Overview of the events of 1874 in paleontology
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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 1874.
Dinosaurs
Publications
- Richard Owen publishes a monograph on Wealden and Purbeck reptiles, classifying Scelidosaurus, Iguanodon and Echinodon in the new dinosaur clade Prionodontia.
Newly named dinosaurs
| Name | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Late Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian) |
A hadrosaurid. | ||||||
|
Early Cretaceous |
A dubious stegosaur. | ||||||
|
Preoccupied. |
Hulke, 1874 |
Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) |
Preoccupied by Edward Drinker Cope, 1869. | ||||
|
Sauvage |
Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) |
Unnamed unit |
A dubious sauropod. | ||||
|
Late Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian) |
Junior subjective synonym of Triceratops. |
Ichthyosaurs
New taxa
| Name | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Valid |
Seeley |
Middle Jurassic (Callovian) |
An ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur. |
Plesiosaurs
New taxa
| Name | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Valid |
Seeley |
Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) |
A cryptoclidid, new genus for "Plesiosaurus" megadeirus Seeley, 1869 |
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Valid |
Seeley |
Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian) |
A member of Microcleididae; new genus for "Plesiosaurus" rugosus Owen, 1840. | ||||
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Valid |
Hector |
Late Cretaceous (late Campanian-Maastrichtian) |
An elasmosaurid. | ||||
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Valid |
Seeley |
Middle Jurassic (Callovian) |
A cryptoclidid. | ||||
|
Valid |
Seeley |
Early Jurassic (Toarcian) |
A rhomaleosaurid; new genus for "Plesiosaurus" cramptoni Carte and Bailey, 1863 |
Pterosaurs
Newly named pterosaurs
| Name | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Valid |
Owen |
Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) |
A member of Ornithocheiridae. |
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Jr. synonym |
Owen |
Jr. synonym of Ornithocheirus. |
Squamates
Newly named mosasaurs
| Name | Status | Authors | Age | Unit | Location | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taniwhasaurus | Valid | Hector | Late Campanian | Conway Formation |
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References
- 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.
- Owen, R. (1874). Monograph on the Fossil Reptilia of the Wealden and Purbeck Formations. Supplement No. V. Dinosauria (Iguanodon). Palaeontographical Society. pp. 1–18.