Meiolania platyceps

Paulina-Carabajal, Ariana, Sterli, Juliana, Georgi, Justin, Poropat, Stephen F & Kear, Benjamin P, 2017, Comparative neuroanatomy of extinct horned turtles (Meiolaniidae) and extant terrestrial turtles (Testudinidae), with comments on the palaeobiological implications of selected endocranial features, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 180 (4), pp. 930-950 : 933

MEIOLANIA PLATYCEPS

The complete cranial endocast of M. platyceps plus the nasal cavity measures 141 mm long from the external nares to the foramen magnum ( Figs 1 , 5A, D, G ).

Figures

Figure 1. Digital reconstruction of the skull of Meiolania platyceps (MMF 13825a) in dorsal (A, B), left lateral (C, D) and ventral (E, F) views. In the images at the left the bone is rendered semitransparent to allow observation of internal structures. Abbreviations: ani, aperture narium interna; ane, apertura narium externa; cav, cavum nasi proprium; co, condylus occipitalis; ct, cavum tympani; end, cranial endocast; fpp, foramen palatinum posterius; ic, internal carotid; ica, incisura columellar auris; ie, inner ear; ipts, intrapterygoid slit; med, medulla; mx, maxilla; nas, nasal cavity; nphd, nasopharyngeal duct; orb, orbit; snt, snout; ves, vestibulum; XII, cranial nerve. Scale bar = 5 cm.

Figure 5. Cranial endocasts and nasal cavities of the meiolaniid turtles Meiolania platyceps (A, D, G), Gaffneylania auricularis (B, E, H) and Niolamia argentina (C, F, I), in dorsal (A–C), left lateral (D–F) and dorsal (G–I) views. Abbreviations: asc, anterior semicircular canal; ca, cerebral artery; cav, cavum nasi proprium; cer, cerebral hemisphere; de, dorsal expansion; fjp, foramen jugulare posterius; fo, fenestra ovalis; ic, internal carotid artery; ie, inner ear; lag, lagena; lsc, lateral semicircular canal; med, medulla oblongata; met, metotic passage for cranial nerves (CNs) IX–XI; nas, nasal cavity; nphd, nasopharyngeal duct; pit, pituitary; ns, nasomaxillary sinus; psc, posterior semicircular canal; sep, septum; tym, tympanic branch of glossopharyngeal nerve; ves, vestibulum; V, IX–XII, CNs; 1, partial posterior subdivision of the dorsal surface of the cavum nasi proprium of Niolamia argentina. Not to scale.