1994 in paleontology
Paleontology or palaeontology 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 humans have 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 1994.
| |||
---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1994 in paleontology. |
Plants
Conifers
Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gen et sp nov |
valid |
Manchester |
Middle Eocene |
Clarno Formation |
Fossil Yew Genus, type species D. torreyoides |
|||
Sp nov |
valid |
Manchester |
Middle Eocene |
Clarno Formation |
Fossil Yew species |
|||
Sp nov |
valid |
Manchester |
Middle Eocene |
Clarno Formation |
Fossil nutmeg yew species |
Angiosperms
Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sp nov |
valid |
Manchester |
Middle Eocene |
Clarno Formation |
Fossil Kiwi species |
|||
Sp nov |
valid |
Manchester |
Middle Eocene |
Clarno Formation |
Fossil dogwood species |
|||
Gen et sp nov |
valid |
Manchester |
Middle Eocene |
Clarno Formation |
Fossil hazelnut relative, Type species C. hancockii |
|||
Sp nov |
valid |
Magallón-Puebl |
Pié de Vaca Formation |
Youngest Eucommia sp. in North America. |
||||
Gen et sp nov |
valid |
Manchester |
Middle Eocene |
Clarno Formation |
Fossil hazelnut relative, type species K. parvum |
|||
Comb nov |
valid |
(Scott) Manchester |
Middle Eocene |
Clarno Formation |
A Tupelo, new comb of Palaeonyssa spatulata |
|||
Gen et sp nov |
valid |
Manchester |
Middle Eocene |
Clarno Formation |
Fossil ginseng genus, type species P. oregonensis |
|||
Sp nov |
valid |
Manchester |
Middle Eocene |
Clarno Formation |
Fossil Sumac species |
|||
Arthropods
Newly named insects
Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sp nov |
Valid |
Baroni Urbani & De Andrade |
first fossil Acanthognathus species |
|||||
Aeshna andancensis[5] |
Sp nov |
Valid |
Nel & Brisac |
Montagne d'Andance |
An Aeshna dragonfly |
![]() Aeshna andancensis | ||
Aeshna cerdanica[5] |
Sp nov |
Valid |
Nel & Martínez-Delclòs |
An Aeshna dragonfly |
![]() Aeshna cerdanica | |||
Aeschnophlebia miocenica[5] |
Sp nov |
Valid |
Nel & Escuillé |
Montagne d'Andance |
An Aeschnophlebia dragonfly |
![]() Aeschnophlebia miocenica | ||
Sp nov |
Valid |
De Andrade |
A ponerin ant |
| ||||
Sp nov |
Valid |
De Andrade |
A ponerin ant |
| ||||
Sp nov |
Valid |
De Andrade |
A ponerin ant |
| ||||
Sp nov |
Valid |
De Andrade |
A ponerin ant |
| ||||
Sp nov |
Valid |
De Andrade |
A ponerin ant |
| ||||
Sp nov |
Valid |
De Andrade |
A ponerin ant |
| ||||
Calopteryx andancensis |
Sp nov |
Valid |
Nel & Brisac |
Montagne d'Andance |
A Calopteryx damselfly |
![]() Calopteryx andancensis | ||
Gen et comb nov. |
Valid |
Bolton |
Taimyr amber |
A Sphecomyrminae ant. |
| |||
Forficula paleoligura[8] |
Sp nov |
Valid |
Nel, Albouy, Caussanel, & Jamet |
An earwig |
![]() Forficula paleoligura | |||
Sp nov. |
Valid |
De Andrade |
Burdigalian |
Dominican Amber |
A myrmicin ant |
| ||
Sp nov. |
Valid |
De Andrade |
Burdigalian |
Dominican Amber |
A myrmicin ant |
| ||
Protoaristenymphes[9] |
Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Nel & Henrotay |
A Mesochrysopid lacewing, type species P. bascharagensis |
![]() Protoaristenymphes bascharagensis | |||
Sympecma incerta[10] |
Comb. nov |
Valid |
Piton |
Lake Chambon |
A Lestid damselfly, |
![]() Sympecma incerta | ||
Molluscs
Fishes
Newly named bony fishes
Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gen. et sp. nov |
valid |
Schwimmer, Stewart & Williams |
late Santonian to mid-Campanian |
A latimeriid coelacanth.[13] |
||||
Archosauromorphs
- Aff. Rebbachisaurus gastroliths documented.[14]
- The "Talkeetna Mountains Hadrosaur" specimen was discovered in a quarry being excavated for road material.[15] The quarry is near the Glenn Highway, approximately 150 miles northeast of Anchorage.[16] That fall, excavation began, and was resumed in the summer of 1996.[15]
Newly named pseudosuchians
Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Galtonia[17] |
Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Hunt & Lucas |
Late Triassic (late Carnian) |
A relative of Revueltosaurus. |
|||
Gen et sp nov |
Junior synonym |
Hunt & Lucas |
Late Triassic (late Carnian) |
A junior synonym of Revueltosaurus. |
||||
Newly named basal dinosauromorphs
Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gen et comb nov |
Valid |
Sereno & Arcucci |
Middle Triassic (Ladinian) |
A basal dinosauriform; |
Marasuchus liloenisis | |||
Newly named dinosaurs
Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.[19]
Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
![]() Afrovenator abakensis | ||||||
Gen et comb nov |
Valid |
Chatterjee & Creisler |
| |||||
Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Russell & Dong |
| |||||
Cheng |
described as Huabeisaurus allocotus in 2000 |
![]() Huabeisaurus allocotus | ||||||
Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Currie, Godfrey, & Nesov |
![]() Caenagnathasia martinsoni | |||||
Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Hammer & Hickerson |
| |||||
Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Chure |
||||||
Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Zhao & Currie |
![]() Monolophosaurus jiangi | |||||
Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Kirkland & Carpenter |
![]() Mymoorapelta maysi | |||||
Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Perez-Moreno, Sanz, Buscalioni, |
Calizas de La Huérguina Formation |
| ||||
Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Martin, Buffetaut, & Suteethorn |
| |||||
Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Russell & Dong |
![]() Sinornithoides youngi | |||||
Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Currie & Zhao |
![]() Sinraptor dongi | |||||
Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Rich & Vickers-Rich |
![]() Timimus hermani | |||||
“Tonouchisaurus” |
||||||||
Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Zhou |
||||||
Newly named birds
Name | Status | Novelty | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Valid |
Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. |
Late Paleocene |
Type species B. orbisantiqui |
|||||
Valid |
Sp. nov. |
probably Pleistocene |
Cave deposits |
A Strigidae. |
||||
Falco duboisi [36] |
Valid |
Sp. nov. |
Graham S. Cowles |
Cave deposits |
A Falconidae. |
|||
Mascarenachen kervazoi [36] |
Valid |
Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. |
Graham S. Cowles |
An Anatidae, type species M. kervazoi; |
||||
Mascarenotus grucheti [37] |
Valid |
Sp. nov. |
Roger Bour François Moutou Sonia Ribes |
A Strigidae. |
||||
Messelastur gratulator [38] |
Valid |
Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. |
Dieter S. Peters |
Middle Eocene |
MN 11 |
A Psittaciformes, Messelasturidae G. Mayr, 2005, this is the type species of the new genus. |
||
Valid |
Sp. nov. |
Gerard F. van Tets |
Peat Swamp near Mining Lease |
|||||
Neuquenornis volans [40] |
Valid |
Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. |
Santonian-Coniacian, Rio Colorado Formation |
An Enantiornithes Walker, 1981, Avisauridae Brett-Surman et Paul, 1985, this is the type species of the new genus. |
||||
Nycticorax borbonensis [36] |
Not valid |
Sp. nov. |
Graham S. Cowles |
An Ardeidae, this is a junior synonym of Nycticorax duboisi (Rothschild, 1907). |
||||
Otogornis genghisi [41] |
Valid |
Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. |
Hou Lianhai |
An Enantiornithes Walker, 1981, Longirostravidae Zhou, 2006, this is the type species of the new genus. |
||||
Presbyornis isoni [42] |
Valid |
Sp. nov. |
Late Paleocene |
An Anseriformes, Presbyornithidae Wetmore, 1926. |
||||
Puffinus spelaeus [43] |
Valid |
Sp. nov. |
Richard N. Holdaway |
Late Quaternary |
Cave Deposits, South Island |
|||
Stephanoaetus mahery [44] |
Valid |
Sp. nov. |
Holocene. (Subrecent) |
An Accipitridae. |
||||
Wanshuina lii [45] |
Valid |
Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. |
Hou Lianhai |
Doumu Formation |
A Rallidae, this is the type species of the new genus. |
|||
Plesiosaurs
- Plesiosaur gastroliths documented.[46]
New taxa
Name | Status | Authors | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Valid |
Chatterjee Creisler |
|||
Pterosaurs
New taxa
Name | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Valid |
Frey Martill |
Early Cretaceous (late Aptian/early Albian) |
A pteranodontoid pterosaur. |
|||||
Valid |
Padian, K., Horner de Ricqlès, A.J. |
Late Cretaceous (Judithian) |
An azhdarchid from Montana. |
|||||
nomen nudum |
Bakker |
Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian-Tithonian) |
||||||
Valid |
Cai, Z. Wei, F. |
Late Cretaceous (early Campanian) |
A Chinese azhdarchid. |
|||||
Other diapsids
New taxa
Name | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lucianosaurus[17] | Valid Non-Dinosaurian Taxon |
|
|
Late Triassic (Norian) |
Bull Canyon Formation |
||
Tecovasaurus[17] | Valid Non-Dinosaurian Taxon |
|
|
Late Triassic (late Carnian) |
|||
Footnotes
- 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.
- Manchester, S.R. (1994). "Fruits and Seeds of the Middle Eocene Nut Beds Flora, Clarno Formation, Oregon". Palaeontographica Americana. 58: 30–31.
- Call, V.B.; Dilcher, D.L. (1997). "The fossil record of Eucommia (Eucommiaceae) in North America" (PDF). American Journal of Botany. 84 (6): 798–814. doi:10.2307/2445816. JSTOR 2445816. PMID 21708632.
- Baroni Urbani, C.; De Andrade, M. L. (1994). "First description of fossil Dacetini ants with a critical analysis of the current classification of the tribe (Amber Collection Stuttgart: Hymenoptera, Formicidae. VI: Dacetini)". Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde. Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie). 198: 1–65.
- Nel, A.; Martinez-Delclòs, X.; Escuillé, F; Brisac, P. (1994). "Names; Les Aeshnidae fossiles: Etat actuel des connaissances (Odonata, Anisoptera)". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen. 194 (2/3): 143–186.
- De Andrade, M. L. (1994). "Fossil Odontomachiti Ants from the Dominican Republic (Amber Collection Stuttgart: Hymenoptera, Formicidae. VII: Odontomachiti)". Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde. Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie). 199: 1–28.
- Grimaldi, D.; Agosti, D.; Carpenter, J. M. (1997). "New and rediscovered primitive ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in Cretaceous amber from New Jersey, and their phylogenetic relationships". American Museum Novitates. 3208: 1–43.
- Nel, A.; Albouy, V.; Caussanel, C; Jamet, C. (1994). "Réflexion paléo-entomologique sur la systématique des Dermaptères. Quatre nouveaux forficules fossiles de l'Oligocène de Provence (France)". Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France. 99: 253–266.
- Nel, A; Henrotay, M. (1994). "Les Chrysopidae Mésozoïques. État actuel des connaissances. Description d'un nouveau genre et nouvelle espèce dans le Jurassique inférieur (Lias) (Insecta: Neuroptera)". Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. 30: 295–318.
- Nel, A.; Paicheler, J.-C. (1994). "Les Lestoidea (Odonata, Zygoptera) fossiles : un inventaire critique". Annales de Paléontologie. 80 (1): 1–59.
- Elicki, O.; Gürsu, S. (2009). "First record of Pojetaia runnegari Jell, 1980 and Fordilla Barrande, 1881 from the Middle East (Taurus Mountains, Turkey) and critical review of Cambrian bivalves" (PDF). Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 83 (2): 267–291. doi:10.1007/s12542-009-0021-9.
- David R. Schwimmer; J. D. Stewart; G. Dent Williams (1994). "Giant fossil coelacanths of the Late Cretaceous in the eastern United States". Geology. 22 (6): 503–506. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1994)022<0503:gfcotl>2.3.co;2.
- Hugo Dutel; John G. Maisey; David R. Schwimmer; Philippe Janvier; Marc Herbin; Gaël Clément (2012). "The Giant Cretaceous Coelacanth (Actinistia, Sarcopterygii) Megalocoelacanthus dobiei Schwimmer, Stewart & Williams, 1994, and Its Bearing on Latimerioidei Interrelationships". PLOS ONE. 7 (11): e49911. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049911. PMC 3507921. PMID 23209614.
- Calvo (1994). Sanders, Manley, and Carpenter (2001), "Table 12.1" page 167.
- "Introduction," in Pasche and May (2001); page 220.
- "Location and Geologic Setting," in Pasche and May (2001); page 220.
- Hunt, A.P. and S.G. Lucas. 1994. Ornithischian dinosaurs from the Upper Triassic of the United States. In: the Shadow of the Dinosaurs, Early Mesozoic Tetrapods (N.C. Fraser and H.-D. Sues, Eds.). Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK: pp. 227-241.
- Sereno, P.C.; Arcucci, A.B. (1994). "Dinosaur precursors from the Middle Triassic of Argentina: Marasuchus lilloensis gen. nov". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 14: 53–73. doi:10.1080/02724634.1994.10011538.
- Olshevsky, George. "Dinogeorge's Dinosaur Genera List". Retrieved 2008-08-07.
- Sereno, P.C., J.A. Wilson, H.C.E. Larsson, D.B. Dutheil, H.-D. Sues. 1994. Early Cretaceous dinosaurs from the Sahara. Science 266 (14 October [5183]): pp. 267-271.
- Chatterjee, S.; Creisler, B.S. (1994). "Alwalkeria (Theropoda) and Morturneria (Plesiosauria), new names for preoccupied Walkeria Chatterjee, 1987 and Turneria". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 14: 142. doi:10.1080/02724634.1994.10011546.
- Russell, D.A. and Z.-M. Dong. 1994. The affinities of a new theropod from the Alxa Desert, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. Can. J. Earth Sci. 30:pp. 2107-2127.
- Currie, P.J., S.J. Godfrey, and L. Nesov. 1993 [Olshevsky cites 1994]. New caenagnathid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) specimens from the Upper Cretaceous of North America and Asia. Can. J. Earth Sci. 30: pp. 2255-2272.
- Hammer, W.R.; Hickerson, W.J. (1994). "A Crested Theropod Dinosaur from Antarctica". Science. 264: 828–830. Bibcode:1994Sci...264..828H. doi:10.1126/science.264.5160.828. PMID 17794724.
- Chure, D.J. 1994. Koparion douglassi, a new dinosaur from the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Dinosaur National Monument; The oldest troodontid (Theropoda: Maniraptora). Brigham Young University Geology Studies 40:pp. 11-15.
- Zhao, X.J. and P.J. Currie, P.J. 1994 [not 1993]. A large crested theropod from the Jurassic of Xinjiang, China. Canadian. J. Earth Sci. 30: pp. 2027-2036.
- Kirkland, J.I. and K. Carpenter. 1994. North America's First Pre-Cretaceous Ankylosaur (Dinosauria) from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Western Colorado. Brigham Young University Geology Studies 40: pp. 25-42.
- Perez-Moreno, B.; Sanz, J.L.; Buscalloni, A.D.; Moratalla, J.J.; Ortega, F.; Rasskin-Gutman, D. (1994). "A unique multitoothed ornithomimosaur dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Spain". Nature. 370: 363–367. doi:10.1038/370363a0.
- Martin, V. E. Buffetaut, and V. Suteethorn. 1994. A new genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Sao Khua Formation (Late Jurassic or Early Cretaceous) of north-eastern Thailand. Comptes Rendus l'Acad. Sci. Paris (II) 319 : pp. 1085-1092.
- Russell, D.A. and Z.-M Dong. 1993 [George Olshevsky cites 1994, not 1993]. A nearly complete skeleton of a new troodontid dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of the Ordos Basin, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. Can. J. Earth Sci. 30: pp. 2163-2173.
- Currie, P.J. and X.J. Zhao. 1994. A new carnosaur (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Jurassic of Xinjiang, People's Republic of China. Can. J. Earth Sci., 30: pp. 2037-2081.
- Rich, T.H., and P. Vickers-Rich. 1994. Neoceratopsians and ornithomimosaurs: Dinosaurs of Gondwana origin. Res. Exploration 10: pp. 129-131.
- Zhou Songlin, 1994. Record of a fossil stegosaur from Yingshan in the Sichuan Basin. Sichuan Cultural Relics. 1994-S1: 8-14.
- Cécile Mourer-Chauviré (1994). "A Large Owl from the Paleocene of France" (PDF). Palaeontology. 37 (2): 339–348.
- Oscar Arredondo; Storrs L. Olson (1994). "A New Species of Owl of the Genus Bubo from the Pleistocene of Cuba (Aves: Strigiformes)" (PDF). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 107 (3): 436–444. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-09. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
- Graham S. Cowles (1994). "A New Genus, Three New Species and Two New Records of Extinct Holocene Birds From Réunion Island, Indian Ocean". Géobios. 27 (1): 87–93. doi:10.1016/s0016-6995(06)80215-9.
- Cécile Mourer-Chauviré; Roger Bour; François Moutou; Sonia Ribes (1994). "Mascarenotus Nov. Gen. (Aves: Strigiformes) Genre Endémique Éteint des Mascareignes et M. grucheti N. Sp. Espècé Éteinte de la Réunion" (PDF). Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Série IIA. 318: 1699–1706.
- Dieter S. Peters (1994). "Messelastur gratulator n. gen. n. spec., ein Greifvogel aus der Grube Messel (Aves, Accipitridae)" (PDF). Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg. 170: 3–9.
- Gerard F. van Tets (1994). "An Extinct New Species of Cormorant (Phalacrocoracidae, Aves) from a Western Australian Peat Swamp". Records of the South Australian Museum. 27: 135–138.
- Luis M. Chiappe; Jorge O. Calvo (1994). "Neuquenornis volans, a New Late Cretaceous Bird (Enantiornithes: Avisauridae) from Patagonia, Argentina" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 14 (2): 230–246. doi:10.1080/02724634.1994.10011554.
- Hou Lianhai (1994). "A Late Mesozoic Bird from Inner Mongolia" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 32 (4): 258–266.
- Storrs L. Olson (1994). "A Giant Presbyornis (Aves: Anseriformes) and Other Birds from the Paleocene Aquia Formation of Maryland and Virginia". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 107 (3): 429–435.
- Richard N. Holdaway; Trevor H. Worthy (1994). "A New Fossil Species of Shearwater Puffinus from the Late Quaternary of the South Island, New Zealand, and Notes on the Biogeography and Evolution of the Puffinus gavia Superspecies". Emu. 94 (3): 201–215. doi:10.1071/mu9940201.
- Steven M. Goodman (1994). "Description of a New Species of Subfossil Eagle from Madagascar: Stephanoaetus (Aves: Falconiformes) from the Deposits of Amphasambazimba". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 107 (3): 421–428.
- Hou Lianhai (1994). "A New Paleocene Bird from Anhui, China" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 32 (1): 60–65.
- Martin (1994). Sanders, Manley, and Carpenter (2001), "Table 12.1" page 167.
- Padian, K., Ricqles, A. de J., and Horner, J. R., 1994, Bone histology determines identification of a new fossil taxon of pterosaur (Reptilia: Archosauria): Compte rendu hebdomadaire des séances de l’Académie des Sciences Paris, tomo 320, serie 2, p. 77-84.
References
- Calvo, J.O. (1994). Gastroliths in sauropod dinosaurs. Gaia, 10: 205–208.
- Martin, James E.; 1994; Gastric residues in marine reptiles from the Late Cretaceous Pierre Shale in South Dakota; their bearing on extinction; Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology; 14(3, Suppl.) pp. 36; University of Oklahoma
- Pasch, A. D., K. C. May. 2001. Taphonomy and paleoenvironment of hadrosaur (Dinosauria) from the Matanuska Formation (Turonian) in South-Central Alaska. In: Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Ed.s Tanke, D. H., Carpenter, K., Skrepnick, M. W. Indiana University Press. Pages 219–236.
- Sanders F, Manley K, Carpenter K. Gastroliths from the Lower Cretaceous sauropod Cedarosaurus weiskopfae. In: Tanke D.H, Carpenter K, editors. Mesozoic vertebrate life: new research inspired by the paleontology of Philip J. Currie. Indiana University Press; Bloomington, IN: 2001. pp. 166–180.