Illustration of tuatara
tuatara
noun
tu·a·ta·ra ˌtü-ə-ˈtär-ə 
plural tuatara or tuataras
: a large spiny quadrupedal reptile (Sphenodon punctatum) of islands off the coast of New Zealand that has a vestigial third eye in the middle of the forehead representing the pineal gland and that is the only surviving rhynchocephalian
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Many different tuatara relatives existed alongside each other during the time the Morrison Formation was being formed. 
Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Sep. 2022 The aging rates for lizards and snakes were scattered but were remarkably low in certain crocodiles, salamanders and the enigmatic tuatara. New York Times, 23 June 2022 In addition to turtles and crocodiles, reptiles in the study included lizards, snakes and tuatara, the only living member of a lineage that evolved in the Triassic period approximately 200 to 250 million years ago. Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2022 Also, Barbara’s (Sheryl Lee Ralph) favorite zoo animal, a tuatara, has been retired because of old age in the season finale of the workplace comedy. Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2022 Today the latter are represented by just one living species—New Zealand’s tuatara—but there were far more in the deep past. Riley Black, Scientific American, 17 Feb. 2022 Squamates’ slower pace resulted in a more stable history, followed by a later burst of diversity when tuatara relatives were already on their downturn. Riley Black, Scientific American, 17 Feb. 2022 The modern tuatara, for example, looks like a lizard but actually belongs to a different evolutionary group that last shared a common ancestor with lizards more than 250 million years ago. Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 June 2021 Researchers have discovered that the reptiles, which date back to dinosaur days and can grow 14 feet long or more, can regenerate themselves — not unlike geckos, or the tuatara of New Zealand. Theresa Braines New York Daily News, Star Tribune, 3 Dec. 2020 See More
Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Sep. 2022 The aging rates for lizards and snakes were scattered but were remarkably low in certain crocodiles, salamanders and the enigmatic tuatara. New York Times, 23 June 2022 In addition to turtles and crocodiles, reptiles in the study included lizards, snakes and tuatara, the only living member of a lineage that evolved in the Triassic period approximately 200 to 250 million years ago. Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2022 Also, Barbara’s (Sheryl Lee Ralph) favorite zoo animal, a tuatara, has been retired because of old age in the season finale of the workplace comedy. Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2022 Today the latter are represented by just one living species—New Zealand’s tuatara—but there were far more in the deep past. Riley Black, Scientific American, 17 Feb. 2022 Squamates’ slower pace resulted in a more stable history, followed by a later burst of diversity when tuatara relatives were already on their downturn. Riley Black, Scientific American, 17 Feb. 2022 The modern tuatara, for example, looks like a lizard but actually belongs to a different evolutionary group that last shared a common ancestor with lizards more than 250 million years ago. Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 June 2021 Researchers have discovered that the reptiles, which date back to dinosaur days and can grow 14 feet long or more, can regenerate themselves — not unlike geckos, or the tuatara of New Zealand. Theresa Braines New York Daily News, Star Tribune, 3 Dec. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Maori
First Known Use
1890, in the meaning defined above