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Rare Giant Cretaceous Sea Turtle

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:1,125.00 USD Estimated At:2,250.00 - 3,500.00 USD
Rare Giant Cretaceous Sea Turtle
<Our item number 111434><B>Rare Giant Cretaceous Sea Turtle.</B> Toxochelys latiremis was a large sea turtle in the Westrn interior seas of the late Creraceous. It was found in the famous Pierre Shales of the Smoky Hill Chalks of western Kansas. The Pierre Shales are most famous for the large number of well preserved ammonites that are found there. Turtle such as this large Toxochelys are much rarer. In fact complete specimens are never found as the delicate leathery shell &#40;plaston&#41; disarticulates upon death and is scattered or destroyed when turtle was eaten by one of the immense predators that inhabited the sea at this time, such as giant mosasaurs or sharks. This large specimen is more than 35 percent complete with an excellent skull, one leg with flipper bones, and parts of the shell. Some restoration has been done to place the bones in position on a black plaster background. This giant extinct ancestor of today&#39;s leatherback turtle most likely ate seaweed and jellyfish. This is a very rare op purtunity to purchase a fairly complete specimen that is almost as large and as complete &#40;real bone&#41; as the specimen in the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History. The turtle is palced on three different slabs collectively measuring 36x42 inches.<BR><BR>Add &#36;200 for domestic shipping. <BR>Estimated Value &#36;2,250-3,500. <BR><BR>Our item number 111434<BR><IMAGES><P ALIGN="CENTER"><IMG SRC="http://64.60.141.195/photos/40jpegs/111434.jpg"> </P></IMAGES>