tuatara (redirected from tuataras)

tu·a·ta·ra  (t-tär)

n. pl. tuatara or tu·a·ta·ras

Either of two nocturnal lizardlike reptiles (Sphenodon punctatus or S. guntheri) that are found only on certain islands off New Zealand and are the only extant members of the Rhynchocephalia, an order that flourished during the Mesozoic Era. Also called sphenodon.

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[Maori tuatara : tua, back + tara, spine.]

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tuatara [too-ah-tah-rah]

Noun

a large lizard-like New Zealand reptile [Maori tua back + tara spine]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

tuatara - only extant member of the order Rhynchocephalia of large spiny lizard-like diapsid reptiles of coastal islands off New Zealand Sphenodon punctatum diapsid, diapsid reptile - reptile having a pair of openings in the skull behind each eye genus Sphenodon, Sphenodon - coextensive with the order Rhynchocephalia: tuataras