Taxa

Rhynchocephalia

Order

Citation Formats

General Reference

Nature Atlas. "Rhynchocephalia." Accessed September 8, 2026. https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/taxa/order-rhynchocephalia.

APA Style

Nature Atlas. (n.d.). Rhynchocephalia. Retrieved September 8, 2026, from https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/taxa/order-rhynchocephalia

BibTeX

@misc{natureatlas-rhynchocephalia,
  author = {Nature Atlas},
  title = {Rhynchocephalia},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/taxa/order-rhynchocephalia},
  note = {Accessed September 8, 2026}
}

An order represented today by a single surviving species, the tuatara of New Zealand, a lizard-like reptile that retains several primitive skull and body features lost in all other living reptiles, making it a valuable living reference point for reptile evolution.

Facts

Disputed

Member Species/Taxa Count

1 1

Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.

Taxonomic Rank

Order 1

Scientific Name

Rhynchocephalia 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Child Taxon Of

Reptilia

Source Catalogue of Life

Sources

1. Catalogue of Life

Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of LifeView the Source

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