Class Reptilia

Order Rhyncocephalia- Tuatara

• Tuatara
• genus Sphenodon
• - any of two species of moderately large lizard-
like reptiles endemic to New Zealand
• -two species of extant tuatara:Sphenodon guntheri  and S.
punctatus
• -Maori word for “peaks on the back”
• distantly related to the reptiles of order Squamata (lizards,
 snakes, and amphisbaenians [worm lizards])
• nocturnal animals
• bask during daylight hours at the mouth of their burrows made
by fairy prion (Pachyptila turtur ), a burrow-nesting seabird
• Excreta from the birds supply a large arthropod community, and
the tuatara prey on the diverse array of arthropods and
smaller lizards that use this resource
• The burrow systems are often made up of a network of
interconnected tunnels
• Display territorial defense and courtship behaviours
• Beginning in January and lasting through March- mating season
• - male defends his territory by inflating his body, erecting the
crest on his head and neck, and shaking his head; make
croaking sounds or “vocalizations”
• have rudimentary hemipenes, cloacal vents and sperm is
transmitted from the male’s cloaca to the cloaca of the female
• -females, egg deposition occurs on a four-year cycle and not
until late October to mid-December; lays 8–15 eggs, which are
buried; 11–16 months of incubation
• -juveniles- 9–13 years to attain sexual maturity
• Live for 60 years or more
• Form And Function
• Length: 50 cm (20 inches)
• Weight: between 0.5 and 1 kg (1 and 2 pounds); males is larger
•  robust lizard-like bodies, large head, well-developed limbs, and a stout tail
• snout- presence of fused toothless premaxillary bones that give it a beaklike appearance
• covered with scales- mottled; coloration- dirty tan to olive-green to slaty gray
• Have series of broad spines, which are derived from scales, that extend down the midline
of the back from the nape onto the tail. The largest spines occur on the neck and trunk
• Eyes- well developed with vertical pupils and a retinal structure adapted for low-
intensity light; have a third, or parietal, eye on the top of the head (not an organ of vision
but serve an endocrine function by registering the dark-light cycle for hormone regulation
• no ear openings but have a middle ear cavity with a stapes (a small bone that conducts
sound vibrations)
• active at low body temperatures (less than 22 °C (72 °F)
• bask in the sun to elevate their body temperatures
• reduced activity at low temperatures might also be an adaptation to reduce water loss-
excrete uric acid—like the squamates
• Similar traits w/ Squamata:
• possess a transverse cloacal opening (the vent)
• teeth are attached superficially to the jawbones
• fracture planes in the tail vertebrae
• undergo ecdysis

• difference from squamates:

• presence of gastralia (abdominal ribs)
• enclosed temporal fossae (depressions) in the skull
• unique replacement of premaxillary teeth by a beaklike extension
of the premaxillary bones
Diseases of lizards and tuatara
• 1. Salmonellosis:
• -serotypes includeS. hindmarsh, S. typhimurium, S. victoria, S.
saintpaul, S. mississippi, andS. wohlen
• Signs: depression, anorexia, vomiting, lethargy, wasting,
respiratory distress, abortion, nervous signs and sudden death
• zoonotic risk
• 2. Infectious stomatitis:
• ‘Mouth Rot’
• secondary to stress caused by husbandry or management problems e.g.
overcrowding, low ambient temperatures, poor nutrition
• Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, Klebsiella, and Salmonella

• 3. ‘Black Spot’:
- skin disease of geckos
- winter
- Signs: general blackening between the scales, depression, anorexia, lose
weight, dehydration, sloughing cycle is disrupted
- Etiology: Cladosporium cladosporioides- fungus
- damp, cold, and overcrowded conditions
• 4. Other mycotic infections
• Paecilomyces fungi

• 5. Foetal mummification:
• 6. Dystocia:
• -usually obstructive

• 7. Osteodystrophy:
• developed spinal lumps in the lumbar region, with associated paresis/
paralysis affecting the tail and hind legs
• secondary to a calcium-phosphorus imbalance, low in vitamin D3

• 8. Gout: Both articular and visceral gout

• Due to inappropriate dietary protein levels and dehydration
• 9. Cachexia: stress-induced failure to eat, provision of too little
food, inappropriate foods or feeding management, and
diseases that affect appetite and metabolism
• 10. Obesity
• Parasitic disease
• External parasites
• 1. Mites:
• three species of mite in skinks: (Neotrombicula sphenodonti, Ophionyssus
scincorum, and Acomatocarus lygosomae )
• six species of mites on New Zealand geckos: (N sphenodonti, N naultini, O
galeotes, Geckobia haplodactyli, G naultina and Microtrombicula
hoplodactyli )
• One species of mite (N sphenodonti), and one species of tick (Aponomma
sphenodonti) on tuatara
• The mites are visible as small red or orange spots usually clustered around
the eye, ear, axilla, groin, or cloaca – where the skin is folded and relatively
thin(8)- cause skin damage and/or death
• Ticks are difficult to see on tuatara because they are the same colour as the
scales and look like part of the wrinkled skin
• Internal parasites
• 1. Nematodes:
• New Zealand skinks: (Hedruris minuta, Skrjabinodon trimorphi,
Skrjabinodon sp, Ascarid, and Spiurid larvae)
• Tuatara: (Hatterianema hollandiae)
• Clinical signs: anorexia, anaemia, regurgitation, bloat, signs of
obstruction, and wasting

• 2. Trematodes:
• New Zealand skinks: (Dolichosaccus leiolopismae and
Paradistomum pacificus)
• New Zealand geckos: (P pacificus)
• Tuatara: (D leiolopismae)
• 3. Cestodes:
• New Zealand skinks: (Ochoristica novaezealandiae, Baerietta
decidua, and B allisonae)
• Geckos: (B allisonae)
• 4. Protozoa:
• New Zealand skinks: (Hepatozoon lygosomarum and
Plasmodium lygosomae)
• geckos: (H lygosomarum, Eimeria, Entamoeba sp, Nyctotherus
sp, and Trichomonas hoplodactylus
• Tuatara: (Haemogregarina tuatarae)
• Miscellaneous diseases
• 1. Dysecdysis:
• Improper skin shedding is a symptom of a problem and not a
primary problem
• associated with an excessively dry environment, old injuries,
malnutrition, external parasitism, or dermatitis
• 2. Heat stress
• 3. Trauma