Who is called the “prehistoric monster” or Hatteria (lat. Sphenodon punctatus) - one of a kind.
The Permian cotylosaurs gave rise to a group of reptiles in which the evolution of the skull followed the path of reduction (simplification of the structure, in this case, lightening the weight of the skull due to the formation of the temporal pits).
This is how the group of diapsids arose, which includes two subclasses - lepidosaurs and archosaurs. Among the modern reptiles, lepidosaurs include a number of squamates and the only representative of the ancient branch of reptiles - hatteria. It represents at once a species, a genus, and a family, as well as a series of beak-headed or proboscis-headed animals.
The tuatara or tuatara is a rare animal with a very scientifically interesting body structure. It has so many qualities of primitive organization, common with reptiles that lived in the Permian period and early Triassic, that it is called a living fossil. Externally, tuateria is similar to big lizard. The length of her body reaches 75 cm. On the back of her head, as well as along her back and tail, she has a crest consisting of sharp plates - spines. Hence its second name – tuatara. In the Maori language, the indigenous people of New Zealand, this means “one who bears thorns.”
The body of the tuateria is massive, the five-fingered limbs are horizontal, and the tail is long and triangular. The head is quite large, on its sides there are large eyes with vertical pupils. The body is covered with scales of varying sizes, and on the ventral side there are quadrangular scutes. The color is olive green with small white and large yellow spots. The color of the crest on the back is light yellow, and on the tail it is brown. For your 165 million. Over the years, the tuateria has hardly changed.
According to their lifestyle, they are nocturnal animals; only in the evening do they emerge from their burrows to bask in the sun. They forage for food at night. They feed mainly on insects, mollusks and worms, and if the opportunity arises, on lizards and small birds. An amazing property of heteria is their ability to remain active with sufficient low temperatures(6-18°C). Therefore, their winter sleep is not sound, and sunny days they wake up and even come out of their holes.
Hatterias begin to reproduce only at the age of 20. Gaterias mate in January. Males at this time vigorously defend their individual areas. To make the proper impression on their rivals and partner, they raise the crest and spines on their backs. If the tuateria is in danger, it also “bristles.” IN mating season males fight fiercely for the right to mate with a female. They often cause serious damage to each other. After some time, around October-December, the female lays eggs.
Further growth and development of young animals is also a very long process. Layed eggs with a hard shell in the amount of 9-17 pieces are buried in burrows. The female guards the clutch from other females and makes sure that they do not lay their eggs there. The hole is located in an open place, which is well warmed up by the rays of the sun. Egg development lasts approximately 12-15 months, this is the longest incubation period in reptiles. Before hatching, the cubs grow a hard, horny tooth on their snout, with which they pierce the soft shell of the egg. Hatterias grow very slowly.
The government of New Zealand, where they live, is doing everything possible to preserve these rare reptiles. It is strictly forbidden not only to catch living animals, but also to pick up dead animals, which constitute a valuable find for zoologists, because tuataria live for a very long time (up to 100 years), and therefore the possibility of studying them internal structure happens rarely. It is believed that the first settlers from Polynesia, who once settled in New Zealand, hunted gameteria for meat, which, however, as in many similar cases, did not pose a serious threat to these reptiles, and their numbers were approximately constant.
The real danger for these amazing creatures arose after Europeans appeared on the islands and brought domestic animals with them. By then there may be no natural enemies contributed to the conservation of this species. So, the hatteria could not resist dogs, cats and pigs. These domestic animals hunted the Gateria and ate their eggs. And within a very short period, the populations of the Gaterias that lived on the North and South Islands disappeared. The next threat is rabbits brought from Europe. They eat grass and destroy the habitats of many species of insects that feed on the hatteria.
The habitats of the tuataria suffered not only destruction, but also severe changes. The islands where this ancient lizard lives are declared nature reserves. Now this species has the status of a vulnerable species and is listed in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
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In New Zealand, on the small rocky islands to the north and in the strait between the North and South Islands, lives a creature more ancient than some giant lizards Jurassic period. This is the famous three-eyed reptile - the hatteria.
These reptiles appeared about 200 million years ago and since then have practically not changed a bit. That is, in front of you you see a real “living fossil”.
"Living Fossil" 
At first glance, the hatteria looks like an ordinary large lizard, or rather an iguana. The length of her body is 65-75 centimeters, including the tail. It is colored olive-green or greenish-gray, and yellow spots of varying sizes can be seen on the sides of the body and on the limbs. Like iguanas, along its back, from the back of the head to the tail, there is a low crest consisting of triangular plates. Thanks to him, the reptile received another name, but from the local Majori residents - tuatara, which means “spiny.”
"Barbed" 
Young tuateria
But this is not a lizard. Its special body structure, and especially its head, did not fit the description of any of the then existing orders of the reptile class. Therefore, in the second half of the 19th century, a special order was established for the tuateria - beak-headed (lat. Phynchocephalia).
The fact is that the structure of the hatteria’s skull has one feature - in young individuals the upper jaw, roof of the skull and palate are mobile relative to the braincase. This phenomenon is called cranial kineticism. As a result, the anterior end of the upper jaw may bend slightly downward and be pulled back during complex movements of other parts of the skull. Land vertebrates inherited this phenomenon from lobe-finned fish, their very distant ancestors. But the kineticism of the skull is characteristic not only of the tuateria, but also of some species of lizards and snakes.
Hatteria skull The Tuatara is special in every way. In addition to the unusual internal structure of the skull and skeleton, special attention of zoologists is attracted by the presence of a peculiar organ - the parietal (or third) eye in the occipital part. It is most noticeable in young individuals. The eye looks like a bare spot surrounded by scales. This organ has light-sensitive cells and a lens, but it does not have muscles that allow the eye to focus. Over time, it becomes overgrown, and in adult individuals it is already difficult to see. So what is it for?
Sleeping tuateria Its purpose has not yet been precisely clarified, but it is assumed that with its help the lizard can determine the level of light and heat, which helps the animal control its exposure to the sun. Thanks to this, she can regulate her body temperature.
Slow metabolism and slow life processes are another feature of its biology. Because of this, it grows and develops very slowly. The tuateria reaches sexual maturity only at 15-20 years of age, and its life expectancy is about 100 years. I immediately remembered another long-liver of the animal world - which, to our surprise, does not have a slow metabolism, but can calmly live a whole century.
Housing 
The next feature of the hatteria is its cohabitation on the islands with gray petrels. Reptiles settle in their nests, which displeases the birds. Initially, it was believed that they could exist peacefully and amicably with each other, but it turned out that sometimes the tuataria destroy their nests during the breeding season. Although the tuateria still prefers other prey, which it goes in search of at night. It feeds on earthworms, snails, insects and spiders, but, as it turns out, sometimes a new dish is added to this menu - the meat of a young bird.
At the height of summer, which begins in January in the Southern Hemisphere, the reproductive process of tuataria begins. After 9-10 months, the female lays 8-15 eggs, which she buries in small burrows. The incubation period is very long - 15 months, which is unusual for other reptiles.
Hatteria egg 
Due to its significance for science and its limited habitat, the hatteria is under protection. All the islands where it lives have been protected for about 100 years. All dogs, pigs and cats were taken out from there, rodents were destroyed, as they caused serious damage to the population of this “living fossil”, destroying their eggs and young. Visiting these islands is now only possible by special invitation, and violators face imprisonment.
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Hatteria: living fossils
Hatteria: living fossils
Hatterias, or tuataras, have been known for quite some time. At first they were mistaken for lizards, but in 1867 a sensational scientific conclusion was made: despite the superficial similarity, tuatara are not lizards at all, but representatives of ancient group reptiles, which was considered extinct along with dinosaurs 65 million years ago. There is so much unusual in the internal structure of tuateria that there is no doubt about their “non-lizard” origin.
Hatteria
It is especially interesting that over tens of millions of years, tuataria have changed little and their modern representatives are almost no different from their fossil ancestors. This is why hatteria are called “living fossils.”
It was recently discovered that there are actually two species of hatteria that live on nearby islands off New Zealand. Relatively recently, these unique animals inhabited the two large main islands of New Zealand, but quickly disappeared here when people developed the islands.
On the deserted islands, where tuataria still exist, living conditions cannot be called easy. These islands have sparse flora and fauna, they are windswept and lack sources of fresh water. Tuatara usually live in burrows dug by petrels, but sometimes they build their own homes. They feed on any small living creatures that they can catch on the harsh islands.
The entire way of life of the tuateria fully corresponds to the name “living fossil”. They are active at unusually low temperatures for reptiles, and everything in their lives proceeds unusually slowly. They crawl slowly, the female lays eggs only about a year after mating, incubation of the eggs lasts another year, or even longer, the cubs become adults only by the age of 20 (that is, later than humans). Like lizards, they can shed their tail, but it takes several years for them to grow a new one. In general, it seems that time is nothing for them. In this cool-slow state, tuataria can live up to 100 years.
Compared to lizards, tuataria are quite large animals, reaching a length of 60 cm and a body weight of 1.3 kg.
Currently, tuateria are carefully protected, and their total number reaches 100 thousand individuals.
From book encyclopedic Dictionary(TO) author Brockhaus F.A.Fossil corals Fossil corals. – Representatives of class K. are already known from very ancient Silurian deposits and are found in more or less significant amount and in sediments of all systems up to the Quaternary inclusive, and in places among marine sediments they form
From the book Big Soviet Encyclopedia(IP) of the author TSB From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (LI) by the author TSB From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (NOT) by the author TSB From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (PO) by the author TSB From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (RU) by the author TSB From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (UG) by the author TSB From the book Everything about everything. Volume 4 author Likum Arkady From the book Evolution author Jenkins Morton From the book 100 famous mysteries of nature author Syadro Vladimir VladimirovichWhere were the first fossils found? Over the past two to three billion years, many forms of plant and animal life inhabited the Earth and then went extinct. We know this from studying fossils. Most fossils are plant remains
Hatteria, known as tuatara (Sphenodon puncstatus) is a very rare reptile, which is the only modern representative belonging to the ancient order of Beaked and the Wedge-toothed family.
Description of the tutelage
At first glance, it is quite possible to confuse the tuatteria with an ordinary, fairly large-sized lizard. But there are a number of characteristics that make it possible to easily distinguish representatives of these two species of reptiles. The body weight of adult male tuateria is about a kilogram, and sexually mature females weigh almost half as much.
Appearance
The animal, similar in appearance to an iguana, belongs to the genus Sphenodon, has a body with a length of 65-75 cm, including the tail. The reptile is characterized by olive-green or greenish-gray coloring on the sides of the body. On the limbs there are pronounced, yellowish spots that vary in size.
Just like the iguana, along the entire surface of the tuatteria’s back, from the occipital region to the tail, there is a not too high crest, which is represented by characteristic, triangular-shaped plates. It is thanks to this crest that the reptile received another very original name - tuatara, which translated means “spiny”.
However, despite the external resemblance to a lizard, around the end of the second half of the nineteenth century, this reptile was assigned to the beak-headed order (Phynchocerphalia), which is due to the structural features of the body, in particular the head area.
A distinctive feature of the structure of the hatteria's skull is an interesting feature, represented in the youngest individuals by an unusual upper jaw, roof of the skull and palate, which have pronounced mobility relative to the braincase.
This is interesting! In fairness, it should be noted that the presence of cranial kineticism is inherent not only in such a reptile as the hatteria, but is also characteristic of some species of snakes and lizards.
This unusual structure in hatterias was called cranial kineticism. The result of this feature is the ability of the anterior end of the animal's upper jaw to bend slightly downward and retract back in conditions of quite complex movements in the area of other parts of the cranium of a rare reptile. The feature was inherited by terrestrial vertebrates from lobe-finned fish, which is a proven and very distant ancestor of the hatteria.
In addition to the original internal structure of the skull and skeletal part, special attention Domestic and foreign zoologists deserve the presence of a very unusual organ in the reptile, represented by the parietal or third eye, located in the back of the head. The third eye is most pronounced in the youngest immature individuals. The appearance of the parietal eye resembles a bare spot surrounded by scales.
This organ is distinguished by light-sensitive cells and a lens, with complete absence muscles that are responsible for focusing the location of the eye. As the reptile gradually matures, the parietal eye becomes overgrown, so in adult specimens it is difficult to distinguish.
Lifestyle and character
The reptile is active only in low temperature conditions, and the optimal body temperature of the animal is within 20-23 o C. daytime hours The tuateria always hides in relatively deep burrows, but with the onset of evening coolness it comes out to hunt.
The reptile is not very mobile. The hatteria is one of the few reptiles that have a real voice, and this animal's sad and hoarse cries can be heard on foggy nights.
This is interesting! The behavioral characteristics of the tuateria also include cohabitation on island territories with the gray petrel and the mass colonization of bird nests.
During the winter, the animal hibernates. A tuatteria grabbed by the tail quickly throws it away, which often allows the reptile to save its life during an attack. natural enemies. The process of regrowth of a discarded tail takes a long time.
Characteristic is the ability of representatives of the Beak-headed order and the Wedge-toothed family to swim very well and also hold their breath for an hour.
Lifespan
One of biological features Such a reptile as tuateria is characterized by a slow metabolism and inhibited life processes, which causes the animal to not grow and develop too quickly.
The tuateria becomes sexually mature only at the age of fifteen or twenty, and the total life expectancy of the reptile is natural conditions may well be a hundred years. Individuals raised in captivity typically live no more than five decades.
Range and habitats
The natural habitat of the tuatteria until the fourteenth century was represented by the South Island, but the arrival of the Maori people caused the complete and fairly rapid disappearance of the population. On the territory of the North Island, the last specimens of the reptile were seen at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Today, the habitat of the most ancient reptile, the New Zealand tuataria, is exclusively small islands near New Zealand. The habitat for the tuateria was specially cleared of wild predatory animals.
Nutrition of the tuateria
Wild tuataria has an excellent appetite. The diet of such a reptile animal is very diverse and is represented by insects and worms, spiders, snails and frogs, small mice and lizards.
Quite often, hungry representatives of the ancient order of Beak-headed and the Wedge-toothed family destroy bird nests, eat eggs and newborn chicks, and also catch small birds. The caught victim is swallowed almost completely by the hatteria, after being only lightly chewed with very well-developed teeth.
Reproduction and offspring
In the midst of summer, which comes to the territory Southern Hemisphere Around the last ten days of January, the process of active reproduction begins in an unusual reptile belonging to the ancient order of Beak-headed and the Wedge-toothed family.
After fertilization occurs, the female lays from eight to fifteen eggs nine or ten months later. The eggs laid in small holes are buried with earth and stones, after which they are incubated. The incubation period is very long, about fifteen months, which is absolutely unusual for other types of reptiles.
This is interesting! The optimal temperature level, which allows for the birth of approximately equal numbers of tuateria babies of both sexes, is 21 o C.
Scientists from one of the leading Universities of Wellington conducted very interesting and unusual experiments, during which they were able to establish a direct relationship between temperature indicators and the sex of the hatched offspring of the tuataria. If the incubation process occurs at a temperature of plus 18 o C, then only females are born, and at a temperature of 22 o C only males of this rare reptile will be born.
Natural enemies
This is interesting! Thanks very much low rates speed metabolic processes, the reptile tuatara or the so-called tuatara, has a very interesting feature– she is able to breathe within seven seconds of each other.
Currently, the process of settling islands inhabited by “living fossils” is controlled as carefully as possible by the people themselves. To ensure that the population of the three-eyed lizard is not threatened, the number of all species of predators inhabiting the territory is strictly controlled.
Everyone who wants to see an unusual appearance tuateria in natural habitats in mandatory must obtain special permission or a so-called pass. Nowadays, Hatteria or tuatara is listed on the pages of the International Red Book, and the total number of all existing reptiles is about one hundred thousand individuals.
If you think that tuatara or tuatara (lat. Sphenodon punctatus) is just another one of the lizards, you are deeply mistaken! In fact, it is so unusual that a separate order was created for it back in the 19th century - beak-headed (lat. Phynchocephalia).
The tuatara differs from large lizards primarily in the structure of its unusual skull. The upper jaw, palate and roof of the skull of young tuataria are mobile in relation to the braincase. Those. during complex movements, the anterior tip of the upper jaw bends down and is slightly retracted.
In addition, tuataras boast the presence of a third (parietal) eye located in the back of the head. Just don't try to find it in photographs of adults! The fact is that this amazing organ is clearly visible only in newborn babies. It is a bare speck, surrounded on all sides by scales. The third eye is equipped with a lens and light-sensitive cells, but the organ does not have muscles that could help focus its position. With age, the eye becomes covered with skin.
Its exact purpose, unfortunately, is still unknown. It is assumed that it is needed to determine the level of light and ambient air temperature so that the tuatara can control its exposure to the sun. She, like all reptiles, loves to bask on warm rocks.
The tuateria lives on the small islands of New Zealand. Previously, these unusual reptiles were found on the two main islands - North and South. However, they were destroyed by the Maori tribes who settled here in the 16th century. Today, tuataras are protected as an endangered species. For their sake, all feral dogs, cats and pigs were evicted from the islands, and rodents were also destroyed. You can get to these islands only with special permission. Violators will face no less than imprisonment. This is how they take care of this strange reptile!
Such concern is not surprising considering that tuateria is the oldest species that has managed to maintain its original appearance since its appearance on our planet. And this happened about 200 million years ago. A real living fossil!
The male's body length including tail can reach 65 cm and weighs about 1 kg. The body length of females is somewhat shorter, and their weight is almost half that. A small ridge runs along the back, which consists of triangular plates. It was he who gave the name to the species: “tuatara” means “spiny”.
Hatterias settle directly in the nests of gray petrels. During the day they hide here from predators while the birds fly around in search of food, and at night they themselves go after prey, giving way to the owners of the nest. They do not pay very well for “hospitality”: during the breeding season of birds, tuatara sometimes eat their chicks. Although much more often they feed on insects, snails and spiders.
Hatterias live for about 100 years. Their metabolism is so slow and their life processes are so slow that they take a very long time to develop. For example, pregnancy in females lasts from 8 to 10 months, and the incubation period of laid eggs lasts as long as 15 months. Tuatara reach sexual maturity only at 15 or even 20 years of age. In general, they are in no hurry. Maybe this is the secret of longevity?