Sphenodontidae
Temporal range:
Tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus)
Skeleton of Sphenofontis, a sphenodontine from the Late Jurassic of Germany
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Rhynchocephalia
Suborder: Sphenodontia
Family: Sphenodontidae
Cope, 1870 (conserved name)
Type species
Hatteria punctata
Gray, 1842
Subgroups
Synonyms
  • Hatteriidae
    Cope, 1864 (rejected name)
  • Rhynchocephalidae
    Hoffmann, 1881 (rejected name)
Skeleton of Navajosphenodon from the Early Jurassic of North America, one of the oldest sphenodontines.
Illustration of the skull of Navajosphenodon in lateral view, showing closed temporal bar (bottom right)

Sphenodontidae is a family within the reptile group Rhynchocephalia, comprising taxa most closely related to the living tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus). Historically the taxa included within Sphenodontidae have varied greatly between analyses, and the group has lacked a formal definition.[2] Cynosphenodon from the Jurassic of Mexico has consistently been recovered as a close relative of the tuatara in most analyses, with the clade containing the two and other very close relatives of the tuatara often called Sphenodontinae.[2] The herbivorous Eilenodontinae, otherwise considered part of Opisthodontia, is considered to be part of this family in many recent studies as the sister group to Sphenodontinae. The earliest Sphenodontines are known from the Early Jurassic of North America, with other remains known from the Late Jurassic of Europe, the Late Cretaceous of South America and the Miocene-recent of New Zealand. Sphenodontines are characterised by a complete lower temporal bar caused by the fusion of a forward directed process (extension) of the quadrate/quadratojugal and the jugal, which was an adaptation for reducing stress in the skull during hard biting. Other synapomorphies of Sphenodontinae include the presence of nasal foramina, a posterodorsal process of the coronoid of the lower jaw, the present of caniniform successional teeth at the front of the jaws, the presence of flanges on the posterior parts of teeth at back of the lower jaw, and an expanded radial condyle on the humerus.[3] Like modern tuatara, members of Sphenodontinae were likely generalists with a carnivorous/insectivorous diet.[4]

Cladogram after Simoes et al. 2022:[3]

Sphenodontia

Diphydontosaurus

Eusphenodontia

Planocephalosaurus

Clevosaurus

Neosphenodontia

Homoeosaurus

Pleurosauridae

Palaeopleurosaurus

Derasmosaurus

Pleurosaurus

Leptosaurus

Kallimodon

Sapheosauridae

Piocormus

Oenosaurus

Sapheosaurus

Sphenodontidae
Eilenodontinae

Sphenotitan

Eilenodon

Toxolophosaurus

Priosphenodon

Sphenodontinae

Navajosphenodon

Cynosphenodon

Sphenofontis

Kawasphenodon

Sphenodon (tuatara)

References

  1. Apesteguia RO, Rougier GW (2012). "A basal sphenodontian (Lepidosauria) from the Jurassic of Patagonia: new insights on the phylogeny and biogeography of Gondwanan rhynchocephalians". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 166 (2): 342–360. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2012.00837.x. hdl:20.500.12110/paper_00244082_v166_n2_p342_Apesteguia. [R. Benson/R. Benson]
  2. 1 2 Simões TR, Caldwell MW, Pierce SE (December 2020). "Sphenodontian phylogeny and the impact of model choice in Bayesian morphological clock estimates of divergence times and evolutionary rates". BMC Biology. 18 (1): 191. doi:10.1186/s12915-020-00901-5. PMC 7720557. PMID 33287835.
  3. 1 2 Simões, Tiago R.; Kinney-Broderick, Grace; Pierce, Stephanie E. (2022-03-03). "An exceptionally preserved Sphenodon-like sphenodontian reveals deep time conservation of the tuatara skeleton and ontogeny". Communications Biology. 5 (1): 195. doi:10.1038/s42003-022-03144-y. ISSN 2399-3642. PMC 8894340. PMID 35241764.
  4. Villa, Andrea; Montie, Roel; Röper, Martin; Rothgaenger, Monika; Rauhut, Oliver W. M. (2021-05-03). "Sphenofontis velserae gen. et sp. nov., a new rhynchocephalian from the Late Jurassic of Brunn (Solnhofen Archipelago, southern Germany)". PeerJ. 9: e11363. doi:10.7717/peerj.11363. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 8101455. PMID 33987027.


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