 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 mixed up the remains with the verebrae of "Megalania", and subsequently with the foot bones of "Diprotodon".He later described better remains of the related genus "Meiolania" from Lord Howe Island, so it was realised that this first known meiolaniid was actually a turtle.It was subsequently described by A. S. Woodward as "Meiolania oweni".