Paleontology in Texas facts for kids
Paleontology in Texas is all about finding and studying fossils in the U.S. state of Texas. Texas is well known for its many amazing fossils. Some of the most important fossil discoveries in United States history have happened right here. You can find fossils almost everywhere in the state!
Texas's fossil record covers nearly all of Earth's history, from very old Precambrian times to the recent Pleistocene Ice Age. Shark teeth are probably the most common fossils found here. During the early Paleozoic era, a sea covered Texas. This sea was home to creatures like brachiopods, cephalopods, and trilobites. Not much is known about life in Texas during the Devonian and early Carboniferous periods.
Later in the Carboniferous, Texas had marine life, land plants, and early reptiles. During the Permian period, the seas mostly disappeared, but coral reefs still grew in some areas. The rest of Texas was a coastal plain where early relatives of mammals like Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus lived. In the Triassic period, a huge river system flowed through Texas. It was home to crocodile-like creatures called phytosaurs.
We don't know much about Jurassic Texas, but there are fossils of sea creatures like ammonites from that time. During the Early Cretaceous, large sauropods and theropods left many footprints. Later in the Cretaceous, the state was covered by the Western Interior Seaway. This sea was home to giant marine reptiles like mosasaurs and plesiosaurs.
In the early Cenozoic era, parts of Texas were still covered by seawater, where sea creatures and sharks lived. On land, Texas became home to amazing animals like glyptodonts, mammoths, mastodons, saber-toothed cats, giant ground sloths, and dire wolves. People have known about fossils in Texas for a long time. Native Americans likely knew about them. Scientists started studying Texas fossils in the late 1800s. In 1938, a big discovery of dinosaur footprints happened near Glen Rose. Pleurocoelus was the Texas state dinosaur from 1997 to 2009. It was then replaced by Paluxysaurus jonesi.
Ancient Life in Texas
Life in Ancient Seas: Paleozoic Era
During the Cambrian period, a sea covered Texas. Life in this ancient sea included brachiopods (shellfish), gastropods (snails), and trilobites (ancient sea bugs). Farther from the shore, you could find bivalves (clams), sponges, and more trilobites.
In the next period, the Ordovician, Texas was still mostly covered by sea. Creatures like brachiopods, cephalopods (squid-like animals), and corals lived here. Fossils from this time are not always well preserved, but some are found in western Texas.
During the Silurian period, marine habitats continued in Texas. However, not many fossils from this time have been found. Some brachiopods and corals have been discovered in the Van Horn and El Paso areas.
Hidden Fossils: Devonian and Early Carboniferous
Devonian Texas still had marine environments. But the rocks from this period are buried deep underground. This makes it hard for scientists to study them. We know that brachiopods, corals, and trilobites lived here. Armored fish were also present in central Texas.
Like the Devonian rocks, those from the Early Carboniferous (also called the Mississippian) are mostly hidden. During this time, Texas was home to brachiopods, cephalopods, and trilobites. These fossils are found in places like the Hueco Mountains and the Llano Uplift.
Land and Sea Life: Late Carboniferous and Permian
During the Late Carboniferous (also called the Pennsylvanian), many fossils were preserved in north-central Texas. The state had a rich variety of life, including algae, brachiopods, corals, and crinoids (sea lilies). Sharks also lived here and left behind their teeth. Plant fossils are common from this period. Very early reptile fossils have also been found.
Permian fossils are found all over Texas. The shallow seas that once covered the region began to shrink. Coastal lowlands formed in their place. However, the far western part of Texas was still covered by seawater. A large coral reef system grew there, which is now the Guadalupe Mountains. Many different sea creatures lived in this reef.
In the North-Central Plains of Texas, you can find both marine and land fossils. This area is famous for its many different kinds of crinoids and blastoids (another type of sea lily). Sharks also left their teeth here. Land animals like amphibians and reptiles are known from Archer and Baylor counties. The red beds in this region might be the best record of this time period in the world. Seymouria, a small animal that shows how reptiles evolved, was found in Baylor County. Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus (early relatives of mammals) also lived in this area.
During the middle Permian, Texas was hot with both dry and wet seasons. Fossil footprints from small reptiles are common in these ancient lake deposits.
Dinosaurs and Sea Monsters: Triassic to Cretaceous
Texas was home to a huge river system during the Triassic period. Many amphibians and reptiles lived near these rivers. Triassic life also included plants and invertebrates, though their fossils are often not well preserved. Sharks left their teeth behind. Other vertebrates included fish and crocodile-like creatures called phytosaurs.
There are very few rocks from the Jurassic period in Texas. The only known Jurassic fossils come from the Malone Mountains. These include ammonites (shelled sea creatures) and snails.
The Cretaceous period, however, left a rich fossil record in Texas. As sea levels rose and fell, many different kinds of life from both land and sea were preserved. About a quarter of Texas is covered by Cretaceous rocks, which are great for finding fossils. Most of Texas was under the Western Interior Seaway during the Cretaceous. The most common Cretaceous fossils are cephalopods, sea urchins, and clams.
During the Early Cretaceous, Texas was home to the giant pliosaur Brachauchenius. This was a true "sea monster" of its time. Sharks also left their teeth behind. Early Cretaceous Texas also had heart urchins and biscuit urchins. In some places, fossilized sea cucumbers are abundant.
Around 115 to 110 million years ago, large sauropods (long-necked dinosaurs) and theropods (meat-eating dinosaurs) left many footprints in the sediments that became the Glen Rose Formation. These tracks show that the sauropods were likely brachiosaurids. Most tracks were left on an ancient coastal plain next to the ancient Gulf of Mexico. More than fifty different track sites are known across Texas.
Late Cretaceous marine life included belemnoids (squid-like creatures) and many ostracods (tiny crustaceans). Giant marine reptiles like mosasaurs and short-necked plesiosaurs swam over Texas. The forty-foot Tylosaurus was one of these giant mosasaurs. More sharks left their teeth behind during the Late Cretaceous. Plant fossils from this time are found in northern Texas.
Ice Age Giants: Cenozoic Era
In the early Cenozoic era, Texas had volcanic eruptions. Ostracods were still common in the seas covering parts of Texas. Other sea life included corals, clams, and snails. These fossils are found in the Gulf Coastal Plain. Sharks continued to leave their teeth behind.
During the Oligocene period, camels were common in Texas. In the Miocene period, mammals resembling giant pigs lived here. Camels remained widespread. Sharks left fossil teeth during the Miocene, but not in later Cenozoic times. Camels continued to be an important part of the animal life during the Pliocene.
During the Pleistocene Ice Age, Texas was home to camels, horses, mammoths, and other large animals. Their fossils are very common. Horses were especially widespread. Camels were also common, but this was their last time in Texas history. Fossils from this age, found along the Gulf Coast and in western Texas, include bison, mammoths, and mastodons. Other large Cenozoic mammals in Texas included glyptodonts (armored mammals), saber-toothed cats, giant ground sloths, and dire wolves.
History of Fossil Discoveries
Archaeologist Jack. T. Hughes found proof that ancient paleo-Indians in Texas collected fossils. After paleontology became a formal science, professor Jacob Boll made the first scientific fossil finds in Texas in 1878. He was collecting for a famous paleontologist named Edward Drinker Cope. Later, W. E. Cummins and C. H. Sternberg also did important fieldwork in Texas.
In 1938, Barnum Brown from the American Museum of Natural History sent Roland T. Bird to Texas. Bird was looking for dinosaur footprints that local people had found. In the town of Glen Rose, he saw a medium-sized footprint from a meat-eating dinosaur in a limestone block. Local residents showed him more dinosaur tracks along the Paluxy River. While cleaning these tracks, he found another type of footprint, left by a long-necked sauropod dinosaur.
This discovery excited Barnum Brown. He arranged for a joint expedition between the American Museum of Natural History and the University of Texas. In 1940, Bird continued his work with the help of other paleontologists. Some of the excavated tracks were sent to the American Museum of Natural History and other institutions like Baylor University and the University of Texas.
In 1964, Bob Slaughter found two types of mosasaurs south of Dallas. He also found Miocene and Pleistocene fossils near the Livingston Reservoir. In 1994, scientists Bill Sarjeant and Wann Langston published a study on fossil footprints found in volcanic ash. These tracks were 36 to 38 million years old. They found tracks from six birds, two invertebrates, nineteen mammals, and two turtles. This site is one of the most amazing fossil track sites from the Tertiary period in the western United States.
Places to Explore Fossils
Protected Areas
Natural History Museums
- Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History, Bryan
- Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens, El Paso
- Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary, McKinney
- Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston
- Mayborn Museum Complex, Waco
- Museum of Nature & Science, Dallas
- Naranjo Museum of Natural History, Lufkin
- Texas Memorial Museum, Austin
- Texas Through Time, Hillsboro
- Whiteside Museum of Natural History, Seymour
- Witte Museum, San Antonio
Clubs and Associations
- Austin - Paleontological Society of Austin (http://www.austinpaleo.org/)
- Dallas Paleontological Society (http://www.dallaspaleo.org/)
- Houston Gem & Mineral Society
