Meiolania

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Meiolania
Fossil range: Oligocene to Holocene

Meiolania platyceps fossil

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	†Meiolaniidae
Genus:	†Meiolania Owen, 1886

Species

†M. brevicollis
†M. platyceps
†M. mackeyi
†M. oweni ^[1]

Meiolania ("Small roamer") is an extinct genus of cryptodire turtle from the Oligocene to Holocene, with the last relic populations at New Caledonia which survived until 2000 years ago. It was huge, measuring 2.5 m (8 ft 4 inches) in length, making it the largest known nonmarine turtle or tortoise. It lived in Australia and New Caledonia and fed on plants. Its surviving relatives are the cryptodire turtles of South America. The Meiolania specimens which were once living on New Caledonia and Lord Howe Island were much smaller than their giant relatives from the Australian continent.

Meiolania had an unusually shaped skull that sported many knob-like and horn-like protrusions. Two large horns faced sideways, giving the skull a total width of 60 cm (2 ft). These same horns would have prevented the beast from withdrawing its head into its shell, however. 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.

When the first fossil remains (a vertebra) was first found, and studied, it was originally thought to be a lizard, namely, a large monitor lizard smaller than Megalania (Megalania prisca, now also known as Varanus priscus), and thus, was named accordingly. Later, when more remains were found, it was realized that the "small roamer" was actually a turtle, and not a lizard. Some synonyms of include Miolania and Ceratochelys.

[edit] Cultural Reference

Meiolania was featured in Zoo Tycoon: Dinosaur Digs.

[edit] References

^ Patricia Vickers-Rich and Thomas Hewett Rich 1993 Wildlife of Gondwana, Reed Books, Chatswood, New South Wales, pp.168-169 ISBN 0-7301-0315-3

Barry Cox, Colin Harrison, R.J.G. Savage, and Brian Gardiner. (1999): The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures: A Visual Who's Who of Prehistoric Life. Simon & Schuster.