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What if tuatara never lived long?

Updated: 8/19/2019
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9y ago

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Tuatara are slow breeders, so if they did not have a long lifespan, they would have been unable to survive the arrival of European settlers, or possibly even the arrival of the Maori hundreds of years earlier. Polynesian rats and European rats were both introduced to the islands of New Zealand, and these creatures have devastated tuatara populations on the mainland. Rats steal the tuatara eggs from burrows, and eat the hatchlings. Adult females tuatara only lay eggs every three to four years, so with their eggs being eaten, the tuatara populations have struggled to be maintained.

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Q: What if tuatara never lived long?
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How do you describe the tuatara lizard in words?

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The main reason why the tuatara is endangered is the threat caused by introduced predators. The kiore (Polynesian rat) is responsible for the decreasing tuatara population, as are the two species of rats introduced by Europeans, while cats, dogs, stoats and ferrets have also contributed to the tuatara's decline. On the mainland, deforestation has resulted in habitat loss, which has meant less food and safe shelter for the tuatara. The tuatara's own breeding cycle and slow growth rate makes this reptile one of its own worst enemies. Tuatara only breed every second year and they are long-lived, meant they do not begin reproducing until they are 15-18 years old. They cannot reproduce quickly enough to compensate for their numbers being reduced by predators.


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The tuatara's tongue is twice as long as it is wide, but it would not be described as "very long".


What do you call a baby tuatara?

There is no particular name for a baby tuatara. Newly hatched tuatara are called hatchlings, and tuatara that are not yet adult are simply called juvenile tuatara.


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Is a tuatara a dragon?

No. Iguanas and tuatara are quite different species. Whilst both iguanas and tuatara are reptiles, the iguana is a type of lizard, whereas the tuatara is not classified as a lizard.


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The tuatara is a reptile.