Advertisement
Advertisement
rhynchocephalian
[ ring-koh-suh-feyl-yuhn, -fey-lee-uhn ]
adjective
- belonging or pertaining to the Rhynchocephalia, an order of lizardlike reptiles that are extinct except for the tuatara.
noun
- a rhynchocephalian reptile.
rhynchocephalian
/ ˌɪŋəʊɪˈæɪə /
adjective
- of, relating to, or belonging to the Rhyncocephalia , an order of lizard-like reptiles common in the Mesozoic era but today represented only by the tuatara
noun
- any reptile belonging to the order Rhyncocephalia
rhynchocephalian
/ ĭԲ′kō-ə-′ə /
- Any of various mostly extinct lizardlike reptiles of the order Rhynchocephalia, whose only living representative is the tuatara ( Sphenodon punctatus and S. guntheri ). Rhynchocephalians have several primitive skeletal features, including two temporal arches on each side of the skull rather than one, and teeth attached to the edge of the jaw rather than set in sockets. Most rhynchocephalians died out by the end of the Jurassic Period.
yvlog History and Origins
Origin of rhynchocephalian1
yvlog History and Origins
Origin of rhynchocephalian1
Example Sentences
And unlike its cousins, the specific rhynchocephalian lineage that led to today’s tuatara had “exceptionally low rates of evolution,” notes Harvard University herpetologist Tiago Simões, who was not involved in the new study.
Both Megachirella’s appearance in the middle Triassic and the later remains of rhynchocephalian fossils make a strong case that the earliest squamates emerged toward the end of the Permian, a period 270 million years ago that was abruptly shattered by one of the worst known mass extinctions.
The sphenacodonts possess the primitive rhynchocephalian kind of palate.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse