2015 in archosaur paleontology

This article records new taxa of fossil archosaurs of every kind that are scheduled described during the year 2015, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleontology of archosaurs that are scheduled to occur in the year 2015.

Research

 * Revision of the type material of Rauisuchus tiradentes is published by Lautenschlager and Rauhut (2015).
 * 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. (2015).
 * A study of the evolutionary history of the clade Crocodyliformes is published by Bronzati, Montefeltro and Langer (2015).
 * A study of impact of the climate changes on the evolution and biodiversity of pseudosuchian archosaurs is published by Mannion et al. (2015).
 * A study on the phylogenetic position of thalattosuchians within Crocodylomorpha is published by Wilberg (2015).
 * A review of the diagnostic features of the species assigned to the genus Machimosaurus is published by Martin, Vincent & Falconnet (2015).
 * An isolated metriorhynchid tooth is described from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) Hybla Formation (Sicily, Italy) by Chiarenza et al. (2015), extending the known geological range of Metriorhynchidae and Thalattosuchia by approximately 7–8 million years; Fischer et al. (2015) subsequently caution that it might potentially be a pliosaurid tooth instead.

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 (2015); 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. (2015).
 * A reevaluation of the estimated body mass of Dreadnoughtus schrani is published by Bates et al. (2015).
 * A study of phylogenetic relationships of ornithischian dinosaurs traditionally referred to as ‘basal ornithopods’ or ‘hypsilophodontids’ is published by Boyd (2015).
 * Carpenter & Lamanna (2015) reinterpret the ornithopod braincase from the Morrison Formation of the Carnegie Quarry at Dinosaur National Monument (Utah), 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.

Research

 * Balaur bondoc, originally interpreted as a member of Dromaeosauridae, is argued to be a basal member of Avialae by Cau, Brougham and Naish (2015).
 * Estimates of likely mass and flight capability of the extinct Chatham duck (Anas chathamica), as indicated by measurements of major bones, are published by Williams (2015).
 * New cranial material of the Oligo-Miocene relative of flamingos, Harrisonavis croizeti, is described by Torres et al. (2015).
 * New specimens of the Eocene relative of swifts, Scaniacypselus szarskii, are described by Mayr (2015).
 * A specimen of a stem-coliiform Masillacolius brevidactylus with preserved skull is described by Mayr (2015).
 * 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 (2015); the author also introduced a new name, Parapasseres, for the clade containing Passeriformes and Zygodactylidae but not Psittacopes.
 * A study of preserved specimens of the Puerto Rican conure (previously considered to be an extinct subspecies of the Hispaniolan parakeet) is published by Olson (2015), 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. (2015) 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 (2015).

Research

 * A study on the terrestrial locomotion of non-pterodactyloid pterosaurs is published by Witton (2015).
 * 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. (2015).
 * Eleutério et al. (2015) study the bone microstructure characterization of two pterosaurs belonging to the group Anhangueria.
 * The paleoenvironments of azhdarchid pterosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of Kazakhstan are studied by Averianov et al. (2015).
 * Martill et al. (2015) describe a jaw bone attributed to the mid-Cretaceous pterosaur species Alanqa saharica from the Kem Kem beds of Morocco.