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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Texas has become world famous for its many dinosaur |
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discoveries; and |
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WHEREAS, To honor the prehistoric reptiles that long ago |
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resided in the state, Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 57 of the |
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75th Texas Legislature named Brachiosaur Sauropod, Pleurocoelus, |
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as the official Lone Star State Dinosaur; this designation was |
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based on evidence that supported the presence of the dinosaur |
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Pleurocoelus in Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, Subsequently, the fossilized bones that were |
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thought to be Pleurocoelus have been properly identified as a new |
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species named Paluxysaurus jonesi; the identification was made by |
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Peter Rose during his graduate studies at Southern Methodist |
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University, and his findings have been widely accepted by other |
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scientists since being published in 2007; and |
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WHEREAS, The dinosaur is named for the town of Paluxy in Hood |
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County and for the Paluxy River, both of which are near the Jones |
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Ranch site where the fossils of this species were discovered; and |
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WHEREAS, Paluxysaurus jonesi inhabited the earth |
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approximately 95 to 112 million years ago, and these sauropods left |
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behind a rich record of their existence; in addition to the bone |
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fossils, evidence of the species exists in dinosaur footprints that |
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have been found throughout the state; the most famous of these |
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trackways runs along the Paluxy River and its tributaries, not far |
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from the Jones Ranch site; many of these footprints can be viewed at |
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Dinosaur Valley State Park, near the town of Glen Rose; and |
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WHEREAS, The bones and tracks reveal the massive scale of |
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Paluxysaurus; it is estimated that the dinosaur measured 70 feet |
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long and 12 feet high at the shoulder, and weighed as much as 20 |
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tons; and |
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WHEREAS, Paluxysaurus continues to be the subject of |
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important paleontological research; a major dinosaur project is |
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ongoing at the Jones Ranch site, with the work being led by the Fort |
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Worth Museum of Science and History in partnership with Southern |
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Methodist University; moreover, a public exhibit of the bones of |
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Paluxysaurus jonesi is planned for the museum; and |
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WHEREAS, Through the insightful work of Texas-based |
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scientists, the tracks and bones of the large quadrupedal sauropod |
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found in the Lone Star State are now clearly known to be those of the |
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species Paluxysaurus jonesi rather than Pleurocoelus; and |
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WHEREAS, Given the importance of the paleontological |
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discoveries that have taken place in Texas, it is indeed |
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appropriate that the designation of our state dinosaur keep pace |
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with the latest scientific research; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby designate Paluxysaurus jonesi as the official Lone Star |
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State Dinosaur, replacing Brachiosaur Sauropod, Pleurocoelus. |