08-07-2008, 08:14 AM
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Pixie's Resident Reptile
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Central MD, USA
Posts: 21,196
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Oldfart
I thought that the tuatara was an ancient and separate genus, a little like a reptile platypus.
They are severely endangered.
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OF is correct on the latter point..as for the former point. Well, let's put aside fro the moment that Linneans Taxonomy is suspect.
Tuataras are the only surviving Rhyncocephalians, "family" Sphenodontidae. There's somewhat lizard-like, as the pic from Dicksbro shows. They are *not* lizards.
The closest living relatives ("remnants") of the dinosaurs are birds and crocodiles. In the sense of being decended from maniraptoran dinosaurs, birds are in fact, the remnants. Quite successful ones, as well.
Tuataras are their own thing.
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