Tuatara

Order Rhynchocephalia

Reptile

Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re talking about tuataras. Don’t slip away without subscribing. It may be wrong to call a tuatara a lizard. Sure, they look like our four-legged, scaly friends, however, they aren’t really related to them. Tuataras are from their own unique order of reptiles to which no other living reptiles belong. Some scientists argue that tuataras should be separated into different species, but, as it currently stands, there is only one living species of tuatara - though, they don’t seem to really be aware of what some might consider a lonely existence. Apparently tuataras aren’t against bullying one another for good den sites, and they may even engaged in combat during the breeding season. Also they can be like super old, so, personally, I see these guys as the grandpa reptiles who just want to live in peace and keep everybody else off of their lawn.

Tuataras are found in New Zealand. They once populated the mainland of the country, but at this point their populations are limited to remote islands off the coast. These islands are difficult to access, and even if someone went through the trouble of getting to one of these islands, that person wouldn’t be able to take a tuatara home. Tuataras are legally protected and have been for more than 100 years. Only recently have zoos been allowed to even exhibit tuataras, and even that is limited. Considering their peculiar lifestyles, even housing a tuatara could prove quite the challenge.

Y’know how many reptiles prefer warm temperatures? Tuataras aren’t like that. In fact, temperatures over 80 degrees F (26.6*C) could prove fatal to these lizard look-a-likes. Their preferred temperatures are typically somewhere between 60 and 70 degrees F (15.5 - 21 degrees C) but tuataras can still live their normal lives even as temperatures dip into the mid-40s (4.4 degrees C). I can barely function at anything below 65 degrees, so they’ve got me beat. Thankfully, the islands which they inhabit are usually in the perfect temperature range for these rare reptiles.

Like the chuckwallas we’ve talked about previously, tuataras live in rocky dens and tend to live solitary lives. When they do get together to breed, it can be a raucous affair. The breeding season for tuataras occurs at the beginning of the year, and it takes at least seven months for a female to lay her eggs. Tuataras are slow developers. It can take upwards of twenty years before they’re ready to reproduce, and once they do it might take four years between each time they’re willing to breed again. The eggs of tuataras take at least a year to develop before hatching, which means that once baby tuataras emerge, it’s been more than two years since they were conceived. Then they have a life of potentially more than 100 years ahead of them!

Along with their slow development, tuataras are slow metabolizers - meaning they don’t eat a lot of food. When they do eat, their food comes in the form of bird eggs, worms, snails, frogs, lizards, and arthropods. While young tuataras may be taken by predators, including other members of their species and introduced rats; the adults, reaching an average one and a half feet (46 centimeters) in length, are typically left alone. Like iguanas, tuataras can come in different colors with some appearing red, others olive green, and more a shade of grey. The males also sport crests down the backs of their necks and along their backs. Female tuataras may also show off these crests, though usually not as prominently as the slightly larger males.

For more facts on tuataras, check out the links in the description. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files.