Fossil taxa described in 2002

hominid species or subspecies discovered in Dmanisi, Georgia

Hatzegopteryx ("Hațeg basin wing") is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur found in the late Maastrichtian deposits of the Densuș-Ciula Formation, an outcropping in Transylvania, Romania. It is known only from the type species, Hatzegopteryx thambema, named by paleontologists Eric Buffetaut, Dan Grigorescu, and Zoltan Csiki in 2002 based on parts of the skull and humerus. Additional specimens, including a neck vertebra, were later placed in the genus, representing a range of sizes. The largest of these remains indicate it was among the biggest pterosaurs, with an estimated wingspan of .

Aucasaurus (meaning 'Auca Mahuevo lizard') is a genus of medium-sized abelisaurid theropod dinosaur from Argentina that lived during the Late Cretaceous (Santonian to Campanian stage) of the Anacleto Formation. It was smaller than the related Carnotaurus, although more derived in some ways, such as its extremely reduced arms and almost total lack of fingers. The type skeleton is complete to the thirteenth caudal vertebra, and so is relatively well understood, and was the most complete abelisaurid known when described in 2002. However, the skull is damaged, causing some paleontologists to specu

Eomaia ("dawn mother") is a genus of extinct fossil mammals containing the single species Eomaia scansoria, discovered in rocks that were found in the Yixian Formation, Liaoning Province, China, and dated to the Barremian Age of the Lower Cretaceous about . The single fossil specimen of this species is in length and virtually complete. An estimate of the body weight is . It is exceptionally well-preserved for a 125-million-year-old specimen. Although the fossil's skull is squashed flat, its teeth, tiny foot bones, cartilages and even its fur are visible.

Thalassodromeus is a genus of pterosaur that lived in what is now Brazil during the Early Cretaceous period, about a hundred million years ago. The original skull, discovered in 1983 in the Araripe Basin of northeastern Brazil, was collected in several pieces. In 2002, the skull was made the holotype specimen of Thalassodromeus sethi by palaeontologists Alexander Kellner and Diogenes de Almeida Campos. The generic name means "sea runner" (in reference to its supposed mode of feeding), and the specific name refers to the Egyptian god Seth due to its crest being supposedly reminiscent of Seth's

Scansoriopteryx ("climbing wing") is a genus of maniraptoran dinosaur. Described from only a single juvenile fossil specimen found in Liaoning, China, Scansoriopteryx is a sparrow-sized animal that shows adaptations in the foot indicating an arboreal (tree-dwelling) lifestyle. It possessed an unusual, elongated third finger which may have supported a membranous wing, much like the related Yi qi. The type specimen of Scansoriopteryx also contains the fossilized impression of feathers.

Jeholornis (meaning "Jehol bird") is a genus of avialan dinosaurs that lived between approximately 122 and 120 million years ago during the early Cretaceous Period in China. Fossil Jeholornis were first discovered in the Jiufotang Formation in Hebei Province, China (in what was previously Rehe Province, also known as Jehol—hence the name) and additional specimens have been found in the older Yixian Formation.

Incisivosaurus ("incisor lizard") is a genus of small, probably herbivorous theropod dinosaurs from the early Cretaceous Period of what is now the People's Republic of China. The first specimen to be described (by Xu et al. in 2002), IVPP V13326, is a skull that was collected from the lowermost levels (the fluvial Lujiatun beds) of the Yixian Formation (dating to the Barremian stage about 126 million years ago) in the Sihetun area, near Beipiao City, in western Liaoning Province. The most significant, and highly unusual, characteristic of this dinosaur is its apparent adaptation to an herbivor

Sinovenator (meaning "Chinese hunter") is a genus of troodontid dinosaur from China. It is from the early Cretaceous Period.

Anabisetia ( ) is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period of Patagonia, South America. It was a small bipedal herbivore, around long.

Jeholopterus was a small anurognathid pterosaur known from the Middle to Late Jurassic Daohugou Beds of the Tiaojishan Formation of Inner Mongolia, China, and possibly the Early Cretaceous Sinuiju Formation of North Korea.

Heyuannia ("from Heyuan") is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, in what is now China and Mongolia. It was the first oviraptorid found in China; most others were found in neighbouring Mongolia. Two species are known: H. huangi, named by Lü Junchang in 2002 from the Dalangshan Formation; and H. yanshini, originally named as a separate genus Ingenia from the Barun Goyot Formation by Rinchen Barsbold in 1981, and later renamed to Ajancingenia in 2013 due to the preoccupation of Ingenia. The latter name was eventually discarded due to various ethica

Liaoceratops, meaning "Liaoning horned face", is a ceratopsian dinosaur believed to be an early relative of the horned ceratopsids. It lived in the Early Cretaceous, 126 million years ago. It was discovered in China by a team of American and Chinese scientists. Liaoceratops was much smaller than its later relatives, but offers a glimpse into the early evolution of this group of dinosaurs. ==Discoveries and naming== left|thumb|Skeletal restoration Liaoceratops was discovered in the famous Liaoning Province of China, where several fossils of feathered dinosaurs have also been collected. The type

Sphaerotholus is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of the western United States and Canada. To date, five species have been described: the type species, S. goodwini, from the Den-na-zin Member of the Kirtland Formation and possibly the Fossil Forest Member of the Fruitland Formation (Late Campanian) of San Juan County, New Mexico, USA; S. buchholtzae, from the Hell Creek Formation (Late Maastrichtian) of western Carter County, Montana, USA and the Frenchman Formation of Saskatchewan, Canada; S. edmontonensis, from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Alberta, Canada

Agnosphitys (; "unknown begetter"; sometimes mistakenly called Agnostiphys or Agnosphytis) is a genus of dinosauriform that lived during the Late Triassic. It contains only one species, the type species A. cromhallensis. Its remains include an ilium, maxilla, astragalus and humerus, which date variously from the Norian and Rhaetian stages of the Late Triassic, or possibly as late as the Hettangian stage of the Early Jurassic. The fissure fill at Avon, of which Agnosphitys was probably recovered from, was a sinkhole formed by the dissolution of Lower Carboniferous limestones.

Crichtonsaurus (meaning "Crichton's lizard") is a dubious genus of herbivorous ankylosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now China. It was named after Michael Crichton, the author of the dinosaur novel Jurassic Park. A sister taxon was discovered, C. benxiensis, which is now identified as a separate genus.

Sahelanthropus is an extinct genus of hominid dated to about during the Late Miocene. The type species, Sahelanthropus tchadensis, was first announced in 2002, based mainly on a partial cranium, nicknamed Toumaï, discovered in northern Chad.

Erliansaurus (meaning "Erlian lizard") is a genus of therizinosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period in what is now Nei Mongol, Iren Dabasu Formation.

Pycnonemosaurus (meaning 'dense forest lizard') is a genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur that belonged to the family Abelisauridae. It was found in the Upper Cretaceous red conglomerate sandstones of the Cachoeira do Bom Jardim Formation, Mato Grosso, Brazil, and it lived during the late Campanian to early Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous.

Pederpes ("Peter's Foot") is an extinct genus of early Carboniferous stegocephalian, dating from 348 to 347.6 Ma in the Tournaisian age (lower Mississippian). Pederpes contains one species, P. finneyae, 1 m long.

Kaiwhekea () is an extinct genus of plesiosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian age) of what is now New Zealand.

Sapeornis is a monotypic genus of avialan dinosaurs which lived during the early Cretaceous period (late Barremian to early Aptian, roughly 125-120 mya). Sapeornis contains only one species, Sapeornis chaoyangensis.

Sifrhippus is an extinct genus of equid containing the species S. sandrae. Sifrhippus is the oldest known equid, living during the early Eocene. Its fossils were discovered in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming.

Pterorhynchus ("wing snout") is an extinct genus of pterosaur from the mid-Jurassic aged Yanliao Biota of Inner Mongolia, China.

Jixiangornis is a genus of basal avialan dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous. Like later avialans, it had no teeth, but it also had a long tail, unlike modern birds. Since teeth were still present in some more derived short-tailed avialans, Jixiangornis seems to have evolved its toothlessness independently of modern birds. The long forelimb (131% of hindlimb length) indicates at least some aerial ability. Jixiangornis is currently known only from a single specimen, a complete but juvenile skeleton. The fossil was found in the Yixian Formation near Beipiao City, western Liaoning, China.

Austriadactylus is a genus of primitive pterosaur. The fossil remains were unearthed in Late Triassic (middle Norian age, about 215 million years ago) rocks of Austria.

thumb|Daouitherium (A) and Numidotherium (B) lower dentition Scale bars: 5 mm

Edgarosaurus is a genus of polycotylid plesiosaur from the Thermopolis Shale, containing one species, E. muddi. The type specimen was found in Early Cretaceous (late Albian) rocks in the state of Montana in the United States. At the time, this location was covered by part of the Western Interior Seaway. Edgarosaurus was one of the first polycotylids that evolved to become native to the Western Interior Seaway.

Elosuchus is an extinct genus of neosuchian crocodyliform that lived during the Middle Cretaceous of what is now Africa (Niger, Morocco, and Algeria).

Vinialesaurus is a genus of plesiosaur from the Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) Jagua Formation of Pinar del Río, Cuba. The combinatio nova of the type species is Vinialesaurus caroli, first described as the subspecies Cryptocleidus? cuervoi caroli by Ricardo De la Torre and Luis Rojas in 1949 under the holotype MNHNCu P 3008, and redescribed by Zulma Gasparini, Bardet and Iturralde in 2002. The authors of the 2002 paper considered Vinialesaurus distinct enough from Cryptocleidus to warrant its own genus, but it was a cryptoclidid.

thumb|left|Restored skeleton thumb|left|Life reconstruction Kourisodon (from the Greek κουρίς kourís + ὀδών odon, "razor tooth") is an extinct genus of mosasaur. Fossils have been found from Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, as well as from the Izumi Group of Japan. These finds date back to the late Santonian stage and the late Campanian to the late Maastrichtian, respectively, of the Late Cretaceous. Kourisodon was originally described as a member of the "Leiodontini", more recently as a "Clidastine".

Piksi is a potential pterosaur genus containing the single species Piksi barbarulna (meaning "strange elbowed big bird", from Blackfoot piksi, "big bird" or, specifically, "chicken" and Latin barbarus "strange, outlandish" + ulna, elbow). It lived roughly 75 million years ago in what is now Montana, United States. Known from parts of a right wing – the humerus, ulna and radius bones – the only specimens found so far are housed in the Museum of the Rockies (collection number MOR 1113). The genus Piksi is monotypic at present.

Asfaltomylos is an extinct genus of the primitive mammal subclass Australosphenida from the Jurassic of Argentina. The type and only species is Asfaltomylos patagonicus, recovered from and named after the Cañadón Asfalto Formation, Cañadón Asfalto Basin of Chubut Province, Patagonia.

Andiva ivantsovi is a Vendian fossil, identified to be a bilaterian triploblastic animal in the Ediacaran phylum Proarticulata, known from the Winter Coast, White Sea, Russia. It was first discovered in 1977, and described as a new species in a new genus by Mikhail Fedonkin in 2002. It lived about 555 million years ago. Fossils of Andiva also occur in South Australia. All known fossils of Andiva are external molds.

Palaeoraphe is an extinct genus of palms, represented by one species, Palaeoraphe dominicana from early Miocene Burdigalian stage Dominican amber deposits on the island of Hispaniola, in the modern-day Dominican Republic. ==Discovery and naming== The genus is known from a single, diameter, full flower. The holotype is currently deposited in the collections of the Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, as number "Sd–9–158", where it was studied and described by Dr George Poinar. Dr Poinar published his 2002 type description for Palaeoraphe in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society

Vampyronassa rhodanica ("vampire fish trap") is an extinct vampyromorph cephalopod known from around 20 fossils from the Lower Callovian (165–164 Ma) of La Voulte-sur-Rhône, Ardèche, France.

Anatalavis is genus of prehistoric birds related to ducks and geese, perhaps to the magpie-goose (Anseranas semipalmata) in particular. Alternatively, it might have been a more basal lineage of Anserimorphae distinct from the living waterfowl, similar or even related to the roughly contemporary Conflicto antarcticus from the Danian of Antarctica.

species of bird (fossil)

Polarornis is a genus of prehistoric bird, either a possible member of the Vegaviidae or Aequornithes. It contains a single species Polarornis gregorii, known from incomplete remains of one individual found on Seymour Island, Antarctica, in rocks which are dated to the Late Cretaceous (López de Bertodano Formation, about 66 Ma).

Eocathayornis is a genus of enantiornithean birds that was probably more basal or "primitive" than related genera Sinornis and Cathayornis. These birds lived during the Early Cretaceous in today's People's Republic of China.

Australodelphis mirus is an extinct Pliocene dolphin. A. mirus is known from fossils found in the Sørsdal Formation, Mule Peninsula, Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica. The genus has been described as an example of convergent evolution with beaked whales.

Halimornis was an enantiornithean bird. It lived during the Late Cretaceous about 80 mya and is known from fossils found in the Mooreville Chalk Formation in Greene County, Alabama. It is known from a single fossil individual, including preserved vertebrae, leg bones and part of the humerus (upper arm bone).

Xenotosuchus is an extinct genus of mastodonsaurid temnospondyl within the family Mastodonsauridae known from the Triassic of South Africa. The genus is based on a skull originally described as Parotosuchus, an animal which it resembled in general build and habit.

Utahdactylus was a genus of extinct reptile from the Kimmeridgian-Tithonian-age Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Utah, United States. Based on DM 002/CEUM 32588 (an incomplete skeleton described as including a fragment of the skull, a cervical vertebra, three back vertebrae, and a caudal vertebra, ribs, a scapula, coracoid, and limb bones), Czerkas and Mickelson (2002) identified it as a "rhamphorhynchoid" pterosaur. Bennett (2007) later concluded that it has no diagnostic features of the Pterosauria, and cannot be positively identified beyond being an indeterminate diapsid. More recent wo

Simocetus (from simus, "pug-nosed", and cetus, "whale") is an extinct genus of toothed whale that lived during the Oligocene period, approximately , making it the oldest named toothed whale, although older unnamed toothed whales exist.

Taubatornis is an extinct genus of teratorn from the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene (Deseadan) Tremembé Formation, in the Taubaté Basin, São Paulo state, Brazil. The type species is T. campbelli. It is the oldest known member of the family, about 25 million years old. The presence of a member of this family with this age supports the hypothesis of a South American origin for the Teratornithidae.

Volia is an extinct monospecific genus of mekosuchine crocodylian closely related to Mekosuchus and Trilophosuchus. Volia is known from a collection of largely fragmentary remains including skull bones and limbs recovered from the Voli Voli and Wainibuku Caves on Viti Levu (Fiji), with similar remains having been found on Naigani. It was around long, making it the largest predatory animal on the island and subsequently most likely the apex predator of the Pleistocene ecosystems of Fiji. It may have fed on giant iguanas, flightless birds or even fish. Like its closest relatives, it may have bee

Masillastega is an extinct genus of aquatic bird from the Eocene of Germany. The only described species is Masillastega rectirostris. It is related to modern gannets and boobies, but unlike these birds it occurred in freshwater environments. It was found in the lake that would become the Messel Pit. thumb|Life restoration

Callistoe is an extinct genus of sparassodont. It lived during the Early Eocene, and its fossilized remains were found in South America.

species of plant

Omnivoropteryx (meaning "omnivorous wing") is a genus of primitive flying avialan from the early Cretaceous Upper Jiufotang Formation of China. The authors who described Omnivoropteryx, Stephen Czerkas and Qiang Ji, stated that their specimen closely resembles Sapeornis, but the pubis was longer and, since no skull was known for Sapeornis, they did not consider the two names synonyms. The later discovery of Sapeornis skulls shows that they were indeed similar to Omnivoropteryx. This may make Omnivoropteryx a junior synonym of Sapeornis, and the name may be abandoned.

species of bird (fossil)

Carolowilhelmina geognostica is an extinct arthrodire placoderm fish that lived in the Late Eifelian epoch (of Middle Devonian) of Aragon, Spain. In life, C. geognostica was a long-snouted pelagic fish, superficially similar to the Australian Rolfosteus and the European Oxyosteus. It is currently known only from an incomplete cranium that is about long. The fossil material is housed in the Natural Sciences museum of the University of Zaragoza, Spain (Museo de ciencias Naturales de la Universidad de Zaragoza).

Kwazulusaurus is a potentially invalid genus of dicynodont therapsid from the Late Permian of South Africa. The type and only species K. shakai was described from the Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone of the Beaufort Group in 2002 by Michael W. Maisch. It is very similar to the well-known dicynodont Lystrosaurus, and was regarded by Maisch to be an early member of the family Lystrosauridae. Kwazulusaurus was described as transitional between earlier dicynodontoids and the more derived Lystrosaurus; it has the wide skull roof of earlier dicynodonts, and a abridged snoot like that of Lystrosaurus. I

species of insect (fossil)