# 1991 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 1991.

## Plants
### Angiosperms

| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
| Cruciptera | Gen et comb nov | valid | Brown | Middle Eocene | Clarno Formation | USA Oregon | A walnut relative. Moved from Tetrapteris simsoni (1940) | |
| Soleredera | Gen et sp nov | Valid | Erwin & Stockey | Eocene Ypresian | Okanagan Highlands Princeton Chert | Canada British Columbia | A lilialean genus of uncertain placement | |

## Arthropods
### Insects

| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
| Anochetus brevidentatus | Sp nov | Valid | MacKay | Burdigalian | Dominican amber | Dominican Republic | A ponerin ant | |
| Stenolestes hispanicus | Sp nov | Valid | Nel | Vallesian | Bellver de Cerdanya | Spain | A sieblosiid damselfly | Stenolestes hispanicus |

## Mollusca
### Newly named bivalves

| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
| Similodonta wahli | Sp nov | Valid | Isakar | Late Ordovician | Arina Formation | Estonia | | |

## Archosauromorphs

* Sankar Chatterjee's discovery of a possible Triassic bird, Protoavis, if genuine, would push avian origins back almost 70 million years. The find ignites controversy over the connection between dinosaurs and birds.

### Newly named dinosaurs

Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.
| Name | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
| Alvarezsaurus | Valid taxon | Jose Bonaparte | Late Cretaceous (Santonian) | Bajo de la Carpa Formation | Argentina | An alvarezsaurid. | Alvarezsaurus |
| Amargasaurus | Valid taxon | Salgado and Jose Bonaparte | Early Cretaceous (Barremian) | La Amarga Formation | Argentina | A dicraeosaurid. with Spines on its Neck | Amargasaurus |
| Amurosaurus | Valid taxon | Bolotsky & Kurzanov | Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) | Udurchukan Formation | Russia  China | A lambeosaurine hadrosaurid. | |
| Andesaurus | Valid taxon | Calvo and Bonaparte | Late Cretaceous (Santonian) | Bajo de la Carpa Formation | Argentina | An alvarezsaurid. | |
| Becklespinax | Junior synonym | George Olshevsky. | Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) | Wadhurst Clay Formation | UK | A junior objective synonym of Altispinax; new genus for "Acrocanthosaurus" altispinax Paul (1988). | |
| Euronychodon | Valid taxon | Telles-Antunes & Sigogneau-Russell | Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) | | Portugal  Uzbekistan | A troodontid. | |
| Janenschia | Valid taxon | Wild | Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian-Tithonian) | Tendaguru Formation | Tanzania | A non-titanosauriform macronarian; new genus for "Gigantosaurus" robustus E. Fraas (1908). | |
| Protognathosaurus | Valid taxon | George Olshevsky | Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) | Xiashaximiao Formation | China | A sauropod of uncertain affinities. | |
| "Rioarribasaurus" | Junior synonym | Hunt & S.G. Lucas | Late Triassic (late Norian-Rhaetian) | | | A junior synonym of Coelophysis. | |
| "Seismosaurus" | Junior synonym | Gillette | | | | | |
| Tarascosaurus | Valid taxon | Le Loeuff and Buffetaut | | | France | | |
| Taveirosaurus | Valid taxon | Telles-Antunes & Sigogneau-Russell | Late Cretaceous | | Portugal  Spain | An ornithischian of unknown affinities. | |
| Tochisaurus | Valid taxon | Kurzanov and Osmolska | Cretaceous | | Mongolia |
| "Ultrasauros" | Junior synonym | George Olshevsky | Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) | Morrison Formation | | Junior synonym of Supersaurus; replacement name for Ultrasaurus Jensen 1985 (preoccupied). | |
| Valdoraptor | Valid taxon | George Olshevsky | Early Cretaceous (late Valanginian) | Tunbridge Wells Formation | UK | An ornithomimosaur; new genus for "Megalosaurus" oweni Lydekker (1889). | |
| Velocisaurus | Valid taxon | Jose Bonaparte | | | Argentina | A Noasaur. | Velocisaurus |

### Newly named birds

| Name | Status | Novelty | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes |
| Aidemedia chascax | Valid | Sp. nov. | Helen F. James Storrs L. Olson | Holocene | Oahu | USA ( Hawaii) | A Fringillidae, Carduelinae. |
| Aidemedia lutetiae | Valid | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Helen F. James Storrs L. Olson | Holocene | Molokai | USA ( Hawaii) | A Fringillidae, Carduelinae, this is the type species of the new genus. |
| Aidemedia zanclops | Valid | Sp. nov. | Helen F. James Storrs L. Olson | Holocene | Oahu | USA ( Hawaii) | A Fringillidae, Carduelinae. |
| Apteribis brevis | Valid | Sp. nov. | Storrs L. Olson Helen F. James | Holocene | Maui | USA ( Hawaii) | A Threskiornithidae. |
| Asiahesperornis bazhanovi | Valid | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Lev A. Nessov B. V. Prizemlin | Late Cretaceous | Late Campanian-Early Maastrichtian, Eginsai Formation | Kazakhstan | A Hesperornithiformes Fürbringer, 1888, Hesperornithidae Marsh, 1872. |
| Branta hylobadistes | Valid | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Storrs L. Olson Helen F. James | Holocene | Maui | USA ( Hawaii) | An Anatidae. |
| Chelychelynechen quassus | Valid | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Storrs L. Olson Helen F. James | Holocene | Kauai | USA ( Hawaii) | An Anatidae, a moa-nalo, this is the type species of the genus. |
| Chloridops regiskongi | Valid | Sp. nov. | Helen F. James Storrs L. Olson | Holocene | Oahu | USA ( Hawaii) | A Fringillidae, Carduelinae. |
| Chloridops wahi | Valid | Sp. nov. | Helen F. James Storrs L. Olson | Holocene | Oahu | USA ( Hawaii) | A Fringillidae, Carduelinae. |
| Circus dossenus | Valid | Sp. nov. | Storrs L. Olson Helen F. James | Holocene | Molokai | USA ( Hawaii) | An Accipitridae. |
| Ciridops tenax | Valid | Sp. nov. | Helen F. James Storrs L. Olson | Holocene | Kauai | USA ( Hawaii) | A Fringillidae, Carduelinae. |
| Corvus impluviatus | Valid | Sp. nov. | Helen F. James Storrs L. Olson | Holocene | Oahu | USA ( Hawaii) | A Corvidae. |
| Corvus viriosus | Valid | Sp. nov. | Helen F. James Storrs L. Olson | Holocene | Oahu | USA ( Hawaii) | A Corvidae. |
| Dendroscansor decurvirostris | Valid | Gen. nov et Sp. nov. | Philip R. Millener Trevor H. Worthy | Late Pleistocene | Otira Glacial Age | New Zealand | An Acanthisittidae. |
| Grallistrix auceps | Valid | Sp. nov. | Storrs L. Olson Helen F. James | Holocene | Kauai | USA ( Hawaii) | A Strigidae. |
| Grallistrix erdmani | Valid | Sp. nov. | Storrs L. Olson Helen F. James | Holocene | Maui | USA ( Hawaii) | A Strigidae. |
| Grallistrix geleches | Valid | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Storrs L. Olson Helen F. James | Holocene | Molokai | USA ( Hawaii) | A Strigidae, the type species of the new genus. |
| Grallistrix orion | Valid | Sp. nov. | Storrs L. Olson Helen F. James | Holocene | Oahu | USA ( Hawaii) | A Strigidae. |
| Hemignathus upupirostris | Valid | Sp. nov. | Helen F. James Storrs L. Olson | Holocene | Kauai | USA ( Hawaii) | A Fringillidae, Carduelinae, transferred to the genus Akialoa Olson et James, 1995 by Olson et James, 1995. |
| Horusornis vianeyliaudae | Valid | Gen. nov et Sp. nov. | Cécile Mourer-Chauviré | Late Eocene | Phosphorites du Quercy MP 17 | France | An Accipitriformes, Horusornithidae Mourer-Chauviré, 1991, this is the type species of the new genus. |
| Orthiospiza howarthi | Valid | Gen. nov et Sp. nov. | Helen F. James Storrs L. Olson | Holocene | Maui | USA ( Hawaii) | A Fringillidae, Carduelinae, this is the type species of the new genus. |
| Palaeocryptonyx hungaricus | Valid | Sp. nov. | Dénes Jánossy | Late Miocene | MN 13 | Hungary | A Phasianidae, transferred to the genus Plioperdix Kretzoi, 1955 as Plioperdix hungarica Comb. nov. by Nikita V. Zelenkov & Andrey V. Panteleyev. |
| Pavo aesculapi phasianoides | Valid | Subsp. nov. | Dénes Jánossy | Late Miocene | | Hungary | A member of the family Phasianidae. Originally described as a subspecies of Pavo aesculapi; Zelenkov (2016) transferred it to the genus Syrmaticus and raised it to the rank of a separate species Syrmaticus phasianoides. |
| Phalacrocorax kuehneanus | Valid | Sp. nov. | Thomas Schlüter | Late Pliocene | Minjingu | Tanzania | A Phalacrocoracidae. |
| Phoeniconaias siamensis | Valid | Sp. nov. | Jacques Cheneval Léonard Ginsburg Cécile Mourer-Chauviré Benjavun Ratanasthien | Late Early Miocene | Li Mae | Thailand | A Phoenicopteridae. |
| Porzana estramosi veterior | Valid | Subsp. nov. | Dénes Jánossy | Late Miocene | | Hungary | A member of the family Rallidae. Originally described as a subspecies of Porzana estramosi; Zelenkov (2017) transferred it to the genus Zapornia and raised it to the rank of a separate species Zapornia veterior. |
| Porzana keplerorum | Valid | Sp. nov. | Storrs L. Olson Helen F. James | Holocene | Maui | USA ( Hawaii) | A Rallidae. |
| Porzana menehune | Valid | Sp. nov. | Storrs L. Olson Helen F. James | Holocene | Molokai | USA ( Hawaii) | A Rallidae. |
| Porzana ralphorum | Valid | Sp. nov. | Storrs L. Olson Helen F. James | Holocene | Oahu | USA ( Hawaii) | A Rallidae. |
| Porzana severnsi | Valid | Sp. nov. | Storrs L. Olson Helen F. James | Holocene | Maui | USA ( Hawaii) | A Rallidae. |
| Porzana ziegleri | Valid | Sp. nov. | Storrs L. Olson Helen F. James | Holocene | Oahu | USA ( Hawaii) | A Rallidae. |
| Protoavis texensis | Valid | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Sankar Chatterjee | Late Trias | Late Carnian-Early Norian | USA ( Texas) | A Protoaviformes Chatterjee, 1991, Protoaviformes Chatterjee, 1991, the type and only species of the genus, no longer considered a bird. |
| Pseudodontornis tshulensis | Valid | Sp. nov. | Aleksandr O. Averianov Andrei V. Panteleyev Olga R. Potapova Lev A. Nessov | Late Paleocene | Landenian | Kazakhstan | A Pseudodontornithidae Lambrecht, 1933. |
| Pseudoseisuropsis nehuen | Valid | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Jorge I. Noriega | Early Pleistocene | Miramar Formation | Argentina | A Furnariidae, Philydorinae, this is the type species of the new genus. |
| Ptaiochen pau | Valid | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Storrs L. Olson Helen F. James | Holocene | Maui | USA ( Hawaii) | An Anatidae, a moa-nalo, this is the type species of the genus. |
| Pterodroma jugabilis | Valid | Sp. nov. | Storrs L. Olson Helen F. James | Holocene | Oahu | USA ( Hawaii) | A Procellariidae. |
| Rallicrex polgardiensis | Valid | Sp. nov. | Dénes Jánossy | Late Miocene | MN 13 | Hungary | A member of the family Rallidae. Originally described as a species of Rallicrex; Zelenkov (2017) transferred this species to the genus Rallus. |
| Telespiza persecutrix | Valid | Sp. nov. | Helen F. James Storrs L. Olson | Holocene | Oahu, Kauai | USA ( Hawaii) | A Fringillidae, Carduelinae. |
| Telespiza ypsilon | Valid | Sp. nov. | Helen F. James Storrs L. Olson | Holocene | Molokai, Maui | USA ( Hawaii) | A Fringillidae, Carduelinae. |
| Thambetochen xanion | Valid | Sp. nov. | Storrs L. Olson Helen F. James | Holocene | Oahu | USA ( Hawaii) | An Anatidae, a moa-nalo. |
| Tyto campiterrae | Valid | Sp. nov. | Dénes Jánossy | Late Miocene | MN 13 | Hungary | A Tytonidae. |
| Vangulifer mirandus | Valid | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Helen F. James Storrs L. Olson | Holocene | Maui | USA ( Hawaii) | A Fringillidae, Carduelinae. |
| Vangulifer neophasis | Valid | Sp. nov. | Helen F. James Storrs L. Olson | Holocene | Maui | USA ( Hawaii) | A Fringillidae, Carduelinae. |
| Xestospiza conica | Valid | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Helen F. James Storrs L. Olson | Holocene | Kauai | USA ( Hawaii) | A Fringillidae, Carduelinae. |
| Xestospiza fastigialis | Valid | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Helen F. James Storrs L. Olson | Holocene | Oahu, Molokai, Maui | USA ( Hawaii) | A Fringillidae, Carduelinae, the type species of the new genus. |

#### Genera no longer considered to be birds

* Protoavis. The avian status of Protoavis has since been almost universally rejected by paleontologists.

## Pseudosuchians

| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Type locality | Country | Notes | Images |
| Australosuchus clarkae | Gen. et sp. nov | Valid | Willis & Molnar | Late Oligocene - Early Miocene | Etadunna Formation | Australia | A mekosuchine crocodilian described from a multitude of skeletons. | |

## Pterosaurs
### New taxa

| Name | Status | Authors | Authors | Location | Images |
| Bennettazhia | Valid | Nesov | | USA ( Oregon) | |

## Synapsids
### Non-mammalian

| Name | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
| Apsisaurus | Valid | Laurin | Lower Permian | Archer City Formation | USA ( Texas) | Formerly assigned as an eosuchian diapsid, was restudied and classified as a varanopid synapsid. | Apsisaurus |
| Ctenorhachis | Valid | Hook Hotton | Upper Permian | | USA ( Texas) | A sphenacodontid synapsid. | Ctenorhachis |