Description
This is a pair of Fossils found in 2002.
These were found in the badlands of Hardin County, South Dakota in 2002 during a surface collecting expedition.
This Fossil Crocodile Tooth&Scute were found during surface collecting in South Dakota. During many expeditions people are allowed to keep fossils such as this. Because they are so common they are not essential to the science of paleontology. So many have already been collected. The cretaceous period was a time when much of the western U.S. east of the Rocky Mountains was an area that was hotter than today and fairly dry. The trees that grew then were mostly conifer type of trees that were able to withstand the conditions. Dinosaur roamed the area we now call the badlands.
But there was also life in the water. The area was the boundary of a great inland sea. Many rivers washed down from the mountain in their long trek to the ocean. The rivers and estuaries were full of a type of Alligatoroid/crocodilian that was not quite as large as their relatives today. Because they lived in these rivers they needed a constant supply of food that would be readily available. We find many broken turtle scutes scattered about as well as these fossil remains. But many more turtle that crocodile. These crocks fed on turtles and fish.
This group of Fossil Crocodile Tooth&Scute comes in this glass topped leatherette case that is 4 1/2 by 5 1/4 inches.
