Saturday, March 26, 2011

Tuatara


True Wild Life | Tuatara | The tuatara is a small to medium sized reptile, that is found only on a few small islands surrounding New Zealand. Although the tuatara was once found inhabiting mainland New Zealand in large numbers, today the tuatara is nearly extinct from the mainland. Despite the lizard-like appearance of the tuatara, the tuatara is actually only a very distant relative of the lizard and the snake. The tuatara is believed to have broken off from lizards and snakes more than 200 million years ago!.


Tuataras are generally green or brown in colour and can grow up to a meter in length, from the head of the tuatara to the tip of it's tail. The tuatara also has a crest that runs down the middle of it's body, which is particularly noticeable in male tuataras. The tuatara is a very unique reptile, with it's long tail and dinosaur-like crest, but the tuatara is has other features which make it stand out. Like all reptiles, the tuatara has excellent vision, but the tuatara also has a third eye on the top of it's head, it's use is still unknown. The tuatara is has two rows of teeth on it's upper jaw will line up either side of the teeth on the lower jaw.


The tuatara is a nocturnal reptile meaning that the tuatara rests during the hours of daylight and comes out to hunt for food at night. During the day, the tuatara sleeps in a burrow which it digs with it's strong claws into the ground. The tuatara also prefers temperatures that would be too cold for many other reptiles, and the tuatara hibernates during the colder winters. The tuatara is a carnivorous animal, meaning that the tuatara only eats other animals in order to survive. The tuatara primarily preys on insects, beetles, spiders, birds eggs, frogs and small reptiles and mammals.


Due to the fact that there are few real predators in New Zealand, the tuatara has no real native predators. However, since the introduction of cats, foxes, dogs and stouts, the tuatara populations have been wiped out in wide areas. Tuataras often live to be nearly 100 years old and so the tuatara only mates every 4 or 5 years. The female lays about a dozen leathery eggs which she digs into the ground. The eggs of the tuatara often take more than a year to hatch.

No comments:

Labels

Albatross Alligator Amphibian Angelfish Ant Anteater Antelope Ape Armadillo Aves Avocet Axolotl Baboon Badger Bandicoot Barb Barracuda Bat Bear Beaver Bee Beetle Binturong Bird Birds Of Paradise Bison Boar Bongo Bonobo Booby Budgerigar Buffalo Butterfly Butterfly Fish Caiman Camel Capybara Caracal Carnivore Cassowary Cat Caterpillar Catfish Cattle Centipede Chameleon Chamois Cheetah Chicken Chimpanzee Chinchilla Cichlid Civet Clouded Leopard Clown Fish Coati Cockroach Collared Peccary Common Buzzard Coral Cougar Cow Coyote Crab Crane Critically Endangered Crocodile Crustacean Cuscus Damselfly Deer Dhole Discus Dodo Dog Dolphin Donkey Dormouse Dragon Dragonfly Duck Dugong Eagle Echidna Eel Elephant Emu Endangered Extinct Falcon Ferret Fish Flamingo Flatfish Flounder Fly Fossa Fox Frog Gar Gazelle Gecko Gerbil Gharial Gibbon Giraffe Goat Goose Gopher Gorilla Grasshopper Grouse Guinea Fowl Guinea Pig Guppy Hamster Hare Hedgehog Herbivore Heron Hippopotamus Horse Human Hummingbird Hyena Ibis Iguana Impala Insect Invertebrate Jackal Jaguar Jellyfish Kangaroo Kingfisher Kiwi Koala Kudu Ladybird Ladybug Larvae Least Concern Lemming Lemur Leopard Lion Lionfish Lizard Llama Lobster Lynx Macaque Mammal Mammoth Manatee Mandrill Manta Ray Marsupial Mayfly Meerkat Millipede Mole Mollusca Molly Mongoose Monkey Moorhen Moose Moth Mouse Mule Near Threatened Newt Nightingale Numbat Octopus Okapi Olm Omnivore Opossum Orang Utan Oriole Ostrich Otter Owl Oyster Pademelon Panda Panther Parrot Peacock Pelican Penguin Phanter Pheasant Pig Pika Pike Piranha Platypus Pond Skater Possum Prawn Primate Puffer Fish Puffin Puma Quail Quoll Rabbit Raccoon Raccoon Dog Rare Rat Reindeer Reptile Rhinoceros Robin Rodent Salamander Scorpion Scorpion Fish Sea Dragon Sea Lion Sea Slug Sea Squirt Sea Urchin Seahorse Seal Serval Shark Sheep Shrew Shrimp Skunk Sloth Snail Snake Spider Sponge Squid Squirrel Starfish Stoat Swan Tamarin Tapir Tarantula Threatened Tiger Toad Tortoise Toucan Turkey Turtle Vulnerable Vulture Walrus Weasel Whale Wildebeest Wolf Woodlouse Woodpecker Worm Zebra