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During the Summer, I had the fortune of driving near Seymour, TX and thus the opportunity to pay a visit to the WMNH. The WMNH is a small but unique museum in Northern Texas, specializing in the Early Permian fauna that lived nearby ~ 290 million years ago in the famous Texas "red beds." 

 

The land around Seymour was once an equatorial bayou, humid and inundated with rivers and lakes. In the rivers were lungfish like those that live today, various ray-finned fishes, and cartilaginous fish like the Xenacanth "sharks." Amphibians like Eryops, Seymouria, and Diplocaulus also spent much of their lives in the water, but were capable of venturing onto land. The most famous not-a-dinosaur Dimetrodon was the terrestrial apex predator, living among other stem-mammals like Edaphosaurus and Secodontosaurus. Early Dinosaurs and mammals were still tens of millions of years in the future. Most of these interesting animals are rarely found in museums, so the chance to see so many of them in one building was an uncommon privilege.

 

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Outside the building, a larger-than-life Dimetrodon stands watch over the murals. The building is also lined with large Ammonites.

 

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an Eryops tries to find some shade

 

Inside, there are several life reconstructions of some of these animals, the first one being Dimetrodon

 

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The first of several Dimetrodon individuals, "Bonnie"

 

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The red matrix has been coated with a dark grey material to increase contrast with the bones. There is a partial Diplocaulus amphibian skull in its belly

 

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Something I hadn't known: Dimetrodon may have been venomous?? I look forward to the publication of the evidence

 

A couple of large Eryops, their skulls were comparable in size to those of large Alligators

 

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Various skeletal elements

 

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1. D. grandis femur, 2. Dimetrodon sp. femur, 3. Edaphosaurus pogonius tibia, 4. Dimetrodon sp. tibia, 5. Edaphosaurus pelvis, 6. Dimetrodon sp. pelvis, 7. Secodontosaurus pelvis

 

Diadectes, a herbivorous tetrapod

 

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incisorform and molariform teeth indicate it was capable of stripping and masticating vegetation, a novel development among tetrapods of the time. It also had a secondary palate like we do, meaning it could chew and breathe simultaneously.

 

Diplocaulus, the "boomerang-headed" amphibian

 

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Dimetrodon elements

 

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Neural spine with a pathology, a healed break possibly from the attack of another Dimetrodon

 

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Maxilla with a broken canine, proposed to be broken in life

 

 

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Pelvis with bite marks, possible evidence of cannibalism

 

Another Dimetrodon

 

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Some plants

 

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Edited by ThePhysicist
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"Argumentation cannot suffice for the discovery of new work, since the subtlety of Nature is greater many times than the subtlety of argument." - Carl Sagan

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." - Richard Feynman

 

Collections: Hell Creek Microsite | Hell Creek/Lance | Dinosaurs | Sharks | SquamatesPost Oak Creek | North Sulphur RiverLee Creek | Aguja | Permian | Devonian | Triassic | Harding Sandstone

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Seymouria is an interesting amphibian, with a mix of traits, hinting at the transition from water-bound amphibians to the terrestrial amniotes. Unfortunately no real fossils were on display (that I noticed). As you might guess, it was discovered and named after the town.

 

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My favorite display was the Dimetrodon tooth-bearing skull elements ('cause teeth are cool!). Dimetrodon means "two measures of teeth," indicating the different kinds of teeth in its mouth for different purposes - similar to our own dentition. 

 

 

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Even more Dimetrodon's

 

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They also opened a new wing in the museum this month, the hall of Ichthyology. I'll only show the sharks, so there's something left for you to see when you visit (there's also many more rooms to this museum that I haven't shown)

 

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Sculpture of Orthacanthus, a permian freshwater cartilaginous fish

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Orthacanthus tooth

In the prep lab there was another Dimetrodon 

 

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Once you leave, you can see a lot of exposures of the red beds around town.

 

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Edited by ThePhysicist
  • I found this Informative 2
  • Enjoyed 6

"Argumentation cannot suffice for the discovery of new work, since the subtlety of Nature is greater many times than the subtlety of argument." - Carl Sagan

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." - Richard Feynman

 

Collections: Hell Creek Microsite | Hell Creek/Lance | Dinosaurs | Sharks | SquamatesPost Oak Creek | North Sulphur RiverLee Creek | Aguja | Permian | Devonian | Triassic | Harding Sandstone

Instagram: @thephysicist_tff

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Can't forget Edaphosaurus! It was an early herbivorous synapsid, the same kind of "stem-mammal" as Dimetrodon, it even had a sail. Though, it's structurely different with those "crossbars" on the spines.

 

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Edited by ThePhysicist
  • Enjoyed 10

"Argumentation cannot suffice for the discovery of new work, since the subtlety of Nature is greater many times than the subtlety of argument." - Carl Sagan

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." - Richard Feynman

 

Collections: Hell Creek Microsite | Hell Creek/Lance | Dinosaurs | Sharks | SquamatesPost Oak Creek | North Sulphur RiverLee Creek | Aguja | Permian | Devonian | Triassic | Harding Sandstone

Instagram: @thephysicist_tff

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Thank you for sharing these great images of a museum 'built', managed and curated by @dinodigger and crew!

The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true.  -  JJ

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  • 2 weeks later...

:Jumping:great!!! 

Thanks for the pics and the info about the museum, fantastic material and PERMIAN!!! Not common in the most museums

Edited by rocket
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  • 2 weeks later...

This was a great read! Ever since I first heard about the Whiteside Museum last year I've wanted to go but unfortunately haven't ever been anywhere close enough to justify the drive (especially with how bad gas prices were for most of this year).

My only experience with Permian fossils or the famous red beds was a short trip I took to Waurika, Oklahoma a long time ago despite how much synapsids interest me - the Dimetrodon vertebra I found is still one of my favorite fossils I've ever come across. 

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On 9/8/2022 at 9:53 PM, GPayton said:

This was a great read! Ever since I first heard about the Whiteside Museum last year I've wanted to go but unfortunately haven't ever been anywhere close enough to justify the drive (especially with how bad gas prices were for most of this year).

My only experience with Permian fossils or the famous red beds was a short trip I took to Waurika, Oklahoma a long time ago despite how much synapsids interest me - the Dimetrodon vertebra I found is still one of my favorite fossils I've ever come across. 

Glad you enjoyed! I don't usually get out that way so I knew it was worth a stop. I haven't been to Waurika (though I have tons of micro's from there); it's on my bucket list for sure!

 

On 8/30/2022 at 6:05 AM, rocket said:

:Jumping:great!!! 

Thanks for the pics and the info about the museum, fantastic material and PERMIAN!!! Not common in the most museums

Not common at all, it's a shame these animals don't get as much attention from museums, though that may simply be due to scarcity

"Argumentation cannot suffice for the discovery of new work, since the subtlety of Nature is greater many times than the subtlety of argument." - Carl Sagan

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." - Richard Feynman

 

Collections: Hell Creek Microsite | Hell Creek/Lance | Dinosaurs | Sharks | SquamatesPost Oak Creek | North Sulphur RiverLee Creek | Aguja | Permian | Devonian | Triassic | Harding Sandstone

Instagram: @thephysicist_tff

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Wow that looks fantastic. Very interesting museum, with an enchanting collection. That Permian material is great to look at in the photos, a period that interests me immensely. Thanks for sharing!

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