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Digging The Texas Red Beds


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I'm back in the big city of Houston, Texas! Yikes! The traffic here can be suffocating! I am missing the small town of Seymour, Texas already! Just came back from a dig trip up there. I was working with the Whiteside Museum of Natural History, under the director Chris Flis. I am learning so much! Pretty incredible creatures that lived some 287 million years ago! I have made several trips to the red beds over the past six years volunteering with the Houston Museum of Natural Science, but none can compare to the trips I have made since the June 7th, 2014 opening of the Whiteside Museum. I have been going once a month for a week at a time, and it never seems long enough! I am officially a digging addict! In July we found an incredible site that is the size of a football field. We are finding Edaphosaurus, coprolites, and Xenacanthus shark spines galore. This last trip I stumbled across some bone weathering out of the side of a hill and found a new Eyrops site! Tons of teeth and a beautiful rib bone, and as of yesterday part of a skull! The bone is spectacular and I can't wait to see how it preps out. Hopefully the rest of this guy is there. I'll have to wait until next time to see...

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Very cool!!! Congrats on the finds, and it sounds like you have "fossil fever" lol. It's addictive, I know lol. Thanks for posting about your trip!

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Do you have any explanation or info on the "red beds"? I am always curious to find similar fossils (mostly ammonites) in both, rock and red softer matrix. Yes, millions of years could make a big difference, but they all seem to be so mixed. Crabs are so awesome to dig out the red matrix, easier!! I am in N Dallas, Eagle Ford.

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The Whiteside Museum is on my short list of 'must see' places; maybe I'll be able to volunteer some after I retire :)

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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Rarrrrwwww!

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When we were there we kept seeing this odd older man with a long beard walking about mumbling to himself about reptilian endothermy or something like that.

Edited by LanceH
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Enjoyed seeing you and Roz, Lance. Sorry I was so busy with opening day and manning the prep lab, to be able to chat more.

Troy Bell

Tankman

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  • 4 years later...

I'm moving to the Houston area in the next few months and was wondering if there are any pay to dig trips in the Texas Red Beds.  I'm a pretty serious collector and would love to look for some Permian material.

 

Let me know!
Thanks
Ryan

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On 9/17/2014 at 7:25 PM, LACook said:

I'm back in the big city of Houston, Texas! Yikes! The traffic here can be suffocating! I am missing the small town of Seymour, Texas already! Just came back from a dig trip up there. I was working with the Whiteside Museum of Natural History, under the director Chris Flis. I am learning so much! Pretty incredible creatures that lived some 287 million years ago! I have made several trips to the red beds over the past six years volunteering with the Houston Museum of Natural Science, but none can compare to the trips I have made since the June 7th, 2014 opening of the Whiteside Museum. I have been going once a month for a week at a time, and it never seems long enough! I am officially a digging addict! In July we found an incredible site that is the size of a football field. We are finding Edaphosaurus, coprolites, and Xenacanthus shark spines galore. This last trip I stumbled across some bone weathering out of the side of a hill and found a new Eyrops site! Tons of teeth and a beautiful rib bone, and as of yesterday part of a skull! The bone is spectacular and I can't wait to see how it preps out. Hopefully the rest of this guy is there. I'll have to wait until next time to see...

post-5721-0-47390900-1410999555_thumb.jpgpost-5721-0-04783500-1410999572_thumb.jpgpost-5721-0-57892600-1410999586_thumb.jpg

 

Welcome to Houston, where in the city are you? im near the woodlands..... do you know about Houston Gem and Mineral Society? the Paleo section has meets the third Tuesday of every month.

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