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The tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) is a species of reptile endemic to New Zealand. Despite its close resemblance to lizards , it is part of a distinct lineage, the order Rhynchocephalia . [ 8 ] The name tuatara is derived from the Māori language and means "peaks on the back".
Rhynchocephalia is a reptile order that evolved around 240 million years ago. These reptiles used to live around the world, but today, only one surviving species remains: the tuatara.
The tuatara has among the highest known ages of sexual maturity among reptiles, [32] at around 9 to 13 years of age, [33] and has a high longevity in comparison to lizards of similar size, [32] with wild individuals likely reaching 70 years, and possibly over 100 years in age. [34]
The tuatara lays eggs that are usually about one inch in length and which take about 14 months to incubate. [28] While in the egg, the Squamata embryo develops an egg tooth on the premaxillary that helps the animal emerge from the egg. [33] A reptile will increase three to twentyfold in length from hatching to adulthood. [33]
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 11 December 2024. Group of animals including lepidosaurs, testudines, and archosaurs This article is about the animal class. For other uses, see Reptile (disambiguation). Reptiles Temporal range: Late Carboniferous–Present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Tuatara Saltwater crocodile Common box turtle ...
What could have been a scene out of Jurassic Park was real life as footage of an extremely rare reptile's hatching has arrived.
The parietal eye is found in the tuatara, most lizards, frogs, salamanders, certain bony fish, sharks, and lampreys. [7] [8] [9] It is absent in mammals but was present in their closest extinct relatives, the therapsids, suggesting that it was lost during the course of the mammalian evolution due to it being useless in endothermic animals. [10]
Sphenodontidae is a family within the reptile group Rhynchocephalia, comprising taxa most closely related to the living tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus).Historically the taxa included within Sphenodontidae have varied greatly between analyses, and the group has lacked a formal definition. [2]