# 1993 in paleontology

Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. 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 1993.

## Flora
### Plants

| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
| Araucarioxylon hoodii | Sp nov | jr synonym | (Tidwell & Medlyn) Gee et al | Late Jurassic | Morrison Formation | USA Utah | An araucariaceous petrified wood. Moved to Agathoxylon hoodii (2019) | |

## Arthropods
### Insects

| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
| Lixus (Eulixus) balazuci | Gen et sp nov | Valid | Voisin & Nel | Turolian | | France | A Curculionid weevil | Lixus (Eulixus) balazuci |
| Mesoepiophlebia veronicae | Gen et sp nov | Valid | Nel & Henrotay | Toarcian | Bascharage | Luxembourg | A sphenophlebiid dragonfly. Type species M. veronicae | Mesoepiophlebia veronicae |
| Miofibla | Gen et sp nov | jr synonym | Nel | Late Miocene | | Spain | An inocellid snakefly, moved to Fibla (Reisserella) cerdanica in 2002 | Fibla cerdanica |
| Ohmella coffini | Sp nov | Valid | Nel | Turolian | Montagne d'Andance | France | A snakefly | Ohmella coffini |
| Paraplagiophlebia | Gen et sp nov | Valid | Nel & Henrotay | Toarcian | Bascharage | Luxembourg | A Myopophlebiid dragonfly, type species P. marcusi | Paraheterophlebia marcusi |
| Paraoligolestes | Gen et sp nov | Valid | Nel & Escuillé | Turolian | | France | A Sieblosiid damselfly, type species P. miocenicus | Paraoligolestes miocenicus |
| Paraplagiophlebia | Gen et sp nov | Valid | Nel & Henrotay | Toarcian | Bascharage | Luxembourg | A Myopophlebiid dragonfly, type species P. loneuxi | Paraplagiophlebia loneuxi |

## Archosauromorphs
### Pseudosuchians

| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
| Shuvosaurus | | Valid taxon | Chatterjee | Late Triassic (mid Norian) | Cooper Canyon Formation | United States ( Texas) | A shuvosaurid. | Shuvosaurus |

### Non-avian dinosaurs

Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.
| Name | Status | Authors | Authors | Location | Notes | Images |
| Anasazisaurus | Valid taxon | Hunt | S. G. Lucas | United States ( New Mexico) | | |
| Argentinosaurus | Valid taxon | Jose Bonaparte | Rodolfo Coria | Argentina | A sauropod of 75 to 100 tons and 35 meters in length. | Argentinosaurus |
| "Elvisaurus" | nomen nudum later named Cryolophosaurus | Holmes | | | | |
| Eoraptor | Valid taxon | Paul Sereno Catherine Forster | Rogers Monetta | Argentina | A primitive saurischian. | Eoraptor |
| Iuticosaurus | Valid taxon | Le Loeuff | | | | |
| Klamelisaurus | Valid taxon | Zhao X. | | China | | |
| Malawisaurus | Valid taxon | Jacobs Winkler | W. R. Downs Gomani, | Malawi | A Sauropod dinosaur from Malawi. | Malawisaurus |
| "Mononychus" | Preoccupied name, later respelled Mononykus | Perle Mark Norell | Luis M. Chiappe Clark, /Schueppel | | | |
| Mononykus | Valid taxon | Perle Mark Norell | Luis M. Chiappe Clark | Mongolia | A small Mongolian alvaresaur. | Mononykus was originally spelled "Mononychus." |
| Naashoibitosaurus | Valid taxon | Hunt | S. G. Lucas, | United States ( New Mexico) | | |
| Pararhabdodon | Valid taxon | Casanovas-Cladellas Santafé-Llopis | Isidro-Llorens | Spain | A Spanish Tsintaosaurin Hadrosaur. | |
| Tianchisaurus | Valid taxon | Dong Zhiming | | China | | |
| Tsagantegia | Valid taxon | Tumanova | | Mongolia | | |
| Utahraptor | Valid taxon | James Kirkland Burge | Gaston | United States ( Utah) | A bear-size Dromaeosaur. | Utahraptor with a human to scale. |

### Birds

| Name | Status | Novelty | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes |
| Archaeopteryx bavarica | Valid ? | Sp. nov. | Peter Wellnhofer | Late Jura | Portlandian, Solnhofer Plattenkalk | Germany | An Archaopterygidae, the 7th Archaeopteryx specimen (Solnhofer Aktien-Verein specimen). Often seen as synonymous with Archaeopteryx lithographica von Meyer, 1861. |
| Chaoyangia beishanensis | Valid | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Hou Lianhai Zhang Jiangyong | Early Cretaceous | Valanginian, Jiufotang Formation | China | An Ornithurae, Chaoyangiiformes Hou, 1997, Chaoyangiidae Hou, 1997. |
| Corvus fangshannus | Valid | Sp. nov. | Hou Lianhai | Pleistocene | Cave deposits | China | A Corvidae. |
| Coturnix gomerae | Valid | Sp. nov. | Damià Jaume Miguel McMinn Josep A. Alcover | Late Pleistocene | Cave deposits | Spain | A Phasianidae. |
| Coua berthae | Valid | Sp. nov. | Steven M. Goodman Florent Ravoavy | Holocene | Cave deposits | Madagascar | A Cuculidae. |
| Enantiornis martini | Valid | Sp. nov. | Lev A. Nessov Andrei V. Panteleyev | Late Cretaceous | Coniacian, Bissekty Formation | Uzbekistan | An Enantiornithidae, transferred to the New genus Incolornis Panteleyev, 1998 by Panteleyev, 1998 |
| Enantiornis walkeri | Valid | Sp. nov. | Lev A. Nessov Andrei V. Panteleyev | Late Cretaceous | Coniacian, Bissekty Formation | Uzbekistan | An Enantiornithidae, transferred to the New genus Explorornis Panteleyev, 1998 by Panteleyev |
| Gallus moldovicus | 1993, In press. | Sp. nov. | Nikolay I. Burchak-Abramovich I. M. Ganea K. I. Shushpanov | Late Pliocene | Tchichmiknoia | Moldova | Phasianidae, I have not seen the paper, but it is mentioned in the Sape Newsletter, 1993 and in Mlíkovský, 2002. . |
| Hesperornis rossicus | Valid | Sp. nov. | Lev A. Nessov A. A. Yarkov | Late Cretaceous | Late Campanian | Kazakhstan | A Hesperornithiformes Fürbringer, 1888, Hesperornithidae Marsh, 1872. |
| Lectavis bretincola | Valid | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Luis M. Chiappe | Late Cretaceous | Maastrichtian, Lecho Formation | Argentina | An Enantiornithes Walker, 1981, this is the type species of the new genus. |
| Murunkus subitus | Valid | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Andrei V. Panteleyev Lev A. Nessov | Middle Eocene | Central Kizylkum Desert | Uzbekistan | A Diomedeidae |
| Orthonyx kaldowinyeri | Valid | Sp. nov. | Walter E. Boles | Middle-Late Miocene | Riversleigh | Australia | An Orthonychidae. |
| Orthonyx wakefieldi | Valid | Sp. nov. | Robert F. Baird | Late Pleistocene | Cave deposits | Australia | An Orthonychidae. |
| Pengana robertbolesi | Valid | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Walter E. Boles | Late Oligocene-Early Miocene | Sticky Beak Local Fauna | Australia | An Accipitridae, this is the type species of the new genus. |
| Proornis coreae | Nomen Nudum | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Lin ? | Early Cretaceous | ?Barremian | North Korea | A possible Confuciusornithidae, the famous "Archaopteryx of Korea", there is not a valid description of this specimen, so the name is a Nomen Nudum. |
| Pycnoptilus fordi | Valid | Sp. nov. | Robert F. Baird | Late Pleistocene | Cave deposits | Australia | An Acanthizidae. |
| Soroavisaurus australis | Valid | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Luis M. Chiappe | Late Cretaceous | Maastrichtian, Lecho Formation | Argentina | An Enantiornithes Walker, 1981, Avisauridae Brett-Surman et Paul, 1985, this is the type species of the new genus. |
| Tyto jinniushanensis | Valid | Sp. nov. | Hou LianHai | Pleistocene | Cave deposits | China | A Tytonidae. |
| Yungavolucris brevipedalis | Valid | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Luis M. Chiappe | Late Cretaceous | Maastrichtian, Lecho Formation | Argentina | An Enantiornithes Walker, 1981, this is the type species of the new genus. |

### Plesiosaurs

| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
| Attenborosaurus | | Valid | Bakker | Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian) | Blue Lias | United Kingdom | A plesiosaurid. | Attenborosaurus |