1831 in paleontology

Pterosaurs

• August Goldfuss depicted pterosaurs as flying reptiles that used their wing claws to climb cliffs. He hypothesized that on land, they would have had to travel on all fours. He also suggested they may have been covered in hair.

Paleontologists

• Birth of Othniel Charles Marsh on October 29; noted for naming many dinosaur families and genera, including Apatosaurus and Allosaurus.