rhynchocephalian

[ ring-koh-suh-feyl-yuhn, -fey-lee-uhn ]

adjective

belonging or pertaining to the Rhynchocephalia, an order of lizardlike reptiles that are extinct except for the tuatara.

noun

a rhynchocephalian reptile.

Origin of rhynchocephalian

1865–70; <New Latin Rhynchocephali(a) name of the order (<Greek rhýncho(s) snout + New Latin -cephalia;see cephal-, -ia) + -an

Words Nearby rhynchocephalian

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rhynchocephalian in a sentence

In the rhynchocephalian Hyperodapedon they are drawn out into a strongly curved beak.
The Vertebrate Skeleton | Sidney H. Reynolds
The palate of Captorhinus is of the generalized rhynchocephalian type (Romer, 1956:71).
The Adductor Muscles of the Jaw In Some Primitive Reptiles | Richard C. Fox
The sphenacodonts possess the primitive rhynchocephalian kind of palate.
The Adductor Muscles of the Jaw In Some Primitive Reptiles | Richard C. Fox

British Dictionary definitions for rhynchocephalian

rhynchocephalian

/ (ˌrɪŋkəʊsɪˈfælɪən) /

adjective

of, relating to, or belonging to the Rhyncocephalia, an order of lizard-like reptiles common in the Mesozoic era but today represented only by the tuatara

noun

any reptile belonging to the order Rhyncocephalia

Origin of rhynchocephalian

C19: from New Latin Rhynchocephalia, from Greek rhunkhos a snout + kephalē head

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for rhynchocephalian

rhynchocephalian

[ rĭng′kō-sə-fāl′yən ]

Any of various mostly extinct lizardlike reptiles of the order Rhynchocephalia, whose only living representative is the tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus and S. guntheri). Rhynchocephalians have several primitive skeletal features, including two temporal arches on each side of the skull rather than one, and teeth attached to the edge of the jaw rather than set in sockets. Most rhynchocephalians died out by the end of the Jurassic Period.

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