#sphenodon punctatus

[your-fav-as-alizard]

Agent Stone from Sonic movies, please <3

Look im aware that tuatara's are technically not lizards, but IT'S CLOSE ENOUGH. I feel like he'd be a Tuatara :D (Sphenodon Punctatus)

(Photo from the Reptile Database)

[natturuval]

Did you know that the Tuatara can hold its breath for up to an hour? That is pretty impressive for a little guy, he lives life in the slow lane and breathes once a minute when he's about his daily activities.

Him and over a 100 animals are featured in the card game Náttúruval, and their real life information.

Náttúruval: A Game of Unexpected Competition by Bespoke Games

Animals compete using their real-life statistics in this fun card game. The winner might surprise you!

[salt-up-to-your-ankles]

finally got to see a tuatara in person for the first time today :)

genuinely such an awesome animal and im so happy i finally got to see one!! last time i went to my local zoo they were refurbishing the enclosure so it was bordered off but this time it was open and you could see the tuatara basking in the middle :)

its insane to me that these guys even exist theyre so cool

id LOVE to handle one someday and learn more about them (really making me rethink what im currently studying LOL)

anyway fellow reptile enjoyers hope you guys like the pics :)

[adelineivy]

daily? animal? 2: tuatara

not a lizard!!

[el-candelabro]

"El Tuátara: Un Viaje a través de la Evolución y la Supervivencia"

View On WordPress

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Photo: A. Sparrow - flickr

The Unlikely Comeback of New Zealand’s Weirdest ‘Living Fossil’

Meet the tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus), a three-eyed reptile with a 200-million-year-old lineage.

Photo: John Wattie - flickr

Photo: D70 - flickr

Photo: Mohd Fauzi Ibrahim - flickr

[sundarsunya]

Hatchling tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) bred at Chester Zoo (photo courtesy of the media team), AKA baby Isolde! It has taken decades of work to reach this point; outside its native New Zealand the tuatara has never been bred in captivity before this youngster emerged. It’s named for specialist herpetology keeper Isolde McGeorge, whose 38 year career at the zoo led to the successful mating and hatching.

[animaltoday]

Brothers Island Tuatara (Sphenodon guntheri) -

This small "dinosaur" is one of the oldest living animals.  200 million years ago, their relatives walked the earth.  They have evolved significantly, but are still the only ones left in their order.  Today, their closest living relatives are snakes and lizards.

It is extremely closely related to the S. punctatus and it has been considered that both species should be merged into one.  The main differences lie in small physical variations and geographical distribution.  The Brothers Island Tuatara lives strictly on the North Brother Island in Cook Straight.   S. punctatus is more widely distributed across the Cook Straight.  Physical differences include minor color changes, skin patterns, and size (S. guntheri is generally smaller), but there are hardly any genetic variations. 

These ancient reptiles still carry features of their extinct ancestors.  They have a prominent photoreceptive eye, which has vanished in most reptiles today.  Their skeletons also carry some features that link them to fish.  They also have certain features that are more similar to crocodiles, birds and turtles, rather than lizards. 

Plus they're basically mini dinosaurs.  

Photos: (top left) (top right) (bottom left) (top right)