Rhynchocephalian

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A reptile characterized by a beak-like snout and primitive features, including the tuatara of New Zealand
2. An ancient or modern reptilian creature distinguished by its pointed, beak-shaped rostrum and archaic skeletal anatomy
3. A beaked reptile representing an archaic lineage with a distinctive snout-like projection and primitive vertebrate characteristics

Etymology: The word is a mouthful, but its parts are plain. It combines "Rhynchocephalia," the name of the order of reptiles that includes the tuatara, with the suffix "-an," which turns a group name into a word for a member of that group or something belonging to it. "Rhynchocephalia" is itself built from Greek: "rhynchos" meaning "beak" or "snout," and "kephale" meaning "head." The name refers to the beaked skull of these reptiles, which has a bony bar running beneath the eye socket. Used as an adjective, the word describes anything relating to that order, and as a noun it names a member of it. Because the order is now represented by a single living genus, the word is most often applied to the tuatara and its extinct relatives.