Nice, 5" Fossil Tortoise (Stylemys) - South Dakota

This is an cute, 5" long specimen of an Oligocene aged tortoise (Stylemys nebrascensis) collected from the White River Formation of South Dakota. It is nicely inflated, not crushed like many specimens and well prepared. There is about 10% shell restoration on the back-upper section of the tortoise.

Stylemys ("pillar turtle") is the first fossil genus of dry land tortoise discovered in the United States. The genus lived in temperate to subtropical areas of North America, Europe, and Asia
These extinct tortoises had primitive jaw muscles, unlike today's tortoises, which 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 were unsuitable for burrowing.
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DETAILS
SPECIES
Stylemys nebrascensis
LOCATION
Pennington County, South Dakota
FORMATION
White River Formation
SIZE
5" long, 4.1" wide, 2.2" tall
ITEM
#50816
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