Sphenodon punctatus

Sphenodon punctatus

Taxonavigation

Taxonavigation: Rhynchocephalia

Superregnum: Eukaryota Cladus: Orthokaryota Cladus: Neokaryota Cladus: Scotokaryota Cladus: Podiata Cladus: Amorphea Cladus: Obazoa Cladus: Opisthokonta Cladus: Holozoa Cladus: Filozoa Cladus: Choanozoa Regnum: Animalia Subregnum: Eumetazoa Cladus: ParaHoxozoa Cladus: Bilateria Cladus: Nephrozoa Superphylum: Deuterostomia Phylum: Chordata Cladus: Olfactores Subphylum: Vertebrata Infraphylum: Gnathostomata Cladus: Eugnathostomata Cladus: Osteichthyes Cladus: Sarcopterygii Cladus: Rhipidistia Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes Cladus: Elpistostegalia Cladus: Stegocephali Cladus: Tetrapoda Cladus: Reptiliomorpha Cladus: Amniota Cladus: Sauropsida Classis: Reptilia Cladus: Eureptilia Cladus: Romeriida Cladus: Diapsida Cladus: Neoreptilia Cladus: Parapleurota Cladus: Neodiapsida Cladus: Sauria Cladus: Lepidosauromorpha Subclassis: Lepidosauria Ordo: Rhynchocephalia

Familia: Sphenodontidae
Genus: Sphenodon
Species: Sphenodon punctatus

Name

Sphenodon punctatus (Gray, 1842)

• Holotype: BMNH 1946.1.22.3.
• Type locality: “on a small rocky island, two miles from the coast, in the Bay of Plenty” [=Karewa Island], New Zealand.

Combinations

• Hatteria punctata Gray, 1842: 72 [original combination]
• Sphenodon punctatum — Gray, 1872 [subsequent combination]

Synonyms

• Sphenodon guntheri Buller, 1876
• Hatteria viridis Bölsche, 1895
• Sphenodon punctatus reischeki Wettstein, 1943

References

Primary references

• Gray, J.E. 1842. Description of two hitherto unrecorded species of reptiles from New Zealand; presented to the British Museum by Dr. Dieffenbach. P. 72 in: J.E. Gray, The zoological miscellany. Part 2. Treuttel, Würtz & Co., London. Google books

Additional references

• Gray, J.E. 1843. Descriptions of the reptiles and Amphibia hitherto observed in New Zealand. Pp. 202-206 in Dieffenbach, E.: Travels in New Zealand; with contributions to the geography, geology, botany, and natural history of that country. Volume 2. John Murray: London. Internet Archive BHL
• Gray, J.E. 1869. Sphenodon, Hatteria, and Rhynchocephalus. Annals and magazine of natural history (4), 3: 167–168. Internet Archive BHL
• Grayson, K.L. et al. 2014: Sex ratio bias and extinction risk in an isolated population of tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus). PLoS ONE 9(4): e94214. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0094214 Reference page. 
• Hitchmough, R.A.; Patterson, G.K.; Daugherty, C.H. (compilers) 2009. New Zealand living and recently extinct reptiles. P. 542 in:
• King, C.M., Roberts, C.D., Bell, B.D., Fordyce, R.E., Nicoll, R.S., Worthy, T.H., Paulin, C.D., Hitchmough, R.A., Keyes, I.W., Baker, A.N., Stewart, A.L., Hiller, N., McDowall, R.M., Holdaway, R.N., McPhee, R.P., Schwarzhans, W.W., Tennyson A.J.D., Rust, S. & McCadie, I. 2009. Phylum Chordata: lancelets, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals. Pp. 431–551 in: Gordon, D.P. (ed.) 2009. New Zealand inventory of biodiversity. Volume 1. Kingdom Animalia. Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch, New Zealand. ISBN 978-1-877257-72-8 Reference page. 
• Schmidt, K.P. 1952. References to the tuatara in the Stephen Island Letter Book. Fieldiana, zoology, 34: 1–10. Internet Archive BHL
• Schmidt, K.P. 1953. A visit to Karewa Island, home of the tuatara. Fieldiana, zoology, 34: 153–164. Internet Archive BHL

Links

• Hitchmough, R. 2019. IUCN: Sphenodon punctatus  (Least Concern). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T131735762A120191347. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T131735762A120191347.en. Accessed on 18 April 2026.

Vernacular names

• aragonés: Tuatara
• català: Tuatara
• Deutsch: Brückenechse, Tuatara, Schnabelkopfechse
• English: Tuatara
• español: Tuátara
• français: Hatteria Ponctué, Sphénodon Ponctué
• polski: Hatteria, tuatara