1852 in paleontology
# 1852 in paleontology

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

### Newly named Prolacertiformes

| Name | Authors | Age | Location | Images |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Tanystropheus | von Meyer | 237 Millions of years ago | China  France  Germany  Israel  Switzerland  UK | Tanystropheus |

Prehistoric dinosaurs described in 1852 :

| Name | Status | Authors | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Aepisaurus | Nomen dubium | Gervais | | Early Cretaceous (Albian) | Grès vert | France | A possible camarasaurid. | Aepisaurus limb bone. |
| Oplosaurus | 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

### 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.
