We find another 30 million-year-old fossil!!!!! Vicky and Dan: FOSSIL HUNTERS!!!!

We found this sometime in the past two weeks.  We are keeping the time frame and location vague on purpose.  We have been told that poaching of historical artifacts is a serious problem, and we don't want any part of that.

This is the information we received from the Forest Service paleontologist about our find.  It was about 18 inches by 12 inches:

This is a tortoise (Stylemys nebrascensis), looks like it’s in the Chadron Formation, ranging in age from 45-26 million years ago (Eocene and Oligocene epochs).  The tortoises were small during the Eocene, increased their size in the early Oligocene (Galapagos sized) then near the end of the Oligocene, they became small again.  This change in size back to small is very unusual, usually, animals that increase their size stay large. Therefore, this behavior is weird…and being studied.   Tortoises are land reptiles while turtles (also found fossilized) are aquatic.

We used to be happy finding artifacts from the 1920s, but now we are spoiled.  Unless it is at least 30 million years old it is practically new to us.