1973 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.^[1] This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (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 or were published in the year 1973.

Arthropods

Insects

Archosauromorphs

Newly named crurotarsins

Newly named dinosaurs

Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.^[4]

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Alocodon[5]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Thulborn	Middle Jurassic	Guimarota lignite	Portugal	Ornithischian of uncertain placement
Efraasia[6]	gen nov	Valid	Galton	Middle Norian	Löwenstein Formation	Germany	basal sauropodomorph
Kelmayisaurus[7]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Zhiming	Early Cretaceous	Lianmugin Formation	China	carcharodontosaurid
Phaedrolosaurus[7]	gen et sp nov	nomen dubium	Zhiming	Early Cretaceous	Lianmugin Formation	China	described from a single tooth
Phyllodon[5]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Thulborn	Middle Jurassic	Guimarota lignite	Portugal	possible Hypsilophodontid
Shantungosaurus[8]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Hu	Late Cretaceous		China	largest known ornithischian	Shantungosaurus
Trimucrodon[5]	Gen et sp nov	nomen dubium	Thulborn	Middle Jurassic	Guimarota lignite	Portugal	Ornithischian of uncertain placement
Tugulusaurus[7]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Zhiming	Early Cretaceous	Tugulu Group	China	coelurosaurian
Wuerhosaurus[7]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Zhiming	Early Cretaceous	Tugulu Group	China	one of the last stegosaurians	Wuerhosaurus

Newly named birds

Newly named pterosaurs

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Eudimorphodon	gen et sp nov	Valid	Zambelli	Norian		Italy		Eudimorphodon ranzii
Noripterus[23]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Yang (aka C.-C. Young)	early Cretaceous	Lianmuqin Formation	China		Noripterus complicidens

References

1. ↑ Gini-Newman, Garfield; Graham, Elizabeth (2001). Echoes from the past: world history to the 16th century. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. ISBN 9780070887398. OCLC 46769716. 
2. ↑ Skalski, A.W. (1973). "Studies on the Lepidoptera from fossil resins. Part II. Epiborkhausenites obscurotrimaculatus gen. et sp. nov. (Oecophoridae) and a tineid-moth discovered in the Baltic amber" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 18 (1): 153–160. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2011. 
3. ↑ Seiffert, J. 1973. Upper Jurassic Lizards from Central Portugal. Contibuicao para o conhecimento da Fauna do Kimeridgiano da Mina de Lignito Guimarota (Leiria, Portugal). Servicox Geologicos de Portugal, Memoria 22 (new series): pp. 7-88.
4. ↑ Olshevsky, George. "Dinogeorge's Dinosaur Genera List". Retrieved 2008-08-07. 
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Thulborn, R.A. (1973). "Teeth of ornithischian dinosaurs from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal, with a description of a hypsilophodontid (Phyllodon henkeli gen. et sp. nov.) from the Guimarota Lignite". Memória Serivoços Geológicos de Portugal (Nova Série) 22: 89–134. 
6. ↑ Galton, P.M. (1973). "On the anatomy and relationships of Efraasia diagnostica (V. Huene) n. gen., a prosauropod dinosaur (Reptilia: Saurischia) from the Upper Triassic of Germany". Palaontologische Zcitschrift 47: 229–255. doi:10.1007/bf02985709. 
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Dong, Z.M. 1973. Dinosaurs from Wuerho. Reports of Paleontological Expedition to Sinkiang (II), Pterosaurian Fauna from Wuerho, Sinkiang. Memories of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropolgy, Academy of Science 11: pp. 45-52.
8. ↑ Hu, C. 1973. A new hadrosaur from the Cretaceous of Chucheng. Shantung. Acta Geol. Sinica 2: pp. 179-202.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Storrs L. Olson (1973). "Evolution of the Rails of the South Atlantic Islands (Aves: Rallidae)" (PDF). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 152: 1–53. doi:10.5479/si.00810282.152. 
10. ↑ W. R. P. Bourne, N. P. Ashmole & K. E. L. Simmons (2003). "A New Subfossil Night Heron and a New Genus for the Extinct Rail for Ascension Island, Central Tropical Atlantic Ocean" (PDF). Ardea 91 (1): 45–51. 
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Peter Ballmann (1973). "Fossile Vögel aus dem Neogen der Halbinsel Gargano (Italien)". Scripta Geologica 17: 1–75. 
12. ↑ Nikolay I. Burchak-Abramovich (1973). "?". Report presented to the 5th Sovjet congress on the Quaternay Periode. 
13. ↑ Collin J. O. Harrison & Cyril A. Walker (1973). "An Undescribed Extinct Fish-Eagle from the Chatham Islands". Ibis 115 (2): 274–277. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.1973.tb02645.x. 
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Joel Cracraft (1973). "Systematics and Evolution of the Gruiformes (Class, Aves) 3. Phylogeny of the Suborder Grui" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 151: 1–127. 
15. ↑ Cécile Mourer-Chauviré (2013). "Idiornis Oberholser, 1899 (Aves, Gruiformes, Cariamae, Idiornithidae): a Junior Synonym of Dynamopterus Milne-Edwards, 1892 (Paleogene, Phosphorites du Quercy, France)". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, abhandlungen 270 (1): 13–22. doi:10.1127/0077-7749/2013/0355. 
16. ↑ David T. Holyoak (1973). "An Undescribed Parrot from Mauritius". Ibis 115 (3): 417–419. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.1973.tb01980.x. 
17. ↑ Julian P. Hume (1973). "Reappraisal of the Parrots (Aves: Psittacidae) from the Mascarene Islands, with Comments on Their Ecology, Morphology, and Affineties" (PDF). Zootaxa 1513: 1–76. 
18. ↑ George G. Simpson (1973). "Tertiary Penguins (Spenisciformes: Spheniscidae) from Ysterplaats, Cape Town, South Africa". South African Journal of Science 69: 342–344. 
19. ↑ Alan Feduccia (1973). "A New Eocene Zygodactyl Bird". Journal of Paleontology 47 (3): 501–503. 
20. ↑ Alan Feduccia (1976). "Neanis schucherti Restudied: Another Eocene Piciform Bird" (PDF). In Collected Papers in Avian Paleontology Honoring the 90th Birthday of Alexander Wetmore ed.: Storrs. L. Olson; Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology 27: 95–99. 
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Peter Ballmann (1973). "Fossile Vögel aus dem Neogen der Halbinsel Gargano (Italien)" (PDF). Scripta Geologica 17: 1–75. 
22. ↑ Colin J. O. Harrison & Cyril A. Walker (1973). "Wyleyia: a New Bird Humerus from the Lower Cretaceous of England." (PDF). Palaeontology 16 (4): 721–728. 
23. ↑ Young, Z. (1973). "[Pterosaurs from Wuerho]. Reports of Paleontological Expedition to Sinkiang (II): Pterosaurian Fauna from Wuerho, Sinkiang". Memoirs of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology Academia Sinica 11: 18–35.