33-577: Willowbank Wildlife Reserve is a wildlife park and nature reserve in Christchurch , New Zealand. As well as having public displays of various animal species it also carries out conservation of native species including tuatara , kiwi , brown teal , and Duvaucel's gecko . Willowbank also holds the only pair of takahē on display in the South Island of New Zealand outside a Department of Conservation facility. Willowbank Wildlife Reserve
66-600: A continuous fossil record to support this. The species has between 5 and 6 billion base pairs of DNA sequence , nearly twice that of humans. The tuatara ( Sphenodon punctatus ) has been protected by law since 1895. A second species, the Brothers Island tuatara S. guntheri , ( Buller , 1877) , was recognised in 1989, but since 2009 it has been reclassified as a subspecies ( S.p. guntheri ). Tuatara, like many of New Zealand's native animals, are threatened by habitat loss and introduced predators, such as
99-425: A single chamber with no bronchi . The tuatara's greenish brown colour matches its environment, and can change over its lifetime. Tuatara shed their skin at least once per year as adults, and three or four times a year as juveniles. Tuatara sexes differ in more than size. The spiny crest on a tuatara's back, made of triangular, soft folds of skin, is larger in males, and can be stiffened for display. The male abdomen
132-509: A skull. John Edward Gray used the name Sphenodon to describe the skull, which remains the current modern scientific name for the genus. In 1842, Grey described a member of the species as Hatteria punctata , not realising that the skull he received in 1831 were both tuatara. The genus remained misclassified until 1867, when A.C.L.G. Günther of the British Museum noted features similar to birds, turtles, and crocodiles. He proposed
165-612: A synonym to the subspecies, based on a lack of distinction. Tuatara are the largest reptiles in New Zealand. Adult S. punctatus males measure 61 cm (24 in) in length and females 45 cm (18 in). Tuatara are sexually dimorphic , males being larger. The San Diego Zoo even cites a length of up to 80 cm (31 in). Males weigh up to 1 kg (2.2 lb), and females up to 0.5 kg (1.1 lb). Brother's Island tuatara are slightly smaller, weighing up to 660 g (1.3 lb). Their lungs have
198-515: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Wildlife park Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 245824465 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 10:38:49 GMT Tuatara The tuatara ( Sphenodon punctatus )
231-529: Is a species of reptile endemic to New Zealand . Despite its close resemblance to lizards , it is part of a distinct lineage, the order Rhynchocephalia . The name tuatara is derived from the Māori language and means "peaks on the back". The single extant species of tuatara is the only surviving member of its order, which was highly diverse during the Mesozoic era. Rhynchocephalians first appeared in
264-406: Is also found in many other advanced rhynchocephalians. The teeth of the tuatara, and almost all other rhynchocephalians, are described as acrodont , as they are attached to the apex of the jaw bone. This contrast with the pleurodont condition found in the vast majority of lizards, where the teeth are attached to the inward-facing surface of the jaw. The teeth of the tuatara are extensively fused to
297-508: Is currently considered to be only one living species of tuatara, two species were previously identified: Sphenodon punctatus , or northern tuatara, and the much rarer Sphenodon guntheri , or Brothers Island tuatara, which is confined to North Brother Island in Cook Strait . The specific name punctatus is Latin for "spotted", and guntheri refers to German -born British herpetologist Albert Günther . A 2009 paper re-examined
330-548: Is narrower than the female's. Unlike the vast majority of lizards, the tuatara has a complete lower temporal bar closing the lower temporal fenestra (an opening of the skull behind the eye socket), caused by the fusion of the quadrate / quadratojugal (which are fused into a single element in adult tuatara) and the jugal bones of the skull. This is similar to the condition found in primitive diapsid reptiles. However, because more primitive rhynchocephalians have an open lower temporal fenestra with an incomplete temporal bar, this
363-405: Is present, and have unique features in their skeleton. Tuatara are sometimes referred to as " living fossils ", which has generated significant scientific debate. This term is currently deprecated among paleontologists and evolutionary biologists. Although tuatara have preserved the morphological characteristics of their Mesozoic ancestors (240–230 million years ago), there is no evidence of
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#1732790329396396-402: Is thought to be derived characteristic of the tuatara and other members of the clade Sphenodontinae , rather than a primitive trait retained from early diapsids. The complete bar is thought to stabilise the skull during biting. The tip of the upper jaw is chisel- or beak-like and separated from the remainder of the jaw by a notch, this structure is formed from fused premaxillary teeth, and
429-1094: The COVID-19 pandemic , the general manager and her family lived in the zoo to look after the animals. Willowbank is one of only three places where takahē can be viewed by the public—the others being Pūkaha / Mount Bruce and Zealandia —so is the only such place in the South Island. In 2021 the park received a breeding pair of takahē. In 2024 Willowbank announced that they had purchased the International Antarctic Centre for an undisclosed sum. Willowbank houses 95 species that are divided into three sections: exotics, heritage farmyard and New Zealand natives. The exotics section houses international species including blue and gold macaws , scarlett macaws , capuchin monkeys, capybara , small-clawed otter , ring-tailed lemurs , black-and-white ruffed lemur , star tortoise , leopard tortoise and green iguana . The heritage farmyard section works alongside
462-655: The Paleocene of Patagonia in South America. A species of sphenodontine is known from the Miocene Saint Bathans Fauna from Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. Whether it is referable to Sphenodon proper is not entirely clear, but it is likely to be closely related to tuatara. The ancestors of the tuatara were likely already present in New Zealand prior to its separation from Antarctica around 82-60 million years ago. Cladogram of
495-459: The Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans) . Tuatara were extinct on the mainland, with the remaining populations confined to 32 offshore islands until the first North Island release into the heavily fenced and monitored Karori Wildlife Sanctuary (now named "Zealandia") in 2005. During routine maintenance work at Zealandia in late 2008, a tuatara nest was uncovered, with a hatchling found
528-575: The Rare Breeds Conservation Society, holding and breeding species of farm animals that are dying breeds including Arapawa goats , Damara sheep , Enderby Island rabbits and zebu . The New Zealand natives section houses species from around New Zealand including kea, kaka , North Island brown kiwi , South Island brown kiwi , Okarito brown kiwi , great spotted kiwi , morepork , New Zealand falcon and tuatara . This Canterbury Region -related geography article
561-511: The Sphenodontia to include only tuatara and their closest fossil relatives in 1925. However, Rhynchocephalia is the older name and in widespread use today. Sphenodon is derived from the Greek for "wedge" (σφήν, σφηνός/ sphenos ) and "tooth" (ὀδούς, ὀδόντος/ odontos ). Many scholars use Sphenodontia as a subset of Rhynchocephalia, including almost all members of Rhynchocephalia, apart from
594-631: The aquatic pleurosaurs and the herbivorous eilenodontines . The earliest members of Sphenodontinae , the clade which includes the tuatara, are known from the Early Jurassic of North America. The earliest representatives of this group are already very similar to the modern tuatara. Rhynchocephalians underwent a great decline during the Cretaceous period, possibly due to competition with mammals and lizards, with their youngest record outside of New Zealand being of Kawasphenodon known from
627-429: The bones of the roof of the mouth), which is ancestrally present in reptiles (and tetrapods generally). While many of the original palatal teeth present in reptiles have been lost, like all other known rhynchocephalians, the row of teeth growing from the palatine bones have been enlarged, and like other members of Sphenodontinae the palatine teeth are orientated parallel to the teeth in the maxilla , and during biting
660-521: The colour of the northern tuatara ranges from olive green through grey to dark pink or brick red, often mottled, and always with white spots. In addition, the Brothers Island tuatara is considerably smaller. An extinct species of Sphenodon was identified in November ;1885 by William Colenso, who was sent an incomplete subfossil specimen from a local coal mine. Colenso named the new species S. diversum . Fawcett and Smith (1970) consider it
693-408: The evolution of reptiles. Tuatara are greenish brown and grey, and measure up to 80 cm (31 in) from head to tail-tip and weigh up to 1.3 kg (2.9 lb) with a spiny crest along the back, especially pronounced in males. They have two rows of teeth in the upper jaw overlapping one row on the lower jaw, which is unique among living species. They are able to hear, although no external ear
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#1732790329396726-635: The facility and photographed themselves after killing several of the eels with spears. The kea at the facility have been the subject of scientific study. One study looked at their intelligence, with one co-author of the paper describing their ability to draw statistical inferences as "unprecedented" in birds. Another study was conducted on one resident kea, Bruce, who is missing the top-half of his beak. The study investigated his use of small pebbles as tools to aid in preening , as supportive measures to overcome his disability. The study received international media coverage. During nationwide lockdowns caused by
759-460: The following autumn. This is thought to be the first case of tuatara successfully breeding in the wild on New Zealand's North Island in over 200 years. Relationships of the tuatara to other living reptiles and birds, after Simões et al. 2022 Squamata (lizards and snakes) Rhynchocephalia (tuatara) Testudines (turtles, including tortoises) Crocodilia (crocodilians) Aves (birds) Tuatara, along with other now-extinct members of
792-577: The fossil record during the Triassic , around 240 million years ago, and reached worldwide distribution and peak diversity during the Jurassic , when they represented the world's dominant group of small reptiles. Rhynchocephalians underwent a great decline during the Cretaceous with their youngest records outside New Zealand dating to the Paleocene . Their closest living relatives are squamates (lizards and snakes ). Tuatara are of interest for studying
825-537: The genetic bases used to distinguish the two supposed species of tuatara, and concluded they only represent geographic variants, and only one species should be recognized. Consequently, the northern tuatara was re-classified as Sphenodon punctatus punctatus and the Brothers Island tuatara as Sphenodon punctatus guntheri . Individuals from Brothers Island could also not be distinguished from other modern and fossil samples based on jaw morphology. The Brothers Island tuatara has olive brown skin with yellowish patches, while
858-641: The jawbone, making the boundary between the tooth and jaw difficult to discern, and the teeth lack roots and are not replaced during the lifetime of the animal, unlike those of pleurodont lizards. It is a common misconception that tuatara lack teeth and instead have sharp projections on the jaw bone, though histology shows that they have true teeth with enamel and dentine with pulp cavities. As their teeth wear down, older tuatara have to switch to softer prey such as earthworms , larvae , and slugs , and eventually have to chew their food between smooth jaw bones. The tuatara possesses palatal dentition (teeth growing from
891-534: The most primitive representatives of the group. The earliest rhynchocephalian, Wirtembergia , is known from the Middle Triassic of Germany, around 240 million years ago. During the Late Triassic , rhynchocephalians greatly diversified, going on to become the world's dominant group of small reptiles during the Jurassic period, when the group was represented by a diversity of forms, including
924-538: The order Rhynchocephalia , belong to the superorder Lepidosauria , the only surviving taxon within Lepidosauromorpha along with the order Squamata , which includes lizards and snakes. Squamates and tuatara both show caudal autotomy (loss of the tail-tip when threatened), and have transverse cloacal slits. Tuatara were originally classified as lizards in 1831 when the British Museum received
957-480: The order Rhynchocephalia (meaning "beak head") for the tuatara and its fossil relatives. Since 1869, Sphenodon punctatus has been used as the scientific name for the species (or the variation Sphenodon punctatum in some earlier sources). At one point, many disparate species were incorrectly referred to the Rhynchocephalia, resulting in what taxonomists call a " wastebasket taxon ". Williston proposed
990-528: The position of the tuatara within Sphenodontia, after Simoes et al., 2022: † Diphydontosaurus † Planocephalosaurus † Clevosaurus † Homoeosaurus † Palaeopleurosaurus † Derasmosaurus † Pleurosaurus † Leptosaurus † Kallimodon † Piocormus † Oenosaurus † Sapheosaurus † Sphenotitan † Eilenodon † Toxolophosaurus † Priosphenodon † Navajosphenodon † Cynosphenodon † Sphenofontis † Kawasphenodon Sphenodon (tuatara) While there
1023-419: The teeth of the lower jaw slot between the two upper tooth rows. The structure of the jaw joint allows the lower jaw to slide forwards after it has closed between the two upper rows of teeth. This mechanism allows the jaws to shear through chitin and bone. The brain of Sphenodon fills only half of the volume of its endocranium . This proportion has actually been used by paleontologists trying to estimate
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1056-498: The wild and brought to the facility to ensure that they hatch successfully. In addition to a normal outdoor habitat, Willowbank features a nocturnal viewing house for kiwi, allowing guests to see them during the day. The kiwi house was built from two kitset barns, and was opened in 1996 by Princess Anne . She also serves as the patron of the trust. A waterway in the middle of the park is home to large New Zealand longfin eels , which visitors can touch and feed. In 2012 two men broke into
1089-658: Was opened by Michael Willis and his wife in October 1974. Initially the park operated as a typical zoo, with a mix of exotic and farmyard animals on display for visitors. As Willis became more interested in animal conservation, the park began to incorporate more native species and rare farmyard breeds. A capuchin monkey escaped from the park in 2009. Willowbank hosts the New Zealand Conservation Trust. The trust breeds and hatches kiwi, raising 200 kiwi chicks between 2007 and 2013. Eggs are collected from
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