Plutoman15 Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Hello all, I am new to fossil hunting. I found these on my in-laws ranch in Montana. They are still in place and exposed to weather. Is there any way to find out what they are from? They are definately bone fossils. What part of an animal would have a thin area of bone surrounded by thick bones? The center area are very thin bones and the perimeter is much thicker bone. Thanks, Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Hi Joe, Welcome to the forum I'm not seeing what you're seeing. Is there any chance you can zoom in on where you see these bones? Do you have any inclination about the geology of the area you found this as that really helps us to better pinpoint identification? I would say take another picture and post it here, one that focuses in on, say, a few bones. Then our experts will get to work! ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plutoman15 Posted January 1, 2018 Author Share Posted January 1, 2018 Here is another pic of the bones. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Definitely seeing something in this picture. Fractured as it is, I see a pattern. Did you collect these and glue them together? I should ask about the scale. In this picture above, how long is it from point to point? ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Definitely bone that had been weathered. Where is this in Montana trying to understand the age of what we are looking at. Scale.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plutoman15 Posted January 1, 2018 Author Share Posted January 1, 2018 (edited) It was 6 months ago, plan to work more on it this summer. Near Circle Montana. It is about 12-18 inches across. Joe Edited January 1, 2018 by Plutoman15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 The Hell Creek Formation has exposures in McCone County so it's possible it's dinosaurian. Hard to tell much from the weathered bones in your picture. It's possible there are additional bones in the surrounding area you should explore the area and dig around to see if there is more of that animal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plutoman15 Posted January 1, 2018 Author Share Posted January 1, 2018 (edited) These are all the same bones from different angles. I did brush some dirt off in some and some bones may have moved a little. it is minus 20F and snow covered at the moment so it won't be until summer until I can work more on it. Joe Edited January 1, 2018 by Plutoman15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Welcome to the forum! It kind of looks like turtle that I've seen in the Hell Creek Formation. After being exposed to the elements, it will be interesting to see if there is much left come spring. 2 Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plutoman15 Posted January 1, 2018 Author Share Posted January 1, 2018 (edited) Initially I thought it could be a turtle shell as well but the bones seem too big for the size of the shell area. It is very fragmented and has been exposed for quite some time so hard to say. The thick bones size on the edge is what makes me wonder if it is something else. Joe Edited January 1, 2018 by Plutoman15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 That thin bone looks like an outer layer of a much thicker bone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plutoman15 Posted January 2, 2018 Author Share Posted January 2, 2018 (edited) Pretty much every rock you see in these pictures are bone. Very distinct porous side view. The only ones that are not are the red iron ones down hill from the flat area of fossils. They have been exposed for years and some are scattered a bit. Many I am sure some are washed away and down hill from them. This is on the side of a cut bank that platues 3-4 feet above this spot. I found some more bone fragments above this spot so it is hard to say if this is where it came out of bank or higher up. The entire bank is probably 15-30 feet high with short flat areas as you go down. (Typical badland type look) I initially looked here because I saw a thin coal line and immediately found these bones. I wish I took more pictures of the area. Edited January 2, 2018 by Plutoman15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Have been looking at it and agree with GeshWhat think what you have is the carapace of a softshell turtle like trionyx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 On 1/1/2018 at 8:15 PM, Troodon said: Have been looking at it and agree with GeshWhat think what you have is the carapace of a softshell turtle like trionyx Looks tortoise-like to me. The marginals of a tortoise carapace are inflated compared with the other carapacial elements. Trionyx shell elements are quite different, aren't they? http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Far from an expert to ID a turtle other that it's a turtle. Here is one from Montana. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plutoman15 Posted January 2, 2018 Author Share Posted January 2, 2018 (edited) Do you think the much thicker bone along the edge is a folded limb. It is much thicker than the shell area? Joe Edited January 2, 2018 by Plutoman15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Nice find! Gonna be hard to excavate, need consolidant, plaster, and elbow grease. Then sending it to a professional prepper (unless you wanna try it yourself, which would be daring for a first time prepper). It would be kinda painful, but worth it I thino, would be beautiful out of the stone! “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 The piece I have encircles convinces me this is the inside of a turtle carapace. It would be a heckuva big project to put this together. The best way would be to make plaster jacket, but that takes some practice. The second best way would be lots of pictures and diagrams and label each piece so you can easily put them pack together come next spring/summer. Nice find. Let us know what you plan to do with it. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plutoman15 Posted January 3, 2018 Author Share Posted January 3, 2018 Thanks for your help everyone. I will have to decide what to do when I see it this summer. I am definately going to look in this area again for more fossils and hopefully find one that is better preserved. Since it only took 20 minutes to find this one, I hope that means the cut banks are full of them. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 guess the tryonichid ID would stand better if it weren't the interior of the shell. The exterior has that diagnostic pattern. Does Bothremys or its ilk occur out there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 I don't think this is a soft shell. The edges of the carapace seem thickened like a regular old turtle. Again, based on one photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plutoman15 Posted June 25, 2018 Author Share Posted June 25, 2018 (edited) Sadly, my turtle is gone. I finally returned to the site and they had unusually heavy rain this Spring and most of it has washed away. I kept some of the bone but mostly it is gone. Lesson learned on preserving a site. on a good note, I found more bone just down the cutbank a little ways. It is all float and I can’t figure out where in the hill it is coming from. I found a vertebrae, rib bone, and some other shattered pieces of bone. Here are some pictures. The vertebrae looks like reptile to me from what I have researched. It is about the size of a human vertabrae so decent size reptile. If it is snake it would be anaconda or bigger. Ideas? There is another bone that has an interesting cavity in it. Ideas what bone this is? thanks Joe Edited June 25, 2018 by Plutoman15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Wow! Such a good thread and then to read that most was washed away! man! there must have been some tears. So sorry to hear. and yeah, next time. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plutoman15 Posted August 18, 2018 Author Share Posted August 18, 2018 I found another Turtle shell. This one is just the shell. 5-10 yards away I found a small pile of fragmented bones that also look like a turtle shell but not much there. Just bits and pieces. this time I extracted the shell right away. still can’t find which layer the bones are coming from. I guess I will just have to wait for more heavy rain next year to expose some more. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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