1978 in paleontology

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.{{cite book |last= Newman|first= Garfield|title= Echoes from the past: world history to the 16th century|year= 2001|publisher= McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd|location= Toronto|isbn= 978-0-07-088739-8|display-authors=etal}} This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised faeces (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 1978.

Expeditions, field work, and fossil discoveries

A paleoanthropological team led by Mary Leakey found 3.5 million year old human footprints.
Baby hadrosaurs were discovered in the Two Medicine Formation.

Cnidarians

Maurits Lindström, described the earliest known octocoral in Sweden shifting the first known appearance from the Cretaceous to the Ordovician.{{cite journal |last1=Bergström |first1=Stig M.|last2=Bergström |first2=Jan |last3=Kumpulainen |first3=Risto|last4=Ormö |first4=Jens|last5=Sturkell |first5=Erik |date=2007 |title=Maurits Lindström – A renaissance geoscientist |journal=GFF |volume=129 |issue=2 |pages=65–70 |doi=10.1080/11035890701292065 |s2cid=140593975 }}

Arthropods

=Newly named crustaceans=

Name ! Novelty ! Status ! Authors ! Age ! Type locality ! Location ! Notes ! Images
class="wikitable sortable" align="center" width="100%"
Aenigmacaris{{Cite journal \|last=Schram \|first=Frederick R. \|last2=Horner \|first2=John \|date=1978 \|title=Crustacea of the Mississippian Bear Gulch Limestone of Central Montana \|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1303712 \|journal=Journal of Paleontology \|volume=52 \|issue=2 \|pages=394–406 \|issn=0022-3360}} \| Gen et sp nov \| Valid \| Schram & Horner \| Serpukhovian \| Bear Gulch Limestone \| {{Flag\|United States}} {{flag\|Montana}} \| An aeschronectid, type species is A. cornigerum \| File:†Aenigmacaris cornigerum SCHRAM & HORNER 1979.jpg]]
Bairdops beargulchensis \| Sp nov \| Valid \| Schram & Horner \| Serpukhovian \| Bear Gulch Limestone \| {{Flag\|United States}} {{flag\|Montana}} \| An early mantis shrimp \|
Dithyrocaris rolfei \| Sp nov \| Valid \| Schram & Horner \| Serpukhovian \| Bear Gulch Limestone \| {{Flag\|United States}} {{flag\|Montana}} \| A phyllocarid \|
Perimecturus rapax \| Sp nov \| Valid \| Schram & Horner \| Serpukhovian \| Bear Gulch Limestone \| {{Flag\|United States}} {{flag\|Montana}} \| An early mantis shrimp \|File:Ar1050 Perimecturus rapax Unt Karbon Bear Gulch Montana USA.jpg]]
Sairocaris centurion \| Sp nov \| Valid \| Schram & Horner \| Serpukhovian \| Bear Gulch Limestone \| {{Flag\|United States}} {{flag\|Montana}} \| A sairocaridid \|

Fish

=Newly named Ray-finned fish=

class="wikitable sortable" align="center" width="100%"

Name

! Novelty

! Status

! Authors

! Age

! Type locality

! Location

! Notes

! Images

Eohiodon woodruffi{{cite journal |last1=Wilson |first1=M. |year=1978 |title=Eohiodon woodruffi n. sp.(Teleostei, Hiodontidae), from the Middle Eocene Klondike Mountain Formation near Republic, Washington. |journal=Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences |volume=15 |issue=5 |pages=679–686 |doi=10.1139/e78-075}}

Sp nov

jr synonym

Wilson

Ypresian

Klondike Mountain Formation

A mooneye,
Moved to Hiodon woodruffi in 2008{{cite journal|last1=Hilton |first1=E. J. |last2=Grande |first2=L. |year=2008 |title=Fossil Mooneyes (Teleostei: Hiodontiformes, Hiodontidae) from the Eocene of western North America, with a reassessment of their taxonomy |journal=Geological Society, London, Special Publications |volume=295 |pages=221–251 |doi=10.1144/sp295.13|s2cid=128680041 }}

File:Hiodon woodruffi 2007-05-26 img2.jpg]]

Dinosaurs

=Newly named dinosaurs=

Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.{{cite web | last = Olshevsky | first = George | title = Dinogeorge's Dinosaur Genera List | url = http://www.polychora.com/dinolist.html | access-date = 2008-08-07 | archive-date = 2011-07-15 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110715102453/http://www.polychora.com/dinolist.html | url-status = dead }}

class="wikitable sortable" align="center" width="100%"

Name

! Novelty

! Status

! Authors

! Age

! Type locality

! Location

! Notes

! Images

"Amtosaurus"Kurzanov, S.M. and T.A. Tumanova. 1978. On the structure of the endocranium in some anylosaurs from Mongolia [in Russian]. Paleontol. Zh. 1978: pp. 90-96.

Gen nov

Nomen dubium.

Kurzanov

Tumanova

"Coloradia"Bonaparte, J.F. 1978. Coloradia brevis n. gen. et. n. sp. (Saurischia, Prosauropoda), dinosaurio Plateosauridae de la Formacion Los Colorados Triasico superior de La Rioja, Argentina. Ameghiniana 15: pp. 327-332.

Gen et sp nov

jr homonym

Bonaparte

Preoccupied by Blake 1863. Renamed Coloradisaurus.

Lesothosaurus{{cite journal|last=Galton|first=P.M.|year=1978|title=Fabrosauridae, the basal family of ornithischian dinosaurs (Reptilia: Ornithopoda)|journal=Paläontologische Zeitschrift|volume=52|issue=1–2|pages=138–159|doi=10.1007/BF03006735|s2cid=84613826 }}

Gen et sp nov

Valid

Galton

Early Jurassic

Possible junior synonym of Fabrosaurus.

File:Lesothosaurus diagnosticus.png]]

MicropachycephalosaurusDong, Z. 1978. A new genus of Pachycephalosauria from Laiyang, Shantung. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 16: pp. 225-228.

Gen nov

Valid

Dong

A pachycephalosaur.

File:Micropachycephalosaurus.jpg]]

OhmdenosaurusWild, R. 1978. Ein Sauropoden-Rest (Reptilia, Saurischia) aus dem Posidonienschiefer (Lias, Toarcium) von Holzmaden. Stuttgarter Beitrage zur Naturkunde, Serie B (Geologie und Paleontologie) 41: pp. 1-15.

Valid

Wild

"Roccosaurus"van Heerden vide Anderson, J. M., and A.R.I. Cruickshank. 1978. The biostratigraphy of the Permian and the Triassic. Part 5. A review of the classification and distribution of Permo-Triassic tetrapods. Palaeontographica Africana 21: pp. 15-44.

Nomen nudum.

van Heerden vide: Anderson & Cruickshank

Junior synonym of Melanorosaurus.

SaurornitholestesSues, H -D. 1978. A new small theropod dinosaur from the Judith River Formation (Campanian) of Alberta, Canada. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. London 62: pp. 381-400.

Gen et sp nov

Valid

Sues

Campanian

Judith River Formation

{{Flag|Canada}}
({{Flag|Alberta}}

A North Polar Dromaeosaur.

File:Saurornitholestes digging Burrows wahweap.jpg]]

YangchuanosaurusDong, Z., Y. Chang, X. Li, and S. Zhou. 1978. Note on a new carnosaur (Yangchuanosaurus shangyouensis gen. et sp. nov.) from the Jurassic of Yangchuan District, Szechuan Province. Kexue Tongbao 23: pp. 298-302.

Gen et sp nov

Valid

Zhiming, Chang, Li, & Zhou

A carnosaur

File:Yanchuanosaurus1.jpg]]

=General research=

Peter M. Galton published a paper on Fabrosauridae, including redescribing Fabrosaurus, Echinodon and Nanosaurus along with naming Lesothosaurus.

Birds

class="wikitable sortable" align="center" width="100%"

Name

! Novelty

! Status

! Authors

! Age

! Unit

! Location

! Notes

! Images

Aldabranas cabri {{Cite journal|author=Colin J. O. Harrison & Cyril A. Walker |year=1978 |title=Pleistocene Bird Remains from Aldabra Atoll Indian Ocean |journal=Journal of Natural History |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=7–14 |doi=10.1080/00222937800770021a}}

Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.

Valid

Colin J. O. Harrison

Cyril A. Walker

Late Pleistocene

Aldabra Atoll

{{flag|Seychelles}}

An Anatidae, this is the type species of the new genus.

Anser eldaricus {{Cite journal|author=Nikolaj I. Burchak-Abramovich & D. V. Gadzyev |year=1978 |title=Anser eldaricus sp. nova from Upper Sarmatian Hipparion Fauna of Eldar |journal=Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia |volume=23 |pages=67–78 }}

Sp. nov.

Valid

Nikolaj I. Burchak-Abramovich

D. V. Gadzyev

Pliocene

Late Sarmantian

{{Flag|USSR}} (Now {{flag|Azerbaijan}})

An Anatidae.

Apus baranensis {{Cite journal|author=Dénes Jánossy |year=1978 |title=Plio-Pleistocene Bird Remains from the Carpathian Basin. III. Strigiformes, Falconiformes, Caprimulgiformes, Apodiformes |url=https://archive.org/details/aquila8486197779magy |journal=Aquila |volume=84 |pages=9–36 }}

Sp. nov.

Valid

Dénes Jánossy

Late Pliocene

MN 16a; MN 17

{{flag|Hungary}}
{{flag|Bulgaria}}

An Apodidae.

Chaetura baconica

Sp. nov.

Valid

Dénes Jánossy

Late Miocene

MN 11-12

{{flag|Hungary}}

An Apodidae.

"Gallus" europaeus {{Cite journal|author=Colin J. O. Harrison |year=1978 |title=A New Jungle-Fowl from the Pleistocene of Europe |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |volume=290 |issue= 4|pages=1–26 |doi=10.1016/0305-4403(78)90056-0}}

Sp. nov.

Valid ?

Colin J. O. Harrison

Middle Pleistocene

MQ 2A

{{flag|UK}}

A Phasianidae.The taxonomic status of this species should be reevaluated. There is no evidence, that it belongs to the genus Gallus Brisson.

Gavia brodkorbi {{Cite journal |author=Hildegarde Howard |year=1978 |title=Late Miocene Marine Birds from Orange County, California |url=http://www.nhm.org/site/sites/default/files/pdf/contrib_science/CS290.pdf |journal=Museum of Natural History of Los Angeles County, Contributions in Science |volume=290 |pages=1–26 |access-date=2014-09-11 |archive-date=2014-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912005913/http://www.nhm.org/site/sites/default/files/pdf/contrib_science/CS290.pdf |url-status=dead }}

Sp. nov.

Valid

Hildegarde Howard

Late Miocene

Monterey Formation

{{flag|USA}} ({{flag|California}})

A Gaviidae.

Mergus miscellus {{Cite journal |first1=Rafael |last1=Alvarez |author2=Storrs L. Olson |year=1978 |title=A New Merganser from the Miocene of Virginia (Aves: Anatidae) |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/45680 |journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington |volume=91 |issue=2 |pages=522–532 }}

Sp. nov.

Valid

{{flag|USA}}({{flag|Virginia}} and {{flag|Maryland}})

An Anatidae.

"Milvus" brachypterus

Sp. nov.

Valid

Dénes Jánossy

Early Pleistocene

MQ 1b

{{flag|Hungary}}

An Apodidae Incertae Sedis.

Morus magnus

Sp. nov.

Valid

Hildegarde Howard

Late Miocene

Monterey Formation

{{flag|USA}} ({{flag|California}})

A Sulidae.

Phalacrocorax anatolicus {{Cite journal|author=Cécile Mourer-Chauviré |year=1978 |title=Oiseaux. Pg. 52-54 In: Jean Claude Paicheler, France de Broin, Jean Gaudant, Cécile Mourer-Chauviré, Jean Claude Rage & Colette Vergnoud-Crazzini, 1978: Le Basin Lacustre Miocène de Bes-Konak (Anatolie-Turquie): Gélogie et Introduction à la Paléontologie des Vertébrés |journal=Géobios |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=43–65 |doi=10.1016/S0016-6995(78)80018-7}}

Sp. nov.

Valid

Cécile Mourer-Chauviré

Middle Miocene

Helvetian

{{flag|Turkey}}

A Phalacrocoracidae, transferred to the genus Nectornis Cheneval, 1984 by Mlíkovský, 1998.{{Cite journal |author=Jirí Mlíkovský |year=1978 |title=Early Miocene Birds of Břešt'any, Czech Republic |url=http://www.nm.cz/download/pm/zoo/mlikovsky_lit/132-1998-MioceneofBrestany.pdf |journal=Casopis Narodniho Muzea, Rada Prirodovedna |volume=167 |pages=99–101 |access-date=2014-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912004110/http://www.nm.cz/download/pm/zoo/mlikovsky_lit/132-1998-MioceneofBrestany.pdf |archive-date=2014-09-12 |url-status=dead }}

Pterodroma kurodai

Sp. nov.

Valid

Colin J. O. Harrison

Cyril A. Walker

Pleistocene

Aldabra Atoll

{{flag|Seychelles}}

A Procellariidae.

Puffinus barnesi

Sp. nov.

Valid

Hildegarde Howard

Late Miocene

Monterey Formation

{{flag|USA}} ({{flag|California}})

A Procellariidae.

Recurvirostra sanctaneboulae {{Cite journal|author=Cécile Mourer-Chauviré |year=1978 |title=La Poche à Phosphate de Ste. Neboule (Lot) et sa Faune de Vertébrès du Ludien Supérieur. 6. Oiseaux |journal=Palaeovertebrata |volume=8 |pages=217–229 }}

Sp. nov.

Valid

Cécile Mourer-Chauviré

Late Eocene

MP 18

{{flag|France}}

A Recurvirostridae, most unlikely it is a Recurvirostra or even a Recurvirostridae.

Surnia robusta

Sp. nov.

Valid

{{flag|Hungary}}

A Strigidae.

Pterosaurs

class="wikitable sortable" align="center" width="100%"

Name

! Status

! colspan="2" | Authors

!Location

! Notes

Geosternbergia

Valid

| style="border-right:0px" valign="top" |

Miller

| style="border-left:0px" valign="top" |

{{flag|USA}} ({{flag|South Dakota}})

|File:ROM - Pteranodon.jpg]]

Peteinosaurus

Valid

| style="border-right:0px" valign="top" |

Wild

| style="border-left:0px" valign="top" |

{{flag|Italy}}

Campylognathoides Indicus{{cite journal |last1=Jain |first1=S. L. |title=Jurassic pterosaur from India |journal=Geological Society of India |date=1974 |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=330–335 |url=http://indianjournalofcomputerscience.com/index.php/jgsi/article/download/63266/49378 |access-date=15 June 2023}}

| Nomen Dubium

| style="border-right:0px" valign="top"|

| style="border-left:0px" valign="top" |

{{flag|India}}

Popular culture

Dinosaur Planet by Anne McAffrey was published. This novel was about a planet called Ireta that was populated by dinosaurs transplanted there by aliens attempting to preserve Earth's Mesozoic biosphere. Paleontologist William A. S. Sarjeant has praised the intelligent pterosaurs descended from Quetzalcoatlus in the novel as plausible.

References

{{Reflist||refs=

Sarjeant, W. A. S., 2001, Dinosaurs in fiction: In: Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, edited by Tanke, D. H., and Carpenter, K., Indiana University Press, p. 504-529.

Trexler, D., 2001, Two Medicine Formation, Montana: geology and fauna: In: Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, edited by Tanke, D. H., and Carpenter, K., Indiana University Press, pp. 298–309.

}}

Paleontology 8