Navajosphenodon is an extinct genus of sphenodontid reptile from the Early Jurassic Kayenta Formation of Arizona, United States. It is known from a fully articulated skeleton, and is similar in many aspects to the extant tuatara, both belonging to the Sphenodontinae, including sharing a complete lower temporal bar. It is one of the oldest known sphenodontines.[1]
| Navajosphenodon Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Holotype specimen, scale bar: 1 cm | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Rhynchocephalia |
| Family: | Sphenodontidae |
| Subfamily: | Sphenodontinae |
| Genus: | †Navajosphenodon Simões, Kinney-Broderick & Pierce, 2022 |
| Type species | |
| Navajosphenodon sani Simões, Kinney-Broderick & Pierce, 2022
| |
CT scan of skull
Illustration of the skull in lateral view
| Sphenodontia |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References edit
- ^ 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.