Kauri Comparisons: Tuatara

by Shanti Truong-George, Kauri Protection Coordinator

“I orea te tuatara ka patu ki waho.”

A problem is solved by continuing to find solutions.

The tuatara is one of the most unique reptile species in the world. The whakataukī above literally refers to poking a tuatara out of its burrow, but it more broadly speaks to being creative and persistent when encountering a problem.

Though they may look like lizards, tuatara are not. Instead, they belong to their own order, Rhynchocephalia (lizards belong to the order Squamata). The species is thought to date back 150 million years and is known as a “living fossil,” allowing us to imagine what other ancient reptile species may have looked like in the past.

Tuatara live in coastal forests in burrows, with adults being nocturnal and younger tuatara being diurnal (active during the day). They mainly eat invertebrates but can also eat small lizards and birds. Tuatara are at risk due to heavy predation by mammalian predators, loss of habitat, and their slow breeding biology. The gestation (pregnancy) period of a tuatara is 11–16 months, and once born, it takes around 14 years for a tuatara to reach maturity.

Same or different?

Tuatara and kauri are similar due to their long lifespans within their respective groups. Tuatara are estimated to live over 100 years, while kauri are known to live between 600 and 1,000 years, with some estimated to live up to 2,000 years. These long lifespans also mean long reproductive cycles, making conservation difficult for both species.

In many other species, population numbers can be increased through breeding or propagation programmes; however, the long growth periods of both kauri and tuatara mean that cones and offspring are only produced after around 20 years (kauri) and 14 years (tuatara). Small population sizes mean species are more likely to go extinct, as each individual represents a large proportion of the population and its genetic diversity.

This makes it even more important to prevent the spread of diseases such as kauri dieback and to restore natural areas so they are suitable for tuatara and other native species to live in.