MarcoSr Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 (edited) I just returned home from 11 days of fossil collecting in Nebraska and South Dakota with my sons Marco Jr. and Mel. It was a really great trip. We found a very large number of great fossil specimens, way too many to post most of them. However I did want to post this Oligocene, Brule Formation, tortoise which I found on my sons' ranch (now M&M Ranch formerly the badlands portion of the Arner Ranch). This tortoise is probably one of the nicest to come out of the badlands in the Crawford area based upon size (21/2 feet by 2 feet by more than 1 foot high), completeness (looked almost 100% complete with no missing shell), and color (jet black with blue and green swirls). I really want to thank my sons who dug this bad boy out, jacketed it, and had to carry it for a good 100 ft to get it to a good family friend's (Frank Garcia) truck. I want to thank Frank who drove his truck into some really tough terrain to get as close to the tortoise as possible. Otherwise it would have been necessary to carry the tortoise over a mile to get the tortoise off the ranch which probably wouldn't have happened with it weighing over 250lbs. My sons found 16 skulls on the M&M Ranch including a camel and horse skull with the rest being Oreodonts. I didn't find a skull (this was my first trip to the ranch and I really didn't have my sons' good eyes for finding the skulls) but did find a large number of teeth and partial jaws. I also got to meet TFF member jpc (Jean-Pierre) who joined us for a day on the ranch. Here is what I saw exposed on the tortoise (The small area circled in red). It is really special how I found the tortoise. I was collecting with Marco Jr. about 10 ft behind me. Marco Jr. stopped and pointed out an exploded black tortoise (The tortoises don't last long once exposed and fall to pieces from the rain and temperature changes) and stated "dad keep an eye out for black tortoises in this area like this one". As I turned to continue walking I looked down and three feet in front of me I could see the small area circled in red. I then said "Like this one?". It was a surreal moment. Black tortoises from the Crawford area of Nebraska are extremely uncommon with the vast majority being white, tan, or brown. I really can't wait to see the colors of this tortoise after it is prepped. Here is a picture of the tortoise after most matrix had been removed and after it was coated with PVA to solidify the shell. You can see a good outline of the shell. Here is my son Marco Jr. with the tortoise after it was aluminum foiled. Here is my son Mel with the tortoise after it was jacketed with burlap and plaster. It is ironic that I went to the ranch to look for micro specimens and found one of the largest macro specimens. Our usual prepper wouldn't work on this tortoise because of the large size and weight. So we'll have to prep this one ourselves. It will take awhile but once prepped I'll post additional pictures. Marco Sr. Edited May 23, 2016 by MarcoSr 4 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old bones Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 Awesome, Marco Sr.! Good spotting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissa318 Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 Wow!!! Congrats!!! Looking forward to seeing it prepped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 WOW that is a fantastic find!! Looking forward to seeing the finished fossil. Tony PS Glad that You had a good trip!! Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busyeagle Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 Way to go, Marco, can't wait to see it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 Those special "discovery" moments with a good friend, or family, are priceless. Thanks, Marco. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormDancer Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 Wow what a find You must have been so excited Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBrewer Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 Wow, that's a fantastic find! And I thought you were mainly interested in micro fossils..... John Map of UK fossil sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 Thanks for the report and pics, Marco! Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted May 23, 2016 Author Share Posted May 23, 2016 Wow, that's a fantastic find! And I thought you were mainly interested in micro fossils..... I am mostly interested in micro fossils. However, I do still collect macro stuff especially when I with my sons. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted May 23, 2016 Author Share Posted May 23, 2016 Thanks for the report and pics, Marco! Regards, Tim I'm glad I had my camera with me. I usually don't. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted May 23, 2016 Author Share Posted May 23, 2016 Wow what a find You must have been so excited I hadn't been finding the skulls like my sons so I was a little down. My sons would show me the skulls after they found them and before they began removing them. I would not have recognized them as skulls with what was exposed. It takes a lot of experience to do that. I was very familiar with turtle/tortoise shell so I recognized this tortoise right away but had no idea at first how large it was. When it had been dug out and I could see the condition and size, then I did get very excited. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted May 23, 2016 Author Share Posted May 23, 2016 Those special "discovery" moments with a good friend, or family, are priceless. Thanks, Marco. John I totally agree and I've shared many priceless moments fossil collecting with my sons. Marco Sr. 1 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted May 23, 2016 Author Share Posted May 23, 2016 Way to go, Marco, can't wait to see it! Kyle The tortoise is at Mel's house. We plan to prep it there. I'll let you know after it is prepped. It is too heavy to throw into the car and bring it to one of our collecting trips. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted May 23, 2016 Author Share Posted May 23, 2016 WOW that is a fantastic find!! Looking forward to seeing the finished fossil. Tony PS Glad that You had a good trip!! Tony Just being with my sons collecting is a good trip for me. The fossils are a bonus. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted May 23, 2016 Author Share Posted May 23, 2016 Wow!!! Congrats!!! Looking forward to seeing it prepped. Lissa The prep may take a while as our normal prepper wouldn't prep it because of the size and weight. We plan to purchase prep equipment which we have wanted to do for a long time. We will prep some other turtles/tortoises that we have to get some experience before we tackle this tortoise. Hopefully we will get the prep equipment and get experienced quickly. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted May 23, 2016 Author Share Posted May 23, 2016 Awesome, Marco Sr.! Good spotting. Julianna I wasn't recognizing the skulls like my sons were. I am very familiar with turtle/tortoise shell. However, I may have missed this tortoise if my son hadn't just told me to look out for black tortoises in the area we were in. Marco sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 Wow, what a monster Marco! Awesome find, congrats Chris found one coming out of a bank earlier this season but was already in a million pieces and coming out in a million more Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted May 24, 2016 Share Posted May 24, 2016 Congratulations Marco on an amazing find. I hope you will share photos of this after it is prepped. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted May 24, 2016 Author Share Posted May 24, 2016 Wow, what a monster Marco! Awesome find, congrats Chris found one coming out of a bank earlier this season but was already in a million pieces and coming out in a million more Jeff There are a large number of exploded tortoises on my sons' ranch. There are shell pieces all over the place. I was very fortunate to find this tortoise just as it stated to expose. They quickly explode into many pieces when the rain gets to them. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted May 24, 2016 Author Share Posted May 24, 2016 Congratulations Marco on an amazing find. I hope you will share photos of this after it is prepped. Don I will definitely share pictures. I'm really anxious to prep it but need to buy the equipment and need to gain experience prepping other tortoises before I tackle this one. Based on hourly charges to prep other tortoises that my sons found I would expect this tortoise to take at least 80 hrs to prep. The shell looked amazingly complete so I'm hoping restoration is not required or very minor. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted May 24, 2016 Share Posted May 24, 2016 I would imagine this would be very tedious and time consuming. Not to mention requiring a good steady hand. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted May 24, 2016 Share Posted May 24, 2016 Hey Marco, I was wondering if it is just the shell or are there other parts in the mix? How complete is the whole animal? Tony Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted May 24, 2016 Author Share Posted May 24, 2016 I would imagine this would be very tedious and time consuming. Not to mention requiring a good steady hand. Don The time consuming aspect is a problem for me and I don't have a steady hand. If prepping another tortoise doesn't go well, I'll let my wife try. She has an interest in prepping, has a lot of patience, and has a steady hand. My youngest son Mel also wants to give prepping a try. Hopefully one of us will have the time and gain the experience to prep this tortoise. Tortoises are supposedly easier to prep than the skulls. We will see. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted May 24, 2016 Author Share Posted May 24, 2016 Hey Marco, I was wondering if it is just the shell or are there other parts in the mix? How complete is the whole animal? Tony Tony The tortoises on the ranch usually show evidence of predation. Normally the heads and legs are missing. Some even show bite marks to the carapace scutes. The vertebrae with ribs attached are normally attached to the carapace on the inside so you wouldn't see them unless you broke the carapace apart. Some predated tortoises have the shells broken open with these missing. This tortoise looked to have a complete carapace and plastron so the ribs and vertebrae should be inside. However this tortoise did have back leg bones and no evidence of bite marks. A very few have the skull tucked inside the carapace. It is possible that there is a skull but we won't know until we prep it. I've seen one prepped tortoise from the Crawford area that had an area of the carapace cut (was removable) along the scute lines and had a prepped skull inside the shell. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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