Henodus (SciiFii)

The pancake false turtle (Henodus larudonta) is a species of placodont that originally lived from Late Triassic Germany during the early Carnian age as an extinct species, Henodus chelyops, and was once extinct, but has since been brought back from extinction by SciiFii and introduced throughout the modern lakes, rivers, ponds, and brackish waters across Eurasia and North America to help boost biodiversity. Unlike most placodonts, the pancake false turtle is entirely freshwater and brackish water animal, as it does not tolerate entirely saltwater environments. The pancake false turtle is around 1 metre (3.3 feet) long on average. Like many other placodonts, it has a superficial resemblance to a turtle. Like turtles, it has a shell that forms from a plastron on the underside and a carapace on top. The carapace extends well beyond the limbs, and is made up of individual plates of bony scutes covered by plates of horn. However, the shell is composed of many more pieces of bone than that of turtles, forming a mosaic pattern. The armor is fused to its spine, and its limbs are situated in normal positions, unlike the turtle, where they are located inside the ribcage. Due to the pancake false turtle having weak limbs, it spends little time on land, only to come on land to lay eggs, similarly to pond turtles and sea turtles. The pancake false turtle also has a single tooth on each side of its mouth, though the remaining teeth are replaced by a beak. In addition, it has baleen-like denticles along the jaws, which combines with a unique feature of the hyoid and musculature allowing a rapid jaw closing, which also allows a filter feeding lifestyle. The head is squared-off at the front, just ahead of the eyes. The false pancake turtle is an aquatic herbivore, scraping off vegetation from the bottom with its broad jaws and it also relies on filter feeding to obtain plant-matter from the substrates. The conservation status of the pancake false turtle is Least Concern due to successful conservation efforts, the pancake false turtle's wide range and its tolerance to many of the human activities.
Category:Animals
Category:Species
Category:SciiFii