Texas dino may have its name changed

Washington, Jan 14 (ANI): Based on a new research, a dinosaur, whose remains were found in the state of Texas in the US, is up for a change of name.

The research, carried out by Southern Methodist University (SMU), has proven that the dinosaur Pleurocoelus, which is the official state dinosaur of Texas, has been misidentified.

State Representative Charles Geren of Fort Worth filed a resolution on January 7th to change the name of the state dinosaur from Pleurocoelus to Paluxysaurus jonesi, in an effort to correctly name the massive sauropod, whose tracks and bones litter the central Texas Jones Ranch.

The scientist behind the name change is Peter Rose, whose master's level study of dinosaur bones at SMU eventually led him to dispute the long-accepted notion that the large, sauropod bones found in and around the Paluxy River near Glen Rose, Texas, were the same as Pleurocoelus bones first found in Maryland in the late 1800s.

Rose determined it was a different dinosaur altogether - a previously unrecognized genus and species he named Paluxysaurus jonesi, after W.W. Jones, the owner of the land on which the fossils were found.

Once Rose's discovery was published in 2007, Pleurocelus' grand Texas title no longer fit.

Geren filed his resolution on behalf of constituents at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, which is a partner with SMU in ongoing research at the Glen Rose site, about 60 miles southwest of Fort Worth. Dr. Aaron Pan, the museum's curator of science, believes it's crucial to get the record corrected.

"I think it's going to be good for Texas paleontology and dinosaur research in general," Pan said.

"Peter Rose's research has found that it is a new genus and a new species. This dinosaur is unique to Texas, and it is the most abundant dinosaur fossil found in the Glen Rose area," he added.

Paluxysaurus jonesi is believed to have lived 112 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. (ANI)