Spec-Dinovember Day 22: Parody, an incorrect/outdated reconstruction that turns out to be a real creature
The first fossils of Therizinosaurus to be found were the fragmentary remains of three massive claws. Uncertain of what kind of creature they belonged to, they were tentatively hypothesized to be from a large turtle-like reptile. Many further excavations revealed the therizinosaurs and segnosaurs to be the same animals, and that they were very odd theropod dinosaurs. However, a continent away and across the Tethys there would yet be a giant scythe-clawed turtle. Austrochitra maleevii is the largest member of the trionychidae family and one of the largest turtles, matching Archelon in dimensions but falling short in mass. Like the other giant turtles it is marine in habit, natively found within the shallow Eromanga Sea which covers much of Australia in the mid-Cretaceous. They are carnivorous and will attempt to eat just about anything they can catch. Much like their relatives they often wait buried in the seabed for prey to come close. also like their relatives they are capable of gas exchange via the vascularized oral tissue. They are rather swift swimmers if the need arises, occasionally pursuing prey for short bursts if their initial ambush misses. The large claws aid them in digging and tossing sand and mud over themselves when they hide, and in fending off potential predators or rivals. Their range is quite limited as their hunting method requires a loose sediment floor and comparatively shallow water depth. Occasional vagrants can be found out around the coasts of greater Australia, but no permanent populations have been able to establish themselves outside the Eromanga Sea.
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Not a dinosaur this time, but tangentially relevant. I dunno why, but it just felt like it had to be a softshell, and like the family is already named for having 3 claws so... it kinda fits. Australia is a long ways from the original Therizinosaurus locality, but I couldn't just plop this thing back into the Nemegt fauna with how well sampled it is. So I done what I've been doing for all these and trying to think of times and places that are poorly represented. The inland sea has produced the most Mesozoic fossils from anywhere in Australia, but that's just how scrappy most of the fossils of that time are there, so I went with it. Plus I've always just kinda had a soft spot for the dinosaurs of Down-Under ever since seeing the original Walking With Dinosaurs and reading Dinosaurs of Darkness (mine's a 1st edition hardcover, but it appears this 2nd edition has a few new chapters at the end, cool!). Also I don't know anything about turtles, so turtle experts how'd I do?
