Petrified Turtle Head?

[Ima Surchin]

Location: Sweetwater, TX

Petrified turtle head?

[Randyw]

Once again im sorry to say its another rock..

[Ima Surchin]

So it isn't possible it went through a petrification?

[Mainefossils]

@Ima Surchin, it is highly unlikely that this rock is an example of petrified remains. Soft body preservation is an extremely rare occurrence, the link shown describes this type of preservation for dinosaurs, https://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article/83/5/298/117017/Preservation-of-Soft-Tissues-in-Dinosaur. The likelihood for this to be such an instance is extremely low, especially in an area where such finds have not been seen before. 

 

You are in an excellent place for fossils! Do you have access to some geology maps and papers on your area? Research and patience are two of the best tools of a paleontologist, some luck also helps.  Happy Hunting! 

[Rockwood]

1 hour ago, Ima Surchin said:

So it isn't possible it went through a petrification?

The texture is worth consideration, but not too much.

[Ima Surchin]

Thank you! Yeah it looks like it was right on a coat line during the Cretaceous period. Definitely under  or near water. And I do have some turtle remnants, they just gotta be. I'll post them when I clean them. This property has belonged to my best friend's family for years, without digging for things. We're now doing it!

[JohnJ]

4 hours ago, Ima Surchin said:

And I do have some turtle remnants, they just gotta be.

 

As a fellow Texan, I and others here would celebrate any turtle fossils you found.  By the same token, we hope you learn that many rocks can manifest strange, natural features.  

[Brandy Cole]

When I first started fossil hunting, I was very unsure what turtle fossils may look like, and it helped me to see examples from other people on this forum.  Turtle shells are hard material, and it's pretty common to find them even if you don't find bones. At least where I am in southeast Texas, fossilized shell fragments are one of the most common things I find.  

 

I'm including pictures of an example below.  The first key thing to look for is an almost spongey looking filling.  This is osteoporosity, and it should be pretty obvious in both shell and bone (if they're broken, which is very common).  It helps you tell the difference between a real fossil and a rock, since you generally won't see anything resembling that texture in most rocks.

 

In terms of determining whether it's a bone fragment or a turtle shell, it helps to look for the kind of suture or seam-looking lines that naturally divide up the turtle shells.

 

I've included an example where I circled the spongey looking section I'm taking about in blue and the suture lines in red.

 

Good luck to you!

--Brandy

 

 

[ThePhysicist]

For comparison, here is a Cretaceous turtle skull from the NSR in the collection at SMU:

 

^http://northtexasfossils.com/2009-11-03.htm

[Ima Surchin]

Wow!! Thank you so much.

[Brandy Cole]

2 hours ago, ThePhysicist said:

For comparison, here is a Cretaceous turtle skull from the NSR in the collection at SMU:

 

^http://northtexasfossils.com/2009-11-03.htm

Wow!  What a neat piece! Thanks for sharing.