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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 1878.

Arthropods

Newly named arachnids

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Aranea columbiae	Sp nov	jr synonym	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	An orb-web spider egg sack ichnogenus. moved to Araneaovoius columbiae (2011).

Newly named insects

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Bothromicromus	Gen et Sp nov	valid	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A possibly megalomine hemerobiid lacewing. Type species B. lachlani
Euschistus antiquus	Sp nov	jr synonym	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A shield bug moved to Teleoschistus antiquus (1890).
Holcorpa	Gen et sp nov	valid	Scudder	Eocene Priabonian	Florissant Formation	USA  Colorado	A holcorpid scorpionfly The type species is H. maculosa.
Lachnus quesneli	Sp nov	jr synonym	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	An aphidoid of uncertain placement Moved to Sbenaphis quesneli (1890).
Sciara deperdita	Sp nov	valid	Scudder	?Ypresian	Quesnel ?Fraser Formation	Canada  British Columbia	A sciarine dark-winged fungus gnat.

Archosauromorphs

O. W. Lucas recovers more material which would be referred to Laelaps trihedrodon from Morrison Formation strata near Garden Park, Colorado.

Newly named pseudosuchians

Newly named dinosaurs

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Amphicoelias fragillimus	Sp nov	Jr. synonym	Marsh	Late Jurassic (Tithonian)	Unknown	USA	Moved to Maraapunisaurus fragillimus (2018).
Brachyrophus	Gen nov	jr synonym	Cope	Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian)	Morrison Formation	USA	Junior synonym of Camptosaurus.
Creosaurus	Gen nov	Junior synonym	Marsh	Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian)	Morrison Formation	USA	Synonym of Allosaurus fragilis.
Diplodocus	Gen et sp nov	Valid	Marsh	Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian)	Morrison Formation	USA	A diplodocine diplodocid. Type species D. longus
Epanterias	Gen et sp nov	Nomen dubium	Cope	Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian)	Morrison Formation	USA  Colorado	An allosaurid theropod. Possibly a synonym of Allosaurus. Type species E. amplexus
Hypsirhophus	Gen et sp nov	Nomen dubium	Cope	Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian)	Morrison Formation	USA  Colorado	possibly a synonym of Stegosaurus. Type species H. discurus
Laosaurus	Gen et sp nov	Nomen dubium	Marsh	Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian)	Morrison Formation	USA  Colorado	A dubious Neornithischian of uncertain placement.
Morosaurus	Gen et sp nov	Jr. synonym	Marsh	Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian)	Morrison Formation	USA  Colorado	Junior synonym of Camarasaurus. Type species M. grandis

Plesiosaurs

Newly named plesiosaurs

Synapsids

Non-mammalian

Name	Status	Authors	Discovery year	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Dimetrodon	Valid						USA  Texas
Embolophorus	Valid
Ophiacodon	Valid
Sphenacodon	Valid
Theropleura	Valid

Footnotes

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. ^ Scudder, S. H (1878). "Additions to the Insect-fauna of the Tertiary beds at Quesnel, British Columbia". Geological Survey of Canada, Report of Progress for. 1876–1877: 457–464.
3. Dunlop, J.A.; Braddy, S.J. (2011). "Cteniza bavincourti and the nomenclature of arachnid-related trace fossils". The Journal of Arachnology. 39: 250–257.
4. Makarkin, V.; Wedmann, S.; Weiterschan, T. (2016). "A new genus of Hemerobiidae (Neuroptera) from Baltic amber, with a critical review of the Cenozoic Megalomus-like taxa and remarks on the wing venation variability of the family". Zootaxa. 4179 (3): 345–370. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4179.3.2.
5. ^ Scudder, S. H. (1890). "The Tertiary insects of North America". United States Geological Survey of the Territories, Washington: 615.
6. Archibald, SB (2010). "Revision of the scorpionfly family Holcorpidae (Mecoptera), with description of a new species from Early Eocene McAbee, British Columbia, Canada" (PDF). Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. 46 (1–2): 173–182. doi:10.1080/00379271.2010.10697654. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
7. "Introduction," Chure (2001) page 11.
8. Osborn, H.F., and Mook, C. C. (1921). "Camarasaurus, Amphicoelias and other sauropods of Cope." Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History NS, 3(3): 249–387.
9. Carpenter, K. (2018). "Maraapunisaurus fragillimus, n.g. (formerly Amphicoelias fragillimus), a basal Rebbachisaurid from the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Colorado". Geology of the Intermountain West. 5 (9): 227–244. ISSN 2380-7601.

References

• Chure, Daniel J. (2001). "On the type and referred material of Laelaps trihedrodon Cope 1877 (Dinosauria: Theropoda)". In Tanke, Darren; Carpenter, Kenneth (eds.). Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. pp. 10–18. ISBN 0-253-33907-3.

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