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Description
The Pleurodires (commonly referred to as the side-necked turtles) are famous to us today for dwelling in freshwater rivers and lakes. However, during the Cretaceous and Paleogene of Our World, certain genera were also adapted for living in salt water. Unlike modern Cryptodire sea turtles, these animals were not very proficient swimmers, and instead tended to walk along the sandy bottom of shallow seas while searching for food. These marine forms eventually became extinct on Our World, although on Alter Earth these turtles have been spared such a fate. By modern times, the Bothremydids that pioneered this lifestyle are still around, albeit less common and diverse than they were during their Cretaceous and Paleogene heyday. One such genus from these golden years was the 2m long Heketochelys from the Late Eocene of Egypt. A long necked and heavily built herbivore, H. aesopi possessed a long neck, a small but robust skull and powerful limbs. Like other marine Bothremydids, this animal was a fairly poor swimmer, instead electing to walk along the sea bed like a chelonian hippo while searching for seaweed and other aquatic plants. If threatened by a predator, Heketochelys would have pulled it's neck inside it's shell and hunkered down, partly burying itself in the sand. Once the predator gave up, this slow moving turtle would have resumed it's leisurely feeding schedule.

Description
The Pleurodires (commonly referred to as the side-necked turtles) are famous to us today for dwelling in freshwater rivers and lakes. However, during the Cretaceous and Paleogene of Our World, certain genera were also adapted for living in salt water. Unlike modern Cryptodire sea turtles, these animals were not very proficient swimmers, and instead tended to walk along the sandy bottom of shallow seas while searching for food. These marine forms eventually became extinct on Our World, although on Alter Earth these turtles have been spared such a fate. By modern times, the Bothremydids that pioneered this lifestyle are still around, albeit less common and diverse than they were during their Cretaceous and Paleogene heyday. One such genus from these golden years was the 2m long Heketochelys from the Late Eocene of Egypt. A long necked and heavily built herbivore, H. aesopi possessed a long neck, a small but robust skull and powerful limbs. Like other marine Bothremydids, this animal was a fairly poor swimmer, instead electing to walk along the sea bed like a chelonian hippo while searching for seaweed and other aquatic plants. If threatened by a predator, Heketochelys would have pulled it's neck inside it's shell and hunkered down, partly burying itself in the sand. Once the predator gave up, this slow moving turtle would have resumed it's leisurely feeding schedule.