Fossils Give Peek at Some Real Old Timers
Exhibit displays fossils discovered at Arlington Archosaur Site
By KRISTI NELSON
Updated 7:49 PM CST, Mon, Nov 2, 2009
A museum exhibit is giving North Texans a glimpse of what the Metroplex looked like 100 million years ago.
Many of the fossils discovered at the Arlington Archosaur Site are on display at the River Legacy Living Science Center exhibit hall in North Arlington through Dec. 19.
According to Arlington Archosaur's Web site, more fossils have been recovered there than from any other site in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The fossil of a duck-billed dinosaur is among the finds, said Derek Main, a UTA graduate student who is leading the dig
"This is one of the first time this fossil will ever be seen by the public," he said. "And it's important because these fossils -- this animal, this duck-billed dinosaur, which is likely an animal called Protohadros -- can only be found in North Texas; nowhere else in the world. It's truly a Texas animal, it's part of our Texas history, Texas culture."
The Arlington Archosaur Site was discovered in the summer of 2003, and excavation began in 2008.
"And we've found all kinds of fossils, dinosaurs, crocodiles, turtles, fish, shark," Main said.
Main said many more great finds could be at the site, but researchers have a time constraint.
"They plan to build houses on the land, so we need to find as much data and as many fossils and information as we can, as quickly as we can, to get an accurate assessment of what this place is all about," he said.
For more information about the dig, or to volunteer, visit the Arlington Archosaur Web site.
First Published: Nov 2, 2009 5:52 PM CST
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