The Dallas Paleontological Society was founded in 1984 for the purpose of promoting interest in and knowledge of the science of paleontology. It was intended by the founding members that the Society would be a network for the exchange of data between professionals and serious amateurs in this field.
Who’s Who in the Marine Reptile Zoo
The Dallas Paleontological Society will meet next on Wednesday, November 12th, at 7PM Central time, in the Boonesville Auditorium (Room H125) of the Ellison Miles Building (Bldg H) at Brookhaven Campus of Dallas College, 3939 Valley View Lane, Farmers Branch. Mike Polcyn of SMU will speak on “Marine Reptiles of the Western Gulf Coast of North America”. Mike will tell us about the wide variety of Late Cretaceous marine reptiles in our region. Not just mosasaurs, but also ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and marine turtles.
Mike was a member of the Dallas Paleontological Society while working as Chief Technology Officer at a telecommunications company. He began affiliating with the Huffington Department of Earth Sciences at SMU, where he is now a Senior Research Fellow. He founded their Digital Earth Sciences Lab, for the 3D capture of anatomy using CT and laser scanning, for visualization, computer modeling, analysis, and 3D printing. He specializes in the systematics, evolution, and paleobiology of mosasaurs. Many DPS members and associates have contributed their mosasaur finds to this effort. Mike retired from his telecommunications career in 2008, and is now an honorary member of DPS with over 65 peer-reviewed publications. He has performed field work in Nebraska, Kansas, Arizona, Texas, Arkansas, Israel, Mongolia, and Angola.
DPS meetings are free and open to the public, so invite anyone interested in science and fossils. Members can bring snacks and food to share, and the society provides bottled water. Everyone can bring fossils to show off or for identification help (particularly vertebrate fossils from the North Sulphur River, which are a big part of Mike’s story). Mike will be showing some new unpublished research, so we will NOT be streaming the meeting on Zoom this month. Take this opportunity to brave the traffic and join us in person!
The officers for 2025 are:
President: Joe O'Neil mailto:president@dallaspaleo.orgVice President: Dana Baggott mailto:vp@dallaspaleo.org
Fossil Record Editor: David Hill mailto:editor@dallaspaleo.org
Secretary: mailto:secretary@dallaspaleo.org
Treasurer Pam (Paul) Lowers mailto:treasurer@dallaspaleo.org
The DPS offers extra benefits for Members. Types of Memberships and costs of each can be found under MEMBERSHIP choice in the menu bar, then New Member Online Application. Below is a list of what Members receive and the reasons you should plan to join (or re-join) us in our paleo adventures!
MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
Newsletter: The Fossil Record, the Society’s monthly newsletter, is sent to all Members.
Volunteerism: Volunteer opportunities to work the DPS booths provides community outreach, interaction with the public, and occasionally free entry to an event. We need volunteers for all committees (to see our list of committees, click here) and activities.
Special Events: Members receive Eblasts on surprise events and reminders of upcoming events.
DPS Website: Current members have access to the Members only section of the DPS website, which includes the Membership Directory, past newsletters, and more.
Field Trips: Some field trips have limited access (quarries, Oklahoma trilobites, etc.), and some field trips are designated Members-Only.
Excavations: Participation in Fossil Bureau of Investigation (FBI) excavations.
Discounts: Fossil prep kits, display items, books, and other unique items are occasionally offered at a discount to Members.
Occasional Papers: Each Occasional Papers is a collection of in-depth articles on paleontology written by members. One copy per membership is free to members for a limited time immediately following publication. Past Occasional Papers are available for purchase.
Family: Family Membership provides a discount to a second adult and allows for PIT Crew membership in which children can participate in special PIT Crew-only workshops, classroom activities, and field trips.
Dues pay for: food and drinks at the monthly meetings, refreshments on field trips, scholarships, and professional speakers for special meetings.
Lake Ralph Hall/North Sulphur River, Fanin County
We are very happy to announce that the very first Occasional Papers Volume 1, written by 9 members of the founding group of the DPS is now available to download! It is under the HOME choice on the menu bar, then Members-Only Content and then Documents and Resources.
To see the info for Earth Science week, click here.
The Paleontograph back issues are now available at the following link
https://www.aaps-journal.org/the-paleontograph.htmlThe Dallas Library’s Podcast on Natural Dallas (P.O.N.D.) Annual Community Nature Expo includes a video featuring the DPS. Please watch all the videos for some interesting things to do and learn about in the outside world. Visit http://dallaslibrary2.org/pond/ for the videos.
The DPS has been visiting several parts of town.
DPS got a mention in a North Texas Daily article about our participation in the "Denton Dig It" event. It's in the newspaper for UNT in Denton.
Frisco Library's Science Night
Details here - Community Science Night | Events | Frisco Public Libra
Whiteside Museum's PermianFest
Times and tickets - 2025 MUSEUM EXPANSION | WMNH
Bonham State Park
Recent Publications
Now Available!
Also Available Now
Copies can be purchased at monthly meetings for instant gratification. Or the book can be purchased and shipped to your home by Clicking Here
Come and join us for a great time at our next meeting, and click below to become a member. Individual and Family memberships are available, and kids can participate in the PIT Crew (Paleontologists In Training).
Mail Check to:
DPS
PO BOX 223846
Dallas, Texas 75222-3846
The Paleontologists In Training is a program of the DPS that is open to kids from age 7 to 15. If you are interested in fossils, want to have fun on field trips, and like learning about our beautiful world, come join us at one of our meetings, or field trips. You will find it educational, and fun at the same time!
For more information, Click this link pitcrew@dallaspaleo.org or click the link under the home page called "For Kids - The Pit Crew" , to see policies, upcoming events, announcements, and how to sign up to take advantage of this program.
The Dallas Paleontological Society normally meets the second Wednesday of every month at 7:00 PM.
We are holding our monthly meetings Face to Face and on ZOOM. Come meet with us about 6:30 PM before the start of the meeting. You will be welcome, and we will enjoy meeting you. This is a way to show your latest finds, get identification for them, and meet and greet other paleo people. Our speakers are a great way to learn about paleontology.