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Tuatara
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- Order: Rhynchocephalia (tuataras)
- Family: Sphenodontidae (tuataras)
- Genus: Sphenodon (tuataras)
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Scientific Name: Sphenodon
punctatus (Gray, 1842) |
Habitat: Spend much of
their time in burrows on their island home. |
Sphenos="wedge," dont="tooth,"
punctatus="spotted"
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Length: To roughly 12 inches
total. |
Former Scientific
Names: Hatteria punctata |
Food: Insects,
arthropods, lizards, and occasionally baby seabirds. |
Range: A few islands off the coast of
New Zealand. |
Here are some pictures of Specimen 4FL (fourth toe
on the left front foot clipped to aid individual identification).
This individual is approximately 30 years old, and was seized as
part of an illegal export bust. |
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Tuataras look like lizards, but
they're not. They are the only surviving members of the order
Rhynchocephalia, which had many more species alive when dinosaurs
were around. Tuataras are only found on a handful of the smaller
islands around New Zealand. They share burrows with nesting
seabirds and are said to sometimes eat baby seabirds. Their
primary diet consists of various insects including the
cricket-like weta. One interesting feature of these animals
is their tooth structure: the upper jaw has two rows of teeth, and
the lower jaw has one. These rows of teeth fit together like
scissors and when used in conjunction with back-and-forth movement
of the lower jaw provide a shearing action to kill and eat prey
items. |
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These animals are fairly
tolerant of cooler temperatures and remain active when other
reptiles would be hibernating. The day I saw this one (October
99), the outside temperature was in the low 60s Fahrenheit and the
tuataras were out of their burrows. However, tuataras in the wild
are primarily nocturnal. |
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The word tuatara comes from the
native Maori language; it means "spiny back." About
50,000 individuals exist in the wild today. The species was much
more widespread before the arrival of man to New Zealand. After
the introduction of predators like dogs, cats, pigs, and rats, the
population declined. Coupled with a slow growth rate (up to 20
years to mature) and a 2% hatch rate for each season's eggs, this
puts the survival of the species in jeopardy. Captive breeding
programs are underway to ensure future generations will be able to
enjoy these unique animals. |
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