Plotopteridae is the name of an extinct family of flightless seabirds from the order Suliformes. Related to the gannets and boobies, they exhibited remarkable convergent evolution with the penguins, particularly with the now extinct giant penguins. That they lived in the North Pacific, the other side of the world from the penguins, has led to them being described at times as the Northern Hemisphere's penguins, though they were not closely related. More recent studies have shown, however, that the shoulder-girdle, forelimb and sternum of plotopterids differ significantly from those of penguins, so comparisons in terms of function may not be entirely accurate. On the other hand, there is a theory that this group may have a common ancestor with penguins due to the similarity of brain morphology, and the actual classification is not clear.
Arsinoitherium is an extinct genus of paenungulate mammals belonging to the extinct order Embrithopoda. It is related to elephants, sirenians, hyraxes and the extinct desmostylians. Arsinoitheres were superficially rhinoceros-like herbivores that lived during the late Eocene and the early Oligocene of northern Africa from 36 to 30 million years ago, in areas of tropical rainforest and at the margin of mangrove swamps. A species described in 2004, A. giganteum, lived in Ethiopia about 27 million years ago.
Metamynodon is an extinct genus of amynodont rhino that lived in North America and Asia from the late Eocene until early Oligocene, although the questionable inclusion of M. mckinneyi could extend their range to the Middle Eocene. The various species were large, displaying a suit of semiaquatic adaptations similar to those of the modern hippopotamus despite their closer affinities with rhinoceroses.
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 1976.
Carolinochelys is an extinct genus of sea turtle from Oligocene of United States. It contains one species: C. wilsoni, and was first named by O.P. Hay in 1923.
Quercylurus major is an extinct nimravid carnivoran, or "false sabre-tooth," from the early Oligocene of France. Its fossils are found from Early Oligocene strata in Quercy. Q. major. was possibly the largest nimravid ever known, as its fossils suggest it was similar in size to the modern-day brown bear and was scansorial. It was very muscular, walked on plantigrade (flat-footed). So far, there is only one described species within this genus - Q. major.
Acherontemys is an extinct genus of turtle from Miocene of United States.
The Deseadan age is a period of geologic time within the Oligocene epoch of the Paleogene to the Early Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification of South America. It follows the Tinguirirican and precedes the Colhuehuapian age.
Palaeogadus is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish. Ecology: nektonic carnivore
Cittarium pica, common name the West Indian top shell or magpie shell, is a species of large edible sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Tegulidae. This species has a large black and white shell.
Cittarium is a genus of a sea snails, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Tegulidae.
Arctoidea is an infraorder of mostly carnivorous mammals which include the extinct Hemicyonidae (dog-bears), and the extant Musteloidea, Pinnipedia, and Ursidae (bears), found in all continents from the Eocene, 46 million years ago, to the present. Arctoids are caniforms, along with dogs (canids) and extinct bear dogs (Amphicyonidae). The earliest caniforms were superficially similar to martens, which are tree-dwelling mustelids. Together with feliforms, caniforms comprise the order Carnivora, sometimes Arctoidea can be considered a separate suborder from Caniformia and a sister taxon to Feliformia.
Alligator prenasalis is an extinct species of alligator. It is well known, with many fossils having been collected from the Oligocene Chadron and Brule Formations in South Dakota. The species was first named in 1904, but was originally classified as a crocodile in the genus Crocodilus. It was reassigned to the genus Alligator in 1918 on the basis of more complete material. It is the earliest known member of the genus Alligator.
The Macropodidae are an extant family of marsupial with the distinction of the ability to move bipedally on the hind legs, sometimes by jumping, as well as quadrupedally. They are herbivores, but some fossil genera like Ekaltadeta are hypothesised to have been carnivores. The taxonomic affiliations within the family and with other groups of marsupials is still in flux.
The Kokoamu Greensand is a geological formation found in New Zealand. It is a fossil-bearing, late Oligocene, greensand rock unit of the eastern South Island, especially the Waitaki District of North Otago and the southern Canterbury region. The formation was named by geologist Maxwell Gage in the 1950s. In North Otago it underlies the thicker and harder Otekaike Limestone. The formation gets its green colour from the mineral glauconite which forms slowly on the ocean floor.
Ampullinopsis is an extinct taxonomic genus of deep-water sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Sorbeoconcha. These sea snails were epifaunal grazers. Sea snails of this genus lived from Paleocene epoch to Miocene epoch.
Paleontology in South Dakota refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of South Dakota. South Dakota is an excellent source of fossils as finds have been widespread throughout the state. During the early Paleozoic era South Dakota was submerged by a shallow sea that would come to be home to creatures like brachiopods, cephalopods, corals, and ostracoderms. Local sea levels rose and fall during the Carboniferous and the sea left completely during the Permian. During the Triassic, the state became a coastal plain, but by the Jurassic it was under a sea where ammonites lived. Cretaceous South Dakota was also covered by a sea that was home to mosasaurs. The sea remained in place after the start of the Cenozoic before giving way to a terrestrial mammal fauna including the camel Poebrotherium, three-toed horses, rhinoceroses, saber-toothed cat, and titanotheres. During the Ice Age glaciers entered the state, which was home to mammoths and mastodons. Local Native Americans interpreted fossils as the remains of the water monster Unktehi and used bits of Baculites shells in magic rituals to summon buffalo herds. Local fossils came to the attention of formally trained scientists with the Lewis and Clark expedition. The Cretaceous horned dinosaur Triceratops horridus is the South Dakota state fossil.
The Ashley Formation is a geologic formation in South Carolina. It preserves fossils dating back to the Paleogene period.
Morenocetus is an extinct genus of primitive balaenid from the Early Micoene Gaiman Formation of Patagonia, Argentina.
