Kansas. Proceedings of the Second Mosasaur Meeting, Fort Hays Studies Special Issue 3, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas, pp. 13–28.
Polcyn, M.J., Bell, G.L., Jr., Shimada, K. and Everhart, M.J. 2008. The oldest North American mosasaurs (Squamata: Mosasauridae) from the Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) of Kansas and Texas with comments on the radiation of major mosasaur clades. Proceedings of the Second Mosasaur Meeting, Fort Hays Studies Special Issue 3, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas, pp. 137–155.
Everhart, M.J. 2008. Rare occurrence of a Globidens sp. (Reptilia; Mosasauridae) dentary in the Sharon Springs Member of the Pierre Shale (Middle Campanian) of Western Kansas. p. 23-29 in Farley G. H. and Choate, J.R. (eds.), Unlocking the Unknown; Papers Honoring Dr. Richard Zakrzewski, Fort Hays Studies, Special Issue No. 2, 153 p., Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS.
A member of Gelocidae belonging to the subfamily Pseudoceratinae. The type species is F. floridanus; genus also includes "Pseudoceras" klausi Frick (1937).
Probably a member of the family Adapidae.[124] The type species is Namaia bogenfelsi. The generic name turned out to be preoccupied; Pickford and Uhen (2014) created a replacement name Notnamaia.[125]
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.
^Gini-Newman, Garfield; Graham, Elizabeth (2001). Echoes from the past: world history to the 16th century. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. ISBN9780070887398. OCLC46769716.
^Poinar, G. O. Jr (2008). "Palaeosiro burmanicum n. gen., n. sp., a fossil Cyphophthalmi (Arachnida: Opiliones: Sironidae) in early Cretaceous Burmese amber". Advances in Arachnology and Developmental Biology. Papers dedicated to Prof. Dr. Božidar Ćurčić. 12: 267–274.
^Dlussky, G. M. (2008). "New species of ants of the genus Dolichoderus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Late Eocene ambers of Europe". Vestnik Zoologii. 42 (6): 497–514.
^ abPerrichot, V.; Nel, A. (2008). "Eocene bethylid wasps from French amber (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae)". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen. 248: 91–101. doi:10.1127/0077-7749/2008/0248-0091.
^Gary T. Takeuchi; Richard W. Huddleston (2008). "Genyonemus whistleri new species, a late Miocene sciaenid fish from California". In Xiaoming Wang; Lawrence G. Barnes (eds.). Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology of Western and Southern North America. Contributions in Honor of David P. Whistler. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. pp. 279–291. ISBN978-1-891276-27-9.
^ abHilton, E. J.; Grande, L. (2008). "Fossil Mooneyes (Teleostei: Hiodontiformes, Hiodontidae) from the Eocene of western North America, with a reassessment of their taxonomy". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 295 (1): 221–251. Bibcode:2008GSLSP.295..221H. doi:10.1144/sp295.13. S2CID128680041.
^Cicimurri D. J.; Parris D. C.; Everhart M. J. (2008). "Partial dentition of a chimaeroid fish (Chondrichthyes, Holocephali) from the Upper Cretaceous Niobrara Chalk of Kansas, USA". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28 (1): 34–40. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[34:PDOACF]2.0.CO;2. ISSN0272-4634. S2CID131522906.
^Marco Brandalise de Andrade; Mark T. Young; Julia B. Desojo; Stephen L. Brusatte (2010). "The evolution of extreme hypercarnivory in Metriorhynchidae (Mesoeucrocodylia: Thalattosuchia) based on evidence from microscopic denticle morphology". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (5): 1451–1465. Bibcode:2010JVPal..30.1451D. doi:10.1080/02724634.2010.501442. hdl:11336/69039. S2CID83985855.
^Douglas Riff; Orangel A. Aguilera (2008). "The world's largest gharials Gryposuchus: description of G. croizati n. sp. (Crocodylia, Gavialidae) from the Upper Miocene Urumaco Formation, Venezuela". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 82 (2): 178–195. doi:10.1007/BF02988408. S2CID85172486.
^Karin Peyer; Joseph G. Carter; Hans-Dieter Sues; Stephanie E. Novak; Paul E. Olsen (2008). "A new suchian archosaur from the Upper Triassic of North Carolina". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28 (2): 363–381. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[363:ANSAFT]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR20490957. S2CID274086.
^William G. Parker; Michelle R. Stocker; Randall B. Irmis (2008). "A new desmatosuchine aetosaur (Archosauria: Suchia) from the Upper Triassic Tecovas Formation (Dockum Group) of Texas". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28 (3): 692–701. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[692:ANDAAS]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR20490996. S2CID84455880.
^Marco Brandalise de Andrade; Reinaldo J. Bertini (2008). "A new Sphagesaurus (Mesoeucrocodylia: Notosuchia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Monte Alto City (Bauru Group, Brazil), and a revision of the Sphagesauridae". Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. 20 (2): 101–136. Bibcode:2008HBio...20..101B. doi:10.1080/08912960701642949. S2CID84879725.
^Fabiano Vidoi Iori; Thiago da Silva Marinho; Ismar de Souza Carvalho; Antonio Celso de Arruda Campos (2013). "Taxonomic reappraisal of the sphagesaurid crocodyliform Sphagesaurus montealtensis from the Late Cretaceous Adamantina Formation of São Paulo State, Brazil". Zootaxa. 3686 (2): 183–200. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3686.2.4. PMID26473214.
^Agustín G. Martinelli; Diego F. Pais (2008). "A new baurusuchid crocodyliform (Archosauria) from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia (Argentina)". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 7 (6): 371–381. Bibcode:2008CRPal...7..371M. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2008.05.002.
^Watabe, M.; Tsogtbaatar, K.; Barsbold, R. (2008). "First discovery of a theropod (Dinosauria) from the Upper Jurassic in Mongolia and its stratigraphy". Paleontological Research. 12 (1): 27–36. doi:10.2517/1342-8144(2008)12[27:FDOATD]2.0.CO;2. S2CID129914219.
^Larson, D.W. (2008). "Diversity and variation of theropod dinosaur teeth from the uppermost Santonian Milk River Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Alberta: a quantitative method supporting identification of the oldest dinosaur tooth assemblage in Canada". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 45 (12): 1455–1468. Bibcode:2008CaJES..45.1455L. doi:10.1139/E08-070.
^You, H.-L.; Li, D.-Q.; Zhou, L.-Q.; Ji, Q (2008). "Daxiatitan binglingi: a giant sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of China". Gansu Geology. 17 (4): 1–10.
^ abMateus, O (2008). "Two ornithischian dinosaurs renamed: Microceratops Bohlin 1953 and Diceratops Lull 1905". Journal of Paleontology. 82 (2): 423. doi:10.1666/07-069.1. S2CID86021954.
^Lü Junchang; Yoichi Azuma; Chen Rongjun; Zheng Wenjie; Jin Xingsheng (2008). "A new titanosauriform sauropod from the early Late Cretaceous of Dongyang, Zhejiang Province". Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition). 82 (2): 225–235. Bibcode:2008AcGlS..82..225L. doi:10.1111/j.1755-6724.2008.tb00572.x. S2CID130758135.
^Alifanov, V.R. (2008). "The tiny horned dinosaur Gobiceratops minutus gen. et sp. nov. (Bagaceratopidae, Neoceratopsia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia". Paleontological Journal. 42 (6): 621–633. Bibcode:2008PalJ...42..621A. doi:10.1134/S0031030108060087. S2CID129893753.
^Maidment, Susannah C.R.; Norman, David B.; Barrett, Paul M.; Upchurch, Paul (2008). "Systematics and phylogeny of Stegosauria (Dinosauria: Ornithischia)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 6 (4): 367–407. Bibcode:2008JSPal...6..367M. doi:10.1017/S1477201908002459. S2CID85673680.
^Novas, F.E.; Ezcurra, M.D.; Lecuona, A. (2008). "Orkoraptor burkei nov. gen. et sp., a large theropod from the Maastrichtian Pari Aike Formation, Southern Patagonia, Argentina". Cretaceous Research. 29 (3): 468–480. Bibcode:2008CrRes..29..468N. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2008.01.001.
^Filippi, L.S.; Garrido, A.C. (2008). "Pitekunsaurus macayai gen. et sp. nov., new titanosaur (Saurischia, Sauropoda) from Upper Cretaceous Neuquén Basin, Argentina". Ameghiniana. 45 (3): 575–590.
^Canudo, José I.; Royo-Torres, Rafael; Cuenca-Bescós, Gloria (2008). "A new sauropod: Tastavinsaurus sanzi gen. et sp. nov. from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) of Spain". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28 (3): 712–731. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[712:ANSTSG]2.0.CO;2. ISSN0272-4634. S2CID85860510.
^Cau, A.; Arduini, P. (2008). "Enantiophoenix electrophyla gen. et sp. nov. (Aves, Enantiornithes) from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Lebanon and its phylogenetic relationships". Atti della Societa Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo Ivico di Storia Naturale in Milano. 149 (2): 293–324.
^Zygmunt Bochenski; Zbigniew Bochenski (2008). "An Old World Hummingbird from the Oligocene: A New Fossil from Polish Carpathians". Journal of Ornithology. 149 (2): 211–216. doi:10.1007/s10336-007-0261-y. S2CID22193761.
^Gerald Mayr (2008). "Phylogenetic Affinities of the Enigmatic Avian Taxon Zygodactylus Based on New Material from the Early Oligocene of France". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 6 (3): 333–344. Bibcode:2008JSPal...6..333M. doi:10.1017/s1477201907002398. S2CID84422594.
^Caldwell, M.W.; et al. (2008). "A New Species Of Taniwhasaurus (Mosasauridae, Tylosaurinae) From The Upper Santonian-Lower Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) Of Hokkaido, Japan". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28 (2): 339–348. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[339:ANSOTM]2.0.CO;2. ISSN0272-4634. S2CID129446036.
^Krister T. Smith; Marie-Céline Buchy (2008). "A new aigialosaur (Squamata: Anguimorpha) with soft tissue remains from the Upper Cretaceous of Nuevo León, Mexico". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28 (1): 85–94. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[85:ANASAW]2.0.CO;2. S2CID131337703.
^Lawrence G. Barnes (2008). "Miocene and Pliocene Albireonidae (Cetacea, Odontoceti), rare and unusual fossil dolphins from the eastern North Pacific Ocean". In Xiaoming Wang; Lawrence G. Barnes (eds.). Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology of Western and Southern North America. Contributions in Honor of David P. Whistler. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. pp. 99–152. ISBN978-1-891276-27-9.
^Samuel A. McLeod; Lawrence G. Barnes (2008). "A new genus and species of Eocene protocetid archaeocete whale (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Atlantic Coastal Plain". In Xiaoming Wang; Lawrence G. Barnes (eds.). Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology of Western and Southern North America. Contributions in Honor of David P. Whistler. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. pp. 73–98. ISBN978-1-891276-27-9.
^Xiaoming Wang; Richard H. Tedford (2008). "Fossil dogs (Carnivora, Canidae) from the Sespe and Vaqueros formations in Southern California, with comments on relationships of Phlaocyon taylori". In Xiaoming Wang; Lawrence G. Barnes (eds.). Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology of Western and Southern North America. Contributions in Honor of David P. Whistler. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. pp. 255–272. ISBN978-1-891276-27-9.
^S. David Webb (2008). "Revision of the extinct Pseudoceratinae (Artiodactyla: Ruminantia: Gelocidae)". Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History. 48 (2): 17–58.
^ abBruce J. Shockey; Federico Anaya (2008). "Postcranial Osteology of Mammals from Salla, Bolivia (Late Oligocene): Form, Function, and Phylogenetic Implications". In Eric J. Sargis; Marian Dagosto (eds.). Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology Series. Springer. pp. 135–157. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-6997-0_7. ISBN978-1-4020-6996-3.
^ abcdefgM. Pickford; B. Senut; J. Morales; P. Mein; I. M. Sanchez (2008). "Mammalia from the Lutetian of Namibia". Memoir of the Geological Survey of Namibia. 20: 465–514.
^Richard H. Tedford; Xiaoming Wang (2008). "Metalopex, a new genus of fox (Carnivora: Canidae: Vulpini) from the late Miocene of western North America". In Xiaoming Wang; Lawrence G. Barnes (eds.). Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology of Western and Southern North America. Contributions in Honor of David P. Whistler. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. pp. 273–278. ISBN978-1-891276-27-9.
^Everett H. Lindsay; Robert E. Reynolds (2008). "Heteromyid rodents from Miocene faunas of the Mojave Desert, Southern California". In Xiaoming Wang; Lawrence G. Barnes (eds.). Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology of Western and Southern North America. Contributions in Honor of David P. Whistler. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. pp. 213–235. ISBN978-1-891276-27-9.
^M. Pickford; M. D. Uhen (2014). "Namaia Pickford et al., 2008, preoccupied by Namaia Green, 1963: proposal of a replacement name". Communications of the Geological Survey of Namibia. 15: 91.
^Chaimanee, Y.; Yamee, C.; Tian, P.; Chavasseau, O.; Jaeger, J.-J. (2008). "First middle Miocene sivaladapid primate from Thailand". Journal of Human Evolution. 54 (3): 434–443. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2007.10.001. PMID18022213.
^Michael Cassiliano (2008). "Stenomylus (Stenomylus) taylori, sp. nov. (Stenomylinae, Camelidae), from the early Miocene (Hemingfordian) Blick Quarry in New Mexico". Rocky Mountain Geology. 43 (2): 143–154. Bibcode:2008RMGeo..43..143C. doi:10.2113/gsrocky.43.2.143.
^Dickenson, W.R.; Gehrels, G.E. (2008). "U-Pb ages of detrital zircons in Jurassic eolian and associated sandstones of the Colorado Plateau: evidence for transcontinental dispersal and intraregional recycling of sediment". Geological Society of America Bulletin. 121 (3/4): 408–433. Bibcode:2009GSAB..121..408D. doi:10.1130/B26406.1. S2CID140585599.