1877 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 1877.

Arthropods[edit]

Newly named crustaceans[edit]

Newly named insects[edit]

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Type locality	Country	Notes	Images
Anthomyia burgessi[4]	Sp nov	nomen dubium	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	An anthomyiid fly. Considered nomen dubium without discussion by Michelsen (1996).[5]
Anthomyia inanimata[4]	Sp nov	nomen dubium	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	An anthomyiid fly. Considered nomen dubium without discussion by Michelsen (1996).[5]
Aphaenogaster longaeva[4][6]	Sp nov	nomen dubium	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A myrmicine ant, possibly nomen dubium.[7]
Boletina sepulta[4]	Sp nov	valid	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A fungus gnat.
Brachypeza abita[4]	Sp nov	valid	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A mycetophiline fungus gnat.
Brachypeza procera[4]	Sp nov	valid	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A mycetophiline fungus gnat.
Calyptites[4]	Gen et sp nov	valid	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	An ant of uncertain placement.
Formica arcana[4]	Sp nov	valid	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A formicine ant
Hypoclinea obliterata[4]	Sp nov	jr synonym	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A dolichoderine ant Moved to Dolichoderus obliteratus (1893)[8]
Heteromyza senilis[4]	Sp nov	valid	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A heleomyzid fly.
Lachnus petrorum[4]	Sp nov	jr synonym	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	An aphidomorph of uncertain placement Moved to Geranchon petrorum (1890)[9]
Liometopum pingue[6]	Sp nov	valid	Scudder	Ypresian	Green River Formation	USA  Colorado	An ant species, moved to Eoformica pingue in 1930
Lithortalis[4]	Gen et sp nov	valid	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A picture-winged fly. Type species L. picta
Lonchaea senescens[4]	Sp nov	valid	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A lauxaniid fly. Referred to Lauxaniidae without redescription.[10]
Palloptera morticina[4]	Sp nov	valid	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A flutter-wing fly.
Pimpla decessa[4]	Sp nov	valid	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A pimpline ichneumon parasitic wasp
Pimpla saxea[4]	Sp nov	valid	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A pimpline ichneumon parasitic wasp
Pimpla senecta[4]	Sp nov	valid	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A pimpline ichneumon parasitic wasp
Prometopia depilis[4]	Sp nov	valid	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A sap beetle
Sciomyza revelata[4]	Sp nov	valid	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A marsh fly.
Trichonta dawsoni[4]	Sp nov	valid	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A mycetophiline fungus gnat.

Fish[edit]

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Heliobatis[11]	gen et sp nov.	Valid	Marsh	Wasatchian	Green River Formation	USA	One of two stingrays from the Green River Formation

Non-dinosaurian reptiles[edit]

Dinosaurs[edit]

Laelaps trihedrodon, Cope criticizes Dryptosaurus[edit]

O. W. Lucas collected the first remains of what would later in the year be named Laelaps trihedrodon from Quarry I of the Saurian Hill at Garden Park, Colorado.^[12] Edward Drinker Cope would describe the material later in the year in a short paper titled "On a carnivorous dinosaurian from the Dakota beds of Colorado."^[13] The "Dakota beds" he references are actually Morrison Formation strata.^[12] Cope claims to have a skeleton of unspecified completeness on which to establish the new species, but only describes a partial dentary which has 5 successional teeth, 2 functional teeth, and one tooth missing from its socket.^[13] All of the preceding material has since been lost to science with the exception of 5 broken, partial tooth crowns.^[14] From the now missing dentary, Cope infers that the creature is a carnivore and compares its dentition to that belonging to other members of his infamous genus "Laelaps", L. aquilunguis and L. incrassatus.^[13] Cope concludes the paper with a pointed criticism of his rival O. C. Marsh's attempt to rename Laelaps as the genus Dryptosaurus because the generic name Laelaps has been used in entomology.^[15] Cope claims that since the mite genus Laelaps was a synonym that the name was not truly preoccupied and Marsh's erection of Dryptosaurus has therefore created a new, redundant synonym of Laelaps the dinosaur.^[15] However, subsequent researchers have supported Marsh's new name.

Apatosaurus[edit]

• Apatosaurus specimen found with preserved gastroliths.^[16]

New genera[edit]

Name Status Authors Age Location Notes Images Allosaurus Valid Othniel Charles Marsh 147 Millions of years ago  Portugal  US ( Colorado,  Montana,  New Mexico,  Oklahoma,  South Dakota,  North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Idaho and  Wyoming) An allosaurid theropod. Best known Late Jurassic large bodied theropod from North America. Amphicoelias Nomen dubium Edward Drinker Cope 147 Millions of years ago  US ( Colorado,  Montana, Wyoming,  North Dakota,  South Dakota,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Oklahoma,  Texas,  New Mexico,  Arizona,  Utah,  Idaho) A diplodocoid. Has discovered a vertebra of more than 2 meters in height, but with the passage of time was lost. So the only remaining fossils can even be counted with the fingers. Apatodon Nomen dubium Othniel Charles Marsh  US ( Colorado) Possible subjective synonym of Allosaurus. Apatosaurus Valid Othniel Charles Marsh 147 Millions of years ago  US ( Colorado,  New Mexico,  Oklahoma,  Utah) An apatosaurine diplodocid Atlantosaurus Nomen dubium Othniel Charles Marsh  US Possible subjective synonym of Apatosaurus. Camarasaurus Valid Edward Drinker Cope  US ( Colorado, Utah) A camarasaurid. Caulodon Jr. synonym Edward Drinker Cope  US Junior subjective synonym of Camarasaurus. Dryptosaurus Valid Othniel Charles Marsh Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)  US, New Jersey A tyrannosauroid. Dystrophaeus Valid Edward Drinker Cope Late Jurassic  US A eusauropod of unknown affinities Nanosaurus Valid Othniel Charles Marsh Late Jurassic  US ( Colorado and  Wyoming) An ornithischian Stegosaurus Valid Othniel Charles Marsh Late Jurassic  Portugal  US ( Colorado,  Utah and  Wyoming) A stegosaur. Known from the plates on its back and the Tail Spiked ("Thagomizer") on its tail. Tichosteus Nomen dubium Edward Drinker Cope  US Affinities unknown Titanosaurus Nomen dubium Richard Lydekker Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)  India A titanosaur Titanosaurus Preoccupied. Othniel Charles Marsh Preoccupied by a genus erected by Richard Lydekker this same year. Later renamed Atlantosaurus.

Synapsids[edit]

Non-mammalian[edit]

See also[edit]

• • 1877 in science

Footnotes[edit]

References[edit]

• Cannon, G.L. (1907). Sauropodan gastroliths. Science 24, 116.
• Chure, Daniel J. (2001). "On the type and referred material of Laelaps trihedrodon Cope 1877 (Dinosauria: Theropoda)". In Tanke, Darren; Carpenter, Kenneth (eds.). Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. pp. 10–18. ISBN 0-253-33907-3.
• Cope, E.D. (1877). On a carnivorous dinosaurian from the Dakota beds of Colorado. Bull. U.S. Geol. Surv. Territories 3: 805–806.
• 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.