Millions of years ago, what would become the North America of today was covered by a temperate, shallow ocean teeming with marine life. Among them was Xiphactinus, a giant fish that could reach up to 17 feet in length and weighed more than a ton.
Some 100 million years ago, a Xiphactinus died, and its remains were washed up on a shoreline east of present-day Aubrey, Texas. Over time, it became buried, leaving behind a fossil in what would become a creek bed.
A Surprising Discovery From a Bygone Era
Paul and Maggie Jones knew none of this while they were walking through that same creek bed in November 2010. The father and daughter found the fossil while exploring some family property in the Mustang area.
“I still can’t believe it,” Jones said of the discovery. “I don’t understand it, but I’ll go with it.”
Saturday afternoon, the Joneses joined the University of North Texas (UNT) in unveiling the Xiphactinus fossil, where it will be on display at UNT’s Environmental Education, Science and Technology Building for the next year.
The Joneses found the fossil while exploring and roasting marshmallows on property owned by Maggie’s grandmother. While they were exploring a dry creek bed, Jones saw some misplaced, strange-looking rocks and decided to investigate.
“I noticed these rocks out of place,” Jones said. “I picked it up and looked at it and there was a black bone running through it.”
Maggie, 12, said: “We saw these rocks sticking out of the bank, so we dug that up and flipped it over and [the fossil] was smiling at my dad.”
A Clear Picture of the Past
They discovered the head and pectoral fin of a Xiphactinus. The fossil shows off Xiphactinus’s characteristic sharp teeth and the large, bulldog-like jaws that made it such a threat to contemporary species.
Jones called the find “surreal,” but he is no stranger to archaeology.
“I’m an amateur archaeologist; that’s why I noticed the rocks out of place,” he said. “I’ve got hundreds of arrowheads and tools.”
Jones extracted the sizable fossil and took it to Dr. George Maxey, a professor in the geography department at UNT.
“It’s quite an astounding creature,” Dr. Maxey said Saturday. “It is approximately 100 million years old and it once swam in the ocean that was just slightly to the east of where we are standing right now.”
Maxey guessed that this Xiphactinus “died along the coastal environment, washed up on the shoreline and was buried and preserved.
“Many, many years later a river system cut down through the land and re-exposed it, just in time for Paul and Maggie to find it,” Maxey said.
The Pilot Point and Aubrey areas are located on the edge of the ancient Cretaceous coastline, Maxey said.
The fossil found by the Joneses is an impressive one. When it was alive, the Xiphactinus was an intimidating creature. It was probably 15 feet long, Maxey said in an email, and depending on the health of the specimen, it could have weighed anywhere from 1,000 to 1,600 lbs.
A One-Of-A-Kind Find
UNT plans to monitor the site for more fossils, but future excavations might prove difficult, Maxey said. The creek bed that housed the fossil is usually under water, which would hinder any subsequent digs.
“The fossil has had an incredible history, and Paul and Maggie were kind enough to allow us to put this on display here at the University of North Texas,” said Maxey.
The Joneses were both awarded certificates of appreciation from the university.
The Xiphactinus fossil will be on display at UNT for the next year, after which it will be returned to the Joneses.
This article originally appeared in the Pilot Point Post-Signal.
Heather Michelle Tipton 