Lot 499
Enormous, Complete, Perfectly Preserved Fossil Turtle. One of the great showpiece specimens of the fossil world,a crowning glory for the collector who prides him (or her) self on "nothing but the best." The scientific name for this species is Geochelone and it can be found on page 230 of the Smithsonian's Fossils: Eyewitness Handbook. It will be noted, however, that the illustration shows a specimen (presumably the Smithsonian's best) considerably inferior to that now offered. In fact it would be impossible to find a better, if even an equal in all the world's museums. The shell, of an orange/brown color, just as the specimen bore in life, has not a single area of crushing,which is remarkable for fossil turtles (they are normally not only crushed in places, but completely splattered and/or fragmentary due to the weight of sedimental debris that entombed them prior to the fossilization process). Measures a full foot in length and is very heavy, due to the core or soft portions being replaced (over a very long period of years) by silt and sediment. This wonderful specimen, of the Eocene time period, came oout of an old Chinese collection and was collected in that nation many yearsa ago.
Estimated Value $1,250 - 1,500.
|
| |
| Unsold |
