Glen Rose Formation

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The Glen Rose Formation, located in the Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, Texas, is a fossil bed dating from the Aptian-Albian boundary of the early-Cretaceous. The Glen Rose Trackway is located at the base of the formation, which covers 1500 acres. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1969.

1 Fossils
2 Glen Rose Trackway
- 2.1 Man Tracks
3 References

[edit] Fossils

Frequent discoveries in the formation include fossilized ammonites,worm tubes, internal molds of snails, bivalves, scallops, urchins and clams. The fossil remains of Acrocanthosaurus have been discovered there as well.

[edit] Glen Rose Trackway

The trackway is composed of two different types of fossilized footprints. The first belong to sauropods of 30 to 50 feet in length, probably Pleurocoelus. Discovered in 1930 by Barnum Brown and Roland T. Bird, they are the first sauropod footprints ever found. Some are as large as three feet across.

The second set of footprints are 15 to 25 inches long and are those of three-toed carnosaurs approximately 20 to 30 feet in length. The sharp-clawed theropods are most likely Acrocanthosaurs.

The prints are thought to have been preserved originally in a tidal flat or a lagoon, pressed into limestone-rich mud by sauropods on a migration and theropods on a hunting mission.

Parts of the tracks are obscured at times of the year by the Paluxy River portion of the Brazos River.

[edit] Man Tracks

Though much is outside the area of Dinosaur Valley State Park, parts of the trackway were once thought to be evidence that dinosaurs and human beings had walked together. Twin sets of large tracks can be found in the limestone deposits along the Puluxy River; one was thought to belong to a giant human. Later analysis revealed that the supposed "man tracks " may actually be those of dinosaurs, eroded. These do not explain the "Burdick Track", though, which gives details that represent strong evidence of a possible co-existence of dinosaurs and mankind.