Austin Area Fossils?

[Ramo]

I have to go to a business meeting in Austin the 18-20 of this month. I may be able to get away for a couple of hours before dark one of the evenings, and was wondering if anybody on here knew of a place where I could go to to look for fossils, or artifacts in the Austin area?

Thanks in advance.

[Mike Murphy]

Bowkill:

There are many localities for collecting fossils in the Austin area, mostly from the lower Cretaceous. There are many localities where invertebrate fossils can be found in Austin- virtually any roadcut or construction area will have fossils. Since I have not collected in Austin itself in several years, I would contact one of the local clubs, such as the Paleontological Society of Austin at http://www.texaspaleo.com/psa/ or call Ed Elliott at (512) 453-5390 or the Austin Gem and Mineral Society at http://www.austingemandmineral.org/contacts.html. For fossil and artifact localities I would contact Michelle at http://www.austindiggers.com/. The following links describe the geology of the Austin area and many of the fossils that can be found in various strata: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/geo/ggtc/ch2.html and http://www.lib.utexas.edu/geo/ggtc/ch5.html. If you have children with you and need a fossil-related activity for them, you might consider the Austin Nature and Science Center. For information, go to http://www.yelp.com/biz/austin-nature-and-...center-austin-2. I hope that this information is of help to you. I have a fieldbook of sites that I generated for localities in Texas, including the Austin area. I am sorry to say that the book was put into storage after a house fire and I have not yet found it.

Regards,

Mike Murphy

[Ramo]

Thanks Mike!

That's just what I'm looking for!!

[DD1991]

On 2/4/2008 at 10:02 PM, Mike Murphy said:

Bowkill:

There are many localities for collecting fossils in the Austin area, mostly from the lower Cretaceous. There are many localities where invertebrate fossils can be found in Austin- virtually any roadcut or construction area will have fossils. Since I have not collected in Austin itself in several years, I would contact one of the local clubs, such as the Paleontological Society of Austin at http://www.texaspaleo.com/psa/ or call Ed Elliott at (512) 453-5390 or the Austin Gem and Mineral Society at http://www.austingemandmineral.org/contacts.html. For fossil and artifact localities I would contact Michelle at http://www.austindiggers.com/. The following links describe the geology of the Austin area and many of the fossils that can be found in various strata: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/geo/ggtc/ch2.html and http://www.lib.utexas.edu/geo/ggtc/ch5.html. If you have children with you and need a fossil-related activity for them, you might consider the Austin Nature and Science Center. For information, go to http://www.yelp.com/biz/austin-nature-and-...center-austin-2. I hope that this information is of help to you. I have a fieldbook of sites that I generated for localities in Texas, including the Austin area. I am sorry to say that the book was put into storage after a house fire and I have not yet found it.

Regards,

Mike Murphy

I know of the Austin Chalk that dates to the Late Cretaceous (Coniacian-Santonian). Although it has yielded fossils of marine organisms, e.g. coccolithophores, ammonites, and the giant fish Xiphactinus, it has also yielded the extinct ornithuromorph bird Austinornis lentus. More info on Austin Chalk fossils is available at these links:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Chalk

http://northtexasfossils.com/austin.htm

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/40285-austin-chalk-find/

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/39479-texas-austin-chalk-ammonite-id/