2002 in paleontology
Plants
Gymnosperms
| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
Ginkgo dissecta | Sp nov | Valid | Mustoe | Early Eocene | McAbee site, Kamloops Group | |||
Pinus matthewsii | Sp nov | Valid | McKown, Stockey, & Schweger | Pliocene | Ch'ijee's Bluff, Bluefish Basin |
Angiosperms
| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
Hymenaea mexicana | sp nov | Valid | Poinar & Brown | Late Oligocene - early Miocene | Mexican amber | A species of Hymenaea, producer of Mexican amber | ||
Trifurcatua flabellata | Gen. et sp. nov. | Valid | Mohr & Rydin | Lower Cretaceous | Crato Formation | putative monocot |
Brachiopods
Arthropods
Insects
Conodonts
and K Weddige described the conodont genus Eolinguipolygnathus.Archosauromorphs
Newly named dinosaurs
Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
Agnosphitys | gen et sp nov | Valid | Fraser, Padian, Walkden, & Davis | late Triassic | A possible chimera | |||
Anabisetia | gen et sp nov | Valid | Coria & Calvo | Late Cretaceous | Cerro Lisandro Formation | An Iguanodont | ||
Aucasaurus | gen et sp nov | Valid | Coria, Chiappe, & Dingus | Santonian | Anacleto Formation | An Abelisaurid | ||
"Byranjaffia" | gen nov | Nomen nudum | Novacek | Late Cretaceous | Officially named Byronosaurus | |||
Crichtonsaurus | gen et sp nov | Valid | Dong | Late Cretaceous | Sunjiawan Formation | An ankylosaurid | ||
"Cryptovolans" | gen et sp nov | Junior synonym | Czerkas, Zhang, Li, & Li | Aptian | Jiufotang Formation | Jr synonym of Microraptor | ||
"Epidendrosaurus" | gen et sp nov | junior synonym | Zhang, Zhou, Xu, & Wang | Late Jurassic | Yixian Formation | jr synonym of Scansoriopteryx | ||
Erliansaurus | gen et sp nov | Valid | Xu et al. | Late Cretaceous | Iren Dabasu Formation | A Therizinosauroid | ||
"Fusinasus" | gen et sp nov | Junior synonym of Eotyrannus | Hutt | Early Cretaceous | Wessex Formation | Jr synonym of Eotyrannus | ||
"Huaxiasaurus" | Nomen nudum | Rey | Officially named Huaxiagnathus in 2004 | |||||
Incisivosaurus | gen et sp nov | Valid | Xu, Wang, & Chang | Barremian | Yixian Formation | An Oviraptorosaurid | ||
Liaoceratops | gen et sp nov | Valid |
| Berremian | Yixian Formation | A Ceratopsian | ||
Pycnonemosaurus | gen et sp nov | Valid | Kellner & Campos | Bauru-type red conglomerate sandstone | Maastrichtian | An Abelisaurid | ||
Scansoriopteryx | gen et sp nov | Valid | Czerkas & Yuan | Late Jurassic | Yixian Formation | Possible junior synonym of Epidendrosaurus | ||
Sinovenator | gen et sp nov | Valid | Xu et al.'' | Early Cretaceous | Yixian Formation | A Troodontid |
Newly named birds
Newly named Plesiosaurs
Pterosaurs
In October, a partial Mesadacylus wing was discovered in the Kingsview Quarry of Colorado. This find marks the first time that a Morrison pterosaur has been found at more than one site in the formation.New taxa
| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
Austriadactylus | gen et sp nov | Valid | Dalla Vecchia, Wild, & Reitner | Late Triassic | Seefelder Beds | |||
Hatzegopteryx | gen et sp nov | Valid | Buffetaut, Grigorescu, & Csiki | Late Cretaceous | Densuș-Ciula Formation | possibly a jr synonym of Quetzalcoatlus | ||
Jeholopterus | gen et sp nov | Valid | Wang & Zhou | Late Jurassic | Daohugou Beds | |||
Piksi | gen et sp nov | Valid | Varricchio | Late Cretaceous | Two Medicine Formation | At first thought to be a bird, but subsequently reinterpreted as a pterosaur, likely a member of Ornithocheiroidea. | ||
Pterorhynchus | gen et sp nov | Valid | Czerkas & Ji | Late Jurassic | Daohugou Beds | |||
Thalassodromeus | gen et sp nov | Valid | Kellner & Campos | early Cretaceous | Santana Formation | |||
Utahdactylus'' | gen et sp nov | Valid | Czerkas & Mickelson | Late Jurassic | Morrison Formation, Utah |
Lepidosauromorphs
Newly named Squamates
| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
"Lakumasaurus" | Gen et sp nov | Jr synonym | Novas et al. | Late Campanian | Santa Marta Formation | Genus synonymized in 2007 with Taniwhasaurus | '' |
Synapsids
Non-mammalian
| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
Criocephalosaurus | gen nov | Valid | Kammerer & Sidor | Upper Permian | A dinocephalian. Replacement name for Criocephalus Broom, 1928, preoccupied by Criocephalus Mulsant 1839. | |||
Kitchinganomodon | Gen nov | Valid | Maisch | Upper Permian | A dicynodont. New genus for "Platycyclops" crassus Broom, 1948. | |||
Kwazulusaurus | gen et sp nov | Valid | Maisch | Upper Permian | Beaufort Group | A dicynodont. The type species is Kwazulusaurus shakai. | ||
Lanthanocephalus | gen et sp nov | Preoccupied | Modesto, Rubidge, & Welman | Upper Permian | Koonap Formation | Genus preoccupied by Lanthanocephalus Williams & Starmer, 2000, moved to the replacement Lanthanostegus in 2003 | ||
Neotrirachodon | gen et sp nov | Valid | Tatarinov | Middle Triassic | Donguz Formation | A cynodont. The type species is Neotrirachodon expectatus. | ||
Ruhuhucerberus | gen et sp nov | Valid | Maisch | Upper Permian | Kawinga Formation | A gorgonopsian. The type species is Ruhuhucerberus terror. | ||
Titanogorgon | gen nov | Valid | Maisch | Upper Permian | Kawinga Formation | A gorgonopsian. New genus for "Gorgonognathus" maximus von Huene, 1950. |