Three-Eyed Tuatara Is The Closest Living Relative To The Dinosaurs

MessageToEagle.com – The tuatara is in many ways a remarkable creature. Found only in New Zealand, the tuatara, Sphendon punctatus is the closest living relative to the dinosaurs. Dinosaurs went extinct about 65 million years ago, but tuataras did not.

Compared to dinosaurs, humans have not been present on Earth long at all. Dinosaurs roared for about 150 million years before they disappeared. We humans have only been around for about 2 million years, so we are without doubt still a young species.

The name “tuatara” comes from the Maori for “peaks on the back.”

The tuatara has in fact remained largely physically unchanged over very long periods of evolution. The creature is evolving at a DNA level faster than any other animal yet examined.

Scientists have recovered DNA sequences from the bones of ancient tuatara, which are up to 8000 years old and discovered the animals has not changed much at all. Researchers think that the tuatara survived because of their small size. As adults, these rare, medium-sized reptiles measure between 12 and 30 inches long and weigh between 0.5 and two and a half pounds. They are surprisingly long-lived. Tuataras mature slowly and don’t stop growing until they reach about 30 years old. It is thought they can live up to 100 years in the wild. Part of the reason for their longevity may be their slow metabolism.

See also:

Mamenchisaurus Hochuanensis: Dinosaur With The Longest Neck For Its Body Size

Kunbarrasaurus: New Armoured Dinosaur Revealed

Tiktaalik Roseae: A 375-Million-Year-Old Fish Had Fins For Walking

More Cool Science Facts

This unusual creature has a third eye on the top of its head called the parietal eye. However, the tuatara don’t see through they eye, but uses it as a light sensor and that can be practical since tuataras’ worst enemies are rats.

The tuataras once lived throughout the mainland of New Zealand, but have survived in the wild only on 32 offshore islands.

There are two living species of tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus and the much rarer Sphenodon guntheri, or Brothers Island tuatara, which is found only on North Brother Island in Cook Strait.

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