Elginia (SciiFii)

Elginia testudeo is a species of pareiasaur; a member of a group of Late Permian parareptiles, distantly related to turtles. Elginia testudeo originally lived around Elgin in Scotland during the Late Permian as an extinct species of Elginia and the genus itself was once extinct, but has since been brought back from extinction by SciiFii. Elginia testudeo was introduced to the Tularosa Basin by game hunters, and since then, Elginia testudeo populations have exploded from just 50 individuals to more than 20,000 throughout New Mexico. Unlike most of its relatives, Elginia testudeo is a very small animal that can only grow to be about 3.3 feet (1 meter) long and weigh about as much as a large tortoise, due to its bony armor. Because of its armory, Elginia testudeo is safe from many predators, other than cougars and jaguars. As a herbivore that naturally lives in semi-arid climates, including deserts, it is tolerant to prolonged periods of droughts. In more arid regions, Elginia testudeo wanders widely for a long time in order to find fresh foliage to eat. In less arid regions, it sticks closely to the riverbanks and floodplains where plant life is more abundant, straying further afield only during times of drought. Its teeth are flattened and can grind away at the leaves and young branches before digesting them at length in its large gut. It swallows gastroliths to digest plants. Given that it needs to eat constantly, it usually either lives alone or in very small herds, so as to avoid denuding large areas of their edible plants.
Category:Animals
Category:Species
Category:SciiFii