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Sphenodon punctatus  (Gray, 1842)
Taxonomic Serial No.: 202132

(Download Help) Sphenodon punctatus TSN 202132

 Taxonomy and Nomenclature
       
  Kingdom: Animalia  
  Taxonomic Rank: Species  
  Synonym(s): Sphenodon guntheri Buller, 1877
  
    Sphenodon punctatus reischeki Wettstein, 1943
  
  Common Name(s): Tuatara [English]
  
       
  Taxonomic Status:    
  Current Standing: valid  
       
  Data Quality Indicators:    
  Record Credibility Rating: verified - standards met  
       

 Taxonomic Hierarchy
       
 KingdomAnimalia  – Animal, animaux, animals  
    SubkingdomBilateria  – triploblasts  
       InfrakingdomDeuterostomia   
          PhylumChordata  – cordés, cordado, chordates  
             SubphylumVertebrata  – vertebrado, vertébrés, vertebrates  
                InfraphylumGnathostomata   
                   SuperclassTetrapoda   
                      ClassReptilia Laurenti, 1768 – répteis, reptiles, Reptiles  
                         OrderRhynchocephalia  – Tuataras  
                            FamilySphenodontidae Cope, 1870 – Tuataras  
                               GenusSphenodon Gray, 1831 – Tuataras  
                                  SpeciesSphenodon punctatus (Gray, 1842) – Tuatara  
       

 References
       
  Expert(s):    
  Expert: Roy W. McDiarmid  
  Notes: U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center   
  Reference for: Sphenodon punctatus    
       
  Other Source(s):    
  Source: NODC Taxonomic Code, database (version 8.0)  
  Acquired: 1996   
  Notes:    
  Reference for: Sphenodon punctatus   
       
  Publication(s):    
  Author(s)/Editor(s): Daugherty, C. H., A. Cree, J. M. Hay, and M. B. Thompson  
  Publication Date: 1990   
  Article/Chapter Title: Neglected taxonomy and continuing extinctions of tuatara (Sphenodon)   
  Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.: Nature, vol. 347, no. 6289   
  Page(s): 177-179   
  Publisher:    
  Publication Place:    
  ISBN/ISSN: 0028-0836   
  Notes: doi:10.1038/347177a0   
  Reference for: Sphenodon punctatus   
       
  Author(s)/Editor(s): Hay, Jennifer M., Stephen D. Sarre, David M. Lambert, Fred W. Allendorf, and Charles H. Daugherty  
  Publication Date: 2010   
  Article/Chapter Title: Genetic diversity and taxonomy: a reassessment of species designation in tuatara (Sphenodon: Reptilia)   
  Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.: Conservation Genetics, vol. 11, no. 3   
  Page(s): 1063-1081   
  Publisher:    
  Publication Place:    
  ISBN/ISSN: 1566-0621   
  Notes: DOI: 10.1007/s10592-009-9952-7   
  Reference for: Sphenodon punctatus   
       

 Geographic Information
       
  Geographic Division: Australia  
       
  Jurisdiction/Origin:    
 

 

    

 Comments
       
  Comment: There is a clear genetic separation between the population on North Brother Island and two other groups (western Cook Strait islands and all northern populations) on the basis of both allozyme genetic and morphometric variation (Daugherty et al. 1990). However, the split does not seem to be as deep as initially thought and as a consequence, Hay et al. (2010) recommended to treat all Tuataras as a single species, (i.e. synonymize guntheri with punctatus). Sphenodon punctatus reischeki Wettstein, 1943 is not generally recognized (see Hay et al., 2010)  
 

 

    

 
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