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My Stylemys nebrascensis tortoise from the Oligocene Brule Formation of Nebraska


MarcoSr

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I found this tortoise on my sons’ M&M Ranch in Nebraska.  It is a Stylemys nebrascensis tortoise from the Oligocene Brule Formation.  It is a monster, 23"x17.5"x8" around 150 pounds in weight.  It has minimal restoration.  I actually found this tortoise in May 2016.  You can check out the below TFF post to see it being dug out.

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/65393-oligocene-tortoise-from-the-mm-ranch-in-crawford-nebraska/&

 

 

Because of the size, our normal prepper wouldn’t originally prep this tortoise.  So my sons brought it back to Virginia and my older son did the gross prep by removing most of the matrix leaving only what was sticking to the shell.  He reduced a lot of the original jacketed weight.  My older son then convinced our normal prepper to do the fine prep.  My sons drove the tortoise back out to South Dakota where our prepper finished it.  My older son will bring it back to Virginia next Spring, four years after I originally found it.

 

Here are some pictures.  The back legs are really cool and usually don’t survive.  The only thing that I’m a little disappointed about is the color.  There were two exploded black tortoises very close to this one so I was hoping for the rare black color.  The tan/brown color is nicer than the more common white color but it isn’t as nice as the black color.

 

 

 

EDO_1129.thumb.JPG.c044feb41d846e0d341b42042da7b7b9.JPG

 

 

EDO_1155.thumb.JPG.d29fb551e1e79c32fa7e3a7c3eee7f62.JPG

 

 

 

EDO_1157.thumb.JPG.cafa299db7065f4540198f33c2f3f5b4.JPG

 

 

Marco Sr.

 

 

Edited by MarcoSr
corrected Tortoise size
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"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

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1 hour ago, caldigger said:

I'd be happy with it if it were blue, green, red or whatever.

 

The exploded tortoises right by it were shinny black with almost fluorescent blue and green swirls.  But I am really happy with it and especially grateful to my older son who put so much time and effort into getting it prepped for me.

 

Marco Sr.

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"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

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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10 hours ago, Allosaurus said:

What a wonderful find!

 

Thank you.  I'm really looking forward to getting this tortoise back to Virginia this Spring.

 

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

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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3 hours ago, jpc said:

nice one, marco

 

Jean-Pierre

 

The boys told me that they have only seen one larger tortoise than this one come off the ranch in the last 15 years or so but that tortoise was only about 70% complete.

 

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

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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Beautiful. 

 

 

Mark.

 

Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them!

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That's a great turtle!

Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday!

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8 hours ago, PaleoNoel said:

Awesome tortoise! Great preservation on the legs!

:envy:

 

It is really unusual to find tortoises on my sons' ranch that have associated legs.  Legs are normally eaten by predators or scavengers.  This tortoise must have been buried fairly quickly after death.

 

Marco Sr.

  • I found this Informative 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

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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10 hours ago, Mark Kmiecik said:

Beautiful. 

 

8 hours ago, -Andy- said:

That's a great turtle!

 

Thank you.  I'm still trying to figure out how to display this tortoise in my house.  The size is just so large and it is so heavy that it won't fit on anything that I have already.  I need to check stands on e-bay or build something myself.

 

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

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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11 hours ago, Randyw said:

Make it a coffee or end table?

 

 

I'm looking at coffee tables.  The end tables and night stands that I'm seeing don't seem wide enough.

 

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

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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Beautiful turtle!  For your display you could make a cube out of 2 x 4s, add a plywood top and bead board sides then paint the entire thing. Makes a good display and you can make it any size you need. 

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On 10/5/2019 at 9:06 AM, Xiphactinus said:

Beautiful turtle!  For your display you could make a cube out of 2 x 4s, add a plywood top and bead board sides then paint the entire thing. Makes a good display and you can make it any size you need. 

 

Thank you.  I was going to build the display stand but found something called an industrial coffee table on e-bay for a reasonable price that holds 264 lbs and is wide enough.  I also picked up a black rug that fits the coffee table top.  I think it should look fairly good.  When I finally get the tortoise back this Spring, I'll take pictures of it on the display table.

 

Edit: Picture of the industrial coffee table:

 

5d99eddb6031b_Industrialcoffeetable3.jpg.f58d9f7255252c801731dcc46c724690.jpg

 

 

Marco Sr.

  • I found this Informative 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

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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  • 8 months later...

Home at last.  The below picture shows this tortoise sitting on top of the industrial coffee table, shown in the above post, with a blue rug on top which is in my bedroom.

 

I found this tortoise in May 2016 and it took over four years to get it prepped and finally to my house.  In 2016, after I found this tortoise on my sons M&M Ranch in Nebraska I wanted to drive it to South Dakota to our preppers house.  However because of the size and jacketed weight (at least 350 lbs), our prepper wouldn't work on it.  So we drove it back to my younger son Mel's house in Virginia where my older son Marco Jr. eventually got the weight down by removing a lot of the matrix from the underside of the jacket.  Marco Jr. was eventually able to convince our prepper (We give her a lot of business) to do the fine (final prep) on it.  Marco Jr. drove the tortoise out from Maryland (The tortoise was moved to Maryland to Marco Jr.'s house because Mel had moved to South Dakota and all of the jacketed fossils went to Marco Jr.'s house) to the prepper in South Dakota in September 2018.  After she finished the prep, my younger son Mel picked it up and brought it to his new house in South Dakota (He had moved from Virginia to South Dakota to be able to fossil collect more our ranch in Nebraska and dinosaur ranches in South Dakota and Wyoming.  It sat at Mel's house for over a year.  I had hoped to drive out to the M&M Ranch this spring with Marco Jr. and pick the tortoise up from Mel and drive it back to Virginia.  However, we had to cancel that plan because of the pandemic.  Mel last week was able to host a fossil trip in the M&M Ranch that Jack @SailingAlongToo attended.  Jack was so kind to get my tortoise from Mel and drive it back to Virginia.  Jack brought the tortoise to my house this morning.

 

Thank You Jack!!!!!

 

 

5ef76ee72f48c_StylemysnebrascensistortoiseOligoceneBruleFormationMMRanchNebraska201626inchesX20InchesX9inches.thumb.jpg.29be4b727305a7e53994a2130854bd77.jpg

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

  • I found this Informative 8

"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

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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4 hours ago, Ruger9a said:

Absolutely LOVE this turtle....................!

 

I really like it also. It looks much more impressive in person versus the pictures. With its size and weight, I don't plan on moving it again anytime soon.

 

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

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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Glad it's safely home at last.

Lovely specimen and I love the back legs being there.

You talk of predators eating them, but in modern times many tortoises have their limbs eaten during brumation ( people say hibernation, but it isn't). Rats often do it. Some tortoises even survive this. :o

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Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

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17 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Glad it's safely home at last.

Lovely specimen and I love the back legs being there.

You talk of predators eating them, but in modern times many tortoises have their limbs eaten during brumation ( people say hibernation, but it isn't). Rats often do it. Some tortoises even survive this. :o

 

Wow, that is really interesting.  Maybe brumation, because of cold temperatures, is why you find tortoises mostly in very warm climate areas.  In the cooler/colder areas, they get eaten alive because they really slow down with the cold.

 

Marco Sr.

  • I found this Informative 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

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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Specimen looks great. I found a large tortoise this past week in SW FL. Too big for me to fully excavate. Photos to follow later. 

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On 7/2/2020 at 1:07 AM, RescueMJ said:

Specimen looks great. I found a large tortoise this past week in SW FL. Too big for me to fully excavate. Photos to follow later. 

 

I look forward to the pictures.  I've seen some huge tortoises come from Florida.  My sons excavated and jacketed this one for me which took more than half a day.  It took the three of us to pick it up and load it into the back of a pickup truck.

 

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

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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