Research

• Non-vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory
  NPL's holdings include extensive collections of invertebrate fossils and smaller but scientifically significant collections of fossil plants, gems, minerals, meteorites, and tektites. Most time periods are represented in the collection of almost 4 million fossil invertebrate specimens. Though the collection focuses on Texas and the USA, specimens are included from all over the world.
• Texas Natural History Collections
  Numerous large collections are used for teaching and research. While focusing on Texas, most are essentially worldwide in scope. Vertebrate holdings include collections of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. Birds and mammals were transferred to the collections at Texas-Tech. Invertebrate collections include fluid-preserved and dried, pinned insects, as well as cave-dwelling arthropods.
• Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory
  In addition to the collections amassed by its own faculty, staff, and students over many years of active collecting, the laboratory also holds collections originally made by various other units of The University of Texas at Austin, adopted collections from three other Texas universities, and collections made by several state and federal projects.
  • Fossil Collection Database
  • CT Scanner
    The high-resolution X-ray CT (Computed Tomography) scanner enables scientists to study details as small as a few tens of microns in size in the interior of opaque solid objects, without damage to the object itself. With this equipment, digital information on 3-D geometries and properties can easily be obtained from a wide range of materials, including rock, bone, ceramic, metal and soft tissue. The information can then be used to “print” a three-dimensional replica of the object, as well as develop computer-animated, three-dimensional images. Dr. Tim Rowe, director of Texas Natural Science Center’s Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory is co-director of the CT scanner facility.