A routine river fishing trip in Clarke County turned into a once-in-a-lifetime discovery for one Alabama family. What started as a day on the Alabama River became the unearthing of a fossilized leatherback sea turtle shell dated to about 32 million years old. The find has now moved from a muddy bank to the attention of scientists and a museum display.
The Coleman family spotted something odd on the riverbank during a 2021 outing and set it aside while they kept fishing. Thirteen-year-old Talah Coleman noticed the formation and raised the alarm with her family. “I was the one that pointed it out. I was like that rock looks a little weird,” Talah said. “Me and my dad checked it out cause we thought it was just mud and we got closer to it and were like, that’s not mud. That’s something!”
They did not rush to announce their find, keeping it stored and watched during future visits before bringing experts in. After roughly a year, they reached out to a paleontologist who could evaluate the specimen and organize a proper excavation. That outreach set in motion a careful retrieval that required specialized equipment and coordinated help.
Discovery and Excavation
Dr. Andrew Gentry and a team assembled to investigate the large, dense object and verified it was not a rock but fossilized shell. “It is such an absolutely extraordinarily rare occurrence to get an intact leatherback shell like this. It is beyond one in a million,” Dr. Gentry said. The fossil weighed about a ton and demanded boats and heavy lifting to move it from the river to a conservation lab.
The recovery required a local science group’s support and logistical muscle to transport the specimen up river. A boat provided by regional partners was strained by the weight, with crews nearly lifting the vessel’s stern out of the water during the haul. The slow, careful extraction preserved the shell and surrounding matrix for later study.
The family, who had for years turned fishing breaks into fossil-hunting time, described the moment as surreal and humbling. “It’s a once in a lifetime experience for us to find something like that,” Adam Coleman said, reflecting on how rare and personal the discovery felt. The specimen was then transferred to institutions with the facilities to analyze and conserve it properly.
Paleontologists confirmed the specimen represents a new genus and species of leatherback sea turtle, a surprising find for the region. The Poarch Creek Tribe contributed the name Ueloca colemanorum in their Muskogee language, a choice that honors both water and turtle and the family whose discovery made the science possible. That naming recognizes cultural connection as well as scientific novelty.
Preservation of an intact leatherback shell from the Oligocene offers rare anatomical detail that can reshape understanding of turtle evolution and marine habitats in the Gulf Coastal Plain. Leatherbacks have a distinct shell structure compared with hard-shelled turtles, and fossils of well-preserved specimens are extremely scarce anywhere in the world. This specimen gives researchers new material to assess growth, shell anatomy, and how ancient leatherbacks navigated coastal ecosystems.
Beyond anatomy, the fossil paints a picture of ancient Alabama as part of a broader shallow marine environment where sea turtles once thrived. Sediment and associated materials collected with the fossil help reconstruct the river and coastal systems that existed millions of years ago. That ecological context informs climate, sea level, and habitat reconstructions for a slice of deep time that is otherwise thinly represented in the region.
The specimen now resides at Birmingham’s McWane Science Center, where it will be conserved and displayed for public education and ongoing research. Having the fossil accessible to museum visitors turns an isolated family story into a learning moment for schoolchildren and the public. It also creates opportunities for local communities to engage with science and cultural heritage tied to the land.
Finds like this one show how casual outdoor recreation can feed serious science when curiosity meets patience. The Coleman family’s decision to watch, wait, and then call experts preserved valuable context that might have been lost to chance. Their story is a reminder that big discoveries sometimes begin with ordinary moments and sharp eyes on a riverbank.
Scientists say more work remains to fully analyze the specimen, from CT scans to comparative studies with fossil and modern turtles. Each analytical step can reveal growth patterns, diet clues, or microstructure of the shell that helps place Ueloca colemanorum into the broader turtle family tree. As analyses continue, the fossil promises to be a touchstone for new research and public fascination alike.
