# 1997 in paleontology

Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. 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 1997.

## Plants
### Cycadophytes
#### Cycadophyte research

* Hopkins and Johnson briefly report the first occurrence of cycad leaves from the Eocene Okanagan Highlands Klondike Mountain Formation which will later be identified to the family Zamiaceae.

### Angiosperms

| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
| Eucommia jeffersonensis | Sp nov | valid | Call & Dilcher | Late Eocene | John Day Formation | USA | Species of Eucommia. | |
| Eucommia rolandii | Sp nov | valid | Call & Dilcher | Middle Eocene | Talahatta Formation | USA  Mississippi | Species of Eucommia. Also identified from the Coldwater Beds, British Columbia | |

## Fungi

| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
| Archaeomarasmius | Gen et sp nov | Valid | Hibbett, Grimaldi, & Donoghue | Cretaceous Turonian | New Jersey amber. | USA | A tricholomataceous fungi | Archaeomarasmius leggetti |
| Protomycena | Gen et sp nov | Valid | Hibbett, Grimaldi, & Donoghue | Miocene Burdigalian | Dominican amber | Dominican Republic | A mycenaceous fungi | Protomycena electra |

### Paleomycological research

* LePage et al briefly describe the first instance of ectomycorrhizae in the fossil record, based on specimens from the Eocene Okanagan highlands Princeton chert site. The fungi are associated with Pinus roots and were considered similar to the modern fungal genera Rhizopogon and Suillus

## Arthropoda
### Insects

| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
| Baikuris casei | Sp. nov | Valid | Grimaldi, Agosti, & Carpenter | Turonian | New Jersey amber | USA | An ant of uncertain subfamily placement. First identified as a sphecomyrmine ant | |
| Boyeria europaea | Comb nov | valid | (Nel, Arillo, & Martínez-Delclòs) | Messinian | | France | An Aeshnid dragonfly. | Boyeria europaea |
| Brownimecia clavata | Gen et sp. nov | Valid | Grimaldi, Agosti, & Carpenter | Turonian | New Jersey amber | USA | A stem group ant, type species B. clavata | Brownimecia clavata |
| Ctenobethylus goepperti | Comb nov | valid | (Mayr, 1868) | Middle Eocene | Baltic amber | Europe | Fossil Dolichoderine ant, moved from Liometopum goepperti Senior synonym of Ctenobethylus succinalis | Ctenobethylus goepperti |
| Makarkinia adamsi | Gen et comb nov | jr synonym | Martins-Neto | Aptian | Crato Formation | Brazil | A Kalligrammatid lacewing, new genus for Panfilovia adamsi | |
| Makarkiniinae | Subfam nov | jr synonym | Martins-Neto | Aptian | Crato Formation | Brazil | lacewing subfamily, syn of Kalligrammatidae | |

## Plesiosaurs
### Newly Named Plesiosaurs

Currently Valid Plesiosaur Genera Named in 1997 :
| Name | Status | Authors | Location | Images |
| Augustasaurus | Valid taxon | Sander Rieppel Bucher | USA ( Nevada) | Augustasauus |
| Libonectes | Valid taxon | Welles (as Elasmosaurus morgani in 1949) Carpenter (as Libonectes morgani in 1997) | Morocco  USA ( Texas) | Libonectes |
| Maresaurus | Valid taxon | Gasparini | Argentina | Libonectes |

## Archosauromorphs
### Pseudosuchians

| Name | Novelty | Status | Authors | Age | Type locality | Country | Notes |
| "Baru" huberi | Sp. nov | | Willis | Late Oligocene | White Hunter Site of the Riversleigh WHA | Australia | A mekosuchine crocodilian. Although named as a species of Baru, later research considers it to be a distinct genus. |
| Baru wickeni | Sp. nov | Valid | Willis | Late Oligocene | White Hunter Site of the Riversleigh WHA | Australia | A mekosuchine crocodilian. It was established based on new material from the Riversleigh as well as material previously assigned to Baru darrowi. |
| Mekosuchus whitehunterensis | Sp. nov | Valid | Willis | Late Oligocene | White Hunter Site of the Riversleigh WHA | Australia | A mekosuchine crocodilian. The first species of Mekosuchus to have been named from continental Australia. |
| Pallimnarchus gracilis | Sp. nov | Valid | Willis & Molnar | Late Pleistocene | Terrace Site of the Riversleigh WHA | Australia | A mekosuchine crocodilian and species of Pallimnarchus, described as having been more gracile than Pallimnarchus pollens. The species is valid, but now placed in the genus Paludirex. |
| Quinkana meboldi | Sp. nov | Valid | Willis | Late Oligocene | White Hunter Site of the Riversleigh WHA | Australia | A mekosuchine crocodilian. It was a smaller species of the genus Quinkana. |

#### General pseudosuchian research

* A review of Australasian fossil crocodilians is published by Willis (1997).

### Pterosaurs
#### Newly Named Pterosaurs

Currently Valid Pterosaur Genera Named in 1997 :
| Name | Status | Authors | Location | Images |
| Eosipterus | Valid taxon | Ji Ji | China | |

### Non-avian dinosauromorphs

* Paleontologist Karen Chin received a coprolite that was excavated during 1995 from strata dating back to the Maastrichtian in Saskatchewan, Canada. The specimen was about 17 inches (44 cm) long and contained fragments of bone. Due to its size, contents and age, the coprolite was believed to have been the remains of Tyrannosaurus rex feces. This discovery was announced in a 1998 paper published in the journal Nature.
* A Saharan expedition under the leadership of Paul Sereno yielded fruit when a team member stumbled on the bones and skull of Nigersaurus taqueti. During this and a subsequent 1999 expedition about 80% of the animal's skeleton were discovered. Later in the year of the second expedition, a formal description of the animal was published.
* French paleontologist Philippe Taquet reported the finding of fossilized theropod embryos preserved in Portuguese dinosaur eggs. These eggs were from the Jurassic period dating to about 140 million years ago, nearly twice as old as any previously recovered dinosaur embryos, which had only been known from about 70 million years ago in Late Cretaceous strata.
* Psittacosaurus gastroliths documented.
* Panoplosaurus gastroliths documented.

#### Newly named non-avian dinosauromorphs

Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list.
| Name | Status | Authors | Authors | Location | Images |
| Archaeoceratops | Valid taxon | Dong Zhiming | Azuma | China | Archaeoceratops Gojirasaurus Unenlagia |
| Gojirasaurus | Valid taxon | Kenneth Carpenter | | USA( New Mexico) | Archaeoceratops Gojirasaurus Unenlagia |
| Hudiesaurus | Valid taxon | Dong Zhiming | | China | Archaeoceratops Gojirasaurus Unenlagia |
| Protarchaeopteryx | Valid taxon | Ji Q. | Ji S. | China | Archaeoceratops Gojirasaurus Unenlagia |
| Rinchenia | Valid taxon | Rinchen Barsbold vide: Halszka Osmólska Phillip Currie | Rinchen Barsbold | | Archaeoceratops Gojirasaurus Unenlagia |
| Siluosaurus | Nomen dubium. | Dong Zhiming | | China | Archaeoceratops Gojirasaurus Unenlagia |
| Unenlagia | Valid taxon | Novas | Puerta | Argentina | Archaeoceratops Gojirasaurus Unenlagia |

### Birds
#### Newly named birds

| Name | Status | Novelty | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes |
| Aramus paludigrus | Sp. nov. | Valid | D. Tab Rasmussen | Miocene | Honda Group | Colombia | An Aramidae. |
| Athene angelis | Sp. nov. | Valid | Cécile Mourer-Chauviré Michelle Salotti Elizabeth Pereira Yves Quinif Jean-Yves Courtois Jean-Noël Dubois Jean-Claude La Milza | Middle Pleistocene | Corsica | France:  Corsica | A Strigidae. |
| Cathayornis caudatus | Sp. nov. | Valid | Hou Lianhai | Early Cretaceous | Valanginian, Jiufotang Formation | China | A member of Enantiornithes Walker, 1981. Originally described as a species of Cathayornis; subsequently made the type species of a separate genus Houornis. |
| Chauvireria balcanica | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Valid | Zlatozar N. Boev | Late Pliocene | MN 17 | Bulgaria | A Phasianidae. |
| Confuciusornis chuonzhous | Sp. nov. | Valid ? | Hou Lianhai | Early Cretaceous | Lower Yixian Formation | China | A Confuciusornithidae Hou, Zhou, Gu et Zhang, 1995, possibly a synonym of Confuciusornis sanctus L. H. Hou, Zhou, Gu et Zhang, 1995. |
| Confuciusornis suniae | Sp. nov. | Valid ? | Hou Lianhai | Early Cretaceous | Lower Yixian Formation | China | A Confuciusornithidae Hou, Zhou, Gu et Zhang, 1995, possibly a synonym of Confuciusornis sanctus L. H. Hou, Zhou, Gu et Zhang, 1995. |
| Cuspirostrisornis houi | Gen. nov et Sp. nov. | Valid | Hou Lianhai | Early Cretaceous | Valanginian, Jiufotang Formation | China | An Enantiornithes Walker, 1981, Cuspirostrisornithidae Hou, 1997, this is the type species of the new genus. |
| Eutreptodactylus itaboraiensis | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Valid | Robert F. Baird Patricia Vickers Rich | Late Paleocene | Sao Jose de Itaborai | Brazil | Described in the Cuculidae, transferred to the Gracilitarsidae Mayr, 2001 by Mayr. |
| Galbula hylochoreutes | Sp. nov. | Valid | D. Tab Rasmussen | Miocene | La Victoria Formation | Colombia | A Galbulidae. |
| Heliadornis paratethydicus | Sp. nov. | Valid | Jirí Mlíkovský | Late Pliocene | MN 15-16 | Slovakia | A Phaethontidae. |
| Largirostrornis sexdentoris | Gen. nov et Sp. nov. | Valid | Hou Lianhai | Early Cretaceous | Valanginian, Jiufotang Formation | China | An Enantiornithes Walker, 1981, Cuspirostrisornithidae Hou, 1997, this is the type species of the new genus. |
| Liaoningornis longidigitris | Gen. nov et Sp. nov. | Valid | Hou Lianhai | Early Cretaceous | Yixian Formation | China | An Enantiornithes Walker, 1981, Liaoningornithiformes L. H. Hou, 1997, Liaoningornithidae Hou, 1997, this is the type species of the new genus. |
| Longchengornis sanyanensis | Gen. nov et Sp. nov. | Valid | Hou Lianhai | Early Cretaceous | Valanginian, Jiufotang Formation | China | An Enantiornithes Walker, 1981, Cuspirostrisornithidae Hou, 1997, this is the type species of the new genus. |
| Pasquiaornis hardiei | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Valid | Tim T. Tokaryk Stephen L. Cumbaa John E. Storer | Early Cretaceous | Cenomanian, Ashville Formation | Canada:  Saskatchewan | An Hesperornithiformes Fürbringer, 1888, Baptornithidae American Ornithologists’ Union, 1910, this is the type of the new genus. |
| Pasquiaornis tankei | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Valid | Tim T. Tokaryk Stephen L. Cumbaa John E. Storer | Early Cretaceous | Cenomanian, Ashville Formation | Canada:  Saskatchewan | An Hesperornithiformes Fürbringer, 1888, Baptornithidae American Ornithologists’ Union, 1910. |
| Pleistorallus flemingi | Gen. nov. et Sp. nov. | Valid | Trevor H. Worthy | Pleistocene | Wanganui Subdivision | New Zealand | A Rallidae. |
| Rhynchopsitta phillipsi | Sp. nov. | Valid | Amadeo M. Rea | Late Pleistocene | Cave Deposits | Mexico | A Psittacidae. |
| Rupelrallus saxoniensis | Gen. nov et Sp. nov. | Valid | Karlheinz Fischer | Middle Oligocene | MP 23-24 | Germany:  Saxony | A Gruiformes, Parvigruidae G. Mayr, 2005. |
| Songlingornis linghensis | Gen. nov et Sp. nov. | Valid | Hou Lianhai | Early Cretaceous | Valanginian, Jiufotang Formation | China | An Ornithuromorphae Chiappe, Ji, Ji et Norell, 1999, Songlingornithidae Hou, 1997, this is the type species of the new genus. |
| Vanellus madagascariensis | Sp. nov. | Valid | Steven M. Goodman | Holocene | Madagascar | Madagascar | A Charadriidae. |
| Urmiornis brodkorbi | Sp. nov. | Valid | Aleksandr A. Karkhu | Early Miocene | Lower Tarkhanian-Burdigalian? | Kazakhstan | An Eogruidae Wetmore, 1934, perhaps should be transferred to the genus Amphipelargus Lydekker, 1891. |

## Synapsids
### Eutherians

| Name | Status | Authors | Discovery year | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
| Granastrapotherium snorki | Valid | Johnson Madden | 1997 | Middle Miocene | La Victoria Formation Villavieja Formation | Colombia  Peru | An astrapotherian | Granastrapotherium |
| Xenastrapotherium aequatorialis | Valid | Johnson Madden | 1997 | Early Miocene | Biblián Formation | Ecuador | An astrapotherian, a species of Xenastrapotherium | Granastrapotherium |
| Xenastrapotherium chaparralensis | Valid | Johnson Madden | 1997 | Late Oligocene - Early Miocene | Tuné Formation | Colombia | An astrapotherian, a species of Xenastrapotherium | Granastrapotherium |

## Humans

* Genetecist Michael Hammer reported findings that demonstrate that after the initial "out of Africa" radiation of modern humans at about 100,000 years ago, some humans eventually returned to Africa between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago.

## Exopaleontology

* Richard B. Hoover of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center photographs what he believes to be microfossils in the martian Murchison meteorite.