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Description

Meiolania sp.
Giant Tortoises are symbols of island megafauna. An example of island gigantism, the Galapagos Tortoises and the Seychelles Tortoises are among the most iconic creatures on islands. However, in the region of Oceania, there were once a group of tortoise-like reptiles that lived up until recently.
They were known as Meiolaniformes and included some of the largest land tortoises that ever lived.

Family as a Whole:
Despite their superficial resemblance to modern turtles and tortoises, they were not true tortoises. In fact, Meiolaniformes were among the most basal of all testudine reptiles. They are known as stem-turtles as they broke away from the descendants of modern tortoises during the Early Cretaceous around 122,000,000 years ago.
Characteristics common to this group of testudine were their armored skulls with various horns, and an armored tail with osteoderms jutting out on most of the tail.
The largest and most iconic was the type-genus, Meiolania.

History:
Described by Sir Richard Owen, in 1886, Owen was sent remains from Lord Howe Island of New Zealand and he called it Meiolania platyceps. The genus name derived from the Greek “Meio” meaning small and “lania” meaning roamer. Though why Owen described it as being “small” is peculiar. Because this genus of Meiolaniids included some of the largest tortoises on earth.

Find on Australia:
In 1990, paleontologists in Queensland described massive Meiolaniid horn core and vertebra. Using comparisons of other Meiolaniids, it was extrapolated that the carapace of this individual would have been around 6ft long. The entire tortoise all together could have been up to 9-12ft long and weighed between 1,000 and 2,500lbs. Compared to modern-day Galapagos Tortoises which at their largest, reach around 900lbs. As the animal has not yet been formally described, it is usually just called, Meiolania sp. More fossils of this animal have been found across Australia dating mainly from the Pleistocene. The epicenter of which was in the Australian state of Queensland.

Evolution:
These giant stem-tortoises’ behavior was likely similar to modern-day giants on the Seychelles and Galapagos. Munching their days away on leaves and fruit across Queensland. They likely would have reared young in a similar manner as well. Females would dig a hole in the ground, lay just over a dozen eggs, bury them and then seal it up with her urine. The babies would then have to fend for themselves in the Australian bush. Their growth rate would have been slow, taking years to reach maturity and would have faced predation by goannas, the giant Megalania and Thylacoleo as well. However, when they reached maturity, they would have been among the largest reptiles that walked the continent. Its armor on its head and tail is believed to have convergently evolved to be like the Ankylosaurs of the Cretaceous and the Glyptodonts of Cenozoic South America. Likely used for deterring predation by the myriad of ferocious predators in the Outback.

Extinction:
However, not even their armor or their tail spikes could protect them from extinction. No fossils in Queensland have been found past the Pleistocene. So, it’s believed that (like most Australian megafauna), they died out due to a combination of overhunting and climate change. Relict populations of these tortoises persisted until around 2000 years ago on Lord Howe Island. However, humans were not the cause of extinction. Sea level rise ultimately did these magnificent reptiles in as their habitat became more and more constricted.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
So, this is a first for me. The first undescribed species of animal I’ve made a profile of. Meiolania sp. This animal was the largest stem-tortoise on the mainland of Australia, and I did feature it in Past Meets Present where I had John rescue the eggs.
The model and skin were made by Tyranachu, the only modification I made was changing the tail pose (which you can’t see from this angle).
Along with PMP, I'm still working on another project, but I'm trying to make it more cohesive and I've had to re-write it.

For Past Meets Present:
Past Meets Present (Pt4 is Up) - Page 2 - The ZT2 Round Table

Original model by Tyranachu:
Meiolania (Tyranachu) | ZT2 Download Library Wiki | Fandom

Description

Meiolania sp.
Giant Tortoises are symbols of island megafauna. An example of island gigantism, the Galapagos Tortoises and the Seychelles Tortoises are among the most iconic creatures on islands. However, in the region of Oceania, there were once a group of tortoise-like reptiles that lived up until recently.
They were known as Meiolaniformes and included some of the largest land tortoises that ever lived.

Family as a Whole:
Despite their superficial resemblance to modern turtles and tortoises, they were not true tortoises. In fact, Meiolaniformes were among the most basal of all testudine reptiles. They are known as stem-turtles as they broke away from the descendants of modern tortoises during the Early Cretaceous around 122,000,000 years ago.
Characteristics common to this group of testudine were their armored skulls with various horns, and an armored tail with osteoderms jutting out on most of the tail.
The largest and most iconic was the type-genus, Meiolania.

History:
Described by Sir Richard Owen, in 1886, Owen was sent remains from Lord Howe Island of New Zealand and he called it Meiolania platyceps. The genus name derived from the Greek “Meio” meaning small and “lania” meaning roamer. Though why Owen described it as being “small” is peculiar. Because this genus of Meiolaniids included some of the largest tortoises on earth.

Find on Australia:
In 1990, paleontologists in Queensland described massive Meiolaniid horn core and vertebra. Using comparisons of other Meiolaniids, it was extrapolated that the carapace of this individual would have been around 6ft long. The entire tortoise all together could have been up to 9-12ft long and weighed between 1,000 and 2,500lbs. Compared to modern-day Galapagos Tortoises which at their largest, reach around 900lbs. As the animal has not yet been formally described, it is usually just called, Meiolania sp. More fossils of this animal have been found across Australia dating mainly from the Pleistocene. The epicenter of which was in the Australian state of Queensland.

Evolution:
These giant stem-tortoises’ behavior was likely similar to modern-day giants on the Seychelles and Galapagos. Munching their days away on leaves and fruit across Queensland. They likely would have reared young in a similar manner as well. Females would dig a hole in the ground, lay just over a dozen eggs, bury them and then seal it up with her urine. The babies would then have to fend for themselves in the Australian bush. Their growth rate would have been slow, taking years to reach maturity and would have faced predation by goannas, the giant Megalania and Thylacoleo as well. However, when they reached maturity, they would have been among the largest reptiles that walked the continent. Its armor on its head and tail is believed to have convergently evolved to be like the Ankylosaurs of the Cretaceous and the Glyptodonts of Cenozoic South America. Likely used for deterring predation by the myriad of ferocious predators in the Outback.

Extinction:
However, not even their armor or their tail spikes could protect them from extinction. No fossils in Queensland have been found past the Pleistocene. So, it’s believed that (like most Australian megafauna), they died out due to a combination of overhunting and climate change. Relict populations of these tortoises persisted until around 2000 years ago on Lord Howe Island. However, humans were not the cause of extinction. Sea level rise ultimately did these magnificent reptiles in as their habitat became more and more constricted.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
So, this is a first for me. The first undescribed species of animal I’ve made a profile of. Meiolania sp. This animal was the largest stem-tortoise on the mainland of Australia, and I did feature it in Past Meets Present where I had John rescue the eggs.
The model and skin were made by Tyranachu, the only modification I made was changing the tail pose (which you can’t see from this angle).
Along with PMP, I'm still working on another project, but I'm trying to make it more cohesive and I've had to re-write it.

For Past Meets Present:
Past Meets Present (Pt4 is Up) - Page 2 - The ZT2 Round Table

Original model by Tyranachu:
Meiolania (Tyranachu) | ZT2 Download Library Wiki | Fandom