Ruger9a Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 Good afternoon folks. I have what I believe to be a fossil turtle shell pieces. It was listed as "unidentified fossil in sedimentary matrix found in the SW desert". What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted February 22, 2020 Author Share Posted February 22, 2020 The rest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pterygotus Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 Could be. I think can see a rib so the shell pieces could in fact be bone fragments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 How does the second photo fit in with the rest? That one looks more turtley than the others. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted February 22, 2020 Author Share Posted February 22, 2020 35 minutes ago, jpc said: How does the second photo fit in with the rest? That one looks more turtley than the others. The second photo was I actually posted first because it is the turtle before I prepped it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 Yeah, I made a mistake and prepped the bottom side instead of the top side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossil_sea_urchin Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 I agree with @Ruger9a with the turtle ID, but it's interesting to see some other views. Just out of interest where is the rib fragment you see @Pterygotus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pterygotus Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 52 minutes ago, fossil_sea_urchin said: I agree with @Ruger9a with the turtle ID, but it's interesting to see some other views. Just out of interest where is the rib fragment you see @Pterygotus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted February 25, 2020 Author Share Posted February 25, 2020 I can take some different photos of the specimen. Can you tell me any specific angle or part you would like to see posted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 turtle ribs don't really look like ribs since they are fused into plates of the shell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 On 2/22/2020 at 3:35 PM, Ruger9a said: The second photo was I actually posted first because it is the turtle before I prepped it. I am trying to correlate the pre-prep photo with the others. Not seeing the fit. Can you help? Initially I am not seeing anything too terribly turtley about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted February 25, 2020 Author Share Posted February 25, 2020 1 hour ago, jpc said: I am trying to correlate the pre-prep photo with the others. Not seeing the fit. Can you help? Initially I am not seeing anything too terribly turtley about this. JPC, Photo #6 (unnumbered) down where Pterygotus spoke of a rib is actually the position it was in when I started prepping it, upside down.... There were several other pieces on the outer edge that were stuck there but didn't relate to the position they were found. These pieces were associated and glued with the exact matching part. The pieces attached to the matrix remain as they were, I did not remove them. I tend to keep all the matrix except for the sandy material and I also have a small bag of pieces I couldn't associate. Would additional photos help? I know the upside down prep confuses, it did to me as well. Where you see the matrix is actually the top of the fossil. I didn't want to remove it all from the matrix, but it probably would have been better if I did..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 are the dark flecks in the matrix scales or teeth of fish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 5 hours ago, Plax said: are the dark flecks in the matrix scales or teeth of fish? I never looked at them closely, so I don't know right at this moment. But I will by tomorrow morning. If they look like scales or teeth I'll post photos for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 a turtle like archelon might have bones akin to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 19 hours ago, Plax said: are the dark flecks in the matrix scales or teeth of fish? 1 hour ago, Plax said: a turtle like archelon might have bones akin to this. Thanks Plax. I will be posting photos after I re-associate the "turtle" pieces as I dropped it onto a tile floor last night. So, I decided to remove the rest of the fossil front section from the matrix to see if it would help in the identification process. I am seriously wondering if this is a turtle or Rauffella palmipes because of it's strange shape and no segment lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 Here are the latest photos without matrix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 thought you had determined that this was bone. Any broken edge would show bone characteristics I'd think. If these things are solid probably not bone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 Bone? No, I thought this was part of a turtle shell. But I am having second thoughts now because of the shape and lack of shell segmentation lines. I am wondering if it is Rauffella palmipes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClearLake Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 4 hours ago, Ruger9a said: re-associate the "turtle" pieces as I dropped it onto a tile floor last night. Oops! I hate when that happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 18 minutes ago, ClearLake said: Oops! I hate when that happens. So do I. It's not the first time and most likely won't be the last. But on the bright side, both sides of the shell(?) are clearly visible now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 2 hours ago, Ruger9a said: Bone? No, I thought this was part of a turtle shell. But I am having second thoughts now because of the shape and lack of shell segmentation lines. I am wondering if it is Rauffella palmipes. turtle shell is made of bone. I neither am seeing no broken bone texture where there should be some. (wow, that was an awkward sentence). Not a bone. So says I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 Thanks JPC. It has the texture and feel of a young (soft) turtle shell, but I'm thinking it's something else. Maybe some sort of growth or maybe even a type of semi-hard sediment back filling an empty cavity. The broken edges are strange as well. Just guessing though, any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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