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He is doing this for Team Reptile for their web quest project. Imagine he is only 6 years old doing this kind of stuff. Amazing Technology works for curious intelligent children.
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Sphenodontia Order Presented by
Ricfred Andrew S. Beley
The sphenodontia order is the smallest order of
reptiles from New Zealand.
Scientific NameSphenodon
punctatus and the much
rarer Sphenodon guntheri
resembling mainly the lizard, and have been around since the end of the dinosaur era, 200 million years ago.
SizeMales - can reach
more than 24 in (60 cm) in length and 2 lb (1 kg) in weight.
Females - less than 16 in (40 cm) in length and rarely exceed 1 lb (454 g) in weight.
Body Covering
• The spiny plates on the back • Tail resemble those of a crocodile more
than a lizard, but has the latter reptile's ability to break off its tail when caught by a predator, and then regenerate it.
• The tail and back are covered with spiny plates
• bony plates in the skin
Color
- tan-colored lizard-like reptile that lives in New Zealand.- some are greenish brown
How many babies?
•It takes the females between one and three years to provide eggs with yolk•up to seven months to form the shell. It then takes between 12 and 15 months from copulation to hatching.
•lay 8 to 15 eggs•This means reproduction occurs at two- to five-year intervals, the slowest in any reptile.•eggs - have a soft, parchment-like shell.
• The sex of a hatchling depends on the temperature of the egg
• with warmer eggs tending to produce males
• and cooler eggs producing females.
• Their babies are called Hatchlings
They move
Habitat
• inhabit forest and pasture near seabird colonies. The preferred habitat is coastal broad-leaf forest, especially where seabirds have dug burrows.
• low-growing, salt-tolerant trees that form a complete canopy over a relatively open forest floor
Cold Blooded Animal
-Adult tuataras are nocturnal , but they will bask in the sun
for heat.
How do they Protect themselves?
• both sexes defend territories, and will threaten and eventually bite intruders. The bite can cause serious injury. Tuatara will bite when approached, and will not let go easily.
predominantly prey on• beetles, cricket
s, and spiders.• Their diet also
consists of frogs, lizards, and bird's eggs and chicks
Special Features
• The tuatara has a third eye on the top of its head called the parietal eye
• Their lungs have a single chamber and lack bronchi.
Additional Information
• Status - vulnerable• Tuataras do not have ears,
but they can hear.• The tuatara has been
classified as an endangered species since 1895
• They hibernate during winter
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