tuatara
/tuːəˈtɑːɹə/ noun
Forms tuataras
- noun A reptile, Sphenodon punctatus, native to New Zealand, that resembles a lizard and is the only surviving specimen of the order Rhynchocephalia.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Māori tuatara.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A large iguanalike reptile (Sphenodon punctatum) formerly common in New Zealand, but now confined to certain islets near the coast. It reaches a length of two and a half feet, is dark olive-green with small white or yellowish specks on the sides, and has yellow spines along the back, except on the neck.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “tuatara”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details