7.6" Colorful Fossil Tortoise (Stylemys) - South Dakota

This is a gorgeous, 7.6" long shell (carapace and plastron) of an Oligocene-aged tortoise (Stylemys nebrascensis) from the White River Formation in the Badlands of South Dakota. It is nicely inflated with minimal crushing and unique red and orange preservation color.

The shell is approximately 98% complete, with some crack repairs and gap fill restoration around the periphery of the carapace.

Comes with a display stand.

Stylemys ("pillar turtle") is the first fossil genus of dry land tortoise discovered in the United States. They lived in temperate to subtropical areas of North America, Europe, and Asia.

These extinct tortoises had primitive jaw muscles, unlike today's tortoises that also display the os transiliens bone, and would have been herbivorous. While Stylemys species did exhibit the same neck structure as modern tortoises, the forelimbs weren't ideal for burrowing.
SOLD
DETAILS
SPECIES
Stylemys nebrascensis
LOCATION
Pennington County, South Dakota
FORMATION
White River Formation
SIZE
Length: 7.6", Width: 6.2", Height: 3.35"
ITEM
#263497
GUARANTEE
We guarantee the authenticity of all of our specimens.