TWO RARE PALEOHISTORIC ARTIFACTS ADDED TO MUSEUM COLLECTION

Sherman Museum

(SHERMAN, Texas) May 6, 2014 —The Sherman Museum announced today the addition of a pair of rare dinosaur footprint casts to the museum collection. The footprint casts, both from individual animals believed to be Acrocanthosaurus atokensis were donated to the museum by Gainesville, Texas historian and collector, Dr. Ernest Martin. The original footprints from which the museum casts were made are estimated to be 113 million years old, dating back to the early Cretaceous period, and were discovered in Hamilton County, Texas near the Lampasas River. Each cast
represents the left foot of unique Acrocanthosaurus individuals: a juvenile and an adult. Based on the proximity of the footprints and their orientation, it appears the pair of Acros (as the species iscommonly known) was traveling together and may have shared a familial relationship.

Acrocanthosaurus atokensis was nearly as large as Tyrannosaurus rex but lived more than 50 million years earlier. It was closely related to Carcharodontosaurus saharicus from Africa, as well as to the Jurassic predator from North America, Allosaurus. One of the most prominent identifying features of the Acrocanthosaurus species is the presence of extremely long spines along the top of the vertebrae of the back, hips and tail. These spines also gave this dinosaur its name as Acrocanthosaurus, literally translated, means "high spined lizard".

Museum director, Dan Steelman, noted that Acrocathosaurus atokensis has local roots. ”It’s skeletal remains were first discovered in Atoka County, Oklahoma, hence the secondary name atokensis“. He added that Oklahoma has claimed Acrocanthosaurus as the official state dinosaur. Trackways attributed to Acrocanthosaurus have been found in multiple Texas locations, too, ranging from
Lamar County on the Red River, to Kinney County bordering the Rio Grande River. One well known trackway discovered near Glen Rose, Texas shows what appears to be an attack upon a much larger sauropod dinosaur by an Acrocanthosaurus.

“We are so grateful to Dr. Martin for making these fossil tracings available to our visitors,” Steelman said. The footprints will be on display during the museum’s DINO DAYS exhibition scheduled to begin June 24, 2014.

About The Sherman Museum
The Sherman Museum is a non‐profit 501(c) (3) educational organization devoted to collecting, preserving and interpreting objects of historical significance to Grayson County and the Greater North Texas Region. The museum was previously known as The Red River Historical Museum prior to a name change in March 201

For more information about museums in the Lake Texoma area, visit TexomaConnect.com, The Sherman Museum holds the  Dino Days Academy each summer, where youngsters can learn more about the fascinating dinosaurs that roamed the hills of North Texas. 

The Sherman Museum is located at 301 South Walnut, Sherman, TX 75090.  You can contact the museum by phone: (903) 893-7623 or email: theshermanmuseum@verizon.net.  For information about current exhibits and upcoming events visit their website : http://www.theshermanmuseum.org