# Sphenodraco

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{{Short description|Genus of extinct reptiles}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = [Late Jurassic](/source/Late_Jurassic), {{fossilrange|Tithonian|Tithonian|early [Tithonian](/source/Tithonian)}}
| image = Sphenodraco.jpg
| image_upright = 0.5
| image_caption = Photo of the holotype counterslab (NHMUK PV R 2741)
| display_parents = 2
| genus = Sphenodraco
| parent_authority = Beccari et al., [2025](/source/2025_in_reptile_paleontology)
| species = scandentis
| authority = Beccari et al., 2025
}}
{{External media
 | width = 266px
 | float = right
 | image1 = [https://academic.oup.com/view-large/figure/535462578/zlaf073_fig16.jpg Life restoration by Gabriel Ugueto:] ''Sphenodraco'' in the Solnhofen palaeoenvironment.
}}
'''''Sphenodraco''''' (meaning "sphenodontian dragon") is an [extinct](/source/extinct) genus of [neosphenodontia](/source/neosphenodontia)n reptiles known from the [Late Jurassic](/source/Late_Jurassic) ([Tithonian](/source/Tithonian) age) [Altmühltal Formation](/source/Altm%C3%BChltal_Formation), part of the [Solnhofen Archipelago](/source/Solnhofen_Archipelago) in Germany. The genus contains a [single species](/source/Monotypic_taxon), '''''Sphenodraco scandentis''''', known from a nearly complete skeleton preserved on a [slab and counterslab](/source/Compression_fossil). The elongated proportions of its limbs are similar to those of living [arboreal](/source/arboreal) lizards. As such, ''Sphenodraco'' may be the first known fully tree-dwelling [rhynchocephalia](/source/rhynchocephalia)n.<ref name="Sphenodraco">{{Cite journal |last1=Beccari |first1=Victor |last2=Guillaume |first2=Alexandre R. D. |last3=Jones |first3=Marc E. H. |last4=Villa |first4=Andrea |last5=Cooper |first5=Natalie |last6=Regnault |first6=Sophie |last7=Rauhut |first7=Oliver W. M. |date=2025-07-01 |title=An arboreal rhynchocephalian from the Late Jurassic of Germany, and the importance of the appendicular skeleton for ecomorphology in lepidosaurs |journal=[Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society](/source/Zoological_Journal_of_the_Linnean_Society) |volume=204 |issue=3 |article-number=zlaf073 |doi=10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf073 |issn=0024-4082|doi-access=free |hdl=10362/186782 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

== Discovery and naming ==
''Sphenodraco'' is known from a single [articulated](/source/Joint), nearly complete specimen preserved in [ventral](/source/Anatomical_terms_of_location) view (seen from the bottom) on two separate slabs (a part and counterpart). It was discovered in outcrops of the [Altmühltal Formation](/source/Altm%C3%BChltal_Formation) (likely the Upper Eichstätt Member) near [Eichstätt](/source/Eichst%C3%A4tt), Germany. Surprisingly—and for unknown reasons—these two slabs are housed separately in different institutions. The main slab, [accessioned](/source/Accession_number_(cultural_property)) at the [Naturmuseum Senckenberg](/source/Naturmuseum_Senckenberg) in Germany as specimen SMF R414, comprises a [natural mold](/source/natural_mold) of the skeleton with some of the bone. It was first figured in 1931 and later reported in 1963 as belonging to the species ''[Homoeosaurus maximiliani](/source/Homoeosaurus_maximiliani)''.<ref name="C-M1963">{{Cite journal |last1=Cocude-Michel |first1=Marguerite |date=1963 |title=Les rhynchocéphales et les sauriens des calcaires lithographiques (Jurassique supérieur) d'Europe occidentale |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/mhnly_0373-6636_1963_num_7_1_992 |journal=Nouvelles archives du Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Lyon |language=fr |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=3–224 |doi=10.3406/mhnly.1963.992 |issn=0373-6636}}</ref> The counterslab, housed at the [Natural History Museum](/source/Natural_History_Museum%2C_London) in London, England, as specimen NHMUK PV R 2741, contains most of the skeletal material. This part of the specimen had not been previously reported or described. In 2022, the counterslab was 'rediscovered' and identified as belonging to the same individual as SMF R414.<ref name="Sphenodraco" />

In a 2025 [publication](/source/Academic_paper), Victor Beccari and colleagues recognized several anatomical characters distinguishing these specimens from ''Homoeosaurus''. As such, they [described](/source/Species_description) ''Sphenodraco scandentis'' as a new genus and species of rhynchocephalians based on these fossil remains. The [generic name](/source/Genus), ''Sphenodraco'', combines the prefix ''[spheno-](/source/%3Awikt%3Aspheno-)''—derived from the [Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek) [σφήν](/source/%3Awikt%3A%CF%83%CF%86%CE%AE%CE%BD) (''sphḗn''), meaning "wedge"<ref name="MW">{{Cite Merriam-Webster|sphen-|access-date=2025-07-02}}</ref>—with the [Latin](/source/Latin) word ''[draco](/source/%3Awikt%3Adraco)'', meaning "dragon". The name references both the Sphenodontia—the clade to which it belongs—and the gliding abilities of the arboreal lizards to which its limb proportions are comparable. The [specific name](/source/Specific_name_(zoology)), ''scandentis'', derived from ''[scandens](/source/%3Awikt%3Ascandens)'', a Latin word meaning "climber".<ref name="Sphenodraco" />

== Classification ==
thumb|Fossil of ''Homoeosaurus maximilliani'', a closely related species that ''Sphenodraco'' was once thought to belong to
In their [phylogenetic analyses](/source/phylogenetic_analyses) (most parsimonious tree, [implied weighting](/source/implied_weighting)), Beccari and colleagues (2025) recovered ''Sphenodraco'' as a member of the rhynchocephalian clade [Neosphenodontia](/source/Neosphenodontia), as the [sister taxon](/source/sister_taxon) to ''[Kallimodon](/source/Kallimodon)'' [spp.](/source/spp.) in a clade also including ''[Homoeosaurus](/source/Homoeosaurus)'' spp. These results are displayed in the simplified [cladogram](/source/cladogram) below:<ref name="Sphenodraco" />{{clade|{{clade
|1=†''[Gephyrosaurus](/source/Gephyrosaurus)''
|label2='''Sphenodontia'''
|2={{clade
|1=†''[Diphydontosaurus](/source/Diphydontosaurus)''
|2={{clade
|1=†''[Planocephalosaurus](/source/Planocephalosaurus)''
|label2='''Eusphenodontia'''
|2={{clade
|1=†''[Clevosaurus](/source/Clevosaurus)'' (paraphyletic)
|label2='''Neosphenodontia'''
|2={{clade
|label1=[Sphenodontidae](/source/Sphenodontidae)
|1={{clade
|label1=†[Eilenodontinae](/source/Eilenodontinae)
|1={{clade
|1=†''[Priosphenodon](/source/Priosphenodon)''
|2=†''[Sphenotitan](/source/Sphenotitan)''
}}
|label2=[Sphenodontinae](/source/Sphenodontinae)
|2={{clade
|1=†''[Opisthiamimus](/source/Opisthiamimus)''
|2={{clade
|1=†''[Navajosphenodon](/source/Navajosphenodon)''
|2={{clade
|1=†''[Sphenofontis](/source/Sphenofontis)''
|2=''[Sphenodon](/source/Sphenodon)'' (tuatara)
}}}}}}}}
|2={{clade
|1=†''[Homoeosaurus solnhofensis](/source/Homoeosaurus_solnhofensis)''
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=†''[Homoeosaurus maximiliani](/source/Homoeosaurus_maximiliani)''
|2=†''[Homoeosaurus parvipes](/source/Homoeosaurus_parvipes)''
}}
|2={{clade
|1=†''[Sphenodraco](/source/Sphenodraco)''
|2=†''[Kallimodon](/source/Kallimodon)''
}} }}
|2={{clade
|label1=†[Pleurosauridae](/source/Pleurosauridae)
|1={{clade
|1=†''[Derasmosaurus](/source/Derasmosaurus)''
|2={{clade
|1=†''[Ankylosphenodon](/source/Ankylosphenodon)''
|2={{clade
|1=†''[Palaeopleurosaurus](/source/Palaeopleurosaurus)''
|2={{clade
|1=†''[Acrosaurus](/source/Acrosaurus)''
|2=†''[Pleurosaurus](/source/Pleurosaurus)''
}}}}}}}}
|2={{clade
|1=†''[Vadasaurus](/source/Vadasaurus)''
|label2=†[Sapheosauridae](/source/Sapheosauridae)
|2={{clade
|1=†''[Sapheosaurus](/source/Sapheosaurus)''
|2={{clade
|1=†''[Piocormus](/source/Piocormus)''
|2=†''[Oenosaurus](/source/Oenosaurus)''
}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}|label1=[Rhynchocephalia](/source/Rhynchocephalia)}}

In a 2026 description of the [axial skeleton](/source/axial_skeleton) of the modern [tuatara](/source/tuatara) (''Sphenodon punctatus''), Beccari and colleagues incorporated 16 new phylogenetic characters into their previous dataset based on their observations of this anatomical region. As in their 2025 analysis, ''Sphenodraco'' was recovered in a clade also containing ''Kallimodon'' and ''Homoeosaurus'', in addition to SNSB-BSPG 1993 XVIII 3, an unnamed specimen from the Brunn locality of the [Solnhofen Archipelago](/source/Solnhofen_Archipelago).<ref name="Beccari2026">{{Cite journal |last1=Beccari |first1=Victor |last2=Jones |first2=Marc E. H. |last3=Villa |first3=Andrea |last4=Martino |first4=Roberta |last5=Regnault |first5=Sophie |last6=Glaw |first6=Frank |last7=Rauhut |first7=Oliver W. M. |date=2026-04-01 |title=The axial skeleton of the tuatara (Rhynchocephalia: ''Sphenodon''): insights on intraspecific variability, ontogeny, sexual dimorphism, and remarks on fossil taxa |url=https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/206/4/zlaf135/8570147 |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=206 |issue=4 |article-number=zlaf135 |doi=10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf135 |doi-access=free|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [2025 in reptile paleontology](/source/2025_in_reptile_paleontology)
* [Paleobiota of the Solnhofen Limestone](/source/Paleobiota_of_the_Solnhofen_Limestone)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Rhynchocephalia}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q135188623|from2=Q135188624}}

Category:Rhynchocephalia
Category:Jurassic lepidosaurs
Category:Solnhofen fauna
Category:Tithonian genera
Category:Late Jurassic reptiles of Europe
Category:Prehistoric reptile genera
Category:Fossil taxa described in 2025

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sphenodraco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphenodraco) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphenodraco?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.