Tuatara

Tuatara, have you heard about them? It is a reptile and looks like lizard (but it is not lizard). It flourished over 200 million years ago (Yes. Lived along with Dinosaurs) and only survivor of ancient group of reptiles.

Tuatara once lived abundantly in New Zealand. People and Rats drove them out to almost extinct. It is still found in few islands such as Karori Sanctuary.

Tuatara takes 8 to 8 months to lay the eggs since mating. Then it takes 11 to 16 months for hatching. It typically buries the egg that long.

It has third eye ( parietal eye) which helps to tell when its light or dark. It is greenish color and measure up to 31 in (81 cm) and weights up to 2.9 lbs (1.3 kg).

Some of the interesting facts are,

- The can hold their breath for an hour

- They can live over 100 years.

- The grow until when 35 years. It stops growing after than.

You can get additional information from

http://www.kcc.org.nz/tuatara
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuatara