1961 in paleontology explained

Plants

Angiosperms

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Acer beckianum[1]	Sp nov	Valid	Prakash & Barghoorn	Langhian	Ginkgo Petrified Forest		A maple, described from petrified wood
Acer palaeorufinerve[2]	sp nov	Valid	Tanai & Onoe	Miocene - Pliocene	Ningyo-toge Formation		A maple, A member of the Macrantha section.
Davisicarpum[3]	Gen et sp nov	valid	Chandler	Ypresian	London Clay		A moon seed relative. Type species D. gibbosum

Archosauromorphs

Pseudosuchians

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Avalonianus	Gen et comb nov	Nomen dubium	Kuhn	Late Triassic (Rhaetian)			Dubious non-dinosaurian archosaur; replacement name for Avalonia Seeley, 1898 (non Walcott, 1889).
Dasygnathoides	Gen et comb nov	Nomen dubium?	Kuhn	Late Triassic (Carnian)	Lossiemouth Sandstone		A pseudosuchian of uncertain affinity.[4] Replacement name for Dasygnathus Huxley, 1877 (non MacLeay, 1819).

Dinosaurs

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

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Astrodonius[6]	Gen et comb nov	Junior synonym	Kuhn	Early Cretaceous	Arundel Formation	United States	Junior synonym of Astrodon.
Campylodoniscus	Gen et comb nov	Nomen dubium.	Kuhn	Late Cretaceous	Bajo Barreal Formation		A possible titanosaur Replacement name for "Campylodon" von Huen 1929
Pachysaurops[7]	Gen et sp nov	Junior synonym	von Huene	Late Triassic		Germany	Junior synonym of Pachysauriscus.

Birds

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Anas pullulans[8]	Sp nov.	valid		Early Pliocene	Juntura Formation		An Anatidae.
Eremochen	Gen et Sp nov.	valid	Brodkorb	Early Pliocene	Juntura Formation		An Anatidae, type species E. russelli.
Fulica infelix	Sp. nov.	valid	Brodkorb	Early Pliocene	Juntura Formation		A Rallidae.
Ocyplonessa shotwelli	Sp. nov.	jr synonym	Brodkorb	Late Miocene - Early Pliocene	Juntura Formation		An Anatidae, moved to Histrionicuslli shotwelli by Olson & Rasmussen, 2001[9]
Megapaloelodus opsigonus	Sp. nov.	valid	Brodkorb	Early Pliocene	Juntura Formation		A Palaelodidae.
Neortyx[10]	Gen et Sp. nov.	valid		Early Pliocene	Juntura Formation		An Odontophoridae Type species N. peninsularis
Phalacrocorax leptopus	Sp. nov.	valid	Brodkorb	Early Pliocene	Juntura Formation		A Phalacrocoracidae.
Puffinus mitchelli[11]	Sp. nov.	valid		Middle Miocene	Temblor Formation		A Procellariidae.
Puffinus priscus	Sp. nov.	valid	Miller	Middle Miocene	Temblor Formation		A Procellariidae.

References

1. Prakash . U. . Barghoorn . E. S. . 1961 . Miocene fossil woods from the Columbia Basalts of central Washington . Journal of the Arnold Arboretum . 42 . 2 . 165–203 . 10.5962/bhl.part.19013 . 127699009 . free .
2. Wolfe . J.A. . Tanai . T. . 1987 . Systematics, Phylogeny, and Distribution of Acer (maples) in the Cenozoic of Western North America . Journal of the Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University. Series 4, Geology and Mineralogy . 22 . 1 . 1–246 .
3. Manchester . S.R. . Fruits and Seeds of the Middle Eocene Nut Beds Flora, Clarno Formation, Oregon . 1994 . Palaeontographica Americana . 58 . 30–31.
4. von Baczko. M. Ezcurra. Martin. 2016-10-17. Taxonomy of the archosaur Ornithosuchus: reassessing Ornithosuchus woodwardi Newton, 1894 and Dasygnathoides longidens (Huxley 1877). Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 106. 3. 199–205. 10.1017/S1755691016000104. 88658892. 11336/49897. free.
5. Web site: Olshevsky . George . Dinogeorge's Dinosaur Genera List . 2008-08-07 . 2011-07-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110715102453/http://www.polychora.com/dinolist.html . dead .
6. Kuhn, O. 1961. Die Familien der rezenten und fossilen Amphibien und Reptilien. Meisenbach, Bamberg: 79 pages.
7. Huene, F. von. 1961. Palaontologie und Phylogenie der Niederen Tetrapoden. Nachtrage und Erganzungen. Fischer, Jena: 58 pages.
8. Brodkorb . Pierce . 1961 . Birds from the Pliocene of Juntura, Oregon . Quarterly Journal of the Florida Academy of Sciences . 24 . 3 . 169–184 .
9. Olson . Storrs L. . Rasmussen . Pamela C. . 2001 . Miocene and Pliocene Birds from the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina . Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology . 90 . 233–365 .
10. Holman . J. Alan . 1961 . Osteology of Living and Fossil New World Quails . Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological Sciences . 6 . 2 . 131–233 .
11. Miller . Loye Holmes . 1961 . Birds from the Miocene of Sharktooth Hill, California . Condor . 63 . 5 . 399–402 . 10.2307/1365299. 1365299 .