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 1977.
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Plants
editFerns
editName | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Synonymized taxa | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sp nov |
Valid |
An anemiaceous fern |
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Sp nov |
jr synonym |
A Lygodium species fern. |
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Comb nov |
valid |
A Cyathea species tree fern. |
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Comb nov |
valid |
A Dryopteris species fern. |
Conifers
editName | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Synonymized taxa | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sp nov |
Valid |
Golden Valley Formation |
Angiosperms
editName | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Type locality | Location | Synonymized taxa | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sp nov |
A dogwood relative. |
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Sp nov |
A dogwood relative. |
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Sp nov |
A soap berry relative. |
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Sp nov |
Valid |
An alder species. |
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Sp nov |
A moon seed relative. |
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Comb nov |
A moon seed relative. |
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Sp nov |
A moon seed relative. |
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Comb nov |
A theaceous relative. |
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Comb nov |
A lauraceous relative. |
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Comb nov |
A lauraceous relative. |
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Sp nov |
A lauraceous relative. |
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Comb nov |
A lauraceous relative. |
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Sp nov |
A "dicot" of unknown affinity. |
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Comb nov |
jr synonym |
(Wolfe) Wolfe |
Late Eocene |
Puget Group |
A dicot of uncertain affinity. |
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Comb nov |
valid |
A Shorea (syn "Doona") species. |
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Sp nov |
valid |
An anacardiaceous species. |
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Sp nov |
Valid |
A Euodia species. |
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Comb nov |
valid |
A eupteleaceous species. |
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Comb nov |
Jr synonym |
A fagaceous relative. |
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Comb nov |
Jr synonym |
A fagaceous relative. |
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Comb nov |
valid |
A hamamelidaceous species. |
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Sp nov |
An icacinaceous species. |
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Comb nov |
An toyon species. |
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Sp nov |
A holly species. |
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Sp nov |
A mangrove species. |
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Sp nov |
A moon seed relative. |
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Gen et Sp et comb nov |
A lauraceous morphogenus. |
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Comb nov |
valid |
A citrus relative. |
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Comb nov |
A tuplo relative. |
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Comb nov |
Jr synonym |
An anacardioid relative. |
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Sp nov |
A sabiaceous species. |
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Sp nov |
An icacinaceous species. |
||||||||
Sp nov |
Valid |
Golden Valley Formation |
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Comb nov |
An icacinaceous species. |
||||||||
Comb nov |
(Wolfe) Wolfe |
Late Eocene |
Puget Group |
A Parashorea dipterocarpaceous species. |
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Gen et comb nov |
A moon seed relative. |
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Sp nov |
Valid |
Golden Valley Formation |
An arrow arum species. |
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Sp nov |
An icacinaceous species. |
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Nom et comb nov |
A tiliaceous genus. |
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Comb nov |
valid |
A plane tree species. |
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Sp nov |
A plane tree species. |
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Comb nov |
valid |
A Platycarya species. |
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Gen et comb nov |
Golden Valley Formation |
A bur-reed. |
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Comb et nom nov |
A cherry/plum species. |
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Comb nov |
(MacGinitie) Tanai & Wolfe |
Early - early Middle Miocene |
A blackberry leaf morphospecies. |
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Comb nov |
A wing nut species. |
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Comb nov |
An icacinaceous species. |
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Sp nov |
Valid |
A willow species. |
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Comb nov |
A willow species. |
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Sp nov |
Valid |
A mountain ash species. |
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Sp nov |
Golden Valley Formation |
A bur-reed |
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Sp nov |
A stemonuraceous species. |
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Comb nov |
Valid? |
A Tetracentron species. |
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Sp nov |
A tiliaceous species. |
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Sp nov |
valid |
An Elm leaf morphospecies. |
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Sp nov |
valid |
An Elm leaf morphospecies. |
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Sp nov |
valid |
synonymy
|
An Elm leaf morphospecies. |
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Sp nov |
A buckthorn relative. |
Invertebrates
editMollusks
editName | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Type locality | Location | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
sp nov |
jr synonym |
Krasilova |
An early bivalve species. |
Conodonts
editName | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Type locality | Location | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nom et comb nov |
valid |
Fish
editName | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Type locality | Location | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sp nov |
Valid |
Eocene |
An Amyzon species catostomid |
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Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Eocene |
A basal salmonid relative. |
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Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Eocene |
A libotoniid sand roller relative. |
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Sp nov |
Valid |
Eocene |
A Priscacara species temperate bass. |
Archosauriformes
editNon-avian dinosaurs
editData courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.[14]
Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Type locality | Location | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gen et sp nov |
Carroll & Galton |
Possible synonym of Lufengosaurus. |
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Gen et sp Nov |
Valid |
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Gen et comb nov |
jr synonym |
JR synonym of Nanosaurus agilis. |
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Gen et comb nov |
Valid |
Taquet & Welles |
A Megalosaur. |
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Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
|||||||
Gen et sp nov |
Jr synonym |
A theropod. |
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Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
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Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
Dong et al |
A Chinese Stegosaur. |
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Gen et comb nov |
Valid |
A Dryosaur. |
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Valid taxon |
Hou |
A Primitive Pachycephalosaur |
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not formally described |
|
A Non-dinosaurian marine reptile. |
Birds
editName | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gen et sp nov. |
Valid |
Described as a phasianid. |
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Gen et sp nov. |
Valid |
An Incertae Sedis Accipitridae |
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Sp. nov. |
Valid |
An Alcidae guillemot. |
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Sp. nov. |
Valid |
A Ciconiidae. |
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Sp. nov. |
Valid |
Middle Pleistocene |
A Furnariidae. |
|||||
Gen et sp nov. |
Valid |
Described as a phasianid |
||||||
Sp. nov. |
Valid |
A Phasianidae. |
||||||
Subfam, gen et sp nov. |
Valid |
A Limnofregatinae frigatebird. The type species L. azygosternon |
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Sp. nov. |
Valid |
An Anatidae. |
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Fam, gen et sp nov. |
Valid |
Described as a marinavid procelariiforme |
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Gen et sp nov. |
Valid |
Described in the Columbidae |
||||||
Gen et sp. nov. |
Valid |
A possible Procellariidae |
||||||
Sp. nov. |
Valid |
An Anatidae. |
||||||
Gen et sp nov. |
Valid |
A Parvicuculidae |
||||||
Gen et sp nov. |
Valid |
Described as a Accipitridae |
||||||
Gen et sp nov. |
jr synonym |
Described as a Phasianidae |
||||||
Sp. nov. |
Valid |
|||||||
Sp. nov. |
Valid |
An Alcidae. |
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Sp. nov. |
Valid |
A glareolid |
||||||
Gen et sp nov. |
Valid |
A Hydrobatidae |
||||||
Fam, gen et sp nov. |
Valid |
A "Primoscenidae" passeriform, |
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Gen et sp nov. |
Valid |
A Parvicuculidae[36] |
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Gen et sp nov. |
Valid |
Early to Middle Miocene |
Chalk Mountain Diatomite |
An Aegothelidae |
||||
Nom. nov. |
Valid |
A rail |
||||||
Gen et sp nov. |
Valid |
A Sulidae |
||||||
Gen et sp nov. |
Valid |
A Phasianidae |
||||||
Gen et sp nov. |
Valid |
Cave deposits |
A Threskiornithidae |
Pterodactyls
editName | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Type locality | Location | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gen et sp nov |
Valid |
A pterodactyloid of uncertain affinities. |
Expeditions, field work, and fossil discoveries
edit- Trexler found hadrosaur remains west of Choteau, Montana in strata of the Two Medicine Formation.[41]
Popular culture
editLiterature
edit- The Year of the Dinosaur Edwin H. Colbert and illustrated by his wife, Margaret was published. This story describes a year in the life of a "brontosaur" and was an attempt to educate the reader about prehistory through a fictional portrayal of it.[42]
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba Wolfe, J.A. (1977). Paleogene floras from the Gulf of Alaska region (Report). Professional Paper. Vol. 997. United States Geological Survey. pp. 1–108. doi:10.3133/pp997.
- ^ a b c Collinson, M. E. (2001). "Cainozoic ferns and their distribution". Brittonia. 53 (2): 173–235. doi:10.1007/BF02812700. JSTOR 2666600. S2CID 19984401.
- ^ a b c d LaMotte, R.S. (1952). Catalogue of the Cenozoic plants of North America through 1950. Geological Society of America Memoirs. Vol. 51. Geological Society of America. doi:10.1130/MEM51.
- ^ a b c d Hollick, A.; Smith, P. (1936). The Tertiary floras of Alaska, with a chapter on the geology of the Tertiary deposits (Report). Professional Paper. United States Geological Survey. pp. 1–185. doi:10.3133/pp182. 182.
- ^ a b c d e Hickey, Leo (1977). Stratigraphy and Paleobotany of the Golden Valley Formation (Early Tertiary) of Western North Dakota. Boulder, Colorado: Geological Society of America. pp. 110 & Plate 5. ISBN 0-8137-1150-9.
- ^ a b c d e Wolfe, J.A. (1968). Paleogene Biostratigraphy of nonmarine rocks in King County, Washington (Report). Professional Paper. Vol. 571. United States Geological Survey. pp. 1–29. doi:10.3133/pp571.
- ^ Wolfe, J.A.; Wehr, W.C. (1987). Middle Eocene dicotyledonous plants from Republic, northeastern Washington (Report). Bulletin. Vol. 1597. United States Geological Survey. pp. 1–25. doi:10.3133/b1597.
- ^ Potbury, S.S. (1935). "The La Porte flora of Plumas County, California". Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication. 63 (5): 29–82.
- ^ a b c d Tanai, T.; Wolfe, J.A. (1977). Revisions of Ulmus and Zelkova in the middle and late Tertiary of western North America (Report). Professional Paper. Vol. 1026. United States Geological Survey. pp. 1–14. doi:10.3133/pp1026.
- ^ 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. S2CID 49380913. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
- ^ Kozur, Heinz (July 1977). "Vjalovognathus nom. nov. replaces Vjalovites Kozur, 1976". Journal of Paleontology. 51 (4): 870. ISSN 0022-3360. JSTOR 1303751.
- ^ a b c d Wilson, M. V. (1977). "Middle Eocene freshwater fishes from British Columbia". Life Sciences Contributions, Royal Ontario Museum. 113: 1–66.
- ^ Olshevsky, George. "Dinogeorge's Dinosaur Genera List". Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
- ^ Carroll, Robert L.; Galton, Peter M. (March 1977). "'Modern' lizard from the Upper Triassic of China". Nature. 266 (5599): 252–255. doi:10.1038/266252a0. S2CID 4195742.
- ^ Borsuk-Bialynicka, Magdalena (1977). "A new camarasaurid sauropod Opisthocoelicaudia skarzynskii, gen. n. sp. n. from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia" (PDF). Palaeontol. Polonica. 37: 5–64.
- ^ Galton, Peter M. (July 1977). "The ornithopod dinosaur Dryosaurus and a Laurasia–Gondwanaland connection in the Upper Jurassic". Nature. 268 (5617): 230–232. doi:10.1038/268230a0. S2CID 30721851.
- ^ Taquet, P.; Welles, S. (1977). "Redescription du crane de Dinosaure theropode de Dives (Normandie)". Annales de Paléontologie (in French). 63 (2): 191–206.
- ^ a b Maryańska, Teresa (1977). "Ankylosauridae (Dinosauria) from Mongolia" (PDF). Paleontol. Polinica. 37: 85–151.
- ^ Dong, Z (1977). "On the dinosaurian remains from Turpan, Xinjiang". Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 15: 59–66.
- ^ Dong, Z.; Li, X.; Zhou, S.; Chang, Y. (1977). "On the stegosaurian remain from Zigong (Tzekung), Szechuan Province". Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 15: 307–312.
- ^ Olshevsky, G. (1991). "A Revision of the Parainfraclass Archosauria Cope, 1869, Excluding the Advanced Crocodylia". Mesozoic Meanderings 2 (1st ed.)..
- ^ Hou, L. (1977). "A new primitive pachycephalosauria from Anhui, China". Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 15: 198–202.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harrison, Colin J. O.; Walker, Cyril A. (1977). "Birds of the British Lower Eocene". Tertiary Research Special Papers. 3: 1–52.
- ^ a b c d Mlíkovský, Jíří (2002). "Cenozoic Birds of the World Part 1: Europe" (PDF). Praha Ninox Press: 1–407. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
- ^ Miklós Kretzoi (1977). "The Fauna of Small Vertebrates of the Middle Pleistocene at Petralona" (PDF). Anthropos (Athina). 4 (1–2): 131–143. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
- ^ Harrison, Colin J. O. (1977). "A New Guillemot, Cepphus Species, from the Lower Pleistocene". Suffolk Natural History. 17: 238–239.
- ^ a b Grigorescu, Dan; Kessler, Jenö (1977). "The Middle Sarmatian Avian Fauna of South Dobrogea". Revue Roumaine de Géologie, Géophysique et Géographie, Série Géologie. 21: 93–108.
- ^ Tonni, Eduardo P. (1977). "Un Furnárido (Aves: Passeriformes) del Pleistoceno Medio de la Provincia de Buenos Aires". Publicaciones del Museo Municipal de Ciencias Naturales de Mar del Plata Lorenzo Scaglia. 2 (6): 141–147.
- ^ Jánossy, Dénes (1977). "Plio-Pleistocene Bird Remains from the Carpathian Basin. II. Galliformes. 2. Phasianidae" (PDF). Aquila. 83: 29–42.
- ^ Olson, Storrs L. (1977). "A Lower Eocene Frigatebird from the Green River Formation of Wyoming" (PDF). Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology. 35: 1–33. doi:10.5479/si.00810266.35.1.
- ^ Olson, Storrs L. (1977). "Notes on Subfossil Anatidae from New Zealand, Including A New Species of Pink-Eared Duck Malacorhynchus". Emu. 77 (3): 132–135. doi:10.1071/mu9770132.
- ^ a b Alvarez, Rafael (1977). "A Pleistocene Avifauna from Jalisco, Mexico" (PDF). Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology University of Michigan. 24 (19): 205–220.
- ^ Olson, Storrs L. (1977). "A Great Auk, Pinguinis [sic], from the Pliocene of Nebraska (Aves: Alcidae)" (PDF). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 90 (3): 690–697.
- ^ Mayr, Gerald (2008). "Phylogenetic Affinities of the Enigmatic Avian Taxon Zygodactylus Based on New Material from the Early Oligocene of France". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 6 (3): 333–344. doi:10.1017/s1477201907002398. S2CID 84422594.
- ^ Harrison, Colin J. O. (1982). "Cuculiform, Piciform, and Passeriform Birds in the Lower Eocene of England". Tertiary Research. 4: 71–81.
- ^ Vickers Rich, Patricia; McEvey, Allan R. (1977). "A New Owlet-Nightjar from the Early to Mid-Miocene of Eastern New South Wales" (PDF). Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria. 38: 247–253. doi:10.24199/j.mmv.1977.38.04. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-09-12. Retrieved 2014-09-12.
- ^ Olson, Storrs L. (1977). "A Synopsis of the Fossil Rallidae". In Ripley S. D. (ed.). Rails of the World: A Monograph of the Family Rallidae (PDF). Boston: Codline. pp. 509–525.
- ^ Yeh, Xiangkui (1977). "First Discovery of Miocene Birds in China" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica (in Chinese). 15 (4): 244–248.
- ^ Olson, Storrs L.; Steadman, David W. (1977). "A New Genus of Flightless Ibis (Threskiornithidae) and Other fossil Birds from Cave Deposits in Jamaica" (PDF). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 90 (2): 447–457.
- ^ Trexler, D. (2001). "Two Medicine Formation, Montana: geology and fauna". In Tanke, D. H.; Carpenter, K. (eds.). Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Indiana University Press. pp. 298–309.
- ^ Sarjeant, W. A. S. (2001). "Dinosaurs in fiction". In Tanke, D. H.; Carpenter, K. (eds.). Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Indiana University Press. pp. 504–529.