Plantguy Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 So I got gobs of turtle stuff as many of us Floridians have and there were all kinds of these guys crawling and swimming around here. I was wondering if any of you have run across complete turtle/tortoise jaw/dentary's and might confirm these fragments might be. So here are 3 fragments that have interesting textures. All 3 have a gentle curve/arch/narrowing to them. 1) seems to have a porosity/pitting very similar to alligator or croc and I'm not sure if that immediately excludes it as part of a turtle jaw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted May 23, 2017 Author Share Posted May 23, 2017 2) seems much more smooth but it has a really interesting small rosette pattern on the one surface. Is that anything you see in a dentary. 3)Lastly I'm including a sea turtle diagram that shows some jaws and I've circled the section of what I thought might be turtle and represents what I found. Shows some pitting and two distinct textures and an apparent dividing line.. Open to all comments. I've got lots of carapace parts and some other ornamentation/skeletal parts but I thought I start with these. Thanks for the looks Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cris Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 I'm pretty sure these aren't turtle or tortoise dentary fragments. I've found quite a few of each and they are usually not as robust as these pieces are. The bone texture on #2 and #3 is pretty interesting, though. The pitting in #3 kind of reminds me of the texture you see on an alligator jaw, but it's really hard to say anything for certain on pieces that lack many diagnostic characteristics. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted May 23, 2017 Author Share Posted May 23, 2017 Hey Cris thanks, understand I'm reaching for answers where there might not be none, especially with just these fragmentary specimens and pictures. I'll have to show some to Dr.Hulbert in person in the future and see if having them in the hand lens any further info. He Id'd a few things in the past that were more complete. Heres a recent photo of a bunch of stuff from a number of sites a couple years ago. So far I know there are Trachemys, Geochelone and Hesperotestudo, and Apalone represented. The tortoise material is fairly robust. Thanks again for the looks and the feedback and putting up with the questions about fragmentary remains. Regards, Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 What a great collection! Thanks for showing us, Chris! " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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