2015 in paleontology

Plants

Cnidarians

Arthropods

Bryozoans

Brachiopods

Molluscs

Echinoderms

Conodonts

Fishes

Amphibians

Research

• A study of the anatomy of the skull of Acanthostega gunnari is published by Porro, Rayfield & Clack.
• A study of the skeletal morphogenesis of the lepospondyls Microbrachis pelikani and Hyloplesion longicostatum is published by Olori.
• A study of the anatomy of the skull of the lepospondyl Quasicaecilia texana is published by Pardo, Szostakiwskyj & Anderson.

  New taxa

Temnospondyls

Lepospondyls

Lissamphibians

Diadectomorphs

Ichthyosauromorphs

Research

• A study of phylogenetic relationships of ichthyopterygians is published by Ji et al. ; the authors introduced a new name, Grippioidea, for the clade containing the last common ancestor of Utatsusaurus hataii and Grippia longirostris, and all its descendants.
• An exceptionally large ichthyosaur radius, possibly belonging to a member of Shastasauridae is described from the Hettangian Blue Lias Formation by Martin et al..

  New taxa

Sauropterygians

Research

• A study on the growth patterns and strategies of placodonts is published by Klein et al..
• A study on the sexual selection and dimorphism in Keichousaurus hui is published by Motani et al..
• A study on the teeth replacement patterns during the ontogeny in pliosaurids is published by Sassoon, Foffa & Marek.

  New taxa

Lepidosaurs

Research

• A phylogenetic analysis of living and fossil squamate relationships, based on morphological and molecular data, is published by Reeder et al..
• Miocene anoles from the Dominican amber, showing the habitat specializations also present in the extant Caribbean anoles, are described by Sherratt et al..

  New taxa

Rhynchocephalians

Lizards

Snakes

Turtles

Archosauriformes

Pseudosuchians

Research

• Revision of the type material of Rauisuchus tiradentes is published by Lautenschlager and Rauhut.
• A study on the changes in the morphology of vertebrae caused by increased adaptation to aquatic locomotion in the evolution of crocodylomorphs is published by Molnar et al..
• A study of the evolutionary history of the clade Crocodyliformes is published by Bronzati, Montefeltro and Langer.
• A study of impact of the climate changes on the evolution and biodiversity of pseudosuchian archosaurs is published by Mannion et al..
• A study on the phylogenetic position of thalattosuchians within Crocodylomorpha is published by Wilberg.
• A review of the diagnostic features of the species assigned to the genus Machimosaurus is published by Martin, Vincent & Falconnet.
• An isolated metriorhynchid tooth is described from the Early Cretaceous Hybla Formation by Chiarenza et al., extending the known geological range of Metriorhynchidae and Thalattosuchia by approximately 7–8 million years; Fischer et al. subsequently caution that it might potentially be a pliosaurid tooth instead.

  New taxa

Non-avian dinosaurs

Research

• A study of phylogenetic relationships of sauropod dinosaurs belonging to the family Diplodocidae and the taxonomic revision of the family is published by Tschopp, Mateus and Benson ; the authors propose to reestablish Brontosaurus as a genus distinct from Apatosaurus and to transfer Dinheirosaurus lourinhanensis to the genus Supersaurus.
• Additional information on the anatomy of the holotype specimen of the rebbachisaurid sauropod Tataouinea hannibalis, including description of newly discovered fossil material of this specimen, and study of its phylogenetic relationships is published by Fanti et al..
• A reevaluation of the estimated body mass of Dreadnoughtus schrani is published by Bates et al..
• A study of phylogenetic relationships of ornithischian dinosaurs traditionally referred to as ‘basal ornithopods’ or ‘hypsilophodontids’ is published by Boyd.
• Carpenter & Lamanna reinterpret the ornithopod braincase from the Morrison Formation of the Carnegie Quarry at Dinosaur National Monument, formerly assigned to Uteodon aphanoecetes, as actually belonging to Dryosaurus cf. D. altus. The authors consider genera Uteodon and Cumnoria to be junior synonyms of Camptosaurus, and transfer the species Cumnoria prestwichii and Uteodon aphanoecetes to the genus Camptosaurus.

  New taxa

Birds

Research

• Balaur bondoc, originally interpreted as a member of Dromaeosauridae, is argued to be a basal member of Avialae by Cau, Brougham and Naish.
• Estimates of likely mass and flight capability of the extinct Chatham duck, as indicated by measurements of major bones, are published by Williams.
• New cranial material of the Oligo-Miocene relative of flamingos, Harrisonavis croizeti, is described by Torres et al..
• New specimens of the Eocene relative of swifts, Scaniacypselus szarskii, are described by Mayr.
• A specimen of a stem-coliiform Masillacolius brevidactylus with preserved skull is described by Mayr.
• A study of the phylogenetic relationships of Psittacopes, Pumiliornis and Morsoravis, indicating their close relationship to the passerines and extinct family Zygodactylidae, is published by Mayr ; the author also introduced a new name, Parapasseres, for the clade containg Passeriformes and Zygodactylidae but not Psittacopes.
• A study of preserved specimens of the Puerto Rican conure is published by Olson, who raises it to the rank of a separate species Psittacara maugei.
• A Dwarf Emu was found in the Miocene of Alcoota in Central Australia.
• Jones et al. describe a distal end of the left tibiotarsus of a member of the genus Caracara of uncertain specific assignment from the late Pleistocene of Argentina, estimated to be the largest member of the family Falconidae described thus far.
• A description of the skeletal anatomy of two well-preserved specimens of the dodo is published by Claessens, Meijer and Hume.

  New taxa

Pterosaurs

Research

• A study on the terrestrial locomotion of non-pterodactyloid pterosaurs is published by Witton.
• A specimen of Rhamphorhynchus muensteri with preserved soft tissues or impressions of soft tissues, stomach contents and possibly a coprolite is described by Hone et al..

  New taxa

Other

• A study on the archosauriform evolutionary history during the Late Permian and Early Triassic, including description of chirotheriid and chirotheriid-like tracks from the Late Permian of Northern Italy, is published by Bernardi et al..

  Other reptiles

Synapsids

Non-mammalian synapsids

Research

• Redescription of the anatomy of Tiarajudens eccentricus is published by Cisneros et al., who compare the species with Anomocephalus africanus.

  New taxa

Mammals

Research

• Description of exceptionally preserved specimens of the pantodont species Alcidedorbignya inopinata and a study of its phylogenetic relationships is published by De Muizon et al..
• A study on the phylogenetic relationships of the family Nyctitheriidae based on new fossil remains of Plagioctenodon rosei and Plagioctenodon thewisseni is published by Manz et al..
• Studies of the phylogenetic relationships of litopterns and notoungulates within Placentalia, indicating that their closest living relatives are odd-toed ungulates, are published by Welker et al. and Buckley.
• A study of the phylogenetic relationships of the Pleistocene camelid genus Camelops, based on genomic data extracted from its bones, is published by Heintzman et al..
• A study on the feeding habits of extant and fossil members of the family Canidae belonging to the tribe Canini, as indicated by skull size and shape, is published by Meloro, Hudson & Hook.
• A study on the population dynamics of the cave lion during the Late Pleistocene is published by Ersmark et al..
• Description of tarsals attributed to Purgatorius and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of this mammal is published by Chester et al..
• A study on the age of the holotype specimen of Darwinius masillae at the time of death and on the life history of the species is published by López-Torres, Schillaci & Silcox.
• Cranial endocast of Victoriapithecus macinessi is reconstructed by Gonzales et al..
• A study evaluating the evidence of association between extinctions or replacements of large mammals in the Northern Hemisphere in the Late Pleistocene with warming events is published by Cooper et al..

  New taxa

Newly named non-eutherian mammals

Metatherians

Others

Eutherians

Xenarthrans

Afrotherians

Bats

Odd-toed ungulates

Even-toed ungulates

Cetaceans

Carnivorans

Rodents

Primates

Other eutherians

Other animals

Research

• A study of phylogenetic relationships of the Ediacaran animal Namacalathus, interpreting it as a member of Lophotrochozoa related to bryozoans and brachiopods, is published by Zhuravlev, Wood & Penny.

  New taxa

Other organisms