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 1964.

List of years in paleontology (table)
In science
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
+...

Arthropods

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Newly named insects

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Name Novelty Status Authors Age Unit Location Notes Images

Poneropsis hypolitha[2]

Comb nov

Syn

(Cockerell)

Late Eocene

Bembridge Marls

A Dolichoderin ant
jr synonym of Emplastus hypolithus

 
Emplastus hypolithus

Mollusca

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Newly named bivalves

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Name Novelty Status Authors Age Location Notes Images

Similodonta.[3]

Gen et sp nov

Valid

Soot-Reyn

Middle Ordovician to Middle Silurian

New genus and species with five other species moved from other genera

Archosauromorphs

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Newly named dinosaurs

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Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.[4]

Name Status Authors Age Unit Location Notes Images
Chilantaisaurus[5] Valid taxon
  • Hu S.

Late Cretaceous (Turonian)

Ulansuhai Formation

A member of Neovenatoridae.

 
Chilantaisaurus
Eustreptospondylus[6] Valid taxon

Middle Jurassic (Callovian)

Oxford Clay

A megalosaurid.

 
Eustreptospondylus
Fabrosaurus[7] Nomen dubium.

Early Jurassic (Sinemurian-Pliensbachian)

Upper Elliot Formation

A dubious ornithischian.

Metriacanthosaurus[6] Valid taxon

Late Jurassic (Oxfordian)

Oxford Clay

A member of Metriacanthosauridae.

 
Metriacanthosaurus

Newly named birds

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Name Novelty Status Authors Age Unit Location Notes Images

Agriocharis progenes [8]

Sp. nov.

Valid

Brodkorb

Blancan

A Meleagridae.

Anabernicula oregonensis [9]

Sp. nov.

Valid

Howard

Middle Pleistocene

Fossil Lake

An Anatidae.

Asio priscus [10]

Sp. nov.

Valid

Howard

Late Pleistocene

Santa Rosa Island Formation

A Strigidae.

Nettion greeni [11]

Sp. nov.

jr synonym

Brodkorb

Early Pliocene

Ash Hollow Formation

An Anatidae, transferred to Anas greeni.

Tympanonesiotes [12]

Gen et Sp. nov.

jr synonym?

Hopson

Early Miocene

Hawthorne Formation

A Pseudodontornithidae, type species T. wetmorei,
transferred tentatively to Pelagornis wetmorei

Pterosaurs

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New taxa

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Name Status Authors Location Notes Images

Dsungaripterus

Valid

Young

A Crested Shellfish-eating Pterosaur.
 
Dsungaripterus

Germanodactylus

Valid

Yang

The German Finger.
 
Germanodactylus

Plesiosaurs

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New taxa

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Name Status Authors Notes

Strongylokrotaphus

junior synonym

Novozhilov

junior synonym of Pliosaurus

Other animals

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Other newly named animals

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Name Novelty Status Authors Age Unit Location Notes Images

Beorn[13]

Gen et Sp. nov.

Valid

Cooper

Late Cretaceous (Campanian)

A tardigrade; originally placed in its own family (Beornidae), it was later reclassified as a member of the Hypsibiidae.[14]

 
Beorn

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. ^ Antropov AV, Belokobylskij SA, Compton SG, Dlussky GM, Khalaim AI, KolyadaVA, Kozlov MA, PerfilievaKS, Rasnitsyn AP (2014). "The wasps, bees and ants (Insecta: Vespida=Hymenoptera) from the Insect Limestone (Late Eocene) of the Isle of Wight, UK" (PDF). Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 104 (3–4): 335–446. doi:10.1017/S1755691014000103. S2CID 85699800.
  3. ^ Cope, J.C.W. (1999). "Middle Ordovician bivalves from Mid-Wales and the Welsh Borderland". Palaeontology. 42 (3): 467–499. Bibcode:1999Palgy..42..467C. doi:10.1111/1475-4983.00081.
  4. ^ Olshevsky, George. "Dinogeorge's Dinosaur Genera List". Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  5. ^ Hu S. 1964. Carnosaurian remains from Alashan, Inner Mongolia. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 8: pp. 42-63.
  6. ^ a b Walker, A.D. 1964. Triassic Reptiles from the Elgin area: Ornithosuchus and the origin of Carnosaurs. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, series B 248: pp. 53- 135.
  7. ^ Ginsburg, L. 1964. Decouverte d'un Scelidosaurian (Dinosaure ornithischien) dans le Trias superieur du Basutoland. Compte rendu hebdomadaire des seances de l’Academie des Sciences Paris, tomo 258: pp. 2366-2368.
  8. ^ Brodkorb, P (1964). "Notes of Fossil Turkeys" (PDF). Quarterly Journal of the Florida Academy of Sciences. 27 (3): 223–229. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  9. ^ Howard, H (1964). "A New Species of "Pygmee Goose," Anabernicula, from the Oregon Pleistocene, with a Discussion of the genus" (PDF). American Museum Novitates (2200): 1–14.
  10. ^ Howard, H (1964). "A fossil owl from Santa Rosa Island" (PDF). Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences. 163: 27–31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  11. ^ Brodkorb, P (1964). "A Pliocene Teal from South Dakota". Quarterly Journal of the Florida Academy of Sciences. 27 (1): 55–58.
  12. ^ Hopson, JA (1964). "Pseudodontornis and Other Large Marine Birds from the Miocene of South Carolina" (PDF). Postilla, Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University. 83: 1–19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-04. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  13. ^ Cooper, Kenneth W. (1964-01-01). "The first fossil tardigrade: Beorn leggi Cooper, from Cretaceous amber". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 71 (2): 41–48. doi:10.1155/1964/48418. ISSN 0033-2615.
  14. ^ Mapalo, Marc A.; Wolfe, Joanna M.; Ortega-Hernández, Javier (2024-08-06). "Cretaceous amber inclusions illuminate the evolutionary origin of tardigrades". Communications Biology. 7 (1). doi:10.1038/s42003-024-06643-2. ISSN 2399-3642. PMC 11303527.