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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]
| Ninjatitan Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria |
| Clade: | †Titanosauria |
| Genus: | †Ninjatitan Gallina, Canale, & Carballido, 2021 |
| Species: | †N. zapatai |
| Binomial name | |
| †Ninjatitan zapatai Gallina, Canale, & Carballido, 2021 | |
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]
| Titanosauria |
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