European Knight
08-17-2015, 05:34 AM
Spring floods in the Dallas - Fort Worth area churned things up enough to reveal dinosaur tracks hidden for millions of years.
The breathtaking discovery was made in mid-July by James Murphy, acting Grapevine Lake manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Having seen other fossilized dinosaur tracks found previously near the lake, Murphy recognized the find's importance and immediately notified
Christopher Noto, a research affiliate at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas.
"These tracks have likely never been seen by human eyes before," Noto, who is also an assistant professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin, Parkside, said by email. "They are extremely rare and scientifically important."
Since he was in the Grapevine area, Noto went to the site to see the tracks and determined they needed to be documented.
"There was great concern about their damage or theft, so we worked together to get out there as quickly as possible to make accurate molds of the tracks and document them in their natural positions," he said.
Noto recruited two Southern Methodist University graduate students, Matt Clemens and Kate Ruoff, to help him, along with amateur fossil hunter John Beeck.
They made molds of the tracks by applying liquid silicone rubber, which forms a highly accurate cast, Noto said. The molds the team created were taken to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, where scientists can use them for further study.
Grapevine Lake's receding high water reveals fossilized dinosaur tracks - Houston Chronicle (http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/Lake-Grapevine-s-receding-high-water-reveals-6443021.php#photo-8465355)
Fossilized Dinosaur Tracks Discovered at Lake Grapevine | NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth (http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Fossilized-Dinosaur-Tracks-Discovered-at-Lake-Grapevine-321509491.html) (video)
http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/40/22/57/8465374/5/1024x1024.jpg
http://ww2.hdnux.com/photos/40/22/57/8465353/3/1024x1024.jpg
The breathtaking discovery was made in mid-July by James Murphy, acting Grapevine Lake manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Having seen other fossilized dinosaur tracks found previously near the lake, Murphy recognized the find's importance and immediately notified
Christopher Noto, a research affiliate at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas.
"These tracks have likely never been seen by human eyes before," Noto, who is also an assistant professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin, Parkside, said by email. "They are extremely rare and scientifically important."
Since he was in the Grapevine area, Noto went to the site to see the tracks and determined they needed to be documented.
"There was great concern about their damage or theft, so we worked together to get out there as quickly as possible to make accurate molds of the tracks and document them in their natural positions," he said.
Noto recruited two Southern Methodist University graduate students, Matt Clemens and Kate Ruoff, to help him, along with amateur fossil hunter John Beeck.
They made molds of the tracks by applying liquid silicone rubber, which forms a highly accurate cast, Noto said. The molds the team created were taken to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, where scientists can use them for further study.
Grapevine Lake's receding high water reveals fossilized dinosaur tracks - Houston Chronicle (http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/Lake-Grapevine-s-receding-high-water-reveals-6443021.php#photo-8465355)
Fossilized Dinosaur Tracks Discovered at Lake Grapevine | NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth (http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Fossilized-Dinosaur-Tracks-Discovered-at-Lake-Grapevine-321509491.html) (video)
http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/40/22/57/8465374/5/1024x1024.jpg
http://ww2.hdnux.com/photos/40/22/57/8465353/3/1024x1024.jpg