Turtle Shells

[Evans]

I tried to find reference to this in the Forum and could not, if I missed it could someone please direct me to wards it.

Is there a reliable way to tell if a turtle shell fragment is fossilized or not. Can it be subject to the hot pin/match test or some other technique.

Thanks,

Brian

[Guest bmorefossil]

I tried to find reference to this in the Forum and could not, if I missed it could someone please direct me to wards it.

Is there a reliable way to tell if a turtle shell fragment is fossilized or not. Can it be subject to the hot pin/match test or some other technique.

Thanks,

Brian

well usually with the turtle shell fragments they are either heavy or they are light, so if it has weight to it its fossil, then you could try tapping it with another piece of bone, if it makes a sound its fossil

[grampa dino]

You could try the Lick Test. lighty stick your tounge on the fragment and then gently pull it away. If your tounge seems to stick to object, it is more than likely fossil. Don't laugh this realy works with all dinosaur age fossils. If it dosent stick then it's a rock or modern shell and you just frenched a dead turtle.

[snafu947]

lighty stick your tounge on the fragment and then gently pull it away. If your tounge seems to stick to object, it is more than likely fossil.

Same thing applies to rabbit droppings, so be sure you know which one you are testing BEFORE you test. If only our intern knew that...

Wm.T.

[CreekCrawler]

Hey Brian, does it look anything like this! I tried the burn test with this and it was inconclusive.It sounds like ceramic when tapped on a hard surface.

B

[Evans]

You could try the Lick Test. lighty stick your tounge on the fragment and then gently pull it away. If your tonger seems to stick to object, it is more than likely fossil. Don't laugh this realy works with all dinosaur age fossils. If it dosent stick then it's a rock or modern shell and you just frenched a dead turtle.

Grampa Dino, I think you've been spending to much time out in the field on your own in those cold nothern reaches!

Thanks for the info,

Brian

[Evans]

Somebody tell me why you can't get hepatitis from licking junk you pick up off the ground.

"Reliably" was the operative word in your question that is problematic. Dark, heavy, clinks like a rock - IS a rock, and if on the other hand it looks unequivocally like turtle shell, then it's a fossil. White, heavy, sandstone or other matrix still attached, it's a fossil.

Light weight and light colored, doesn't clink when tapped, may have flesh or at least stink still attached, NOT a fossil.

kinda heavy, maybe, kind of old looking, who knows? does it matter? leave it.

turtle shell fragments, fossil and non-fossil are really, really, out there in the world in quantity. Find some nice fossil turtle shell fragments for your collection and then onward!

a key point here is that if you get out there enough and see enough of this stuff, it will start to become clear to you at some point. once you find some for sure really well mineralized fossils, you'll see the obvious difference between them and other stuff you've found. this isn't a great analogy, but it's like telling gold from brass. pretty hard to describe, but fairly obvious if you've seen and held enough of both.

Tracer,

The question that I posted was about turtle shells in general and not because I found a fragment and was wondering if I had a treasure or not. I'm currently working a Pleistocene area that shows promise but has yet to yield any results. When I found this piece of shell I was curious as to whether it was recent or possibly older, thus giving me some information about the area in question.

I have never studied a turtle shell other than one on the back of a live turtle and did not know how the look, feel, sound or taste (thanks grampa).

I thank you for the input but really did not need the dissertation on the ethics of turtle shell collecting.

Thanks again,

Brian

[Uncle Siphuncle]

B

I've picked up tons of turtle and still am ambivalent about the age of much of it. I've found some pieces that are light weight and lightly colored that I would have called modern had they not had adhering sandstone and conglomerate matrix attached. So other than obvious fossils, I've probably chucked some fossils and kept some junk at times. Sometimes I have to rely on a certain sheen or patina on the bone or shell fragment to judge specimen age, but I've not seen this documented as a reliable method either. What I've concluded is that sometimes even the experts can't give you a definitive answer on supposed Pleistocene stuff unless it is obvious - extinct, mineralized, or with adhering matrix.

[CreekCrawler]

Here is a modern Ornate box Turtle for comparison. Terrapene ornata.

Carapace "top portion" and insides.The shiny stuff is clear nail polish "before I knew about superglues"

BHope this helps!

[Evans]

Here is a modern Ornate box Turtle for comparison. Terrapene ornata.

Carapace "top portion" and insides.The shiny stuff is clear nail polish "before I knew about superglues"

BHope this helps!

Thanks Snakekeeper,

I held my fragment up to your box turtle picture and it appears to me an exact match.

Thanks again,

Brian

[Evans]

It appears recent for a number of reasons, but I will not bore you my thoughts on why. There were no "ethical" comments whatsoever in my earlier post. I was trying to say that I think many turtle shell fragments are just a waste of time to pick up. I apologize for my wordy post. I was trying to be helpful.

Tracer,

I apologize if I read to much into your reply and do appreciate your insight and opinion. I agree with you on the assessment that the piece I have is recent, especially with the pictures posted by Snakekeeper.

Thanks again for the assistance and I hope to benefit from your experience in the future.

Brian

[grampa dino]

Same thing applies to rabbit droppings, so be sure you know which one you are testing BEFORE you test. If only our intern knew that...

Wm.T.

Just how long did it take you to come to this concultion and what do rabbit droppings tast like? LOL

[grampa dino]

It appears recent for a number of reasons, but I will not bore you my thoughts on why. There were no "ethical" comments whatsoever in my earlier post. I was trying to say that I think many turtle shell fragments are just a waste of time to pick up. I apologize for my wordy post. I was trying to be helpful.

Is any possilble fossil a waste of time? Even turltle shell fragments can be of interest, the pattern on the shell can tell what type of turtle it was. If one finds an number of shell fragments in the same area they may even fit together.

If you are ever likie you may even find Turlte Teeth, if the collection area is old like the Triassic

[Auspex]

So, is "French the Dead Turtle" a good band name or what?

[Guest bmorefossil]

It appears recent for a number of reasons, but I will not bore you my thoughts on why. There were no "ethical" comments whatsoever in my earlier post. I was trying to say that I think many turtle shell fragments are just a waste of time to pick up. I apologize for my wordy post. I was trying to be helpful.

well tracer i feel the need to pick up every fossil, turtle shell fragments are fairly hard to come by here in maryland, even if its just a rib bone picking it up takes it off the beach leaving you with one less rib to look at the next time you go fossiling

[Harry Pristis]

Is any possilble fossil a waste of time? Even turltle shell fragments can be of interest, the pattern on the shell can tell what type of turtle it was. If one finds an number of shell fragments in the same area they may even fit together.

If you are ever likie you may even find Turlte Teeth, if the collection area is old like the Triassic

Turtle shell fragments, both fossil and recent, are common in Florida. The only fragments that I collect are the readily-diagnostic nuchal bones. Other turtle carapace portions (e.g. Terrapene marginals, Apalone carapacial elements) may be diagnostic, but are not as broadly useful as nuchals.