20-MISSISSIPPI

Dinosaur Deb’z Travels

20-MISSISSIPPI

Since the Gulf of Mexico once extended all the way up to the heartland of the United States, this meant that Mississippi was underwater during prehistoric times with large, terrifying marine life swimming around. Mississippi’s fossil record includes ancient marine invertebrates like brachiopods, corals, whale fossils, petrified wood, crinoids, trilobites, a Plesiosaur and two kinds of sharks. The state is also known for its two official state fossils, the Basilosaurus cetoides and the Zygorhiza kochii.

Geologists recently discovered the fossil vertebra of a Late Cretaceous mosasaur near Starkville, Mississippi. Scientists believe this predator of the ancient seas could have weighed 20,000 pounds and may have grown to be 50 feet long. The Mosasaurus hoffmannii was even known to eat their own species.

MISSIPPI MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE- JACKSON

Mississippi State University, 2148 Riverside Dr, Jackson, MS 39202 (601) 576-6000

This museum has an outdoor Dinosaur Trail with 8 life-size 3-D models including a T-Rex, Triceratops Chasmosaurus, Nodosaurus, Appalachiosaurus, and an Eotrachodon with nests and newly hatched babies. .There is a fossil dig site, as well as special dinosaur exhibits.

The fossil dig site has fossils like shark teeth and ancient shells that are 5 to 23 million years old. The museum also hosts traveling exhibits like “Dinosaurs Around the World”

DUNN-SEILER MUSEUM- STARKVILLE

Mississippi State University, MS-12, Mississippi State, MS 39762 (601) 325-3915

This museum, also a part of the Mississippi State University System, has a collection of Mississippi fossils, rocks, and other prehistoric specimens that help visitors visualize and understand the 4.6-billion-year history of our planet.

WM. BROWNING CRETACEOUS FOSSIL PARK

Highway 45, Baldwyn, MS 38824.

Wm. Browning Cretaceous Fossil Park is one of the most accessible and generous fossil collecting sites in the US. They are in the process of improving the interpretation and amenities at the park. Collectors come from coast-to-coast. They look forward to extending their hospitality to new and returning visitors.

Photos from the Browning Cretaceous Fossil Park