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''Ninjemys oweni'' ("Owen's Ninja Turtle") is an extinct large
The remains of ''Ninjemys'' were found at the King's Creek locality in Queensland in 1879 by G. F. Bennett, an Australian collector. The King's Creek deposit is believed to be of Pleistocene age, though the precise dating is uncertain. Despite the fact that Bennett correctly identified the remains as that of a turtle, when they were sent to the Natural History Museum,
''Ninjemys'', a new name for "''Meiolania" oweni'' (Woodward), a Horned Turtle from the Pleistocene of Queensland"
''American Museum Novitates''. 3049: 1–10 Like other meiolaniids, ''N. oweni'' is believed to have been an herbivore. It reached in carapace length, its weight is estimated at .
meiolaniid
Meiolaniidae is an extinct family of large, probably herbivorous stem-group turtles with heavily armored heads and tails known from South America and Australasia. Though once believed to be cryptodires, they are not closely related to any living ...
stem-turtle from Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
(Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
). It resembled its relative, ''Meiolania
''Meiolania'' ("small roamer") is an extinct genus of meiolaniid stem-turtle native to Australasia from the Middle Miocene to Late Pleistocene and possibly Holocene. It is best known from fossils found on Lord Howe Island, though fossils are know ...
'', save that the largest pair of horns on its head stuck out to the sides, rather than point backwards. It is only known from a mostly complete skull and the distal portion of a tail.
Discovery and taxonomy
The remains of ''Ninjemys'' were found at the King's Creek locality in Queensland in 1879 by G. F. Bennett, an Australian collector. The King's Creek deposit is believed to be of Pleistocene age, though the precise dating is uncertain. Despite the fact that Bennett correctly identified the remains as that of a turtle, when they were sent to the Natural History Museum, Richard Owen
Sir Richard Owen (20 July 1804 – 18 December 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and paleontologist. Owen is generally considered to have been an outstanding naturalist with a remarkable gift for interpreting fossils.
Owe ...
mixed up the remains with the vertebrae of ''Megalania
Megalania (''Varanus priscus'') is an extinct species of giant monitor lizard, part of the megafaunal assemblage that inhabited Australia during the Pleistocene. It is the largest terrestrial lizard known to have existed, reaching an estimated ...
'', and subsequently with the foot bones of ''Diprotodon
''Diprotodon'' (Ancient Greek: "two protruding front teeth") is an extinct genus of marsupial from the Pleistocene of Australia, containing one species, ''D. optatum''. The earliest finds date to 1.77 million to 780,000 years ago, but most speci ...
''. He later described better remains of the related genus ''Meiolania'' from Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...
, so it was realised that this first known meiolaniid
Meiolaniidae is an extinct family of large, probably herbivorous stem-group turtles with heavily armored heads and tails known from South America and Australasia. Though once believed to be cryptodires, they are not closely related to any living ...
was actually a turtle. It was subsequently described by A. S. Woodward as ''Meiolania oweni''. Woodward (1888) notes that "In 1881, a tail, completely sheathed in bony armour like that of ''Glyptodon
''Glyptodon'' (from Greek for 'grooved or carved tooth': γλυπτός 'sculptured' and ὀδοντ-, ὀδούς 'tooth') is a genus of glyptodont (an extinct group of large, herbivorous armadillos) that lived from the Pleistocene, around 2.5 ...
,'' was found at the same spot in King's Creek whence had been obtained he ''Ninjemys'' holotype skull. Gafney (1992) notes that this consists of a "tail club and single tail ring", this is assumed to belong to the holotype individual. In 1992, anatomical differences with the type species ''M. platyceps'' led to its placement in the new genus ''Ninjemys'', which was named in honor of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...
. The paper explained the etymology as "Ninja, in allusion to that totally rad, fearsome foursome epitomizing shelled success; emys, turtle."Gaffney, E. S. 1992.''Ninjemys'', a new name for "''Meiolania" oweni'' (Woodward), a Horned Turtle from the Pleistocene of Queensland"
''American Museum Novitates''. 3049: 1–10 Like other meiolaniids, ''N. oweni'' is believed to have been an herbivore. It reached in carapace length, its weight is estimated at .
References