FY25_ImpactReport_Digi_081826 - Flipbook - Page 16
In the
FIELD
CELINA PLESIOSAUR
DISCOVERY
In November 2024, Perot Museum scientists received
an exciting phone call: Fossilized bones had been
discovered at a construction site in Celina, Texas.
When Dr. Ron Tykoski, the Museum’s vice president
of science and curator of vertebrate paleontology,
arrived to investigate, he immediately recognized the
significance — the few bones exposed on the surface
were from a plesiosaur, an ancient marine reptile that
swam through the warm, shallow seas covering North
Texas between 93 and 95 million years ago during
the Cretaceous period.
A field team, including the Museum’s paleontology staff
members and numerous volunteers, faced challenging
winter conditions, including snowstorms, rain, and
near-freezing temperatures, to excavate the specimen.
Despite these difficulties, the team worked methodically
to extract the well-preserved 15-foot skeleton, found
curled upon itself but still mostly in natural articulation
— a remarkably complete specimen that offers invaluable
insights into these extinct marine predators.
The team initially used dental picks, awls, and paint
brushes to delicately expose the extent of the fossils
before employing rock hammers, picks, and shovels
for the heavier work of digging around and under the
block of bones. The largest portion — a massive block
measuring 7 feet, 6 inches by 5 feet, 6 inches — was
wrapped in plaster and burlap, reinforced with lumber,
and transported to the Museum for preparation.
16 | PEROT MUSEUM OF NATURE AND SCIENCE
The specimen now occupies the center of the Museum’s
Paleo Lab, where our team of professional fossil
preparators and dedicated lab volunteers are carefully
preparing the fossil by removing the encasing rock
and mud from the bones. Their work led to an amazing
revelation — the entire skull was hidden in the center
of the block, out of sight in the field, but revealed once
staff and volunteers carefully removed hundreds of
pounds of rock from it. The skull is usually the most
informative part of a fossil vertebrate skeleton, and
along with a flipper, hip and shoulder bones, ribs, and
almost the entire spine, this specimen is among the
most complete and intact of its kind from North Texas.
The Museum has opened its doors to researchers who
specialize in these ancient marine predators, making this
remarkable paleontological resource available for study
and further discovery.
Once preparation and analysis are complete, it is
possible the Celina plesiosaur could one day join
the Museum’s public exhibits, connecting visitors with
the ancient seas that once covered their communities.
