1.2" Fossil Turtle Shell Judith River Formation Montana Dinosaur Cretaceous Age

Location: Judith River Formation, Montana

Weight: 0.4 Ounces

Dimensions: 1.2 Inches Long, 1.1 Inches Wide, 0.2 Inches Thick

The item pictured is the one you will receive.

This is a genuine fossil.

This Judith River Formation specimen exemplifies the evolutionary trajectory of chelonians throughout the Cretaceous interval, a 79-million-year span witnessing unprecedented diversification among turtle lineages. By this geological epoch, turtles had already established themselves as a successful reptilian clade, occupying disparate ecological zones from continental freshwater systems to expansive epicontinental seas. Paleontological evidence documents considerable morphological heterogeneity—diminutive terrestrial taxa contrasted sharply with colossal marine forms, including Archelon and Protostega, whose carapaces attained lengths exceeding four meters. These pelagic specialists possessed sophisticated anatomical adaptations facilitating predation upon gelatinous organisms within the shallow seaways that periodically transgressed across the North American craton. The turtle carapace itself—a composite structure integrating dermal ossifications with vertebral and rib elements—represents an evolutionary innovation of remarkable longevity and functional efficacy. This fossil encapsulates the adaptive radiation and ecological prominence of Testudines during the Mesozoic, a lineage whose resilience transcended the terminal Cretaceous extinction event.