LeatherbackLast November I took some friends from the Smithsonian to a local limestone quarry to collect Middle Eocene Santee Limestone whale fossils. While there I found a turtle skull and gave it to them. It was in a section of the quarry where I had recently found a large, intact piece of leatherback turtle shell. They sent back photos of the prepared skull. At an impressive 18cm in length it could be from the same species as the shell I had found. It will be described as a new species.
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Location
| Berkeley County, South Carolina, USA |
| ID | 2904 |
| Member | paleobum |
| Date Added | 7/7/2008 |
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| The top of the turtle skull. Eocene marine turtle skulls are very rare. |
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| The bottom of the skull. The portion missing was lost during blasting. It's probably part of a Walmart parking lot by now. Watch where you park! |
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