Signposts - a blog about Te Ara the Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Common tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus)

It’s the biggest comeback since Lazarus for New Zealand’s ‘living dinosaur‘, the tuatara. For the first time in around 200 years a tuatara nest has been found on mainland New Zealand.

The nest was found at Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, a large sanctuary surround by a predator-proof fence, just minutes away from Wellington. The tuatara had become extinct on mainland New Zealand, and its re-population is thanks to the survival of tuatara (both Sphenodon punctatus and Sphenodon guntheri) on nearshore islands. In 2005 the sanctuary was gifted 70 tuatara from Stephens Island (Takapourewa) in the Marlborough Sounds by their kaitiaki (guardians) Ngāti Koata, with another 130 released in the sanctuary in 2007.

A land-based taniwha

It’s interesting that Ngāti Koata are kaitiaki (guardians) of the tuatara. The tuatara, with a Māori name meaning spiny back, were often used as kaitiaki themselves. They were sometimes released near burial caves to protect the dead. Tuatara, along with other reptiles, were often held in fear by Māori. And, like other reptiles, it was seen as descending from Punga, whose descendants were considered hideously ugly. It is also sometimes considered to be the model for the giant land-based taniwha in Māori tradition, such as Te Ngārara Huarau.

Tuatara hatchling

It’s not the first time this year these living descendants of the 250-million-year-old Sphenodontia order have been in the news. Harry the tuatara is the epitome of the term ‘living fossil‘ – at the sprightly age of 111 he became dad to 11 healthy eggs laid by a cradle-snatched 80-ish Mildred. In case you’re interested, we have footage of tuataras mating. It’s not Harry and Mildred, but they’re dead-ringers.