SOLE SURVIVORS OF AN EXTINCT ORDER- RHYNOCEPHALIA
Name: Tuatara (sphenodon punctatus)
Habitat: Islands, scrubland
Life span: Up to 91 years in captivity, possibly up to 100 years in the wild.
Size: 20 to 31 inches (50 to 80 centimetres) long
Population: estimated 50,000 to 10,000 across all islands
Weight: 0.45 to 1.3 kg
Hatchling size: 100mm long.
Tuataras are part of a distinct lineage, the ancient order: Rhynocephalia. Two species of tuatara are currently known, the Sphenodon punctatus and the significantly rarer Sphenodon guntheri (also known as the Brothers Island tuatara) which is found only on North Brother Island in Cook Strait. These two species are the only surviving members of this order.
The order Rhynocephalia thrived around 200 million years ago- the same era that dinosaurs roamed the earth.