Western Dragon Turtle

A great shadow rose up beneath the ship. They should have been more careful. They should have known that ridding their ship of the battle's aftermath would bring the beasts right to them. They weren't there to find one, but it had come nonetheless. The water began to roil, and a great maw rose just off the port side of the ship. The wave crashed into the ship, throwing it like a leaf in the wind.

Western dragon turtles are a species of dragon turtle that inhabit the open waters of the Western Ocean. They are a dangerous predator that have contributed to many a shipwreck or the disappearance of sailors while at sea.

Distribution and Habitat

Western dragon turtles primarily live in the western hemisphere of Galactus, while their cousins, the eastern dragon turtles, inhabit the eastern hemisphere. They tend to live in deep waters far from the coast, especially in places where the ocean reaches over a mile deep, such as in areas with underwater trenches. They are mesopelagic reptiles that are most commonly sighted in areas with large volumes of sea life. During the day, they rise close to the srface to take advantage of the food available, while at night they sink lower, either continuing to swim in the mesopelagic zone, or sinking to the ocean floor to rest every few weeks.

Western dragon turtles are solitary creatures and somewhat territorial. One dragon turtle may have a home range up to 200 square miles depending on how rich the sea life is in that area. The home ranges of dragon turtles can overlap without much risk of confrontation.

According to some estimates, there are around 100,000 western dragon turtles in the world.

Anatomy and Appearance

As its name suggests, the western dragon turtle resembles a massive snapping turtle. Its head, though, is more dragon-like, with a long neck and a large mouth lined with massive fangs. Its body is encased in a massive, armored shell, which like other turtles is directly attached to its spine. This shell is roughly elliptical and even egg-shaped, tapering slightly towards the rear of the dragon turtle. Dragon turtles have four thick legs with a large, sharp claw on the end of each foot's four toes. Between eah toe is a thick webbing, forming paddle-like feet that help propel the dragon turtle through the water.

The western dragon turtle is covered in thick scales, which are closely knit and make it nearly impossible to harm the dragon turtle with spears, swords, or harpoons. When a weapon is able to pierce the scaly armor, it rarely does any real damage. The weapons remain embedded in the dragon turtle and it is not uncommon to encounter a dragon turtle sporting several of these "thorns" covered in algae, barnacles, and other sea creatures.

The shell of a dragon turtle has two parts: the upper portion, or carapace, which fits over its back, and the lower portion, or plastron, which covers the belly. The carapace is usually covered with sea life. It is formed from massive, overlapping plates which are almost completely fused together to protect the body underneath. Females have large, blunted spikes that sprout from the center of each plate as added protection. The plastron is made of a similar material but is smoother and thicker to protect the dragon turtle from below. The plastron is often coovered with barnacles or shellfish, but not nearly to the degree of the carapace.

The western dragon turtle has large eyes, around the size of a ship's wheel, which are yellow or green and sit below the dragon turtle's brow ridge which is thickly armored and covered in spikes. It has around the same vision as a sharp-sighted human.

Dragon turtles have the ability to breathe both water and air, possessing a set of lungs as well as a set of gills. While submerged, a valve in the back of its throat which leads to the lungs seals itself so that the dragon is able to open its mouth underwater without getting any in its lungs. Its gill slits are located on the side of the neck and seal when the dragon turtle exits the water.

Size

Western dragon turtles display sexual dimorphism, and females are noticeably larger than males. On average, males reach between 50 to 60 feet long, while females are on average 70 to 80 feet long. The shells of dragon turtles are on average 40 to 50 feet across for males and 50 to 60 feet across for females. Males weigh up to 32,000 pounds on average, while females can weigh up to 50,000 pounds on average. It is possible to measure a dragon turtle either by approaching it while calm or by finding one washed up on a beach, which is rare. The largest reliably recorded male was 66 feet long with a shell 53 feet across, although its weight is unknown, and the largest reliably recorded female was 91 feet long with a shell 72 feet across. It was found buried in the sand in a bay south of the city of Ollanas and weighed nearly 60,000 pounds.

Behavior

Western dragon turtles are feared by sailors across Galactus. Despite their fearsome reputation, however, they do not pose as much of a threat as some might believe. It is rare to even see a western dragon turtle while travelling across the Western Ocean. Typically, the only reason sailors do see the dragon turtles is because they have dumped refuse such as fish or offal into the water, which brings the dragon turtle to the ship in its search for food. In these cases, it is best to simply leave the creature alone until it decides to leave. Unfortunately, many assume that the dragon turtle has ill intentions and retaliate with weapons, often leading to disaster for the ship and its crew when the dragon turtle defends itself.

Western dragon turtles can live in overlapping territories peacefully, and only fight one another in disputes over food. These fights can be deadly, as the dragon turtles tear at one another with their teeth and claws until one flees or is killed. Males also fight one another during breeding season if more than one approaches the same female.

Western dragon turtles hunt alone, and are so large and fast compared to other creatures that their main strategy is to simply outswim their quarry. They have immense reserves of stamina, and can follow prey for extended periods of time until their quarry tires and slows. Dragon turtles can eat around one to two tons of food per feeding, which can be fish, marine mammals, and even shellfish on the ocean floor. The average western dragon turtle eats once very two or so weeks. They cannot chew well, so they must allow their meals time to digest completely before feeding again.

Reproduction

Individual western dragon turtles reproduce every five or so years, but breeding season occurs every year during each hemisphere's summer months. During breeding season, dragon turtles migrate towards the equator and warmer waters. Females release pheromones into the water as a signal to nearby males that they are ready to breed. These pheromones can spread for hundreds of miles in the water, and often more than one male will follow the same trail. In these cases, the males will fight one another until only one male is left to breed with the female. Upon successful breeding, a female deposits her 10-12 fertilized eggs in warm, coastal waters. They are buried under a deep layer of sand and grit and left to develop and hatch on their own.

Dragon turtle eggs have a thick, leathery shell and are too large for many creatures to successfully eat, although some larger marine mammals have been known to find these nests and steal eggs. The eggs take 14 months to develop and hatch, long enough to avoid other dragon turtles during their breeding season, who might attack the hatchlings. The first newly hatched dragon turtle in a nest will destroy the other eggs in the clutch and kill most or all of its nestmates and consume them. This initial feeding sustains the hatchling as it digs its way out of the sand and begins its journey to cooler waters away from the nesting site. Occasionally, more than one hatchling will survive the first feeding.

Baby dragon turtles resemble fully grown dragon turtles. Their shells grow rapidly with them, going from around two feet long to 30 or 40 feet long in the span of just one year. Growth slows down after the first year, and the young dragon turtle takes about ten to twenty years to grow to full size and reach sexual maturity.

Dragon turtles can live for centuries in optimal conditions. The average age is around 175 years, and the longest known living dragon turtle is around three hundred years old.