Unlocking the secrets of tuatara sperm in an effort to improve the survival chances of this at-risk reptile
The study, published in Conservation Physiology, found tuatara sperm are fast moving and a whopping three times longer than human sperm.
The study, published in Conservation Physiology, found tuatara sperm are fast moving and a whopping three times longer than human sperm.
Plants & Animals
Sep 19, 2023
0
1
Following the settlement of Aotearoa New Zealand, many native species were wiped from the mainland. It's a familiar story—one that has affected species like the iconic flightless kākāpō and the tuatara, a reptile in ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 17, 2022
0
20
Smithsonian researchers have discovered a new extinct species of lizard-like reptile that belongs to the same ancient lineage as New Zealand's living tuatara. A team of scientists, including the National Museum of Natural ...
Evolution
Sep 15, 2022
0
158
New Zealand's endemic tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) are the sole survivors of an ancient reptile order called Rhynchocephalia. Once widespread across New Zealand, tuatara survive in only a fraction of their historic range, ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 4, 2021
0
2
Scientists from the University of Adelaide and South Australian Museum have collaborated with Otago University, New Zealand and a global team to sequence the genome of the tuatara—a rare reptile whose ancestors once roamed ...
Archaeology
Aug 5, 2020
0
713
Have you ever heard of the tuatara? It's a reptile that decapitates birds with its saw-like jaws, lives to about 100 years old, and can remain active in near-freezing temperatures.
Plants & Animals
May 12, 2017
0
34
A team of researchers from the University of Bristol studying the 'living fossil' Sphenodon - or tuatara - have identified a new way to measure the evolutionary rate of these enigmatic creatures, giving credence to Darwin's ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Feb 22, 2017
2
572
The size and health of the tuatara population was assessed this month in a joint project by Victoria University of Wellington and Zealandia—the first time many of the iconic creatures will have been handled since the species ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 17, 2015
0
13
University of Otago researchers have found evidence of tuatara eggs hatching in a nest at Orokonui Ecosanctuary, the first indication of this happening anywhere in the wild in the South Island for several hundred years.
Plants & Animals
Apr 8, 2015
0
12
Since the early 1990s, an intensive tuatara conservation recovery programme has been run on the island, where the species had not been seen for 10 years.
Plants & Animals
Feb 27, 2015
0
47