Thetuatarais areptilethat isendemictoNew Zealandand which, though it resembles mostlizards, is part of a distinct lineage, orderRhynchocephalia.[1]The two species of tuatara are the only surviving members of its order, which flourished around 200 million years ago.[2]Their most recent common ancestor with any other extant group is with thesquamates(lizards and snakes). For this reason, tuatara are of great interest in the study of the evolution of lizards and snakes, and for the reconstruction of the appearance and habits of the earliestdiapsids(the group that also includesbirds,dinosaurs, andcrocodiles).Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: ReptiliaOrder: SphenodontiaFamily: Sphenodontidae Genus: SphenodonScientific name: Sphenodon PunctatusReproduction: Tuatara reproduce very slowly, taking 10 to 20 years to reach sexual maturity. Mating occurs in midsummer; females mate and layeggsonce every four years.During courtship, a male makes his skin darker, raises his crests, and parades toward the female. He slowly walks in circles around the female with stiffened legs. The female will either submit, and allow the male to mount her, or retreat to her burrow.Males do not have apenis; they reproduce by the male lifting the tail of the female and placing hisventover hers. Thespermis then transferred into the female, much like the mating process in birds. Habitat: Woodland and grasslands.Tuatara Fact: The tuatara is a very uniquereptile, with it's long tail and dinosaur-like crest, but the tuatara is has other features which make it stand out. Like allreptiles, the tuatara has excellent vision, but the tuatara also has a third eye on the top of it's head, it's use is still unknown. The tuatara is has two rows of teeth on it's upper jaw will line up either side of the teeth on the lower jaw.

A Tuatara named henry, living at the Southland museum and Art Gallery, is still reproductively active at 111 years of ageTuatara Mating.