1973 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 1973.

Plants

Conifers

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Pinus arnoldii[2]	Sp nov	valid	Miller	Eocene Ypresian	Okanogan Highlands Allenby Formation Princeton Chert	Canada British Columbia	A 5-needle pine cone species
Pinus similkameenensis[2]	Sp nov	valid	Miller	Ypresian	Okanogan Highlands Allenby Formation Princeton Chert	Canada British Columbia	A 5-needle pine needle species

Angiosperms

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Type locality	Location	Notes	Images
Eorhiza[3][4]	Gen et sp nov	valid	Robison & Person	Eocene Ypresian	Okanogan Highlands Allenby Formation Princeton Chert	Canada British Columbia	A semi-aquatic flowering plant of uncertain affiliation The type species is E. arnoldii Possibly a monocot related to Acorus

Arthropods

Insects

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Epiborkhausenites[5]	Gen et sp. nov	valid	Skalski	Bartonian	Baltic amber	Lithuania	An Oecophoridae moth, type species E. obscurotrimaculatus
Tortricidrosis[6]	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Skalski	Lutetian	Baltic amber	Europe	A Tortricidae moth. The type species is T. inclusa.	Tortricidrosis inclusa

Conodonts

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Protoprioniodus[7]	Gen. nov	valid	McTavish	Lower Ordovician	Emanuel Formation	Australia

Archosauromorphs

New pseudosuchian taxa

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Lisboasaurus[8]	Gen. nov	valid	Seiffert	Middle Jurassic	Guimarota lignite	Portugal	Crocodylomorph

Crocodylomorph research

• William Roger Hamilton describes a second specimen of Tomistoma dowsoni from the Siwa Oasis of Egypt.^[9]

Newly named dinosaurs

Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.^[10]

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Efraasia[11]	gen nov	Valid	Galton	Middle Norian	Löwenstein Formation	Germany	basal sauropodomorph
Kelmayisaurus[12]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Dong	Early Cretaceous	Lianmugin Formation	China	carcharodontosaurid
Phaedrolosaurus[12]	gen et sp nov	nomen dubium	Dong	Early Cretaceous	Lianmugin Formation	China	described from a single tooth; a dromaeosaurid
Phyllodon[13]	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Thulborn	Middle Jurassic	Guimarota lignite	Portugal	possible Hypsilophodontid
Shantungosaurus[14]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Hu	Late Cretaceous		China	largest known ornithischian	Shantungosaurus
Trimucrodon[13]	Gen et sp nov	nomen dubium	Thulborn	Middle Jurassic	Guimarota lignite	Portugal	Ornithischian of uncertain placement
Tugulusaurus[12]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Dong	Early Cretaceous	Tugulu Group	China	alvarezsauroid
Wuerhosaurus[12]	gen et sp nov	Valid	Dong	Early Cretaceous	Tugulu Group	China Mongolia	one of the last stegosaurians	Wuerhosaurus

Newly named birds

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Atlantisia elpenor [15]	Sp. nov.	valid	Storrs L. Olson	Late Holocene-Subrecent		Ascension Island	A Rallidae, transferred to the new genus Mundia by Bourne, Ashmole et Simmons, 2003,[16] it is the type species of the new genus.
Garganoaetus freudenthali [17]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	valid	Peter Ballmann	Early Pliocene	MN 14-15	Italy	An Accipitridae.
Garganoaetus murivorus [17]	Sp. nov.	valid	Peter Ballmann	Early Pliocene	MN 14-15	Italy	An Accipitridae.
Gypaetus osseticus [18]	Sp. Nov.	Nomen Nudum	Nikolay I. Burchak-Abramovich	Middle Pleistocene		Soviet Union (Now Georgia (country))	An Accipitridae.
Ichthyophaga australis [19]	Sp. nov.	valid	Collin J. O. Harrison Cyril A. Walker	Holocene	Chatham Island	New Zealand	An Accipitridae, transferred to the genus Haliaeetus.
Idiornis gaillardi [20]	Sp. nov.	valid	Joel Cracraft	Eocene or Oligocene	Phosphorites du Quercy	France	A Gruiformes, Idiornithidae Brodkorb, 1965, transferred to the genus Dynamopterus Milne-Edwards, 1892 by Cécile Mourer-Chauviré, 2013.[21]
Lophopsittacus bensoni [22]	Sp. nov.	valid	David T. Holyoak	Subrecent	Mauritius	Mauritius	A Psittacidae, transferred to the genus Psittacula by Julian P. Hume, 2007.[23]
Palaeoaramides minutus [20]	Sp. nov.	valid	Joel Cracraft	Middle Miocene	Grive-St.-Alban	France	A Rallidae.
Palaeorallus brodkorbi [20]	Sp. nov.	valid	Joel Cracraft	Early Eocene	Wasatch Formation	United States ( Wyoming)	A Rallidae.
?Palaeospheniscus huxleyorum [24]	Sp. nov.	valid	George G. Simpson	Miocene	Ysterplaats	South Africa	A Spheniscidae, not for sure a member of the genus Palaeospheniscus Moreno et Mercerat, 1891.
Porzana astrictocarpus [15]	Sp. nov.	valid	Storrs L. Olson	Late Holocene-Subrecent		Saint Helena	A Rallidae.
"Primobucco" kestneri [25]	Sp. nov.	valid	Alan Feduccia	Early Eocene	Wasatchian Green River Formatie	United States ( Wyoming)	A ?Galbulae the species does not belong in Prinobucco, nor in Neanis, it was transferred to by Feduaccia, 1976,[26] it needs a new genus.
Quercyrallus quercy [20]	Sp. nov.	valid	Joel Cracraft	Eocene or Early Oligocene	Phosphorites du Quercy, MP 16-28	France	A Rallidae.
Tyto gigantea [27]	Sp. nov.	valid	Peter Ballmann	Early Pliocene	MN 14-15	Italy	A Tytonidae.
Tyto robusta [27]	Sp. nov.	valid	Peter Ballmann	Early Pliocene	MN 14-15	Italy	A Tytonidae.
Wyleyia valdensis [28]	Gen. nov. et Sp. nov.	valid	Colin J. O. Harrison Cyril A. Walker	Early Cretaceous	Weald Clay	United Kingdom	An Enantiornithes Walker, 1981, Enantiornithidae Nessov & Borkin, 1983, known from a single humerus, this is the type species of the new genus.

Newly named pterosaurs

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Eudimorphodon ranzii[29]	Gen. et sp. nov.	Valid	Zambelli	Norian	Zorzino Formation	Italy
Noripterus complicidens[30]	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Yang	early Cretaceous	Lianmuqin Formation	China