1852 in paleontology

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Paleontology or palaeontology (from Greek: paleo, "ancient"; ontos, "being"; and logos, "knowledge") 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 1852.

Scientific advances

Vertebrate paleozoology

Prehistoric dinosaurs described in 1852

Name	Status	Authors		Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Aepisaurus[2]	Nomen dubium	Gervais		Early Cretaceous (Albian)	Grès vert	France	A possible camarasaurid.	Aepisaurus limb bone.
Oplosaurus[2]	Nomen dubium	Gervais		Early Cretaceous (Barremian)	Wessex Formation	England	A sauropod of unknown affinities.

Pterosaurs described in 1852

Name	Status	Authors		Notes
Brachytrachelus	Preoccupied.	Geibel		preoccupied name; now known as Scaphognathus
Ctenochasma	Valid	von Meyer
Macrotrachelus	Jr. synonym.	Giebel		Jr. synonym of Pterodactylus.

People

Awards and recognition

Deaths

• Gideon Algernon Mantell died.

Popular culture

Literature

• Bleak House by Charles Dickens was published. The story told by this novel is unrelated to paleontology, but it does briefly mention a Megalosaurus, which happened to be the first reference made to dinosaurs in fiction.^[3]

References

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. Gervais, P. 1852. Zoologie et paleontology francaise (animauz vertebras): Paris v. 1, iv + 271 (text), v. 2, explanation of plates, v. 3, Plates;
3. Sarjeant, W. A. S., 2001, Dinosaurs in fiction: In: Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, edited by Tanke, D. H., and Carpenter, K., Indiana University Press, pp. 504-529.