Definition of Sphenodon punctatum

1. Noun. Only extant member of the order Rhynchocephalia of large spiny lizard-like diapsid reptiles of coastal islands off New Zealand.

Exact synonyms: Tuatara
Generic synonyms: Diapsid, Diapsid Reptile
Group relationships: Genus Sphenodon, Sphenodon

Lexicographical Neighbors of Sphenodon Punctatum

Sphaerobolaceae
Sphaerocarpaceae
Sphaerocarpales
Sphaerocarpos
Sphaerocarpus
Sphagnales
Sphecidae
Sphecius
Sphecius speciosis
Sphecoidea
Sphecotheres
Spheniscidae
Sphenisciformes
Spheniscus
Spheniscus demersus
Sphenodon punctatum (current term)
Sphenopsida
Sphingian
Sphingidae
Sphinx
Sphynx
Sphyraena
Sphyraena barracuda
Sphyraenidae
Sphyrapicus
Sphyrapicus varius
Sphyrapicus varius ruber
Sphyrna
Sphyrna tiburo
Sphyrna tudes

Literary usage of Sphenodon punctatum

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Water Reptiles of the Past and Present by Samuel Wendell Williston (1914)
"... different times various branches, whose descendants wandered into foreign lands or into foreign places, and lived and FIG. 85.—Sphenodon punctatum, or ..."

2. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1920)
"TUATARA, too-a-ta'ra, the native name of Sphenodon punctatum, a large lizard-like reptile formerly abundant on the mainland of New Zealand, ..."

3. Austral English: A Dictionary of Australasian Words, Phrases, and Usages by Edward Ellis Morris (1898)
"In New Zealand, the word Guano is applied to the lizard-like reptile Sphenodon punctatum. See Tuatara. In Tasmania, the name is given to Tiliqua ..."

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