Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils.[1] 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 1921.

List of years in paleontology (table)
In science
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
+...

Plants edit

Newly named angiosperms edit

Name Novelty Status Authors Age Type locality Location Notes Images

Porana sikhote-alinensis[2]

Sp nov

jr synonym

Kryshtofovich

Miocene

Amgu flora

  Russia
  Primorsky Krai

A mallow relative,
jr synonym of Florissantia sikhote-alinensis (1992)

Arthropods edit

Newly named insects edit

Name Novelty Status Authors Age Unit Location Notes Images

Eoformica[3][4]

Gen et sp nov

valid

Cockerell

Eocene

Green River Formation

  USA
  Colorado

An incertae sedis ant genus,
type species E. eocenica
(a jr synonym to Eoformica pinguis (Scudder, 1877) in 1930)

 
Eoformica pinguis

Dinosaurs edit

Newly named dinosaurs edit

Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.[5]

Name Novelty Status Authors Age Unit Location Notes Images

Sarcosaurus[6]

Gen et sp nov

Valid

Andrews

Hettangian-Sinemurian

Blue Lias

  England

A ceratosaurid

 
Sarcosaurus

Synapsids edit

Non-mammalian edit

Name Status Authors Age Unit Location Notes Images

Anteosaurus

Valid

Watson

Middle Permian

Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone

  South Africa

A member of Dinocephalia.

Emyduranus

Junior synonym

Broom

Late Permian

Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone

  South Africa

A junior synonym of Pristerodon.

Leptotrachelus

Junior synonym

Broom

Middle Permian

Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone

  South Africa

Junior synonym of Gorgonops[7]

Palemydops

Valid

Broom

Late Permian

Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone

  South Africa

A dicynodont.

References edit

  1. ^ Gini-Newman, Garfield; Graham, Elizabeth (2001). Echoes from the past: world history to the 16th century. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. ISBN 9780070887398. OCLC 46769716.
  2. ^ Manchester, S.R. (1992). "Flowers, fruits and pollen of Florissantia, an extinct malvalean genus from the Eocene and Oligocene of western North America". American Journal of Botany. 79 (9): 996–1008. doi:10.2307/2444909. JSTOR 2444909.
  3. ^ Cockerell, T. D. A. (1921). "Some Eocene insects from Colorado and Wyoming". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 59: 29–39.
  4. ^ Carpenter, F. M. (1930). "The fossil ants of North America" (PDF). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 70: 1–66.
  5. ^ Olshevsky, George. "Dinogeorge's Dinosaur Genera List". Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  6. ^ Andrews, C.W. 1921. On some remains of a theropodous dinosaur from the lower Lias of Barrow-on-Soar. Arm. Mag. Nat. Hist. (ser. 9) 8:pp. 570-576.
  7. ^ Carroll, R. L. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution. W. H Freeman Company, 1988.