User:Hemiauchenia/sandboxKawasphenodon

Kawasphenodon is an extinct genus of sphenodontian reptile, known from the Late Cretaceous and Paleogene of South America. The type species, K. expectatus, was described in 2005 from jaw fragments found in late Campanian aged sediments in the Los Alamitos Formation. A second species, K. peligrensis, was described in 2014 also from jaw fragments in early Paleocene (Danian) sediments of the Salamanca Formation, making the youngest known representative of Rhynchocephalia outside of New Zealand. In the original description, it was found to be a member in Sphenodontidae, in other subsequent analyses it was found to be a member of Opisthodontia. A 2020 analysis of rhyncocephalian relationships found it to be the closest known relative of the tuatara, with an estimated divergence in the Early Cretaceous. Like most other rhynchocephalians, the teeth are acrodont, with a deep dentary, and it probably had an omnivorous habit.