2009 in paleontology


Arthropods

Cephalopods

Three new species of extinct Octopoda discovered in 2009. The species – Keuppia hyperbolaris, Keuppia levante, and Styletoctopus annae – lived about 95 million years ago, and bear a strong resemblance to modern octopuses, suggesting that the Octopoda order has remained relatively unchanged for tens of millions of years. The fossils included evidence of arms, muscles, rows of suckers, ink, and internal gills. The discovery was made by a team led by Dirk Fuchs of the Freie University, which is located at Berlin, Germany. The fossils were found at Hakel and Hadjoula, Lebanon. Various new ammonoid taxa were named, including Ivoites.
NameNoveltyStatusAuthorsAgeUnitLocationNotesImages

Keuppia
Gen et sp nov
Valid
Fuchs, Bracchi, & Weis
Upper Cenomanian


Styletoctopus
gen et sp nov
Valid
Fuchs, Bracchi, & Weis
Upper Cenomanian

Ivoites''
gen nov
Valid
De Baets, Klug, & Korn
Lower Emsian

Cartilaginous fish

Bony fish

Newly named amphibians

NameStatusAuthorsAgeUnitLocationNotesImages

Baphetes orientalis
Valid
  • Milner
  • Milner
  • Walsh
Late Carboniferous
-

Cratia
Valid
  • Báez
  • Moura
  • Gómez
Lower Cretaceous
Crato Formation

Possible stem neobatrachian

Eurycephalella
Valid
  • Báez
  • Moura
  • Gómez
Lower Cretaceous
Crato Formation

A hyloid

Nannaroter
Valid
Early Permian

The smallest known ostodolepid microsaur

Nesovtriton
Valid
  • Skutschas
Turonian
Bissekty Formation

A cryptobranchoid salamander

Regalerpeton
Valid
Early Cretaceous
Huajiying Formation

A cryptobranchoid salamander

Spinarerpeton
Valid
  • Klembara
Early Permian
Boskovice Furrow

A discosauriscid seymouriamorph
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Basal reptiles

Newly named basal reptiles

NameStatusAuthorsDiscovery yearAgeUnitLocationNotesImages

Australothyris
Valid
  • Modesto
  • Scott
  • Reisz
Middle Permian
Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone

A basal parareptile		-

Procolina
Valid
  • Borsuk−Białynicka
  • Lubka
early Late Olenekian
Czatkowice 1

A procolophonine procolophonid		-

Turtles

Newly named turtles

NameStatusAuthorsDiscovery yearAgeUnitLocationNotesImages

Angolachelys
Valid
Turonian

Aurorachelys
Valid
  • Vandermark
  • Tarduno
  • et al.
Late Cretaceous
Strand Fiord Formation

Basilochelys
Valid
  • Tong
  • Claude
  • et al.
Late Jurassic/Lower Cretaceous
Phu Kradung Formation

Cedrobaena
Valid
  • Lyson
  • Joyce
Paleocene
Fort Union Formation
USA
New genus for "Plesiobaena" putorius Gaffney, 1972

Chelonoidis alburyorum
Valid
  • Franz
  • Franz
Holocene

A tortoise.

Chinlechelys
Valid
  • Joyce et al.
Late Triassic
Bull Canyon Formation

A basal member of Testudinata. The type species is C. tenertesta. The genus Chinlechelys was considered to be a junior synonym of the genus Proganochelys by Joyce, though the author maintained C. tenertesta as a distinct species within the latter genus.

Derrisemys
Junior synonym
  • Hutchison
Early Paleocene
USA
Junior synonym of Hutchemys.

Eileanchelys
Valid
  • Anquetin
  • Barrett
  • et al.
Middle Jurassic
Kilmaluag Formation

Hutchemys
Valid
  • Joyce
  • Revan
  • Lyson
  • Danilov
Paleocene
Fort Union Formation
Tullock Formation
USA
A plastomenine softshell turtles

Kinkonychelys
Valid
Late Cretaceous
Maevarano Formation

Palatobaena cohen
Valid
  • Lyson
  • Joyce
Maastrichtian
Hell Creek Formation
USA
A baenid

Peckemys
Valid
  • Lyson
  • Joyce
Late Cretaceous
Hell Creek Formation
USA
A baenid

Plastomenoides
Junior synonym
  • Hutchison
Early Paleocene
USA
Junior synonym of Hutchemys.
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Archosauromorphs

Basal archosauromorphs

Archosaurs

Lepidosauromorphs

Basal lepidosauromorphs

Plesiosaurs

Synapsids

Non-mammalian

NameStatusAuthorsAgeUnitLocationNotesImages

Protuberum
Valid
  • Reichel
  • Schultz
  • Soares
Middle Triassic
Santa Maria Formation

Raranimus
Valid
  • Liu
  • Rubidge
  • Li
Middle Permian
Xidagou Formation


Yuanotherium
Valid
  • Hu
  • Meng
  • Clark
Late Jurassic
Shishugou Formation

Mammals

Plants

Angiosperms

Relevant research in other sciences

Evolutionary biology

A study noting the effects of the KT mass extinction on Earth's modern biota is published.

Geology

Complete author list

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.