Discover and Preserve Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 We took the kids hunting in one of the creeks around Gainesville- found typical sharks teeth, ray barbs, etc then found this- I have no clue what it is- Any ideas? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 It's a piece of a softshell turtle shell 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Yup. Nice find! Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discover and Preserve Posted February 13, 2019 Author Share Posted February 13, 2019 Wow- thanks for the info! We were super stoked to find it- we've only been at this for a few months but never found anything that looks like this. Thanks again- much appreciated! Brent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Congrats on a cool find! I love finding fossils that add to the diversity of my collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 For orientation, this is a part of the bottom half of the shell. Nice find! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 20 minutes ago, Carl said: ...the bottom half of the shell... Which is called the plastron. Brent, you could label your piece as a xiphiplastron. "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 On 2/13/2019 at 12:41 PM, PFOOLEY said: Which is called the plastron. Brent, you could label your piece as a xiphiplastron. Softshell turtles are unusual. The bone that is analogous (homologous?) to the xiphiplastron is the teepee-shaped bone on the lower left in this illustration. It is apparent that the softshell turtle part in question is not appropriately called a xiphiplastron. EDIT: The illustration below, it turns out, has the two skeletal elements oriented in reverse, making it likely that the original find IS a xiphiplastron. 3 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...
PFOOLEY Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 3 hours ago, Harry Pristis said: ...It is apparent that the softshell turtle part in question is not appropriately called a xiphiplastron... Well, forgive me ...I've always liked turtles and I have been trying to familiarize myself with anatomy and terminology. I saw a similar element here (figure 7)... https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/index.php/download_file/view/21199/1075/ ...so I thought I recognized it...back to the books for me. Thanks for the insight. 3 "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discover and Preserve Posted February 14, 2019 Author Share Posted February 14, 2019 Great info- thanks again everyone. This is such a great site with active knowledgeable users- we are very excited to be a part of this! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 I stopped by the Museum today and ran into my turtle nerd friend, Asher Lichtig. I popped open this thread and asked his opinion of the specimen in question. His response was "That is a Trionchid plastral element...the xiphiplastron." @Harry Pristis, I wanted to bring this back up because I know you love learning as much as I do. 2 "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 I can't disagree with Asher, so I won't. Yup, soft-shell xiphiplastron. (One of the funniest words I know). They vary in shape quite a bit between genera, so this one does not look like the one in Harry's photo. Good find form my perspective. I have found lots of soft shell material, but xiphiplastron pieces are hard to come by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 I concede . . . this may be a xiphiplastron, after all. I reviewed some of A. Lichtig's papers, and it became apparent that the illustration that I was relying upon (posted above) has the carapace and the plastron reversed! I do love learning, PF, so thank you for leading me to that new understanding. More than my coming to a new understanding, I hate to see mis-understanding passed along with confidence. I will have to consider how to correct, even enhance, the otherwise useful illustration and to correct my error. 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...
PFOOLEY Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 Got tons of respect for ya, Harry...I'm glad we could figure this one out. And you're right, softshell turtles are unusual. "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 For comparison: 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...
Discover and Preserve Posted February 16, 2019 Author Share Posted February 16, 2019 This forum (and its members) continues to amaze me! Just great info, follow-up, and obvious passion! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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