Almost everyone has seen the fossilized remains of prehistoric plants or
animals. These might have been the skeleton of a gigantic dinosaur, the
petrified trunk of an ancient tree, or the shells of snails or oysters
that lived in the great seas that covered Texas millions of years ago.
Each year more and more people are learning that these fossils are more
than mere curiosities. Instead, they are realizing that a good
collection of fossils provides much information about the early history
of our earth, and that fossil collecting can be a most enjoyable,
fascinating, and rewarding hobby. It is for these people that _Texas
Fossils_ was written.
This publication is primarily an amateur collector’s handbook and as
such offers many suggestions and aids to those who would pursue the
hobby of fossil collecting. It tells, for example, what fossils are,
where and how to collect them, and how they are used. Suggestions are
made as to how the specimens may be identified and catalogued, and there
are discussions and illustrations of the main types of plant and animal
fossils. Included also is a simplified geologic map of Texas and a brief
review of the geology of the State.
_Texas Fossils_ is not a comprehensive study of the paleontology of
Texas. Rather, it deals primarily with the more common species that the
average collector is likely to find. These fossils are illustrated in
the plates and figures, and these illustrations should be of some help
in identifying the specimens in one’s collection. Included for
completeness, however, are sketches and descriptions of some of the more
rare and unusual fossils, and, for general interest, there are
illustrations and descriptions of many of the extinct reptiles and
mammals that once inhabited this State.
In addition, a group of selected references has been included for the
reader who wishes to know more about earth history and paleontology.
Many of these publications provide references of a more technical nature
for the more advanced or serious collector, and some of them list
excellent collecting localities.
A minimum of technical terminology has been used, but terms not commonly
found in dictionaries, or which have not been explained in the text, are
defined in the glossary (pp. 111-114).
Many people have helped in the planning, preparation, and completion of
_Texas Fossils_, and their help is gratefully acknowledged: Dr. Keith
Young, The University of Texas; Dr. Harold Beaver, Baylor University;
and Professor Jack Boon, Arlington State College, offered helpful
suggestions and information on Cretaceous fossils; Professors Richmond
L. Bronaugh, Baylor University, and Jack T. Hughes, West Texas State
College, provided information on vertebrate collecting localities;
Professor Fred Smith, Texas A&M College, supplied data on Tertiary
collecting localities and fossils which were used in illustrations; Dr.
Saul Aronow and Professor Darrell Davis, Lamar State College of
Technology; Dr. Jules DuBar, University of Houston; and Dr. Samuel P.
Ellison, The University of Texas, made valuable suggestions which have
been incorporated into the manuscript.
Special thanks are due Drs. John T. Lonsdale, L. F. Brown, Jr., and
Peter U. Rodda, Bureau of Economic Geology, who critically read the
manuscript and contributed greatly to the presentation of the material;
Dr. John A. Wilson, The University of Texas, who read the section on
vertebrate fossils and made invaluable suggestions and criticisms; Miss
Josephine Casey, who edited the manuscript; and Mr. J. W. Macon, who
prepared the maps and charts.
Thanks are due also to Dr. G. A. Cooper, United States National Museum,
who prepared Plate 3 especially for this publication, and to R. T. Bird
and the American Museum of Natural History for photographs used in
Plates 4 and 43. Plates 38 and 39 were provided through the courtesy of
Dr. J. W. Dixon, Jr., and the Geology Department of Baylor University.
The other photographs were prepared by the writer. To Sarah Louise
Wilson, Lamar State College of Technology, the writer gratefully
acknowledges her tireless and painstaking efforts in preparing the many
fine drawings which make up the balance of the illustrations.