Rare reptile hatchling found on New Zealand

Ray Lilley, Associated Press 19 Mar 09;

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A hatchling of a rare reptile with lineage dating back to the dinosaur age has been found in the wild on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in about 200 years, a wildlife official said Thursday.

The baby tuatara was discovered by staff during routine maintenance work at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in the capital, Wellington, conservation manager Raewyn Empson said.
In this photo released by the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, a baby tuatara is held by a staff at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellington, New Zealand, Thursday, March 19, 2009. The juvenile hatchling of the rare reptile with lineage dating back to the dinosaur age was found on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in about 200 years. (AP Photo/Karori Wildlife Sanctury,Tom Lynch,HO)

"We are all absolutely thrilled with this discovery," Empson said. "It means we have successfully re-established a breeding population back on the mainland, which is a massive breakthrough for New Zealand conservation."

Tuatara are the last lizard-like descendants of a reptile species that walked the Earth with the dinosaurs 225 million years ago, zoologists say.

There are estimated to be about 50,000 of them living in the wild on 32 small offshore islands cleared of predators, but this is the first time a hatchling has been seen on the mainland in about 200 years.

The New Zealand natives were nearly extinct on the country's three main islands by the late 1700s due to the introduction of predators such as rats.

Empson said the hatchling is thought to be about one month old and likely came from an egg laid about 16 months ago. Two nests of eggs — the size of pingpong balls — were unearthed in the sanctuary last year and tuatara were expected to hatch around this time.

"He is unlikely to be the only baby to have hatched this season, but seeing him was an incredible fluke," she said.

The youngster faces a tough journey to maturity despite being in the 620-acre (250 hectare) sanctuary and protected by a predator-proof fence. It will have to run from the cannibalistic adult tuatara, and would make a tasty snack for the morepork (native owl), kingfisher and weka (New Zealand's endemic flightless rail), Empson said.

"Like all the wildlife living here, he'll just have to take his chances" Empson said.

"They've been extinct on the mainland for a long time," said Lindsay Hazley, tuatara curator at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery on South Island. He added that "you can breed tuatara by eliminating risk, but to have results like this among many natural predators (like native birds) is a positive sign."

About 200 tuatara have been released since 2005 into the Karori Sanctuary, which was established to breed native birds, insects and other creatures.

Tuatara have unique characteristics, such as two rows of top teeth closing over one row at the bottom and a pronounced parietal eye — a light-sensitive pineal gland on the top of the skull that gives the appearance of a third eye.

Rare "living fossil" reptile born in NZ
Yahoo News 19 Mar 09;

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) – A rare "living fossil" tuatara reptile has been born in the wild in an area of New Zealand where it had been believed extinct for 200 years, conservationists said Thursday.

The tuatara -- a lizard-like reptile which has existed for 200 million years and shared the earth with dinosaurs -- had been believed extinct on New Zealand's three main islands for 200 years.

But since 2005, 200 have been reintroduced from offshore islands into the Karori Sanctuary in the capital Wellington, where the baby was discovered.

Staff at the 252-hectare (623-acre) sanctuary found the eight-centimetre (three-inch) long hatchling, thought to be about a month old, in an area where tuatara nests were found late last year.

"This is an extremely significant discovery," said sanctuary conservation manager Raewyn Empson.

"It means we have successfully re-established a breeding population... which is a massive breakthrough for New Zealand conservation," she said.

"He is unlikely to be the only baby to have hatched this season, but seeing him was an incredible fluke".

The infant tuatara will need to avoid the attentions of cannibalistic adult tuatara as well as some native birds if it is to reach adulthood, she said.

"Like all the wildlife living here, he'll just have to take his chances," Empson said.

"However, hatching within the safety of a mammal-proof fence has already given him a far better chance of survival than he would get outside."

Baby tuatara hatch about 12-15 months after their mothers lay, and then abandon, their eggs.

The reptiles became extinct on New Zealand's three main islands after the Pacific rat arrived with the Polynesian Maori in the previously uninhabited country about 700 years ago.

They live to about 100 years old but do not become fertile until aged about 13.