Tuatara Hatchling Discovered Near Wellington - First Recorded "Mainland" Birth In 200+ Years - AP

[hatrack]

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 yesterday. The baby tuatara was discovered by staff during routine maintenance work at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in the capital, Wellington, said conservation manager Raewyn Empson.

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

Tuatara, which measure up to 80cm (32in) when fully grown, are the last descendants of a lizard-like 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 ping pong balls were unearthed in the sanctuary last year and tuatara were expected to hatch around this time.

EDIT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/20/tuatara-reptile-new-zealand

[merh]

1. This thread needs a photo

Photo: "Living Dinosaur" Is Fastest-Evolving Animal

The tuatara, New Zealand's "living dinosaur," is evolving faster than any animal studied to date, experts say.

This unexpected speed—despite the reptile's slow metabolism and maturation—supports a theory that physical and molecular evolution are not linked, experts say.

Photograph courtesy Dave Hansford/Origin Natural History Media
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/bigphotos/73373842.html&usg=__-VHPDopW_dPLZVBZPaqXewi-pyw=&h=303&w=461&sz=60&hl=en&start=9&tbnid=fY6cimJqGyuZRM:&tbnh=84&tbnw=128&prev=/images%3Fq%3DTuatara%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

[eppur_se_muova]

2. K&R for living fossils! nt