Sphenodontia
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Sphenodonts Fossil range: Late Triassic - Recent |
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Scientific classification | ||||||||
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Sphenodontia is an order of lizard-like reptiles that includes only one living genus, the tuatara (Sphenodon). Despite its current lack of diversity, the Sphenodontia at one time included a wide array of genera in several families, and represents a lineage stretching back to the Mesozoic Era.
[edit] Taxonomy
Sphenodontia, once a wastebin taxon containing a diverse array of unrelated reptiles (notably the rhynchosaurs), today consists of three families: the possibly paraphyletic Gephyrosauridae, the Pleurosauridae, and the Sphenodontidae. Sphenodontidae is the family which contains all modern tuatara, as well as a number of extinct subfamilies.
[edit] Classification
Classification follows Wu (1994),[cite this quote] Evans et al. (2001),[cite this quote] and Apesteguia & Novas (2003)[1].
- Order RHYNCHOCEPHALIA / SPHENODONTIA
- Family Gephyrosauridae
- Gephyrosaurus
- Diphydontosaurus
- Family Pleurosauridae
- Family Sphenodontidae
- Colognathus
- Godavarisaurus
- Kawasphenodon
- Lamarquesaurus
- Leptosaurus
- Pelecymela
- Piocormus
- Sigmala
- Theretairus
- Tingitana
- Rebbanasaurus
- Planocephalosaurus
- Polysphenodon
- Brachyrhinodon
- Clevosaurus
- Subfamily Sphenodontinae
- Homoeosaurus
- Kallimodon
- Sapheosaurus
- Ankylosphenodon
- Pamizinsaurus
- Zapatadon
- Tribe Sphenodontini
- Cynosphenodon
- Sphenodon (tuatara)
- (unranked) Opisthodontia
- Opisthias
- Tribe Eilenodontini
- Toxolophosaurus
- Priosphenodon
- Eilenodon
- Family Gephyrosauridae
[edit] References
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