1987 in paleontology

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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 1987.

Paleobotany

Newly described angiosperms

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Acer alaskense[2]	Sect and sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Latest Paleocene	Chickaloon Formation	USA	Oldest Acer sp in Alaska; Only species of the section Alaskana
Acer ashwilli[2]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	early Oligocene	John Day Formation	USA	extinct member of section Ginnala
Acer browni[2]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	early - Middle Miocene	Collawash flora and several other floras	USA  Canada	extinct member of section Parviflora
Acer castorrivulare[2]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Late Eocene	Beaver Creek Flora, Montana	USA	extinct member of section Macrantha
Acer clarnoense[2]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Late Eocene	John Day Formation	USA	extinct member of section Macrantha
Acer dettermani[2]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Late Eocene - early Oligocene	Meshik Volcanics	USA	extinct member of section Macrantha
Acer douglasense[2]	sect and sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	early Eocene	West Foreland Formation	USA	Only species of the section Douglasa
Acer hillsi[2]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Ypresian	Klondike Mountain Formation	USA	one of two species in the extinct section Stewarta
Acer ivanofense[2]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Latest Eocene - Early Oligocene	Meshik Volcanics	USA	extinct member of section Glabra
Acer kenaicum[2]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Oligocene	Tsadaka Formation & Tyonek Formation	USA	extinct member of section Rubra
Acer latahense[2]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	early - Late Miocene	Latah, Mascall, and Succor Creek Formations	USA	extinct member of section Macrantha
Acer republicense[2]	Sect and sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Ypresian	Klondike Mountain Formation	USA	type and only species in the extinct section Republica
Acer rousei[2]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Ypresian	Allenby formation & McAbee Site	Canada	only species in the extinct section Rousea
Acer smileyi[2]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Late Oligocene - Middle Miocene	Clarkia and other formations	USA	extinct member of section Parviflora
Acer stewarti[2]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Ypresian	Allenby formation	Canada	one of two species in the extinct section Stewarta
Acer stonebergae[2]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Ypresian	Allenby and Klondike Mountain Formations	Canada  USA	one of three species in the extinct section Torada
Acer taurocursum[2]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Late Eocene	Bull Run Flora, Nevada	USA	extinct member of section Rubra
Acer toradense[2]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Ypresian	Allenby and Klondike Mountain Formations	Canada  USA	one of three species in the extinct section Torada
Acer traini[2]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Early to middle Miocene	Trout Creek flora and others	USA Canada	extinct member of section Glabra
Acer washingtonense[2]	Sect and sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Ypresian	Klondike Mountain Formation	USA	type species in the extinct section Torada
Barghoornia[3]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Ypresian	Tom Thumb Tuff, Klondike Mountain Formation	USA	Monotypic with the species Barghoornia oblongifolia
Betula leopoldae[3]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Ypresian	Tom Thumb Tuff, Klondike Mountain Formation	USA		Betula leopoldae
Bohlenia[3]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Ypresian	Tom Thumb Tuff, Klondike Mountain Formation	USA		Bohlenia americana
Carya washingtonensis[4]	sp nov	Valid	Manchester	Langhian	Badger Pocket-Squaw Creek, Wanapum Basalts	USA	described from one of the oldest rodent nut caches known
Langeria[3]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Ypresian	Tom Thumb Tuff, Klondike Mountain Formation	USA	Monotypic with the species Langeria magnifica	Langeria magnifica
Macginitiea[3]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Ypresian	Tom Thumb Tuff, Klondike Mountain Formation	USA		Macginitiea gracilis
Photinia pageae[3]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Ypresian	Tom Thumb Tuff, Klondike Mountain Formation	USA		Photinia pageae
Republica[3]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Ypresian	Tom Thumb Tuff, Klondike Mountain Formation	USA	Incertae sedis angiospermae
Rhus malloryi[3]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Ypresian	Tom Thumb Tuff, Klondike Mountain Formation	USA		Rhus malloryi
Schoepfia republicensis[3]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Ypresian	Tom Thumb Tuff, Klondike Mountain Formation	USA
Tilia johnsoni[3]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Ypresian	Tom Thumb Tuff, Klondike Mountain Formation	USA		Tilia johnsoni
Tsukada[3]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Ypresian	Tom Thumb Tuff, Klondike Mountain Formation	USA	Monotypic with the species Tsukada davidiifolia	Tsukada davidiifolia

Mollusc palaeozoology

Newly described bivalves

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Tuarangia gravgaerdensis[5]	sp nov	valid	Berg-Madsen	Middle Cambrian	Bornholm	Denmark	second Tuarangia species named

Arthropod palaeozoology

Newly described arachnids

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Attercopus[6]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Shear et al.	Givetian	Gilboa, New York	USA	one of the oldest spiders

Newly described crustaceans

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Homarus morrisi[7]	Sp nov	Valid	Quayle	Ypresian–Bartonian		England

Vertebrate paleozoology

• Stokes suggested that sauropods recycled their gastroliths and chose them based on brightness of color.^[8]

Prehistoric dinosaurs described in 1987

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Aeolosaurus[9]	gen et sp nov	Valid taxon	Powell	Late Cretaceous	Angostura Colorada Formation	Argentina	A titanosaurian
Aragosaurus[10]	Gen et sp nov	Valid taxon	Sanz, Buscalioni, Casanovas-Cladellas, & Santafé	Hauterivian-Barremian		Spain
Borogovia[11]	gen et sp nov	Valid taxon	Osmólska	Late Cretaceous		Mongolia
"Clevelanotyrannus"[12]	gen et sp nov	Nomen nudum	Bakker, Williams & Currie vide: Currie	Late Cretaceous	Lance Formation	USA	determined to be a junior synonym of Nanotyrannus	"Clevelanotyrannus"
"Jiangjunmiaosaurus"	nomen nudum	Anonymous	Middle Jurassic	Shishugou Formation	China		Junior synonym of Monolophosaurus	Monolophosaurus
Maleevus[13]	gen et sp nov	Valid taxon	Tumanova	Late Cretaceous		Mongolia
Pseudolagosuchus[14]	Gen et sp nov	Valid taxon	Arcucci	Ladinian (Middle Triassic)	Chañares Formation	Argentina	possibly a jr synonym of Lewisuchus
Ugrosaurus[15]	gen et sp nov	Junior synonym	Cobabe & David Fastovsky	Late Cretaceous	Hell Creek Formation	USA	Junior synonym of Triceratops	Triceratops
"Unicerosaurus"		Nomen nudum	Baugh vide: Armstrong		Glen Rose, Texas?	USA	Possibly a Fish neural spine, never formally described
Walkeria[16]	gen et sp nov	name preoccupied	Chatterjee	Late Triassic	Maleri Formation	India	Name preoccupied by a bryozoan. Renamed Alwalkeria in 1994.	Alwalkeria

Newly named birds

Name	Status	Novelty	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Aenigmavis sapea [17]	jr synonym	Gen et sp. nov.	Peters	Middle Eocene	Messel pit	Germany	An Ameghinornithidae, jr synonym of Strigogyps sapea.[18] it is the type species of the genus Aenigmavis Peters, 1987.
Aythya chauvirae [19]	Valid	Sp nov.	Cheneval	Middle Miocene		France	An Anatidae.
Calcardea junnei [20]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Gingerich	Early Eocene	Wilwood Formation	USA	An Ardeidae, monotypic with C. junnei.
Carduelis triasi [21]	Valid	Sp nov.	Alcover & Florit	Late Pleistocene-Holocene	La Palma	Canary Islands	A Fringillidae, Carduelinae.
Dromaius gidju [22]	jr synonym	Sp nov.	Patterson & Vickers Rich	Middle Miocene	Wipajiri Formation	Australia	A Dromaiidae, jr synonym of Emuarius gidju.[23]
Ducula david [24]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Balouet & Olson	Late Holocene	Uvea	Wallis and Futuna	A Columbidae.
Eoglaucidium pallas [25]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Fischer	Middle Eocene	Messel pit & Geiseltal	Germany	A Sandcoleid, monotypic with E. pallas.
Janipes nymphaeobates [26]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Rasmussen, Olson, & Simons	Early Oligocene	Jebel Qatrani Formation	Egypt	A Jacanidae, monotypic with J. nymphaeobates
Juncitarsus merkeli [27]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Dieter S. Peters	Middle Eocene	Messel pit	Germany	A Juncitarsid
Necrobyas medius [28]	jr synonym	Sp. nov.	Mourer-Chauviré	Eocene or Oligocene	Phosphorites du Quercy	France	A Tytonid, transferred to Prosybris medius in 1998.[29]
Nupharanassa [26]	Valid	Gen et sp. nov.	Rasmussen, Olson, & Simons	Early Oligocene	Jebel Qatrani Formation	Egypt	A Jacanidae, two species N. bulotorum and N. tolutaria.
Otis khosatzkii [30]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Bocheński & Kurochkin	Late Pliocene		Moldova	An Otidid
Otis paratetrax [30]	Valid	Sp nov.	Bocheński & Kurochkin	Late Pliocene		Moldova  Ukraine	An Otididae.
Palaeoalectoris [31]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Hou	Argonian	Xiacaowan Formation	China	A Threskiornithid, monotypic with P. songlinensis.
Palaeobyas [28]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Mourer-Chauviré	Eocene or Oligocene	Phosphorites du Quercy	France	A Sophiornithid, monotypic with P. cracrafti.
Palaeoglaux [28]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Mourer-Chauviré	Late Eocene		France	A Palaeoglaucid, monotypic with P. perrierensis.
Palaeotyto cadurcensis [28]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Mourer-Chauviré	Eocene or Oligocene	Phosphorites du Quercy,	France	A Sophiornithid,[32] monotypic with P. cadurcensis.
Petralca austriaca [33]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Mlíkovský	Late Oligocene		Austria	An Alcidae, Petralcinae, monotypic with P. austriaca.
Platalea tiangangensis [31]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Hou	Argonian	Xiacaowan Formation	China	A Phasianid.
Prefica [34]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Olson	Early Eocene	Green River Formation	USA	A Steatornithidae, Preficinae, monotypic with P. nivea
Sophiornis[28]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Mourer-Chauviré	Eocene or Oligocene	Phosphorites du Quercy	France	A Sophiornithid, monotypic with S. quercynus
Vini sinotoi [35]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Steadman & Zarriello	Holocene	Ua Huka; Hiva Oa; Tahuata	French Polynesia	A Psittacidae, Loriinae.
Vini vidivici [35]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Steadman & Zarriello	Holocene	Tahuata	French Polynesia	A Psittacidae, Loriinae.
Tytthostonyx glauconiticus [36]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Olson & Parris,	Maastrichtian	Hornerstown Formation	USA	A Tytthostonychid, monotypic with T. glauconiticus
Xenerodiopus [26]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Rasmussen, Olson, & Simons	Early Oligocene	Jebel Qatrani Formation	Egypt	A Xenerodiopid, monotypic with X. mycter

Pterosaurs

New taxa

Name Status Authors Age Unit Location Notes Arambourgiania Gen nov Valid Nesov, Kanznyshkina, & Cherepanov Maastrichtian  Jordan New generic name for "Titanopteryx philadelphiae" Tropeognathus Gen et sp nov jr synonym? Wellnhofer Cenomanian Santana Formation  Brazil possibly a jr synonym of Ornithocheirus

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. Wolfe, J.A.; Tanai, T. (1987). "Systematics, Phylogeny, and Distribution of Acer (maples) in the Cenozoic of Western North America". Journal of the Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University. Series 4, Geology and mineralogy 22 (1): 1–246.
3. Wolfe, J.A.; Wehr, W.C. (1987). "Middle Eocene Dicotyledonous Plants from Republic, Northeastern Washington.". United States Geological Survey Bulletin 1597: 1–25.
4. Manchester, S. R. (1987). "The fossil history of the Juglandaceae". Monographs in Systematic Botany 21: 1–137. ISSN 0161-1542.
5. 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.
6. P. A. Selden, W. A. Shear & M. D. Sutton (2008). "Fossil evidence for the origin of spider spinnerets, and a proposed arachnid order" (PDF proofs). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105 (52): 20781–20785. doi:10.1073/pnas.0809174106. PMC 2634869. PMID 19104044.
7. W. J Quayle (1987). "English Eocene Crustacea (lobsters and stomatopod)" (PDF). Palaeontology 30 (3): 581–612.
8. Sanders, F.; Manley, K.; & Carpenter, K. 2001. Gastroliths from the Lower Cretaceous sauropod *Cedarosaurus weiskopfae*. pp. 166-180. In: Tanke, Darren; Carpenter, Ken (eds.) (2001). Mesozoic Vertebrate Life: New Research Inspired by the Paleontology of Philip J. Currie. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-33907-3.
9. Powell, J.E. 1987. The Late Cretaceous Fauna of Los Alamitos, Patagonia, Argentina. Part VI - the Titanosaurids: Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales <<Bernardion Rivadavia>>, Instituto National de Investigacion de las Ciencias Naturales, Paleontologia, tomo III, n. 3, pp. 147-153.
10. Sanz, J.L., A.D. Buscalioni, M.L. Casanovas, and J.V. Santafé. 1987. Dinosaurios del Creticico inferior de Galve (Teruel Espania). Estud. Geol. Vol. Extraord. Galve-Tremp.: pp.45-64.
11. Osmolska, H. 1987. Borogovia gracilicrus gen. et sp. n., a new troodontid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 32 (1-2): pp. 133-150.
12. Bakker, Williams & Currie, 1987 (Weishampel et al. 1990 cite Bakker, R.T., M. Williams, and P. Currie. 1988. Nanotyrannus, a new genus of pygmy tyrannosaur, from the latest Cretaceous of Montana. Hunteria 1: pp. 1-30.) vide Currie, P.J. 1987. Theropods of the Judith River Formation of Dinosaur Frovincial Park, Alberta. in: Currie, P.J. E.H. Koster (eds.), 4th Symp. Mesozoic Terr. Ecosyst. Short Paper, Tyrrell Mus. Palaeontol., Drumheller, Alberta [Clevelanotyrannus citation in bibliography]: pp. 52-60.
13. Tumanova, T.A. 1987. The armored dinosaurs of Mongolia. Joint Soviet-Mongolian Paleontol. Expedition Trans. 32: pp. 1-80.
14. Arcucci, A. 1987. Un nuevo Lagosuchidae (Thecodontia-Pseudosuchia) de la fauna de Los Chanares (Edad Reptile Chanarense, Triasic Medio), La Rioja, Argentina. Ameghiniana 24 (1- 2): pp. 89-94.
15. Cobabe, E.A., and D.E. Fastovsky. 1987. Urgosaurus olsoni, a new ceratopsian (Reptilia: Ornithischia) from the Hell Creek Formation of Eastern Montana. Journal of Paleontology 61 (1): pp. 148-154.
16. Chatterjee, S. 1987. A new theropod dinosaur from India with remarks on the Gondwana-Laurasia connection in the Late Triassic. In: Gondwana Six: Stratigraphy Sedimentology and Paleontology (G.D. McKenzie, Ed.). Geophysical Monogr. No. 41: pp. 183-189.
17. Dieter S. Peters (1987). "Ein "Phorusrhacide" aus dem Mittel-Eozän von Messel (Aves, Gruiformes: Cariamae)". Documents des Laboratoires de Géologie, Lyon 99: 71–87.
18. Gerald Mayr (2005). ""Old World phorusrhacids" (Aves, Phorusrhacidae): a new look at Strigogyps ("Aenigmavis") sapea (Peters 1987)". PaleoBios 25 (1): 11–16.
19. Jacques Cheneval (1987). "Les Anatidae (Aves: Anseriformes) du Miocène de France: Révision Systématique et Évolution". Documents des Laboratoires de Géologie, Lyon 99: 137–157.
20. Philip D. Gingerich (1987). "Early Eocene Bats (Mammalia, Chiroptera) and Other Vertebrates in Freshwater Limestones of the Willwood Formation, Clark's Fork Basin, Wyoming" (PDF). Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan 27 (11): 275–320.
21. Josep A. Alcover & F. Florit (1987). "Una Nueva Especie de Carduelis (Fringillidae) de La Palma". Vieraea 17: 75–86.
22. Patterson, C.; Vickers Rich, P. (1987). "The Fossil History of the Emus, Dromaius (Aves: Dromaiinae)" (PDF). Records of the South Australian Museum 36 (4): 83–117.
23. Walter E. Boles (1992). "Revision of Dromaius gidju Patterson and Rich 1987 from Riverleigh, Northwestern Queensland, Australia, With a Reassessment of Its Generic Position" (PDF). in Papers in Avian Paleontology Honoring Pierce Brodkorb. ed: Jonathan J. Becker, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Science series 36: 195–208.
24. Jean Ch. Balouet & Storrs L. Olson (1987). "A New Extinct Species of Giant Pigeon (Columbidae: Ducula) from Archaeological Deposits on Wallis (Uvea) Island, South Pacific" (PDF). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 100 (4): 769–775.
25. Karlheinz Fischer (1987). "Eulenreste (Eoglaucidium pallas) N. Gen., N. Sp. (Strigiformes, Aves) aus de Mitteleozänen Braunkohle des Geiseltals bei Halle (DDR)" (PDF). Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum Berlin 63, supplement: Annalen für Ornithologie 11: 137–142.
26. D. Tab Rasmussen, Storrs L. Olson & Elwyn L. Simons (1987). "Fossil Birds from the Oligocene Jebel Qatrani Formation, Fayum Province, Egypt" (PDF). Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology 62: 1–20. doi:10.5479/si.00810266.62.1.
27. Dieter S. Peters (1987). "Juncitarsus merkeli, n. sp. Stützt die Ableitung der Flamingos von Regenpfeifervögeln (Aves: Charadriiformes: Phoenicopteridae)". Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg 97: 141–155.
28. Cécile Mourer-Chauviré (1987). "Les Strigiformes (Aves) des Phosphorites du Quercy (France): Systématique, Biostratigraphie et Paléobiogéographie" (PDF). Documents des Laboratoires de Géologie, Lyon 99: 89–135.
29. Jiří Mlíkovský (1998). "A New Barn Owl (Aves: Strigidae) from the Early Miocene of Germany, with Comments on the Fossil History of the Tytoninae" (PDF). Journal für Ornithologie 139 (3): 247–261. doi:10.1007/bf01653335.
30. Zygmunt Bocheński & Evgeny N. Kurochkin (1987). "Pliocene Bustards (Aves: Otididae and Gryzajidae) of Moldavia and S. Ukraine". Documents des Laboratoires de Géologie, Lyon 99: 173–187.
31. Hou Lianhai (1987). "The Aragonian Vertebrate Fauna of Xiacaowan, Jiang - 6. Aves" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica 25 (1): 57–68.
32. Jiří Mlíkovský (2002). "Cenozoic Birds of the World Part 1 Europe" (PDF). Cenozoic Birds of the World 1: 1–417.
33. Jiří Mlíkovský (1987). "Eine Neue Alkenart (Aves: Alcidae) aus dem Ober-Oligozän Österreichs" (PDF). Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien. Ser. A 88: 131–147.
34. Storrs L. Olson (1987). "An Early Oilbird from the Green River Formation of Wyoming (Caprimulgiformes: Steatornithidae)" (PDF). Documents des Laboratoires de Géologie, Lyon 99: 57–69.
35. David W. Steadman & Marie C. Zarriello (1987). "Two New Species of Parrots (Aves: Psittacidae) From Archeolgical Sites in the Marquesas Islands" (PDF). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 100 (3): 518–528.
36. Storrs L. Olson & David C. Parris (1987). "The Createous Birds of New Jersey" (PDF). Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology 63: 1–22. doi:10.5479/si.00810266.63.1.