tuatara

American  

[too-uh-tahr-uh] / ˌtu əˈtɑr ə /

Also tuatera

noun

1. a large, primarily nocturnal, lizardlike reptile, Sphenodon punctatum, of islands near the coast of New Zealand: the only surviving rhynchocephalian.

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tuatara British  

/ ˌtuːəˈtɑːrə /

noun

1. a greenish-grey lizard-like rhynchocephalian reptile, Sphenodon punctatus , occurring only on certain small islands near New Zealand: it is the sole surviving member of a group common in Mesozoic times

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Etymology

Origin of tuatara

1810–20; < Maori, equivalent to tua dorsal + tara spine

Example Sentences

Today, lizards and their close relatives, including snakes and the distinctive tuatara from New Zealand, form the most diverse group of land vertebrates.

From Science Daily • Nov. 30, 2025

Along with the mata mata turtle and reptile known as the tuatara, among the other animals studied were caecilians, a slithery type of amphibian with an outward appearance akin to snakes.

From Salon • Nov. 9, 2022

The creatures included 50 turtles, a tuatara, a lungfish and a caecilian.

From BBC • Oct. 25, 2022

This is what makes the tuatara stand out as a “living fossil,” an echo of an ancient evolutionary boom that eventually went bust.

From Scientific American • Mar. 23, 2022

Russell Pickett, the billionaire chairman and founder of Pickett Engineering, shocked the black-tie audience at last night’s Indianapolis Prize by announcing that his entire estate would be left to his pet tuatara.

From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green