14.9" Partial, Unprepared Fossil Turtle Shell - North Dakota

Partial, Unprepared Fossil Turtle Shell - North Dakota #120152

This is a 14.9", unprepared, fossil turtle shell section from the Hell Creek Formation of Bowman County, North Dakota. There is substrate attached to the shell and shell sections may be disarticulated. It is being sold as is and would make a nice project for someone who wanted to try their hand at specimen preparation or just likes the look of unprepared bones.

There are twenty three turtle genera known from the Hell Creek Formation. In the unprepared state this specimen is in, assigning it to a genus or species would be difficult.

The Hell Creek Formation

Renowned for both its age and rich sedimentary layers, the Hell Creek Formation is one of the most intensively studied fossil-bearing regions on Earth. To date, scientists have documented 158 genera of animals and 64 genera of plants from its rocks, with new finds emerging regularly. Beyond iconic dinosaurs such as tyrannosaurs, ceratopsians, and hadrosaurs, the formation has produced an extraordinary array of life, including amphibians, reptiles, lizards, snakes, turtles, fish, sharks, birds, and early mammals. Together, these fossils provide the most complete picture of the ecosystems that thrived just before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.

SPECIES

Unidentified Turtle

AGE

Late Cretaceous (~66 Million Years)