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 1953.

List of years in paleontology (table)
In science
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
+...

Plants

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Angiosperms

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Name Novelty Status Authors Age Type locality Location Notes Images

Holmskioldia speirii[2]

Comb nov

jr synonym

(Lesquereux) MacGinitie

Late Eocene

Florissant Formation

  United States
  Colorado

A mallow relative.
moved from Porana speirii (1883)
Moved to Florissantia speirii (1992)

 
Florissantia speirii

Dinosaurs

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Newly named dinosaurs

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Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.[3]

Name Status Authors Age Unit Location Notes Images
Brachylophosaurus[4] Valid taxon

Late Cretaceous (Judithian)

Judith River Formation
Oldman Formation

A saurolophine hadrosaurid.

Chiayusaurus[5] Nomen dubium.

Late Jurassic

Kalazha Formation

An indeterminate eusauropod.

Heishansaurus[5] Nomen dubium.

Late Cretaceous (Djadokhtan)

Minhe Formation

An ankylosaurid ankylosaur.

Microceratops[5]

Preoccupied.

  • Bohlin

Late Cretaceous (Djadokhtan)

Minhe Formation

Preoccupied by Seyrig 1952. Renamed Microceratus in 2008.

Peishansaurus[5] Nomen dubium.
Sauroplites[5] Valid taxon.

Early Cretaceous (Barremian to Aptian)

Zhidan Group

A member of Nodosauridae.

Stegosaurides[5] Nomen dubium.

Early Cretaceous

Xinminbao Group

Synapsids

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Non-mammalian

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Name Status Authors Age Location Notes Images

Aloposauroides

Valid

Brink and Kitching

Late Permian

Sycocephalus

junior synonym

Brink and Kitching

Late Permian

References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Manchester, S.R. (1992). "Flowers, fruits and pollen of Florissantia, an extinct malvalean genus from the Eocene and Oligocene of western North America". American Journal of Botany. 79 (9): 996–1008. doi:10.2307/2444909. JSTOR 2444909.
  3. ^ Olshevsky, George. "Dinogeorge's Dinosaur Genera List". Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  4. ^ Sternberg, C.H. 1953. A new hadrosaur from the Oldman Formation of Alberta: Discussion of nomenclature. Bull. Dept. Res. Dev. Can. 128: pp. 1-12.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Bohlin, B. 1953. Fossil reptiles from Mongolia and Kansu. Sino-Swedish Exped. Publ. 37: pp. 1- 113 (Statens Etnografiska Museum, Stockholm);