The species, Ueloca colemanorum was named by the Indians and the paleontologists from California and Alabama who studied it.
A 32-million-year-old leatherback sea turtle fossil discovered by a family fishing in Alabama has been declared a new species. The fossil, which measured four feet in length and three feet in width is a new genus and species and, according to the Poarch Creek Indians, is one of the most complete fossils of a turtle anywhere in the world.
The species, Ueloca colemanorum was named by the Indians and the paleontologists from California and Alabama who studied it. The fossil was found by the Coleman family, comprised of the father Adam, the wife, Adrienne, and the two children, Talah and Corey. They were on a fishing trip near their home in south Alabama when they discovered the fossil. “My dad got me into collecting fossils when I was a kid,” Adam Coleman said. “Now we look for them every time we’re on the river.”
Ueloca colemanorum n. gen. n. sp. from the lower Oligocene of Alabama, USA. A – MSC 49490, holotype, carapace in lateral view; B – MSC 49490, holotype, (top) floriform ossicle arrangement associated with the midsagittal row of enlarged ossicles and (bottom) floriform ossicles near the lateral edge of the carapace; C – MSC 49490, holotype, photograph showing broken ossicles (white arrows) embedded on the vertical face of the boulder approximately 22 cm beneath the articulated portion of the carapace. Scale bar = 10 cm.
The family first discovered the fossil in 2021, embedded in a limestone boulder. Not knowing what species the fossil was, the family kept it a secret for more than a year. it was when Mr. Coleman read a news article about Dr. Andrew Gentry, a paleontologist who happened to specialized in fossil turtles of Alabama, that Coleman contacted Gentry and asked if he would take a look at what the Coleman family had found. Gentry could not believe what he saw.
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“When I saw the fossil for the first time, it was hard to believe what I was seeing,” Gentry said. “It was absolutely breathtaking.” Gentry then contacted paleontologist June Ebersole, director of Collections at McWane Science Center in Birmingham. The duo spent the next several months putting a team together to retrieve the fossil and study it.
It was determined to date to the early Oligocene Epoch (~32 million years ago). It was a new genus and species of leatherback turtle and is currently one of the most intact fossil leatherback turtle shells in the Western hemisphere, according to the The Poarch Band of Creek Indians press release.
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“This is the first fossil to carry a Muscogee name and it’s exciting to see our language recognized in this way. Opportunities like this weave our voice into history and ensure it’s never forgotten,” Samatha Martin, Creek Language Coordinator for the Poarch Creek Indians said in the news release. “I’d like to thank Dr. Gentry for allowing the Tribe to be a part of this unique experience and extend a special thank you to Dr. Marcus Briggs-Cloud for his advice and expertise in the early stages of this project.”
The complete research paper describing the new turtle species “A new leatherback marine turtle from the lower Oligocene of North America and a phylogenetic nomenclature for Dermochelyidae” can be read on the BioOne Digital website.
