Impurest's Guide to Animals #160 - Tuatara

We’re inching closer to summer honest, even with all the fog, rain and snow we’re getting in this Frigid February. Last week we met the Plainfin Midshipman, a fish with a lot to say, as well as host of other noisy nautical beasties. This week’s issue is positively primeval, hope you guys enjoy.

_________________________________________________________________

Issue #160 – Tuatara

Kingdom – Animalia

Phylum – Chordata

Class – Reptilia

Order – Rhynchocephalia

Family – Sphenodontidae

Genus – Sphenodon

Species – punctata

Related Species - In addition to S.punctata, there is one other extant member of the Order Rhynchocephalia; S.guntheri who like its close relative, is only found in New Zealand. (1)

Range

Third Eye Blind

Tuatara are medium sized reptiles, with adult males reaching an average body length of 60cm, and a weight of up to 1kg. While superficially similar looking to lizards such as agamas and iguanas, both species of Tuatara belong to an ancient lineage of reptiles that eventually became extinct due to competition with more advanced reptiles. Among not just reptiles, but all extant amniotes (a group consisting of reptiles, birds and mammals) the Tuatara holds the honour of being the most primitive member of this group (2). Despite being a reptile, the internal organs of Tuataras are more similar to amphibians, and this may explain why, of all reptiles, the Tuatara has the lowest optimal body temperature, at around 16°C.

Tuatara’s are carnivores, and hunt a variety of prey species ranging from invertebrates up to small lizards, frogs and birds. Once prey is caught, the Tuatara rips its victim apart by sliding its lower jaw backwards and forwards. This allows its rows of teeth, one row on the upper jaw and two on the lower, to act almost like a saw, and allow the reptile to rip through flesh until it’s in small enough chunks to swallow. Adult Tuatara’s have no native extant predators, but are preyed upon by a number of introduced species including rats (Rattus exulans), stoats (Mustela erminea) and domestic cats (Felis catus).

Tuatara’s mature and reproduce very slowly, with animals taking between 10 and 20 years to reach sexual maturity. Unlike lizards, male Tuatara don’t have a penis, and instead pass sperm to the female by pressing his cloacal vent against hers. After mating it may take up to three years for a shell and yolk to form on the fertilized eggs, and once laid and buried, it takes a further fifteen months for the eggs to hatch. Newly hatched Tuatara are largely diurnal, mostly to avoid meeting the adult members of their species, which are quite willing to cannibalize their progeny.

Five Fun Tuatara Facts

The name Tuatara translates from Maori to ‘Peaks on the Back’ a reference to the dorsal spines running down the animals back.

Tuatara are among the few vertebrates that possess a ‘third eye’ situated on the top of their heads and equipped with a lens, cornea, retina and nervous connection to the brain that detect changes in, and absorbs, light and Vitamin D Levels (3). Initially this eye is visible, but eventually scales grow over it.

Due to their slow growth rate, Tuatara’s have very long lifespans, with some individuals reaching over a century in age.

In addition to this, they are able to reproduce at an elderly age. A few years ago ‘Henry’ a 110 year old Tuatara who had never mated before, produced a healthy clutch of eleven eggs with his long-time partner ‘Mildred’ aged 80 (4).

Like lizards, if grabbed by the tail a Tuatara can break the vertebrae in the appendage and drop it to confuse predators.

Bibliography

1 -www.arkive.org

2 - Russell, Matt (August 1998). "Tuatara, Relics of a Lost Age". Cold Blooded News. Colorado Herpetological Society

3 - Thompson MB & Daugherty CH (1998). "Metabolism of tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus". Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A. 119 (2): 519–522

4 - http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10553616

Picture References

1 - http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/3863489.jpg

2 - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/North_Island_Map_tuatara.PNG/220px-North_Island_Map_tuatara.PNG

3 - http://easyscienceforkids.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Tuataras-eating.jpg

4 - http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ArXjOKca5W8/TSrGOEfBKwI/AAAAAAAAAZc/RY26ThAiYiw/s1600/2.png

And that’s the three eyed, saw toothed, cold blooded cannibal known as the Tuatara, long may it grace us with its oddness, Next week’s issue requires us all to grab some arrows, a torch and a plane ticket to Brazil so we can swat the truth out of a certain animal. But until then make sure to critic, comment and suggest future issues as well as making sure you check past issues in Impurest’s Bestiary

Many Thanks

Impurest Cheese

Want more IGTA? For something equally draconic looking click here to check out the Australian Water Dragon. Or for actual dinosaur fun, click here to see the time I covered an honest to goodness ‘raptor’.

@cbishop, , @ostyo, @wildvine, @laflux, @black_wreath, @galactic_1000, @anna_karenina,@heroup2112, @blueecho, @jamiewolfe7, @bb_ryder, @destinyman75, @xlr87t3, @xwraith, @samimista, @pipxeroth, @juiceboks, @mikesterman, @amazing_webhead, @spareheadone, @major_hellstorm, @bella_blackstar, @queen_marceline, @captainmarvel4ever, @mrmonster, @tparks, @solid_snake97, @jaycool2, @jloneblackheart and @wollfmyth209

Three Eyes? Check. A Belt Saw for teeth? Check. Old and Cantankerous? Check.

Ah, interesting entry. I've always wondered about ancient reptile species past the relatively common iguanas and crocodiles. The third eye is especially intriguing, and it makes me wonder whether the scales hinder it's use for the Tuatara or not once they grow over it.

Enjoyable read as always.

@impurestcheese: but no penis. Fail is fail.....

In all seriousness, this was more enjoyable then I thought it would be and actually ended clicking a few of those links at the bottom. Kinda wish that I had skipped the eel one though.

@juiceboks: Yeah modern Tuataras go back 220 million years I believe. The scales don't effect light detection or vitimin absorbtion though.

@avenging_x_bolt: Yeah I think I know what eel you mean. Thanks for the comment.

Tuatara’s are carnivores, and hunt a variety of prey species ranging from invertebrates up to small lizards, frogs and birds. Once prey is caught, the Tuatara rips its victim apart by sliding its lower jaw backwards and forwards. This allows its rows of teeth, one row on the upper jaw and two on the lower, to act almost like a saw, and allow the reptile to rip through flesh until it’s in small enough chunks to swallow.

Damn, calm down nature...

@pipxeroth: This is tame compared to some of the things I've covered

The third eye is really cool. Apperently its dissapperance in the mammal linage of ammoinites co-incides with the development of endothermy. I had to do a development and classification module once and I always found the tuatura really easy to identify cause of its third eye. Had no idea it was so basal though :)

@laflux: Ah thanks for the comment, and yes it's very basal indeed

Aw man I love this reptile! Maybe because I was obsessed with dinosaurs as a child...

This was my favourite entry. :D

Huh, a lizard with three eyes? Awesome. Nice entry. :3

@black_wreath: How about when I covered an actual dinosaur? Either way thank you for the comment

@wollfmyth209: Not a lizard but thanks for the comment.

Very informative. Mind tagging me in the next one?

@impurestcheese: Nope. Tuatara for the win. :)

@comicace3: No problem, thanks for the comment

Is it odd I think it's kind of cute? anyways, Cool stuff

Do you know of any good books on Reptiles?

Nature says NO!

(surprisingly the most professional vid I could find)

(no offense to Norm)

Cool, something native to my homeland.

wish i had a third eye that grew scales

cool read btw

I first learned about this one when I was seven or eight years old. I remember thinking "what exactly makes this "not a lizard?"

This is nice. Next time, make something on Glass fish.

There are 160 of these?

I've got a lot to catch up on.

:I

I didn't know there were two species of tuatara. Is that the two different colors on the range map?

It kind of looks like it could be related to alligators and/crocodile; kind of looks like a hybrid between an alligator or crocodile and a monitor lizard, just at a miniature level by comparison.

The eating method is just savage! lol It's good that they don't seem to have many predators (except the introduced species and...well...their dads) seeing as how long it takes to make any of these little guys.

Cool

First of all I'd like to say thank you to everyone for the awesome comments. I would then like to apologise for the late response. The aerial bat roost survey I was on today dragged on a bit, and I spent most of my time in the boughs of trees with an endoscope clenched in my teeth. Still whatever pays the bills (and whatever you love doing ;-))

@captainmarvel4ever: None that I can think of off the top of my head, its usually best to get a field guide to your region for identification. If I remember anything I'll let you know.

@major_hellstorm: Oh that's cool, have always wanted to go to New Zealand

@jaycool2: No you don't :-P

@xwraith: The lack of penis is one thing, genetics is another and the fact that it only gets one set of teeth is likely another

@lordofthelight: Consider it added to the request list

@emperor339: Actually it's 161 (there was an Easter special)

@jloneblackheart: Yes that is what it's showing. The second species was only recently discovered using genetic tests on New Zealand's tuatara populations.

@dshipp17: Or maybe part iguana. It definitely has a Primeval vibe

@heroup2112: It's not as bad as some I cover. Their main native predator the Harst's Eagle is fortunately extinct

@amazing_webhead: No problem

@impurestcheese: s'alright man

@impurestcheese: I had heard of a tuatara before, but I thought it was some furry animal. (Guess not.) On the Pokemon cards that you make for each of these, I may have asked this before and forgotten the answer, but are those just for fun? Or are you building towards making some sort of deck for them? Just seems like it would be a fun game.

You should add a picture showing the third-eye before scales cover it o:

@cbishop: Ah yes the confusion. The Pokemon Cards are just for fun.

@queen_marceline: Sorry for the weight, here's a third eye shot just for you

@impurestcheese: yes I do and so do you

By the way punctata is a stupid name for a species

@jaycool2: Well its the feminine form of punctatus which is Latin for pointed

@impurestcheese: interesting but still stupid

@jaycool2: Each to his own.

What an incredible animal. It's a bit heartbreaking that such long living creatures are attacked by non native predators to their environment, but that's a common theme it seems.

Century old, third eye having, little mini dragons with cloacal vents. Extraordinary.

@ms-lola: That's the downside of living on an island, you're fine until the invaders come, then you are pretty much declining because you prefer the slow life.

@impurestcheese: Very nice creature ! So is it a lizard or crocodile ? Nop, it's a Sphenodon !

Nice articles, keep them going, I love your findings.

@jb681131: Pretty much, expect another issue tomorrow morning (GMT). I can add you to the callout list if you want?