Manouria morla is named after Morla, a fantasy character from the book The Neverending Story written by Michael Ende, later adapted as a movie in 1984.
Morla, the Ancient One, is a giant tortoise who lives in the Swamps of Sadness. The new species described herein is the oldest known species of the genus from the Early Miocene of Czechia; therefore, the Ancient One. Its remains come from the swamp deposits of Ahníkov, a parallel to the Swamps of Sadness.
Many thanks to Tomasz Szczygielski and Àngel H. Luján.