A nice guy named Frank helped identify my turtle shell...

According to him, it appears to be a female red-eared slider turtle shell. They apparently grow to 12 inches and are native to Staten Island.

Yikes! I have two red-eared sliders in my classroom that I got on Craigslist. One is about 4 inches, the other about 5-6 inches. Apparently they can live for many years and grow quite a bit larger.... Well, I'll hope they don't grow too much too soon.

So--on the same day I also found this giant fish head with tongue but no teeth. A nearby fisherman suggested it was from a 65 pound striped bass...and no, I didn't keep it!