FOSSILS SPECIMEN: TURTLES

Fossils are defined as any evidence of prehistoric life. There are two types of fossils: Body Fossils include remains of skeletal bones, shell, carapace, test and teeth. Trace Fossils are clues the organism existed such as foot prints, tracks, burrows and coprolites (fossil dung).

Turtles and tortoises are a unique group of reptiles known for their hard bony shells that are attached to their backbones. The earlies known turtles appear in the fossil record during the late Triassic along with the first true dinosaurs.

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Kingdom: Animalia – Phylum: Chordata – Class: Reptilia – Order: Testudines

(turtles, tortoise and terrapins)

Middle Jurassic to Holocene

Modern and fossil turtle shell comparison

Turtle Coprolite

Madagascar