Brothers Island tuatara
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| ?Brothers Island tuatara Conservation status: Vulnerable |
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| Sphenodon guntheri (Buller, 1877) |
The Brothers Island tuatara (Sphenodon guntheri) is a species of tuatara occurring naturally only on 4 hectare North brother island in The Brothers Islands in Cook Strait, New Zealand.
It differs from the "common" tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) in two key morphological aspects, firstly in having dark olive skin with yellowish patches, by contrast the common tuatara Sphenodon punctatus is "Olive green or slate-grey;finely speckled"(*2). Secondly, individuals of this species are smaller than punctatus animals, having an SVL ( snout to vent length) of up to 250 mm and a maximum weight of up to 660 g - by contrast punctatus animals can reach a SVL of 280mm and weigh up to 1.3 kg.
[edit] References
- Australasian Reptile & Amphibian Specialist Group (1996). Sphenodon guntheri. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Listed as Vulnerable (VU D1+2 v2.3)
- "New Zealand Frogs and reptiles", Brian Gill and Tony Whitaker, David Bateman publishing, 1998
[edit] External link
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