Did you know that a tuatara lays eggs just once every four years? Or that its lifespan may be longer than the average human\u2019s? Keep reading as we discuss these and other tuatara key facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scientific Name:<\/strong><\/td>| Sphenodon punctatus<\/em><\/td><\/tr> | Number of Subspecies:<\/strong><\/td> | 2<\/td><\/tr> | Type of Animal:<\/strong><\/td> | Reptile<\/td><\/tr> | Physical Description:<\/strong><\/td> | Ancient lizard-like reptile, gray to greenish-gray in color and covered with scales. Tuatara have large, dark eyes, short limbs, and long tails. They have a row of white spines along the back, more prominent in males than females. They have five claws on each limb and three rows of sharp teeth in their mouth. They have a third eye on the top of the head, though this is only visible in very young tuatara because it becomes covered in scales as the animal grows.<\/td><\/tr> | Distribution:<\/strong><\/td> | Found only on some of the remote islands of New Zealand.<\/td><\/tr> | Habitat:<\/strong><\/td> | Coastal forests<\/td><\/tr> | Average Size:<\/strong><\/td> | – 20 to 31 inches long | – 1 to 3 pounds<\/td><\/tr> Average Lifespan:<\/strong><\/td> | 60 years; may live up to 120 years.<\/td><\/tr> | Number of Young:<\/strong><\/td> | 8 to 15 eggs per brood<\/td><\/tr> | Reproductive Cycle:<\/strong><\/td> | Female lays eggs just once every 4 years or so; eggs take 1 to 3 years to develop a yolk, another 7 months to develop the shell, and several more months before they are ready to be laid.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n | What is a Tuatara?<\/h2>\n\n\n\nA tuatara is a reptile that looks like a lizard but belongs to a completely different family. It is the last remaining species in the order Rhynchocephalia<\/em>, which was abundant during the time of the dinosaurs before all other species died out around 60 million years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because its species has been around for so long (190 million years, to be exact), the tuatara is often referred to as a living fossil. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Tuatara grow very slowly; it takes them 10 to 20 years to reach sexual maturity, and most individuals live an average of 60 to 100 years. Some live even longer, lasting up to 120 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even their reproductive process takes a long time; females lay eggs just once every 4 years, and once the eggs have been laid, they take another year to year and a half before they hatch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tuatara only live<\/a> on a few scattered islands of New Zealand, though there are a few that live in protected sanctuaries on the mainland and in zoos elsewhere in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They have become endangered largely because of the threat posed by rats and other predators; these predators eat tuatara eggs and young<\/a> more quickly than their reproductive process can account for such losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check out this video to see what different tuatara at different ages can look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n |