Sphenodonts, and their sister group Squamata (which includes lizards, snakes and amphisbaenians), belong to the superorder Lepidosauria, the only surviving taxon within Lepidosauromorpha.
Squamates and sphenodonts both show caudal autotomy (loss of the tail-tip when threatened), and have transverse cloacal slits.
The origin of the sphenodonts probably lies close to the split between the Lepidosauromorpha and the Archosauromorpha.
Though they resemble lizards, the similarity is superficial, because the group has several characteristics unique among reptiles.
The typical lizard shape is very common for the early amniotes; the oldest known fossil of a reptile, Hylonomus, resembles a modern lizard.
R.L. Ditmars, Litt.
D, says; "The Tuatara resembles in form stout-bodied modern lizards, which we might call iguanas; this resemblance is further intensified by a row of spines upon the back.
It is dark olive, the sides sprinkled with pale dots.
The eye has a cat-like pupil.
Large specimens are two and a half feet long.
While superficial resemblance might tend to group this reptile with lizards, its skeleton and anatomy show it to belong to a different part of a technical classification."
Sphenodonts, and their sister group Squamata (which includes lizards, snakes and amphisbaenians), belong to the superorder Lepidosauria, the only surviving taxon within Lepidosauromorpha. Squamates and sphenodonts both show caudal autotomy (loss of the tail-tip when threatened), and have transverse cloacal slits. The origin of the sphenodonts probably lies close to the split between the Lepidosauromorpha and the Archosauromorpha. Though they resemble lizards, the similarity is superficial, because the group has several characteristics unique among reptiles. The typical lizard shape is very common for the early amniotes; the oldest known fossil of a reptile, Hylonomus, resembles a modern lizard. R.L. Ditmars, Litt.D, says; "The Tuatara resembles in form stout-bodied modern lizards, which we might call iguanas; this resemblance is further intensified by a row of spines upon the back. It is dark olive, the sides sprinkled with pale dots. The eye has a cat-like pupil. Large specimens are two and a half feet long. While superficial resemblance might tend to group this reptile with lizards, its skeleton and anatomy show it to belong to a different part of a technical classification."
Rhynchocephalia