Paleontology, palaeontology or palæontology (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. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, coprolites, palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because mankind has 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 in the year 1820.

DinosaursEdit

• Dinosaur bones are discovered in Connecticut's red sandstones. The bones are so small that they were originally believed to be human remains. Richard Lull later properly identified them as dinosaurian and proposed that these fossils may have belonged to a coelurosaur. Later work by Peter Galton in 1976 determined that these fossils were actually from a prosauropod. ^[1]

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