1840 in paleontology
Archosauromorphs
Newly named dinosaurs
Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.Pterosaurs
- Thomas Hawkins published The Book of the Great Sea-Dragons, wherein he suggested that the great reptiles of the Mesozoic were created by the devil. He described pterosaurs as "an engrafted-by-Evil stock" and depicted them as bat-like scavengers that combed the ancient seashore.