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Ninjemys oweni

Reptilia - Meiolaniidae

Taxonomy
Meiolania oweni was named by Woodward (1888). Its type specimen is BMNH R391, a partial skull, and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is King's Creek, which is in a Pleistocene terrestrial horizon in Australia.

It was recombined as Ninjemys oweni by Gaffney (1992), Sterli (2015) and Rhodin et al. (2015).

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1888Meiolania oweni Smith Woodward p. 89
1888Meiolania oweni Woodward p. 89
1889Meiolania oweni Lydekker pp. 166-167
1934Miolania oweni Swinton figs. Pl. IX
1992Ninjemys oweni Gaffney p. 5
2015Ninjemys oweni Rhodin et al.
2015Ninjemys oweni Sterli

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
RankNameAuthor
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
—Sauropsida
classReptilia
—Testudinata(Oppel 1811)
—Perichelydia
—Meiolaniformes
familyMeiolaniidaeLydekker 1887
genusNinjemys
speciesoweni()

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

†Ninjemys oweni Woodward 1888
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Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
E. S. Gaffney 1992A meiolaniid known only from skull and tail, characterized by unique possession of laterally projecting B horns and anterior extension of the nasals beyond rest of skull; A scale area large and forms posterior shelf as in Niolamia but A scale not significantly larger than B scale; D scales probably meet in midline, X scale small as in Meiolania; D scale area raised as in Niolamia, not flat as in Meiolania; Y scale relatively large as in Meiolania; apertura narium interna partially divided as in Meiolania but in contrast to Niolamia; well-developed second (more medial) accessory ridge on triturating surface of palate reaching nearly to midline in contrast to Meiolania in which it is lacking anteriorly and Niolamia in which it is absent; tail ring enclosed ventrally as in Niolamia but in contrast to Meiolania; tail club formed from two segments, rather than four as in Meiolania.
J. Sterli 2015Ninjemys oweni is differentiated from other meiolaniids by the unique possession of partially divided aperture narium externa, laterally projected horns, presence of scute A not much bigger than scute B, nasals that extend anteriorly beyond the premaxilla and ventrally closed tail rings.