Stylemys nebracensis Skull Replica

Description

Stylemys nebracensis skull replica measures 3.4 inches. The Stylemys nebracensis skull is a museum-quality polyurethane resin cast. 1:1 scale. Made in the USA.

Stylemys meaning pillar turtle is the first fossil genus of dry land tortoise belonging to the order Testudines discovered in the United States. The genus lived in temperate to subtropical areas of North America, Europe, and Asia, based on fossil distribution. Fossil fragments have also been found in the Palm Park Formation of New Mexico.

Stylemys nebracensis was a dry land tortoise found in the Oreodont beds (Middle Oligocene) of the White River badlands of South Dakota and northwestern Nebraska. They are also quite common in the late Eocene and early Oligocene White River badlands of eastern Wyoming. Stylemys was first described in 1851 by Dr. Joseph Leidy.

Stylemys nebracensis is the earliest discovered fossil turtle in America. Stylemys nebracens is rarely ever found with a skull. It is also one of the largest of this genus. Stylemys nebracens  lived 30 to 50 million years ago.

The tortoise was common in the prehistoric Badlands, especially Nebraska and South Dakota. The species has also been found in the formations in and around Badlands National Park.

Scientific Classification

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Reptilia
• Order: Testudines
• Suborder: Cryptodira
• Superfamily: Testudinoidea
• Family: Testudinidae
• Genus: †Stylemys Leidy 1851
• Species: †S. nebracens
• Binomial name: †Stylemys nebracens
• Conservations status: Extinct