1937_in_paleontology
1937 in paleontology
Overview of the events of 1937 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 1937.
Ferns and fern allies
Flowering plants
Magnoliids
| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Synonymized taxa | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Machilus americana[2] |
Sp nov |
A Machilus species. |
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|
Machilus asiminoides[2] |
Sp nov |
A Machilus species. |
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|
Magnolia latahensis[2] |
Comb nov |
A Magnolia species. |
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Monocots
| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Synonymized taxa | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Smilax magna[2] |
Syn nov |
A greenbriar species. |
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Basal Eudicots and unplaced core Eudicots
| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Synonymized taxa | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tetracera spokanensis[2] |
Sp nov |
jr synonym |
Brown |
First described as a Tetracera species. |
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|
Vitis washingtonensis[2] |
Comb nov |
(Knowlton) Brown |
synonymy
|
 | |||||
Superasterids - basal
| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Philadelphus pardeei[2] |
Comb nov |
Phyllites peculiaris |
A Philadelphus species. |
 | |||||
|
Vaccinium sophoroides[2] |
Comb nov |
A Vaccinium species. |
 | ||||||
Superasterids
| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Synonymized taxa | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Aralia republicensis[2] |
Nom nov. |
jr synonym |
Aralia whitneyi non Lesquereux nec Berry, (1929) |
First named as an Aralia species. |
 | ||||
|
Arbutus idahoensis[2] |
Comb nov |
Payette Formation |
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|
Hydrangea fraxinifolia[2] |
Comb nov |
A Hydrangea species. |
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|
Mahonia reticulata[2] |
Comb nov |
Strawberry Volcanics |
synonymy
|
An Oregon grape species. |
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|
Viburnum fernquisti[2] |
Comb nov |
A viburnum species. |
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|
Viburnum lantanafolium[2] |
Syn nov |
Aesculus hesperia Berry (1929) |
A viburnum species. |
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Superrosids
| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Synonymized taxa | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Acer bendirei[2] |
Syn nov |
A maple species. |
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|
Acer osmonti[2] |
Syn nov |
John Day Formation |
A maple species. |
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|
Alnus carpinoides[2] |
Syn nov |
John Day Formation |
Alnus prerhombifolia Berry (1929) |
An alder species. |
 | ||||
|
Alnus relatus[2] |
Comb nov |
| |||||||
|
Betula fairii[2] |
Comb nov |
A birch species. |
 | ||||||
|
Betula vera[2] |
Sp nov |
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|
Carya simulata[2] |
Comb nov |
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|
Cotinus fraterna[2] |
Syn nov |
Andromeda delicatula |
A cotton-easter species. |
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|
Dilodendron boreale[2] |
Sp nov |
A sapindaceous species. |
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|
Dipteronia insignis[2] |
Comb nov |
Jr synonym |
A sapindaceous species. |
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|
Fagus washoensis[2] |
Syn nov |
LaMotte |
Cedarville Formation |
A beech species. |
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|
Paliurus florissanti[2] |
Syn nov |
Acalypha myricina |
A rhamnaceous species. |
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|
Pterocarya mixta[2] |
Comb nov |
A wingnut species. |
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|
Salix spokanensis[2] |
Comb et syn nov |
Vaccinium spokanense (1929) |
 | ||||||
|
Zelkova oregoniana[2] |
Comb nov |
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Angiosperms - other
| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Synonymized taxa | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Carpites boraginoides |
Comb nov |
valid? |
Latah Formation |
A fruit or seed of uncertain affinity |
 |
Insects
| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Protrogosita[5] |
Gen et sp nov |
valid |
Piton & Théobald |
A Trogossitid bark gnawing beetle |
| |||
Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.[6]
| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Gen et sp nov |
valid |
Riabinin |
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|
Gen et comb nov |
Valid |
| ||||||
| Name | Status | Authors | Age | Location | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Valid |
Olson | 255 Millions of years ago | A Gorgonopsian. | |||
|
Junior Synonym |
Junior Synonym of Thrinaxodon. | |||||
|
Valid |
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|
Valid |
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|
Valid |
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|
Valid |
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|
Valid |
Broom | 255 Millions of years ago | One of the Earliest-Known Cynodonts. | |||
|
Valid |
Young | 245 Millions of years ago | A Chinese Kannemeyerid Dicynodont. | |||
Amusement parks and attractions
- August 28th: The Calgary Zoo's Prehistoric Park opened. Paleontologist Darren Tanke has described Prehistoric Park as "an extensive treed park and pathways containing numerous life-sized concrete dinosaurs and other prehistoric life". It also had "two long, walkthrough display buildings containing a Corythosaurus skeleton and individual dinosaur bones", as well as exhibits of paleozoic invertebrates and prehistoric plants. It became a popular attraction among visitors to the zoo.[9]
Literature
- In 1937, Morant imagined a feathered dinosaur-like animal that lived during the Triassic and glided about on four wings. This portrayal reflected contemporary scientific speculations attempting to reconstruct the hypothetical ancestor of birds. Fossils from China later revealed the existence of just this sort of animal.[10]
- 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.
- Brown, R. W. (1937). Additions to some fossil floras of the Western United States (PDF) (Report). Professional Paper. Vol. 186. United States Geological Survey. pp. 163–206. doi:10.3133/pp186J.
- Chaney, R.; Axelrod, D. (1959). Miocene Floras of the Columbia Plateau: Part II. Systematic Considerations, by Ralph W. Chaney and Daniel I. Axelrod. Carnegie Institution of Washington. pp. 1–226.Miocene Floras of the Columbia Plateau at the HathiTrust Digital Library
- Berry, E.W. (1929). A revision of the flora of the Latah Formation (Report). Professional Paper. United States Geological Survey. pp. 225–265. doi:10.3133/pp154h. 154-H.
- Piton, L.; Théobald, N. (1937). "Les lignites et schistes bitumineux de Menat (Puy-de-Dôme). II: Les insectes fossiles de Menat". Revue des Sciences Naturelles d'Auvergne. 3 (2): 76–88.
- Olshevsky, George. "Dinogeorge's Dinosaur Genera List". Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
- Riabinin, A.N. 1937. A new finding of dinosaurs in the Trans-Baikal region. Ezheg Vserossijskogo Pal. Obstcg. 11: pp. 142–144.
- Sternberg, C.H. 1937. Classification of Thescelosaurus: A description of a new species. Proc. Geol. Soc. Amer. 1936: p. 375.
- D. H. Tanke. 2010. Lost in plain sight: rediscovery of William E. Cutler's missing Eoceratops. In M. J. Ryan, B. J. Chinnery-Allgeier, D. A. Eberth (eds.), New Perspectives on Horned Dinosaurs: The Royal Tyrrell Museum Ceratopsian Symposium. Indiana University Press, Bloomington 541–550.
- Sarjeant, W. A. S., 2001, Dinosaurs in fiction: In: Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, edited by Tanke, D. H., and Carpenter, K., Indiana University Press, p. 504–529.