Texas Vertebrate Fossil Hunting

[FossilizedShoe]

As it looks like I won't be able to make it back out to Charleston for quite a while, I was wondering what the fossil hunting scene looks like here in Texas. I've heard that there's some miocene material to be had around Galveston and Bolivar, and I've heard about the Eagle Ford Formation and Post Oak Creek, but I haven't come across a whole lot of information. I do know there are some invertebrate fossils along the Brazos, but I'm not super big on snails. I'm in the Houston area, so a day trip down to the coast is definitely feasible, but I need to do some more research before I commit to making a trip up to North Texas, which seems to be where most of the action is. Can someone just give me a quick rundown on the general information I need to know?

[ClearLake]

Welcome to Texas!  I would suggest a few searches of Texas posts here on TFF as there are many to read. Galveston/Bolivar will be Pleistocene or close to it beach finds, no Miocene that I am aware of. Pleistocene vertebrate  finds along the lower Brazos gravel bars. Whiskey Bridge site near College Station is very famous, great invertebrates and some sharks teeth and fossilized wood. But really nice shells there are the main attraction. Cretaceous deposits from San Antonio to north of Austin yield all sorts of inverts (and the occasional shark tooth), especially some nice echinoids. North Texas around the Dallas Fort Worth area has more Cretaceous as well as Pennsylvanian a little further west and the famous North Sulphur River ( for a bit longer until it is flooded) to the east with vertebrate remains as well as other material.   West Texas has Permian deposits.  So, there are numerous spots but they are a bit spread out so you’ll have to do a bit if reading. This is just a high level summary. There are some great reference books depending on the area you are most interested in. Paleo societies that are active exist is Houston, Dallas, Austin, etc. hope this gives you a starting point. 

[erose]

Except for the beach collecting you are going to have to do a bit of driving.

[Jared C]

If you're in Houston, I would suggest exploring the Brazos - it's possible to find Pleistocene megafauna all along the Brazos river. Expect petrified wood as well