View source for 1978 in paleontology

{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{Year nav topic5|1978|paleontology|science}}
{{commons category}}
'''Paleontology''', '''palaeontology''' or '''palæontology''' (from [[Greek language|Greek]]: ''paleo'', "ancient"; ''ontos'', "being"; and ''logos'', "knowledge") is the study of [[prehistory|prehistoric]] life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal [[fossil]]s.<ref>{{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}}</ref> This includes the study of body [[fossil]]s, tracks ([[ichnite]]s), [[burrow]]s, cast-off parts, fossilised [[feces|faeces]] ([[coprolite]]s), [[palynomorph]]s 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]].<ref name="twoturn" />

==Cnidarians==
<!-- Descriptions of new taxa should be reported in text format rather than as additions to the tables until this article exceeds 100 kb in size. Then the tables should be moved to mores specialized articles -->
[[Maurits Lindström]], described the earliest known [[Octocorallia|octocoral]] in Sweden shifting the first known appearance from the [[Cretaceous]] to the [[Ordovician]].<ref>{{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 (journal)|GFF]] |volume=129 |issue=2 |pages=65–70 |doi=10.1080/11035890701292065 |s2cid=140593975 }}</ref>

==Arthropods==
===Newly named crustaceans===
{| class="wikitable sortable" align="center" width="100%"
|- 
! Name
! Novelty
! Status
! Authors
! Age
! Type locality
! Location
! Notes
! Images
|-
|
''[[Aenigmacaris]]''<ref name=":0">{{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}}</ref>
|
Gen et sp nov
|
Valid
|
Schram & Horner
|
[[Serpukhovian]]
|
[[Bear Gulch Limestone]]
|
{{Flag|United States}}<br />{{flag|Montana}}
|
An [[Aeschronectida|aeschronectid]], type species is ''A. cornigerum''
|
[[File:†Aenigmacaris cornigerum SCHRAM & HORNER 1979.jpg|thumb|center|upright|''[[Aenigmacaris]]'']]
|-
|
''[[Bairdops beargulchensis]]''<ref name=":0" />
|
Sp nov
|
Valid
|
Schram & Horner
|
[[Serpukhovian]]
|
[[Bear Gulch Limestone]]
|
{{Flag|United States}}<br />{{flag|Montana}}
|
An early [[mantis shrimp]]
|
|-
|
''[[Dithyrocaris rolfei]]''<ref name=":0" />
|
Sp nov
|
Valid
|
Schram & Horner
|
[[Serpukhovian]]
|
[[Bear Gulch Limestone]]
|
{{Flag|United States}}<br />{{flag|Montana}}
|
A [[phyllocarid]]
|
|-
|
''[[Perimecturus rapax]]''<ref name=":0" />
|
Sp nov
|
Valid
|
Schram & Horner
|
[[Serpukhovian]]
|
[[Bear Gulch Limestone]]
|
{{Flag|United States}}<br />{{flag|Montana}}
|
An early [[mantis shrimp]]
|[[File:Ar1050 Perimecturus rapax Unt Karbon Bear Gulch Montana USA.jpg|thumb|center|upright|''[[Perimecturus rapax]]'']]
|-
|
''[[Sairocaris centurion]]''<ref name=":0" />
|
Sp nov
|
Valid
|
Schram & Horner
|
[[Serpukhovian]]
|
[[Bear Gulch Limestone]]
|
{{Flag|United States}}<br />{{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]]''<ref name="Ewoodruffi1978">{{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}}</ref>
|
Sp nov
|
jr synonym
|
Wilson
|
[[Ypresian]]
|
[[Klondike Mountain Formation]]
|
{{Flag|United States}}<br />{{flag|Washington}}
|
A [[hiodontidae|mooneye]],<br/> Moved to ''[[Hiodon woodruffi]]'' in [[2008 in paleontology|2008]]<ref name="Eohiodon2008">{{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 }}</ref>
|
[[File:Hiodon woodruffi 2007-05-26 img2.jpg|thumb|center|upright|''[[Hiodon woodruffi]]'']]
|-
|}

==Dinosaurs==
===Newly named dinosaurs===
Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.<ref name="ddinogeorge">{{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 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" align="center" width="100%"
|- 
! Name
! Novelty
! Status
! Authors
! Age
! Type locality
! Location
! Notes
! Images
|-
|
"''[[Amtosaurus]]''"<ref>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.</ref>
|
Gen nov
|
''[[Nomen dubium]]''.
| 
[[Sergei Kurzanov|Kurzanov]]
| 
|
Tumanova
|
|
|
|-
|
"''[[Coloradisaurus|Coloradia]]''"<ref>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.</ref>
|
Gen et sp nov
|
jr homonym
| 
[[Jose Bonaparte|Bonaparte]]
| 
|
|
|
Preoccupied by Blake 1863. Renamed ''[[Coloradisaurus]]''.
|
|-
|
''[[Lesothosaurus]]''<ref name="galton1978">{{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 }}</ref>
|
Gen et sp nov
|
Valid
| 
[[Peter Galton|Galton]]
|
[[Early Jurassic]]
| 
|
{{Flag|Lesotho}}
|
Possible [[junior synonym]] of ''[[Fabrosaurus]]''.
|
[[File:Lesothosaurus diagnosticus.png|thumb|center|upright|''[[Lesothosaurus]]'']]
|-
|
''[[Micropachycephalosaurus]]''<ref>Dong, Z. 1978. A new genus of Pachycephalosauria from Laiyang, Shantung. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 16: pp. 225-228.</ref>
|
Gen nov
|
Valid
| 
[[Dong Zhiming|Dong]]
|
| 
|
{{Flag|China}}
|
A [[Pachycephalosauria|pachycephalosaur]].
|
[[File:Micropachycephalosaurus.jpg|thumb|center|upright|''[[Micropachycephalosaurus]]'']]
|-
| 
''[[Ohmdenosaurus]]''<ref>Wild, 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.</ref>
|
|
Valid
| 
Wild
|
| 
|
{{Flag|Germany}}
|
|
|-
|
"[[Roccosaurus]]"<ref>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.</ref> 
|
|
''[[Nomen nudum]]''. 
| 
van Heerden vide: Anderson & Cruickshank
|
|
|
|
[[Junior synonym]] of ''[[Melanorosaurus]]''.
|
|-
|
''[[Saurornitholestes]]''<ref>Sues, 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.</ref>
|
Gen et sp nov
|
Valid
| 
[[Hans-Dieter Sues|Sues]]
|
[[Campanian]]
| 
[[Judith River Formation]]
|
{{Flag|Canada}}<br/>({{Flag|Alberta}}
|
A North Polar [[Dromaeosauridae|Dromaeosaur]].
|
[[File:Saurornitholestes digging Burrows wahweap.jpg|thumb|center|upright|''[[Saurornitholestes]]'']]
|-
| 
''[[Yangchuanosaurus]]''<ref>Dong, 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.</ref>
|
Gen et sp nov
|
Valid
| 
[[Dong Zhiming|Zhiming]], Chang, Li, & Zhou
|
|
|
{{Flag|China}}
|
A [[carnosaur]]
|
[[File:Yanchuanosaurus1.jpg|thumb|center|upright|''[[Yangchuanosaurus]]'']]
|-
|}

===General research===
*[[Peter M. Galton]] published a paper on [[Fabrosauridae]], including redescribing ''[[Fabrosaurus]]'', ''[[Echinodon]]'' and ''[[Nanosaurus]]'' along with naming ''[[Lesothosaurus]]''.<ref name="galton1978"/>

==Birds==
{| class="wikitable sortable" align="center" width="100%"
|-
! Name
! Novelty
! Status
! Authors
! Age
! Unit
! Location
! Notes
! Images
|-
|
''[[Aldabranas cabri]]'' <ref name=HarrisonWalker1978>{{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}}</ref>
|
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]]'' <ref name=Anser>{{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 }}</ref>
|
Sp. nov.
|
Valid
|
[[Nikolaj I. Burchak-Abramovich]]

[[D. V. Gadzyev]]
|
[[Pliocene]]
|
Late [[Sarmantian]]
|
* {{Flag|USSR}} (Now {{flag|Azerbaijan}})
|
An [[Anatidae]].
|
|-
|
''[[Apus baranensis]]'' <ref name=Janossy1978>{{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 }}</ref>
|
Sp. nov.
|
Valid
|
[[Dénes Jánossy]]
|
[[Late Pliocene]]
|
[[MN 16a]]; [[MN 17]]
|
* {{flag|Hungary}}
* {{flag|Bulgaria}}
|
An [[Apodidae]].
|
|-
|
''[[Chaetura baconica]]'' <ref name="Janossy1978"/>
|
Sp. nov.
|
Valid
|
[[Dénes Jánossy]]
|
[[Late Miocene]]
|
[[MN 11-12]]
|
* {{flag|Hungary}}
|
An [[Apodidae]].
|
|-
|
''[["Gallus" europaeus]]'' <ref name=Gallus>{{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}}</ref>
|
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]]'' <ref name=Howard1978>{{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 }}</ref>
|
Sp. nov.
|
Valid
|
[[Hildegarde Howard]]
|
[[Late Miocene]]
|
[[Monterey Formation]]
|
* {{flag|USA}} ({{flag|California}})
|
A [[Gaviidae]].
|
|-
|
''[[Mergus miscellus]]'' <ref name=Mergus>{{Cite journal |author=Rafael Alvarez & Storrs L. Olson |year=1978 |title=A New Merganser from the Miocene of Virginia (Aves: Anatidae) |url=http://biostor.org/cache/pdf/5b/91/21/5b9121b8c407fed5700983e428f4266f.pdf |journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington |volume=91 |issue=2 |pages=522–532 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
|
Sp. nov.
|
Valid
|
[[Rafael Alvarez (paleontologist)|Rafael Alvarez]]

[[Storrs L. Olson]]
|
[[Late Miocene]]
|
[[Calvert Formation]]
|
* {{flag|USA}}({{flag|Virginia}} and  {{flag|Maryland}})
|
An [[Anatidae]].
|
|-
|
''[["Milvus" brachypterus]]'' <ref name="Janossy1978"/>
|
Sp. nov.
|
Valid
|
[[Dénes Jánossy]]
|
[[Early Pleistocene]]
|
[[MQ 1b]]
|
* {{flag|Hungary}}
|
An [[Apodidae]] ''Incertae Sedis''.
|
|-
|
''[[Morus magnus]]'' <ref name="Howard1978"/>
|
Sp. nov.
|
Valid
|
[[Hildegarde Howard]]
|
[[Late Miocene]]
|
[[Monterey Formation]]
|
* {{flag|USA}} ({{flag|California}})
|
A [[Sulidae]].
|
|-
|
''[[Phalacrocorax anatolicus]]'' <ref name=Phalacrocorax>{{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}}</ref>
|
Sp. nov.
|
Valid
|
[[Cécile Mourer-Chauviré]]
|
[[Middle Miocene]]
|
[[Helvetian]]
|
* {{flag|Turkey}}
|
A [[Phalacrocoracidae]], transferred to the genus ''Nectornis'' Cheneval, 1984 by Mlíkovský, 1998.<ref name=Nectornis>{{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 }}</ref>
|
|-
|
''[[Pterodroma kurodai]]'' <ref name="HarrisonWalker1978"/>
|
Sp. nov.
|
Valid
|
[[Colin J. O. Harrison]]

[[Cyril A. Walker]]
|
[[Pleistocene]]
|
[[Aldabra]] Atoll
|
* {{flag|Seychelles}}
|
A [[Procellariidae]].
|
|-
|
''[[Puffinus barnesi]]'' <ref name="Howard1978"/>
|
Sp. nov.
|
Valid
|
[[Hildegarde Howard]]
|
[[Late Miocene]]
|
[[Monterey Formation]]
|
* {{flag|USA}} ({{flag|California}})
|
A [[Procellariidae]].
|
|-
|
''[[Recurvirostra sanctaneboulae]]'' <ref name=Recurvirostra>{{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 }}</ref>
|
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]]'' <ref name="Janossy1978"/>
|
Sp. nov.
|
Valid
|
[[Dénes Jánossy]]
|
[[Late Pliocene]];

[[Early Pleistocene]]
|
[[MN 16]],

[[MN 18]];

[[MQ 1b]]
|
* {{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|thumb|''[[Geosternbergia]]'']]
|-
| 
''[[Peteinosaurus]]''
| 
Valid
| style="border-right:0px" valign="top" | 
Wild
| style="border-left:0px" valign="top" | 
|
* {{flag|Italy}}
|
|-
| 
''[[Campylognathoides]]'' Indicus<ref name=Ptero>{{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}}</ref>
| 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.<ref name="sarjeant-fic" />

==References==
{{Reflist||refs=

<ref name="sarjeant-fic">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.</ref>

<ref name="twoturn">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.&nbsp;298–309.</ref>
}}

[[Category:1978 in paleontology| ]]
[[Category:1970s in paleontology|8]]
[[Category:1978 in science|Paleontology 8]]