tuatara
pronunciation
How to pronounce tuatara in British English:
UK [ˌtu:ə'tɑ:rə]
How to pronounce tuatara in American English:
US [ˌtuə'tɑrə]
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- Noun:
- only extant member of the order Rhynchocephalia of large spiny lizard-like diapsid reptiles of coastal islands off New Zealand
Word Origin
- tuatara (n.)
- New Zealand lizard, 1844, from Maori, from tua "on the back" + tara "spine."
Example
- 1. The tuatara looks like a lizard , but is actually a very different kind of reptile .
- 2. This has made the tuatara another classic example of natural stagnation , with some researchers claiming that the reptile has remained unchanged for 220 million years .
- 3. His research focuses mainly on skull mechanics and feeding apparatus in reptiles such as the new zealand tuatara ( sphenodon ) .
- 4. Saving the tuatara is a matter of pride among new zealand 's indigenous groups . The animals are revered by the maori as a taonga , or treasure .
- 5. In his latest book , paleontologist richard fortey cast the tuatara , coelacanth , and similar organisms as " survivors . "