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Description
Axestemys infernalis
During the Cretaceous period, turtles and tortoises had diversified into countless niches. From the giant Archelon to the distinctive stem-turtles Meiolaniids which were still going strong in Gondwana. However, but perhaps the most unsung and long-lived group of turtles were the Trionychines. These were the softshell turtles which can still be found across the world today in various waterways, ponds and rivers. One of the most recent finds from the famous Hell Creek Formation was in fact a Trionychine, known as Axestemys infernalis.
History and Discovery:
Axestemys itself was described in the 1870s by infamous paleontologist, Edward Drinker Cope, but he classified it as “Axestus byssina”. The specific name literally means “Axe Turtle” a translation from Latin and the byssinia a shortened word in Latin for “mixture”. Likely a reference to the mixed shell pattern or composition of the shell. This was an Eocene specimen from Fossil Lake, Wyoming, most famous for its unique mammal fossils such as Coryphodon and Protorohippus. How he acquired it is unknown, possibly sent to him by one of his fossil brokers or scavengers out west. He recognized it as a type of turtle.
Aside from a description noting that it was relatively large around 5ft long, Cope didn’t describe it beyond a basic description.
Then, in 1899 paleontologist Oliver Perry Hay redescribed it as Axestemys, the name remaining unchanged instead of making it translated from Greek. The redescription was done in part because it wasn’t fully described, and when he compared A.byssinia he uncovered a new specimen in Montana, and he described a similar specimen he was sent from the Cretaceous, it was nearly identical. He dubbed it Axestemys splendida, the “Splendid Axe Turtle”. It was comparable in to A.byssinia and Hay recognized it being closely related to modern-day softshell turtles; Trionychines.
In the intervening years, many other species were described in this genus. In 2019, Natasha S. Vitek, a paleontologist from the university of Florida described a turtle from Hell Creek from Montana. She described it: Axestemys infernalis, the Infernal Axe Turtle.
Description:
A.splendida and A.byssinia were relatively comparable in size. 5.1-5.6ft long, however, A.infernalis was bigger, 6.1-6.8ft long and possibly clocking in at 260-300lbs. Larger than even the Yangtze giant softshell turtle from China. In terms of appearance, it’s likely that it would’ve resembled modern softshell turtles. A relatively flat carapace (shell) covered in leathery skin, webbed hands and feet designed to swim through the water and get about adequately on land.
Moreover, it likely would have had a decently long neck for a water dwelling turtle with distinctive proboscis like snout with two nostrils on the end. This is an adaptation that allows them to breathe more capably underwater and forage for food.
Coloration is unknown, but probably would have been like softshell turtles of today, being largely dull colors like brown or green.
Habitat and Diet:
By observing modern softshell turtles, we can gain some insight into what Axestemys was like. These animals were omnivorous, eating whatever they came across, from water plants, small invertebrates, and fish as well.
Habitat-wise, this species lived in the Hell Creek Formation Dating to around 68-66,000,000 years ago. Today, it is parts of Montana, North and South Dakota, and Wyoming. The foothills of the Rockies and the badlands of the United States. When Acheroraptor roamed, the environment would have been unrecognizable from what it is today. It would have been an environment like the Florida Everglades and a floodplain environment with rivers and wetlands being extremely common in the area.
A.infernalis lived alongside A.splendida in the various waterways of prehistoric Montana and South Dakota. Various softshell turtles in China do occasionally overlap so it’s not surprising there are a handful of turtles in the same region. Alongside them in the waterways there were crocodilians like Borealosuchus and Brachychampsa that swam alongside the giant softshell. While adults would probably not have been major targets given their size, the juveniles and hatchlings would have been easy prey for them. The largest water dwelling predator would have been Thoracosaurus, a massive gavialoid crocodilian that lived in hell creek, however, more likely this animal would have preyed on fish more often than Axestemys. Speaking of which, Fish in Hell Creek would have been fairly recognizable, animals like Gar and Paddlefish have been found in Hell Creek. Bowfin relatives have also been found here as well. These animals and their spawn would have been easy pickings for this turtle.
On the river’s edge, Axestemys would have been witness to several dinosaurs coming to rivers and wetlands to drink with iconic Cretaceous Titans such as Ankylosaurus, Triceratops, and Edmontosaurus. Other animals like the ornithischian Thescelosaurus, Ornithomimus/Struthiomimus, and the Caenagnathidae Anzu were found here as well.
Whether or not predators like Tyrannosaurus, Dakotaraptor or Acheroraptor preyed on Axestemys is unknown, but certainly possible. Axestemys, being a softshell turtle, as the name implies, would have been an easy nut to crack for predators like Tyrannosaurus. However, without fossil evidence it’s only conjecture.
Extinction:
Axestemys infernalis would die out at the end of the reign of dinosaurs, 66,000,000 years ago. However, its genus would live on for another 12-15,000,000 years well into the Eocene. While being reduced somewhat in size, its descendants would still have been impressive turtles, with carapaces 5ft+ long.
However, these animals would eventually die off. Softshell turtles including the largest softshell around today, the Yangtze giant softshell, is critically endangered, only a handful of them left, and many around the globe are threatened with poaching being used to make turtle soup or for their leathery carapace. Hopefully human actions and conservation can prevent these animals from meeting the same fate as their giant Cretaceous-Eocene turtles.
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Okay, a relatively basic profile but I just really wanted to make this pose with a softshell turtle in Hell Creek. So yep, put a baby rex on its shell and I just found it funny.
What I did was take the basic Chinese Softshell made by ZTABC and then modified the skin and the mesh's snout ever so slightly and I got the result I wanted.
Will this be in PMP? Yes. But it won’t be a major role. Largely because it’s largely used for a background character. Looking forward to making this small scene with them.

Original Model and Skin by ZTABC, modified by me.
Chinese Softshell Turtle (ZTABC Team) | ZT2 Download Library Wiki | Fandom

For Past Meets Present (Must have an account to read):
Past Meets Present - The ZT2 Round Table

Description
Axestemys infernalis
During the Cretaceous period, turtles and tortoises had diversified into countless niches. From the giant Archelon to the distinctive stem-turtles Meiolaniids which were still going strong in Gondwana. However, but perhaps the most unsung and long-lived group of turtles were the Trionychines. These were the softshell turtles which can still be found across the world today in various waterways, ponds and rivers. One of the most recent finds from the famous Hell Creek Formation was in fact a Trionychine, known as Axestemys infernalis.
History and Discovery:
Axestemys itself was described in the 1870s by infamous paleontologist, Edward Drinker Cope, but he classified it as “Axestus byssina”. The specific name literally means “Axe Turtle” a translation from Latin and the byssinia a shortened word in Latin for “mixture”. Likely a reference to the mixed shell pattern or composition of the shell. This was an Eocene specimen from Fossil Lake, Wyoming, most famous for its unique mammal fossils such as Coryphodon and Protorohippus. How he acquired it is unknown, possibly sent to him by one of his fossil brokers or scavengers out west. He recognized it as a type of turtle.
Aside from a description noting that it was relatively large around 5ft long, Cope didn’t describe it beyond a basic description.
Then, in 1899 paleontologist Oliver Perry Hay redescribed it as Axestemys, the name remaining unchanged instead of making it translated from Greek. The redescription was done in part because it wasn’t fully described, and when he compared A.byssinia he uncovered a new specimen in Montana, and he described a similar specimen he was sent from the Cretaceous, it was nearly identical. He dubbed it Axestemys splendida, the “Splendid Axe Turtle”. It was comparable in to A.byssinia and Hay recognized it being closely related to modern-day softshell turtles; Trionychines.
In the intervening years, many other species were described in this genus. In 2019, Natasha S. Vitek, a paleontologist from the university of Florida described a turtle from Hell Creek from Montana. She described it: Axestemys infernalis, the Infernal Axe Turtle.
Description:
A.splendida and A.byssinia were relatively comparable in size. 5.1-5.6ft long, however, A.infernalis was bigger, 6.1-6.8ft long and possibly clocking in at 260-300lbs. Larger than even the Yangtze giant softshell turtle from China. In terms of appearance, it’s likely that it would’ve resembled modern softshell turtles. A relatively flat carapace (shell) covered in leathery skin, webbed hands and feet designed to swim through the water and get about adequately on land.
Moreover, it likely would have had a decently long neck for a water dwelling turtle with distinctive proboscis like snout with two nostrils on the end. This is an adaptation that allows them to breathe more capably underwater and forage for food.
Coloration is unknown, but probably would have been like softshell turtles of today, being largely dull colors like brown or green.
Habitat and Diet:
By observing modern softshell turtles, we can gain some insight into what Axestemys was like. These animals were omnivorous, eating whatever they came across, from water plants, small invertebrates, and fish as well.
Habitat-wise, this species lived in the Hell Creek Formation Dating to around 68-66,000,000 years ago. Today, it is parts of Montana, North and South Dakota, and Wyoming. The foothills of the Rockies and the badlands of the United States. When Acheroraptor roamed, the environment would have been unrecognizable from what it is today. It would have been an environment like the Florida Everglades and a floodplain environment with rivers and wetlands being extremely common in the area.
A.infernalis lived alongside A.splendida in the various waterways of prehistoric Montana and South Dakota. Various softshell turtles in China do occasionally overlap so it’s not surprising there are a handful of turtles in the same region. Alongside them in the waterways there were crocodilians like Borealosuchus and Brachychampsa that swam alongside the giant softshell. While adults would probably not have been major targets given their size, the juveniles and hatchlings would have been easy prey for them. The largest water dwelling predator would have been Thoracosaurus, a massive gavialoid crocodilian that lived in hell creek, however, more likely this animal would have preyed on fish more often than Axestemys. Speaking of which, Fish in Hell Creek would have been fairly recognizable, animals like Gar and Paddlefish have been found in Hell Creek. Bowfin relatives have also been found here as well. These animals and their spawn would have been easy pickings for this turtle.
On the river’s edge, Axestemys would have been witness to several dinosaurs coming to rivers and wetlands to drink with iconic Cretaceous Titans such as Ankylosaurus, Triceratops, and Edmontosaurus. Other animals like the ornithischian Thescelosaurus, Ornithomimus/Struthiomimus, and the Caenagnathidae Anzu were found here as well.
Whether or not predators like Tyrannosaurus, Dakotaraptor or Acheroraptor preyed on Axestemys is unknown, but certainly possible. Axestemys, being a softshell turtle, as the name implies, would have been an easy nut to crack for predators like Tyrannosaurus. However, without fossil evidence it’s only conjecture.
Extinction:
Axestemys infernalis would die out at the end of the reign of dinosaurs, 66,000,000 years ago. However, its genus would live on for another 12-15,000,000 years well into the Eocene. While being reduced somewhat in size, its descendants would still have been impressive turtles, with carapaces 5ft+ long.
However, these animals would eventually die off. Softshell turtles including the largest softshell around today, the Yangtze giant softshell, is critically endangered, only a handful of them left, and many around the globe are threatened with poaching being used to make turtle soup or for their leathery carapace. Hopefully human actions and conservation can prevent these animals from meeting the same fate as their giant Cretaceous-Eocene turtles.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Okay, a relatively basic profile but I just really wanted to make this pose with a softshell turtle in Hell Creek. So yep, put a baby rex on its shell and I just found it funny.
What I did was take the basic Chinese Softshell made by ZTABC and then modified the skin and the mesh's snout ever so slightly and I got the result I wanted.
Will this be in PMP? Yes. But it won’t be a major role. Largely because it’s largely used for a background character. Looking forward to making this small scene with them.

Original Model and Skin by ZTABC, modified by me.
Chinese Softshell Turtle (ZTABC Team) | ZT2 Download Library Wiki | Fandom

For Past Meets Present (Must have an account to read):
Past Meets Present - The ZT2 Round Table