"THE LIVING FOSSIL"

"THE LIVING FOSSIL"

The Tuatara is a lizard like creature that is only found on certain small islands around New Zealand. It is not a true Lizard but a "Living Fossil", a survivor of a group of animals that were once more widespread. They look very much like lizards but their skeleton shows many differences.
They are the only extant members of the Order Sphenodontia, which was well represented by many species during the age of the dinosaurs, some 200 million years ago. All species apart from the tuatara declined and eventually became extinct about 60 million years ago. Only Tuatara survived to become a "living fossil".

Tuataras survived because no predators invaded New Zealand. Terrestrial mammals failed to cross the Tasman Ocean, which separated New Zealand from Australia by opening about 90 million years ago. Tuataras are unusual reptiles, since they like cool weather. They do not survive well over 25 degrees centigrade but can live below 5 degrees, by hibernating in burrows. New Zealand climate was just right.

This little guy was about a foot long and semed quite happy to pose. Enjiy ;-))