2.1" Cretaceous Fossil Turtle (Toxochelys) Dorsal Shell Bone - Kansas

This is a 2.1 x 1.2" late Cretaceous aged fossil shell bone of a marine turtle (Toxochelys sp.). It was found in the Smoky Hill Chalk of the Niobrara Formation in Kansas, a very fossiliferous marine formation. This portion of the carapace comes from the medial line of the shell, as evidenced by the deep groove in the ventral surface of the bone, where the spinal cord would have been in life.

{#toxochelys}