Texas sized! Big Bend National Park in Texas has a very cool visitor center. Not only is there a museum on the park grounds, but there is this trio of amazing casts! In the Late Cretaceous of Texas existed some of the largest animals to ever walk, and fly, the Earth. Deinosuchus is arguably the longest heaviest crocodile that we know of. Maddeningly frustrating to study thanks to having been named in the Copper Age of paleontology when paucitypes were a thing (alas, they still are…), this alligatoroid has been given ranges from 20 to 50 feet long. I am going to stay out of the name and size issues and instead dive into the skull. New cranial elements have been found, some quite complete. The day before we saw the specimens we were hanging out with the material, twas amazing! This is of the “newer school” version, a “Newest School” one is now available, you can see it at the Tellus Museum. It isn’t the size of the “Old School” black caiman influenced model done in the 1950s(ish) by the AMNH team, but tis plenty large. The transformation reminds me of what happened to the skull of Torvosaurus, the Allosaurus-on-‘roids was replaced with a more sinister, sleeker visage, and that has happened here, too. Quetzalcoatlus is arguably the longest-wingspanned creature to ever fly. It soared across giant Texas skies, though in recent years it has been popularly and academically portrayed as a “giraffe stork,” but it still flew. The wing is built upon one extremely elongate ring finger! Bats use all the hand bones, birds use feathers, pterosaurs use a lone finger for the wing. Wild! Tyrannosaurus made its way into Texas, in fact, the only valid species of Tyrannosaurus besides, T. rex, is Tyrannosaurus mccraeensis from Texas. It is comforting to me knowing that Tyrannosaurus proper roamed from Canada to likely Mexico, k feasting upon all manner of beasts throughout its territory. In Texas it would have encountered the giant titanosaur sauropod Alamosaurus, which would have put the Texas-sized theropod in check. The Park is remote w/ spotty cell signal. Please bring water! Deserts are easily underestimated, esp. w/ modern car A/C. Be safe and enjoy!!! #FossilCrates - @fossilcrates