Ninjatitan Explained

Ninjatitan (meaning "Ninja giant") is a genus of titanosaur sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Berriasian-Valanginian)-aged Bajada Colorada Formation of Argentina. It is the oldest titanosaur known to date and the type species N. zapatai was named and described in 2021.[1] Its generic name comes from a nickname of Argentine palaeontologist Sebastian Apesteguia, and the specific name comes from technician Rogelio Zapata.[2] It is known from postcranial remains discovered in 2014.[3] [4]

Classification

Ninjatitan does not preserve any unanimous features that classify it as a somphospondylan, but it does bear features that suggest it can be included within the clade Titanosauria, either as a basal taxon or possibly within the clade Colossosauria. The phylogenetic results of Gallina and colleagues are shown below, where Ninjatitan was suggested to have multiple possible positions.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Gallina . P. A. . Canale . J. I. . Carballido . J. L. . 2021 . The Earliest Known Titanosaur Sauropod Dinosaur. . Ameghiniana . 58 . 1 . 35–51 . 10.5710/AMGH.20.08.2020.3376 .
  2. News: Agence France-Presse. March 1, 2021. Colossal titanosaur found in Argentina could be the oldest example ever found, say scientists. South China Morning Post.
  3. Web site: Científicos argentinos hallaron el titanosaurio más antiguo a nivel mundial. 2021-03-01. www.ambito.com.
  4. Web site: Monday. 01 Mar 2021 07:32 AM MYT. Study: Argentine titanosaur may be oldest yet Malay Mail. 2021-03-01. www.malaymail.com. March 2021 . en.