"Basilemys (King Turtle) belongs to a family of early turtles that are now entirely extinct (Nanhsiungchelyidae). Basilemys is a bit of an enigma, with a carapace shape similar to aquatic turtles but the limbs and beak of a terrestrial herbivore, like a tortoise. Unlike it's mostly aquatic brethren, Basilemys occupies the Hell Creek floodplains, feeding on low growing plants. It is also a relatively large animal, matching Axestemys in size, with shell lengths averaging around a meter."
― Saurian encylopedia
Basilemys is the largest land turtle of the Late Cretaceous period in North America. Despite its size it is surprisingly poorly known as a complete animal. One specimen is particularly exciting because the shell was totally disarticulated before burial, which gave the opportunity to restore the high domed shell in 3 dimensions for the first time ever. It is also significant because it preserves several non-shell elements, adding to our knowledge of this specimen and the shell itself shows evidence of fungal infections during life, just like modern tortoises. That particular fossil is 78 million years old, and is one of many fossil examples from this genus. Basilemys is known from five different described species, being B.sinuosa the one from the Hell Creek Formation.
In Saurian[]
Basilemys hiding from a subadult Dakotaraptor
Basilemys is currently in Saurian as an AI. It is portrayed with thick scales and a somewhat flat shell. Its' coloration is manifested with a dark brown head and legs and a yellow shell with brown stripes to match its' habitat. When threatened by the player, Basilemys will hide its head on the shell, granting itself a great ammount of resistance to the player's attacks. Basilemys are largely solitary animals, but very rarely, a congregation of a few individuals can be observed by the player. Currently, Basilemys doesn't display ontogeny or sexual dimorphism.
Dakotaraptor gameplay[]
The player can take one down with enough persistance, being much easier once you grow up. Once you manage to bite the turtle repeatedly, the player is rewarded with easy food.
Triceratops gameplay[]
Basilemys will hide in its shell from attacks. However, very big and mature Triceratops are way too heavy for the turtle's shell to withstand that amount of weight, and therefore they can die instantly, as a Triceratops steps on one.
Gallery[]
