Baby Reptile Not Seen for 200 Years Hatches in New Zealand

A dinosaur age hatchling has been found in mainland New Zealand, the first of its kind to be seen there in over 200 years.

Although it may look like a lizard, it’s not. The tuatara (shown above) is perhaps best classified as the last living “proto-reptile”, and it’s the only surviving member of a distinct lineage that thrived 200 million years ago. In fact, it was misclassified as a lizard until 1867, when Albert Günther of the British Museum noted that the unique creature had features similar to birds, turtles and crocodiles.

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Tuatara nests and eggs were discovered several months ago, but this is the first time an actual hatchling has been spotted. The living fossils have roused concerns over their extinction in the past, so this discovery brings increased optimism that the resilient reptilians may be making a comeback.

Previously, breeding tuataras were believed to be limited to 32 offshore islands which were still clear of introduced predators, like the rat, which had wiped them from the mainland. “We are all absolutely thrilled with this discovery,” said Raewyn Empson of the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellington, where the youngin was found. “It means we have successfully re-established a breeding population back on the mainland, which is a massive breakthrough for New Zealand conservation.”

The remarkable lizard-like survivors have several unique features, such as a pronounced parietal “third eye”, which is actually a light-sensitive pineal gland on the top of their skull. Their brain and mode of locomotion still resembles that of amphibians, and their heart is more primitive than any other living reptile. Moreover, they take as long as 10 years to reach sexual maturity, so this hatchling still has a long way to go to ensure a next generation of tuataras.

Though if this survival story is a testament to anything, it’s that those primitive hearts are still beating strong.

Image Credit: digitaltrails on Flickr under a Creative Commons License

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