Dinosaur tracks revealed as river dries up at drought-stricken Texas park
Dinosaur tracks that date back approximately 113 million years were found in Dinosaur Valley State Park, Texas recently where a river bottom was exposed after a severe drought.
Dinosaur Valley State Park, located on the Paluxy River outside Fort Worth, offers dinosaur track observations and 20 miles of camping trails. The park was impacted by a statewide drought last week.
"This is not normal for us, but due to two consecutive years of high temps and drought conditions, it has given us the opportunity to uncover new tracks," said Paul Baker, retail manager at Friends of Dinosaur Valley State Park. "Once we receive a decent rain most of the tracks will be covered up again."
The riverbed tracks, which are typically submerged by water and sediment, are now easily visible to visitors.
Two different dinosaur species' tracks were found in the park. One set is from an Acrocanthosaurus, weighing 7 tons and measuring 15 feet tall. The other might be from a Sauroposeidon, weighing 44 tons and measuring 60 feet tall. Stephanie Salinas Garcia from the park's press office confirmed this to CBS News.
With the help of dedicated volunteers, hidden dinosaur footprints were unearthed at the state park by brushing away dirt and dust. Renowned researcher Glen Kuban, who has been studying tracks at the park for over four decades, along with members of the esteemed Dallas Paleontological Society, will now map and cast the tracks with utmost precision for future interpretive purposes.
More: Scientists identify new dinosaur species in 'exciting' discovery off the coast of England
Official state fossils and dinosaurs
Alabama
The Basilosaurus cetoides is Alabama's state fossil, a whale from the Eocene age.
Alaska
The Mammuthus primigenius is Alaska's state fossil, a woolly mammoth from the Pleistocene age.
Arkansas
The Arkansaurus fridayi is Arkansas' state dinosaur.
Arizona
The Araucarioxylon arizonicum is Arizona's state fossil. It's from the Triassic age and is commonly known as petrified wood. Arizona's state dinosaur is the Sonorasaurus thompsoni.
California
The Smilodon californicus is California's state fossil, a sabertooth cat from the Pleistocene age. The Augustynolophus morrisi is California's state dinosaur.
Colorado
The Stegosaurus stenops is Colorado's state fossil, a plated dinosaur from the Jurassic age.
Connecticut
The Eubrontes giganteus is Connecticut's state fossil, dinosaur tracks from the Jurassic age.
Delaware
The Belemnitella americana is Delaware's state fossil. It is a belemnite, or an extinct squid-like cephalopod, from the Cretaceous age. The Dryptosauridae is recognized as the official dinosaur of Delaware, designated in 2022.
District of Columbia
The "Capitalsaurus" is the official dinosaur of Washington D.C., and its fossils were discovered in 1898. It was given its name by paleontologist Peter Kranz in the 1990s and made the official dinosaur of D.C. in 1998.
Florida
Florida does not have a dinosaur but its official state stone is fossilized. The "agatized coral" is Florida's state stone. It is agatized coral from between the Oligocene through Miocene age.
Georgia
A shark tooth is Georgia's state fossil, found somewhere between the Cretaceous through Miocene age.
Idaho
The Equus simplicidens is Idaho's state fossil, a Hagerman horse from the Pliocene age.
Illinois
The Tullimonstrum gregarium is Illinois' state fossil, a "Tully monster," or a soft-bodied bilaterian animal from the Pennsylvanian age.
Kansas
Kansas has two state fossils. The Pteranodon longiceps is the state's flying fossil. It is from the Cretaceous age. The Tylosaurus kansasensis is the state's marine fossil. It is also from the Cretaceous age.
Kentucky
A brachiopod is Kentucky's state fossil, a shellfish from between the Ordovician to Mississippian age.
Louisiana
The Palmoxylon is Louisiana's state fossil. It is petrified palm wood from the Oligocene age.
Maine
The Pertica quadrifaria is Maine's state fossil, a plant from the Devonian age.
Maryland
The shell of Ecphora gardnerae is Maryland's state fossil. It is from the Miocene age. The Astrodon johnstoni is the official dinosaur of Maryland, designated in 1998.
Massachusetts
The Eubrontes giganteus is Massachusetts' state fossil, dinosaur tracks from the Jurassic age. The Podokesaurus holyokensis is the official dinosaur of Massachusetts, designated in 2021.
Michigan
The Mammut americanum is Michigan's state fossil, an American mastodon from the Holocene age.
Mississippi
"Prehistoric whales" are the designated state fossils of Mississippi. This includes two different whales: the Zygorhiza kochii and Basilosaurus. They are from the Eocene era.
Missouri
The Eperisocrinus missouriensis is Missouri's state fossil. It is crinoid, commonly known as a sea lily, from the Pennsylvanian age. The Parrosaurus missouriensis is the official dinosaur of Missouri.
Montana
The Maiasaura peeblesorum is Montana's state fossil, a duck-billed dinosaur from the Cretaceous age.
Nebraska
The mammoth from the Pleistocene age is Nebraska's state fossil. Mammoth fossils have been found in most Nebraska counties.
Nevada
The Shonisaurus popularis is Nevada's state fossil, an ichthyosaur from the Triassic age. These creatures were approximately the length of a school bus.
New Jersey
The Hadrosaurus foulkii is New Jersey's state fossil. It is a duck-billed dinosaur from the Cretaceous age.
New Mexico
The Coelophysis bauri is New Mexico's state fossil, a dinosaur from the Triassic age.
New York
The Eurypterus remipes is New York's state fossil, a sea scorpion from the Silurian age.
North Carolina
A tooth from the Otodus megalodon is the state fossil of North Carolina. It is from the Miocene through Pliocene age.
North Dakota
The Teredo petrified wood is North Dakota's state fossil. The Teredo is a worm-shaped mollusk and it would burrow into trees in North Dakota 60-80 million years ago. The fossil is from the Paleocene age.
Ohio
Ohio has two state fossils: the Isotelus maximus and Dunkleosteus terrelli.
The Isotelus maximus is the state's invertebrate fossil. It is a trilobite, an extinct type of marine arthopod, from the Ordovician age.
The Dunkleosteus terrelli is the state's fish fossil. It is an extinct arthrodire fish from the Devonian age.
Oklahoma
The Saurophaganax maximus is Oklahoma's state fossil, a theropod dinosaur from the Jurassic age.
The Acrocanthosaurus atokensis is the official dinosaur of Oklahoma.
Oregon
The Metasequoia is Oregon's state fossil. It is a conifer leaf from the Miocene age.
Pennsylvania
The Phacops rana is Pennsylvania's state fossil. It is a trilobite, an extinct type of marine arthopod, from the Devonian age.
South Carolina
The Mammuthus columbi is South Carolina's state fossil, a Columbian mammoth from the Pleistocene age.
South Dakota
The Triceratops horridus is South Dakota's state fossil, a horned dinosaur from the Cretaceous age.
Tennessee
The Pterotrigonia thoracica is Tennessee's state fossil, a mollusk from the Cretaceous age.
Texas
The Sauroposeidon from the early Cretaceous ageis Texas' state dinosaur. It replaced the Pleurocoelus, which was the state's former official dinosaur. This fossil was initially misidentified and turned out to be different.
Petrified palm wood is Texas' state stone.
Utah
The Allosaurus fragilis is Utah's state fossil, a dinosaur from the Jurassic period.
The state dinosaur of Utah is the Utahraptor ostrommaysorum, a carnivorous bipedal dinosaur from the early Cretaceous age.
Vermont
Vermont has two state fossils: the Charlotte whale and the Mammuthus primigenius.
The Charlotte whale was Vermont's official state fossil from 1993 to 2014, until it was designated as the state's marine fossil. It is a skeleton of a beluga whale that was found in 1849 in Charlotte, Vermont.
The state's official terrestrial fossil is the Mammuthus primigenius, a woolly mammoth from the Pleistocene age.
Virginia
The Chesapecten jeffersonius is the state fossil of Virginia. It is a scallop from the Cenozoic age.
Washington
The Mammuthus columbi is Washington's state fossil, a Columbian mammoth from the Pleistocene age.
West Virginia
The Megalonyx jeffersonii is West Virginia's state fossil, a Jefferson's ground sloth from the late Pleistocene age.
Wisconsin
The Calymene celebra is Wisconsin's state fossil. It is a trilobite, an extinct type of marine arthopod from the Silurian age.
Wyoming
The Knightia is Wyoming's state fossil. It is an extinct bony fish from the Eocene age.
The Triceratops horridus is Wyoming's official dinosaur.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dinosaur tracks uncovered in Texas after severe drought dries up river
