1987 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 1987.

[1]

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Langeria^[2]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Eocene Ypresian	Okanagan Highlands Klondike Mountain Formation	US Washington		First described as a witch-hazel genus The type species is L. magnifica	Langeria magnifica
Macginitiea^[2]	Gen et comb nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Paleocene	Fort Union Formation	USA Wyoming	A platanaceous genus The type species is Liquidambar gracile (1872)	synonymy Aralia gracilis Lesquereux 1878 Aralia notata Lesquereux 1878 Aralia republicensis Brown 1937 Aralia whitneyi auct. non Lesquereux nec. Berry, 1929 Platanus appendiculata auct. non Lesquereux nec. Berry, 1929 Platanus dubia Lesquereux (non Ettingshausen), 1874 Platanus nobilis auct. non Newberry. Brown, 1962 p.p. nec Hickey, 1977	Macginitiea gracilis

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Alnus parvifolia^[2]	Comb nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Eocene Ypresian	Okanagan Highlands Klondike Mountain Formation	US Washington	synonymy Alnus corralina auct. non Lesquereux nec Brown, 1937 (p. p.) Alnus elliptica Berry, 1929 Betula parvifolia Berry, 1926 Carpinus grandis auct. non Unger. nec Berry, 1926 (p. p.)	An alder species Moved from Betula parvifolia (1926)	Alnus parvifolia
Betula leopoldae^[2]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Eocene Ypresian	Okanagan Highlands Klondike Mountain Formation	US Washington		A birch species	Betula leopoldae
Carya washingtonensis^[3]	sp nov	Valid	Manchester	Miocene Langhian	Badger Pocket-Squaw Creek, Wanapum Basalts	USA Washington		described from one of the oldest rodent nut caches known
Fagopsis undulata^[2]	Comb nov	Valid	(Knowlton) Wolfe & Wehr	Paleocene	Langford Formation	US Wyoming	synonymy Carpinus grandis auct. non Unger. nec Dawson, 1890 Fagopsis longifolia p.p. auct. non (Lesquereux) Hollick nec. Becker, 1961	A fagaceous species Moved from Fagus undulata (1899)	Fagopsis undulata

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Acer alaskense^[4]	Sect and sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Latest Paleocene	Chickaloon Formation	USA Alaska		Oldest Acer sp in Alaska; Only species of the section Alaskana
Acer ashwilli^[4]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	early Oligocene	John Day Formation	USA Oregon		extinct member of section Ginnala
Acer browni^[4]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	early - Middle Miocene	Collawash flora and several other floras	USA Canada		extinct member of section Parviflora
Acer castorrivularis^[4]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Late Eocene	Beaver Creek Flora	USA Montana		extinct member of section Macrantha
Acer clarnoense^[4]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Late Eocene	John Day Formation	USA Oregon		extinct member of section Macrantha
Acer dettermani^[4]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Late Eocene - early Oligocene	Meshik Volcanics	USA Alaska		extinct member of section Macrantha
Acer douglasense^[4]	sect and sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	early Eocene	West Foreland Formation	USA Alaska		Only species of the section Douglasa
Acer eonegundo^[4]	Sp. nov.	valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Middle-Late Eocene	"Bull Run" Flora	USA		extinct species of Acer sect. Negundo
Acer ferrignoi^[4]	sp nov	valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Late Miocene	Lolo pass flora	USA Oregon		Member of Acer Section Rubra
Acer hillsi^[4]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Eocene Ypresian	Okanagan Highlands Klondike Mountain Formation	US Washington		one of two species in the extinct section Stewarta
Acer ivanofense^[4]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Latest Eocene - Early Oligocene	Meshik Volcanics	USA Alaska		extinct member of section Glabra
Acer kenaicum^[4]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Oligocene	Tsadaka Formation & Tyonek Formation	USA Alaska		extinct member of section Rubra
Acer latahense^[4]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	early - Late Miocene	Latah Formation	USA Washington		extinct member of Acer section Macrantha
Acer lincolnense	Sp. nov.	valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Late Eocene	Beaver Creek Flora	USA Montana		A possible member of Acer sect. Cissifolia
Acer republicense^[4]	Sect and sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Eocene Ypresian	Okanagan Highlands Klondike Mountain Formation	USA Washington		type and only species in the extinct section Republica
Acer rousei^[4]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Eocene Ypresian	Okanagan Highlands Allenby Formation	Canada British Columbia		only species in the extinct section Rousea
Acer smileyi^[4]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Late Oligocene - Middle Miocene	Clarkia and other formations	USA Idaho		extinct member of section Parviflora
Acer stewarti^[4]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Eocene Ypresian	Okanagan Highlands Allenby Formation	Canada British Columbia		one of two species in the extinct section Stewarta
Acer stonebergae^[4]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Eocene Ypresian	Okanagan Highlands Allenby Formation	Canada British Columbia		one of three species in the extinct section Torada
Acer taggarti^[4]	sp nov	valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Middle Miocene	Mascall Formation	USA Oregon		Member of Acer Section Rubra
Acer taurocursum^[4]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Late Eocene	Bull Run Flora	USA Nevada		extinct member of section Rubra
Acer toradense^[4]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Eocene Ypresian	Okanagan Highlands Klondike Mountain Formation	US Washington		one of three species in the extinct section Torada
Acer traini^[4]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Early to middle Miocene	Trout Creek flora	USA Canada		extinct member of section Glabra
Acer washingtonense^[4]	Sect and sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Tanai	Eocene Ypresian	Okanagan Highlands Klondike Mountain Formation	US Washington		type species in the extinct section Torada
Acer whitebirdense^[4]	Comb nov	Valid	(Ashlee) Wolfe & Tanai	Middle Miocene	White Bird Flora	USA Idaho		member of Acer section Rubra
Barghoornia^[2]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Eocene Ypresian	Okanagan Highlands Klondike Mountain Formation	US Washington		A burseraceous genus The type species is B. oblongifolia	Barghoornia oblongifolia
Bohlenia^[2]	gen et comb nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Eocene Ypresian	Okanagan Highlands Klondike Mountain Formation	US Washington	Comptonia insignis auct. non Lesquereux. Berry, 1929	A sapindaceous genus The type species is Bohlenia americana (1935) (in part) Also includes Bohlenia insignis (1937)	Bohlenia americana
Rhus malloryi^[2]	sp nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Eocene Ypresian	Okanagan Highlands Klondike Mountain Formation	US Washington		A sumac relative Split into four species in 2019	Rhus malloryi

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Princetonia^[5]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Stockey	Eocene Ypresian	Okanagan Highlands Princeton Chert	Canada British Columbia		An angiosperm flower genus of uncertain affiliation. The type species is P. allenbyensis
Republica^[2]	gen, sp, et comb nov	Valid	Wolfe & Wehr	Eocene Ypresian	Okanagan Highlands Klondike Mountain Formation	US Washington		An incertae sedis angiosperm possibly of Hamamelididae affiliations Type species R. hickeyi. Genus also includes Dicotylophyllum kummerensis (1977)^[6] and Dicotylophyllum litseafolia (1969)	Republica hickeyi

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Baikuris^[10]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Dlussky	Santonian	Taimyr amber	Russia	A sphecomyrmine ant. Two species B. mandibularis and B. mirabilis	Baikuris mandibularis
Sapho armissani	Sp nov.	Valid	Nel	Stampian	Narbonne Basin	France	A Calopterygid damselfly.	Sapho armissani

1987 in paleontology

Basal eudicots

Proteales

Superasterids

Cornales

Santalales

Superrosids

Fagales

Malvales

Rosales

Sapindales

incertae sedis

Molluscs

Newly described bivalves

Arthropods

Newly described arachnids

Newly described crustaceans

Newly described insects

Reptiles

Archosauromorphs

Newly described dinosaurs

Newly named birds

Pterosaurs

Synapsids

Mammals

References

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Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Aeolosaurus^[12]	gen et sp nov	Valid taxon	Powell	Late Cretaceous	Angostura Colorada Formation	Argentina	A titanosaurian
Aragosaurus^[13]	Gen et sp nov	Valid taxon	Sanz, Buscalioni, Casanovas-Cladellas, & Santafé	Hauterivian-Barremian		Spain
Borogovia^[14]	gen et sp nov	Valid taxon	Osmólska	Late Cretaceous		Mongolia
"Clevelanotyrannus"^[15]	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^[16]	gen et sp nov	Valid taxon	Tumanova	Late Cretaceous		Mongolia
Pseudolagosuchus^[17]	Gen et sp nov	Valid taxon	Arcucci	Ladinian (Middle Triassic)	Chañares Formation	Argentina	possibly a jr synonym of Lewisuchus
Ugrosaurus^[18]	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^[19]	gen et sp nov	name preoccupied	Chatterjee	Late Triassic	Maleri Formation	India	Name preoccupied by a bryozoan. Renamed Alwalkeria in 1994.	Alwalkeria

Name	Status	Novelty	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes
Aenigmavis sapea ^[20]	jr synonym	Gen et sp. nov.	Peters	Middle Eocene	Messel pit	Germany	An Ameghinornithidae, jr synonym of Strigogyps sapea.^[21] it is the type species of the genus Aenigmavis Peters, 1987.
Aythya chauvirae ^[22]	Valid	Sp nov.	Cheneval	Middle Miocene		France	An Anatidae.
Calcardea junnei ^[23]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Gingerich	Early Eocene	Wilwood Formation	USA	Monotypic with C. junnei. Originally classified as a member of Ardeidae; this interpretation was rejected by Mayr, Gingerich & Smith (2019), who considered this bird to be a member of Telluraves, and claimed that it resembled parrot-like taxon Vastanavis.^[24]
Carduelis triasi ^[25]	Valid	Sp nov.	Alcover & Florit	Late Pleistocene-Holocene	La Palma	Canary Islands	A Fringillidae, Carduelinae.
Dromaius gidju ^[26]	jr synonym	Sp nov.	Patterson & Vickers Rich	Middle Miocene	Wipajiri Formation	Australia	A Dromaiidae, jr synonym of Emuarius gidju.^[27]
Ducula david ^[28]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Balouet & Olson	Holocene	Uvea	Wallis and Futuna	A Columbidae.
Eoglaucidium pallas ^[29]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Fischer	Middle Eocene	Messel pit & Geiseltal	Germany	A Sandcoleid, monotypic with E. pallas.
Janipes nymphaeobates ^[30]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Rasmussen, Olson, & Simons	Early Oligocene	Jebel Qatrani Formation	Egypt	A Jacanidae, monotypic with J. nymphaeobates
Juncitarsus merkeli ^[31]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Dieter S. Peters	Middle Eocene	Messel pit	Germany	A Juncitarsid
Necrobyas medius ^[32]	jr synonym	Sp. nov.	Mourer-Chauviré	Eocene or Oligocene	Phosphorites du Quercy	France	A Tytonid, transferred to Prosybris medius in 1998.^[33]
Nupharanassa ^[30]	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 ^[34]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Bocheński & Kurochkin	Late Pliocene		Moldova	An Otidid
Otis paratetrax ^[34]	Valid	Sp nov.	Bocheński & Kurochkin	Late Pliocene		Moldova Ukraine	An Otididae.
Palaeoalectoris ^[35]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Hou	Argonian	Xiacaowan Formation	China	A Threskiornithid, monotypic with P. songlinensis.
Palaeobyas ^[32]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Mourer-Chauviré	Eocene or Oligocene	Phosphorites du Quercy	France	A Sophiornithid, monotypic with P. cracrafti.
Palaeoglaux ^[32]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Mourer-Chauviré	Late Eocene		France	A Palaeoglaucid, monotypic with P. perrierensis.
Palaeotyto cadurcensis ^[32]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Mourer-Chauviré	Eocene or Oligocene	Phosphorites du Quercy,	France	A Sophiornithid,^[36] monotypic with P. cadurcensis.
Petralca austriaca ^[37]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Mlíkovský	Late Oligocene & Early Miocene		Austria	Monotypic with P. austriaca. Originally thought to be an auk; Göhlich & Mayr (2018) reinterpreted it as a member of Gaviiformes.^[38]
Platalea tiangangensis ^[35]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Hou	Argonian	Xiacaowan Formation	China	A Phasianid.
Prefica ^[39]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Olson	Early Eocene	Green River Formation	USA	A Steatornithidae, Preficinae, monotypic with P. nivea
Sophiornis^[32]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Mourer-Chauviré	Eocene or Oligocene	Phosphorites du Quercy	France	A Sophiornithid, monotypic with S. quercynus
Vini sinotoi ^[40]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Steadman & Zarriello	Holocene	Ua Huka; Hiva Oa; Tahuata	French Polynesia	A Psittacidae, Loriinae.
Vini vidivici ^[40]	Valid	Sp. nov.	Steadman & Zarriello	Holocene	Tahuata	French Polynesia	A Psittacidae, Loriinae.
Tytthostonyx glauconiticus ^[41]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Olson & Parris,	Maastrichtian	Hornerstown Formation	USA	A Tytthostonychid, monotypic with T. glauconiticus
Xenerodiopus ^[30]	Valid	Gen et sp nov.	Rasmussen, Olson, & Simons	Early Oligocene	Jebel Qatrani Formation	Egypt	A Xenerodiopid, monotypic with X. mycter