Lord Howe's Cowturtle
“ I am now a turtle. Virtually everything I own is on my back and suffice it to say I am one ton lighter and therefore 2,000 pounds happier. All houses are gone. ”
– Bobby Darin
Scientific Taxonomy & Character Information
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Meiolaniformes
Family: Meiolaniidae
Genus: Meiolania
Species: Meiolania platyceps
Descendant: Meiolaniid
Named by: Richard Owen
Year Published: 1886
Size: 2 metres in length (6.6 feet)
Lifespan: 50 to 250 years
Type: Reptiles (Meiolaniid)
Title:
Last Stem-Turtle
Giant Horned Turtle-like Being
Pantheon: Terran/Gaian
Time Period: Miocene to Holocene
Alignment: Good
Diet: Herbivorous
Elements: n/a
Inflicts: n/a
Casualties: n/a
Based On: itself
Conservation Status:
Earth: Extinct (EX) – IUCN Red List
Berbania/Hirawhassa: Extinct in the Wild (EW) – IUCN Red List
Reinachos/Ityosel: Vulnerable (VU) – IUCN Red List
Delphia/Thatrollwa: Vulnerable (VU) – IUCN Red List
Lord Howe's Cowturtle (Meiolania platyceps) is an extinct species and best known species of Meiolania, known from several hundred individuals found during almost uninterrupted collection on Lord Howe Island.
Etymology
Meiolania is from Greek for small roamer.
Physical Appearance
Meiolania had an unusually shaped skull that sported many knob-like and horn-like protrusions. Two large horns faced sideways, and would have prevented the animal fully withdrawing its head into its shell. The tail was protected by armored 'rings', and sported thorn-like spikes at the end. The body form of Meiolania may be viewed as having converged towards those of dinosaurian ankylosaurids and xenarthran glyptodonts.
Their demise's timing and reasons are still unknown. The Teouma Lapita archaeological site on the island of Efate in Vanuatu has layers dating from 3,100/3,000 calibrated years before the present to roughly 2,900/2,800 calibrated years before the present that contain the remains of meiolaniid turtles. Leg bones make up the majority of the remains; there are few shell fragments and no cranial or caudal components, indicating that the turtles were butchered elsewhere. In comparison to previous named insular terrestrial horned turtles, the new taxon is noticeably different.
Abilities
The object is a predator for turtles based on its dark hue. It cannot tell a black object from a predator, such as a black snake or a Melanesians. Turtles don't like the color black because they believe it might be a predator. The Meiolania's shell serves as both its armor and its most effective defense against many threats from the outside world.
Ecology
Meiolania is thought to have fed on plants, and they and other meiolaniids have been generally assumed to be fully terrestrial, though acceptance of this is not universal. Similar to many modern testudinoids, Meiolania platyceps has a palate ornamented with several rows of serrated ridges, which is suggestive of a herbivorous diet.
Behavior
Meiolania is friendly to humans, despite their size and slightly fewer human-related threats than other turtle species.
Distribution and Habitat
Several hundred specimens of a Meiolania species were discovered on Lord Howe Island in Australia during nearly continuous collection. One of the primary sources of knowledge about this group is that it is the only meiolaniid whose entire skeleton is known. Meiolania platyceps, the best-known species, was discovered in Lord Howe Island's Pleistocene strata from hundreds of individuals. Lord Howe Island is believed to have been deserted and unknown to Polynesian peoples of the South Pacific prior to European discovery and occupation.
Movement Pattern: Not Migrant
Individual Type: Solo
Population Trend: Stable
Population:
Earth: 0
Berbania: 0-12
Reinachos: 4,000
Locomotion: Amphibious
Habitat: Montane grasslands and shrublands; temperate coniferous forests; temperate broadleaf and mixed forests; temperate deciduous forests, temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands; subtropical coniferous forests; subtropical moist broadleaf forests; subtropical dry broadleaf forests; subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands; salt plains; limestone forest; tropical coniferous forests; tropical moist broadleaf forests; tropical dry broadleaf forests; tropical grasslands; tropical savannas and shrublands; Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub; mushroom forests; deserts and xeric shrublands; badlands; flooded grasslands and savannas; swamp; riparian; wetland; mangrove forest; bamboo forest; air-breathing coral reefs; lukewarm river; subterranean river; pond
Earth:
Extinct: Australia (Lord Howe Island)
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Trivia
The first Meiolaniformes Ognimdo has ever drawn.