Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Either of two lizardlike reptiles (Sphenodon punctatus or S. guntheri) that inhabit several small New Zealand islands and are the only extant members of the group Rhynchocephalia or Sphenodontia, which flourished during the Mesozoic Era.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) A large iguanalike reptile (
Sphenodon punctatum ) formerly common in New Zealand, but by 1900 confined to certain islets near the coast. It reaches a length of two and a half feet, is dark olive-green with small white or yellowish specks on the sides, and has yellow spines along the back, except on the neck. It is the only surviving member of the order Rhyncocephala. Also calledtuatera andhatteria .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Either of two
reptiles , Sphenodon punctatus or Sphenodon guntheri, native toNew Zealand , that resemblelizards .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun only extant member of the order Rhynchocephalia of large spiny lizard-like diapsid reptiles of coastal islands off New Zealand
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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One endangered reptile in an order of its own, called a tuatara, has a light receptive organ on its head; almost like a third eye.
CreationWiki - Recent changes [en] Ashcraft 2010
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In your mind, you're walking past the entrance to the Matterhorn, past the statue by the bucket fountain which nobody can ever agree on, as to if it's a frog or a tuatara, which is quite bizarre, you realise now, considering how utterly different they are.
she.geek.nz 2010
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The tuatara is a reptile species whose roots go back to the time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
unknown title 2009
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Despite this, scientists have been surprised to find that the tuatara is the "fastest evolving" creature on the genetic level.
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Despite this, scientists have been surprised to find that the tuatara is the "fastest evolving" creature on the genetic level.
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Henry the tuatara is a dad at 111 - Australasia, World - The Independent
European Tribune 2009
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Zealand -- the "tuatara" or Sphenodon -- entered its area at a still earlier stage of surface change.
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The word "tuatara" is derived from a Maori word meaning "spiny back."
CNN.com 2009
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"dinosaur forests", unusual birds and living fossils such as tuatara, giant kauri snails and mute frogs.
Latest Massey News 2009
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The tuatara, a nocturnal lizardlike reptile from New Zealand, shares a nest with the diurnal petrel, a sea bird.
tuatara commented on the word tuatara
a primitive New Zealand "lizard" that is not truly a lizard but has evolutionary characteristics of reptiles and and birds; its Maori name means "peaks on the back," and it looks a bit like a brown-green iguana; endangered
June 27, 2007