Search Extinct Animals
Search Extinct Animals
Like all dinosaurs, those in Texas lived in the Mesozoic era from 248-65 million years ago, which is divided into the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. Dinosaur tracks and fossil bones found in Texas point to their existence in the early Triassic and Cretaceous periods but not in the Jurassic period.
225-200 Million Years Ago
These dinosaurs lived in the Panhandle region. In those days, much of that area was part of a tropical inland basin surrounded by mountains.
119-95 million years ago
The footprints of the dinosaurs from the early Cretaceous times were found in a broad belt of rocks that runs through central Texas. Their habitat ranged from marshy tidal flats to brackish estuaries and streams near the sea’s edge that moved back and forth over millions of years.
75-65 million years ago
The rocks with the fossils of the late Cretaceous dinosaurs lie adjacent to the belt of the early Cretaceous rocks in the Big Bend region. Dinosaur bones were also found in several places in West Texas. They lived west of a vast inland sea that passed through North America from the Gulf of Mexico to Alaska. Their habitat comprised of flowering bushes and trees, similar to modern times.
The dinosaur fossils and tracks can be seen in Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose and Government Canyon State Natural Area, west of San Antonio. These places have the dinosaur footprints preserved in natural surroundings exactly as they were found, and allow you to get close to them.