This Early Cretaceous sauropod lived about 110 million to 115 million years ago. Paluxysaurus jonesi was estimated to stand about 12 feet high at the shoulder and weigh 20 tons. That’s about the weight of seven elephants! From nose to tail, the dinosaur measured about 60 feet long.

The skeleton on view is actually a combination of four different Paluxysaurus skeletons found in a similar area. Though 60 to 70 percent of a full skeleton was found, most of the bones are too fragile or deformed to be mounted, so casts were made using 3D modeling techniques!

Paluxysaurus jonesi’s name comes from the location of the dig site, a sandstone quarry on the Jones ranch in Hood County, Texas. This site was close to the town of Paluxy on the Paluxy River.

It took 16 years for students, faculty, staff, and volunteers from Southern Methodist University, the Museum, and other organizations to uncover, clean, and mount the pieces on view. The sandstone matrix surrounding Paluxysaurus was difficult to remove specimens from, so some parts of the skeletons are still embedded in blocks of quarry rock and stored in the Museum’s collection.

After paleontologists confirmed these bones belonged to a new species of dinosaur, the Texas State Legislature passed a bill making Paluxysaurus jonesi the official State Dinosaur of Texas in 2009! During the Museum’s 75th anniversary, Paluxysaurus jonesi was moved from the Dino Labs exhibit to a prominent position in Museum’s atrium.