"Technosaurus" makes Tech Namesake

Within the grounds of Texas Tech, there's a discovery that sheds a little light on what life was like in West Texas millions of years ago.

“I would probably guess that most Lubbock citizens have no idea that it's there, that it exists,” said Collections Manager Bill Mueller, who works at Texas Tech Museum.

Named in honor of Tech, fossils of what paleontologists have named ‘Technosaurus' was found in Post, and it’s now making a major difference at the Texas Tech Museum.

“Well, I mean it was something very exciting for the museum, to come up with such a unique specimen as Technosaurus, said Mueller. “There hadn't been any animal similar to that in North America at the time.”

            Right now the museum only has a jawbone.  They’ve found enough of the Technosaurus to piece together what they think it would look like, but paleontologists aren’t giving up on the full picture just yet.

“We're always looking for parts of anything,” said Mueller.  “We just look for any reptiles, we just hope that one of them might be Technosaurus in the future.”

And along with Technosaurus, the ‘Postosucchus’ is also another major find.  It was named after the city of Post.  The two were found at the same site.

But don’t get these two confused with dinosaurs.

Mueller says the two are missing a structural part that would classify them as dinosaurs.  This fact is the main reason why not very many Lubbock residents know about them.

“Well, everybody loves dinosaurs, Mueller said. “And everybody gets excited about dinosaurs.  A little lizard that's 3 foot long doesn't attract a great deal of attention except to the paleontology community."

If you would like to check these two for yourself, admission to the museum is free and it’s located right on Tech’s campus.