A Remarkable Concentration of Permian Amphibian Remains in Haskell County, Texas

The remains of 400 or more Permian amphibians were found in a series of siltstone channels confined to an area 50 feet square. The fossils include 90 per cent Diplocaulus, 8 per cent Trimerorachis, and 2 per cent other types. The channels are thought to be the remnants of a drying watercourse in which aquatic amphibians were concentrated by drought. The absence of fish remains suggests that the fishes died at an earlier stage of the desiccation of the stream. Absence of Eryops and amphibians of more terrestrial habits indicates that these forms left the water for more suitable habitat. The fossils are mostly or entirely of heavy-bodied, weak-limbed forms that probably could not walk about on land.