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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.
Generic synonyms: Diapsid, Diapsid Reptile
Group relationships: Genus Sphenodon, Sphenodon
Lexicographical Neighbors of Sphenodon Punctatum
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 ..."
Other Resources:
