diff --git a/ark/schema/scope.ts b/ark/schema/scope.ts
index 13f5ce013..74e06d1b5 100644
--- a/ark/schema/scope.ts
+++ b/ark/schema/scope.ts
@@ -755,15 +755,22 @@ export class SchemaScope<$ extends {} = {}> extends BaseScope<$> {
 const bootstrapAliasReferences = (resolution: BaseRoot | GenericRoot) => {
 	const aliases = resolution.references.filter(node => node.hasKind("alias"))
 	for (const aliasNode of aliases) {
-		Object.assign(aliasNode.referencesById, aliasNode.resolution.referencesById)
+		addReferences(aliasNode.referencesById, aliasNode.resolution.referencesById)
 		for (const ref of resolution.references) {
 			if (aliasNode.id in ref.referencesById)
-				Object.assign(ref.referencesById, aliasNode.referencesById)
+				addReferences(ref.referencesById, aliasNode.referencesById)
 		}
 	}
 	return resolution
 }
 
+const addReferences = (
+	base: BaseNode["referencesById"],
+	references: BaseNode["referencesById"]
+) => {
+	for (const id in references) base[id] ??= references[id]
+}
+
 const resolutionsToJson = (resolutions: InternalResolutions): JsonStructure =>
 	flatMorph(resolutions, (k, v) => [
 		k,
diff --git a/ark/type/__tests__/realWorld.test.ts b/ark/type/__tests__/realWorld.test.ts
index fc4c742b1..937710d96 100644
--- a/ark/type/__tests__/realWorld.test.ts
+++ b/ark/type/__tests__/realWorld.test.ts
@@ -1531,6 +1531,21 @@ date3 must be a parsable date (was "")`)
 		attest(result).equals({})
 	})
 
+	// https://github.com/arktypeio/arktype/issues/1640
+	it("cyclic discriminated union with record reference", () => {
+		const Node = scope({
+			Number: { type: "'number'" },
+			Array: { type: "'array'", item: "Node" },
+			Unit: { type: "'unit'" },
+			Container: { things: "Record<string, Node>" },
+			Node: "Number | Array | Unit"
+		}).export().Node
+
+		const data = { type: "array", item: { type: "number" } } as const
+
+		attest(Node(data)).equals(data)
+	})
+
 	// https://github.com/arktypeio/arktype/issues/1284
 	it("cyclic discriminated union issue 4", () => {
 		const ruleset = scope({