Miocene Leatherback Turtle Skull

$303.00

Psephophorus is an extinct genus of Sea Turtle that lived from the Oligocene to the Pliocene. Its remains have been found in Europe, Africa, North America, and New Zealand.

SKU: S305-S305M Tag:

Description

Miocene Leatherback Turtle Skull Replica measures 14.5 inches. Miocene Leatherback Turtle Skull is museum quality polyurethane cast. Made in the USA. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw).

Fossil skull from Sharktooth Hill California. Bob Ernst – Private Collection. Our precise skull can be used as a teaching tool, museum skull exhibit, home décor skull, or office décor skull.

Miocene Leatherback turtle or Demochelys coriacea are named for their shell, which is leather-like rather than hard, like other turtles. They are the largest sea turtle species and also one of the most migratory, crossing both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The Miocene Leatherback turtle or Dermochelys coriacea is the largest of living turtles. They have a secondary palate, formed by vomer and palatine bones. The leatherback does not have a visible shell.

The shell is present but it consists of bones that are buried into its dark brown or black skin. It has seven pronounced ridges in its back and five on the underside.

Miocene Leatherback turtle or Dermochelys coriacea lay their eggs in the sand of tropical beaches. It is the only time they emerge onto land. Leatherback hatchlings look mostly black when looking down on them, and their flippers are margined in white. Rows of white scales give hatchling leatherbacks the white striping that runs down the length of their backs.

Miocene Leatherback turtle or Dermochelys coriacea are carnivores that feed in the open ocean. Their main prey are gelatinous invertebrates, mainly jellyfish and salps. They are known to eat other kinds of food though, including small crustaceans and fish, cephalopods, sea urchins, and snails.

Moicene Leatherback turtle or Dermochelys coriacea can be found primarily in the open ocean. Leatherbacks follow their jellyfish prey throughout the day, resulting in turtles “preferring” deeper water in the daytime, and shallower water at night (when the jellyfish rise up the water column). This hunting strategy often places Dermochelys turtles in very frigid waters.

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Additional information

Weight 16 lbs
Dimensions 14.5 in
Miocene Leatherback Turtle Facts:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Chelonioidea
Family: Dermochelyidae
Subfamily: Dermochelyinae
Genus: Dermochelys
Species: D. coriacea
Binomial name: Dermochelys coriacea
Conservation status: Vulnerable – A vulnerable species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as likely to become endangered unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve.