the.com/tuatara
a 250-million-year-old reptile that outlived the dinosaurs by simply refusing to be impressed.
means A spiny-crested reptile native to New Zealand that, despite resembling a lizard, is the sole surviving member of an ancient order distinct from lizards and snakes.
from From Māori: 'tua' (back) plus 'tara' (spine or peak), literally 'peaks on the back' — a name pointing straight at the spiny crest running down its spine. The word came into English directly from Māori, the language of the creature's only homeland, and unlike many borrowed animal names it has kept its native shape intact.
- third eye
- Has a light-sensing eye on top of its skull.
- not lizard
- Sole survivor of an order older than snakes.
- slow burn
- Keeps growing until age 35, lives past 100.
- cold lover
- Active at temperatures that immobilize other reptiles.
- late bloomer
- One male fathered babies at age 111.
henry the tuatara — male tuatara at the southland museum in new zealand, fathered offspring at age 111 in 2009
tuatara at stephens island — population of ~60,000 tuataras living on this new zealand island, the largest remaining colony