New Caledonia is a Pacific Island chain home to some of the most endemic, ancient plants and diverse, non-mammal wildlife. Since settlement, much of terrestrial megafauna, aside from a few species, have been devastated and hunted to extinction by humans and invasive species. Modern New Caledonia fauna includes the crested gecko, giant gecko/skink, goliath imperial pigeon, kagu, NC crow, Ouvea parakeet, and various other species. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crested Geckos: These lizards were thought to have vanished centuries ago, but were re-discovered on an islet, after falling from a tree onto a researcher, as well as some parts of the main island. Nowadays, modern 'cresties' descend from a handful of these individuals, in those regions, becoming one of the most popular pet reptiles on the planet. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- De-Extinction: Unfortunately, most subfossils are quite poorly preserved in this ecosystem's tropical climate. Not to mention, much of the extinct species are stem-groups of living clades, which makes it immensely difficult to re-engineer their niches. However, a sylviornis-like animal could potentially be produced through chicken genomics. Ecological Proxies: Meiolania and mekosuchus can ultimately be proxied with extant reptiles, like giant tortoises and dwarf, land crocodiles + monitor lizards . Some modern birds, like dwarf cassowaries, emus, and galliforms, might be able to partially restore the roles of sylviornis, as well. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ○ New Caledonia Creatures: • Meiolania - Stem Turtle • Mekosuchus - Terrestrial Crocodile • Sylviornis - Stem Galliform ○ Potential Ecological Proxies: • Meiolania - Aldabra Tortoise/Galapagos Tortoise/Sulcata Tortoise • Mekosuchus - African Dwarf Crocodile/Cuvier's Dwarf Caiman/Monitor Lizard • Sylviornis - Dwarf Cassowary/Emu/Galliform
De-Extinction/Ecological Proxies: Ceres4S2D1 Sprite Work: Ceres4S2D1 Sounds: Scratch
