They are the only surviving members of the order Sphenodontia, which was well represented by many species during the age of the dinosaurs, some 200 million years ago. All species exept for the tuatara declined and eventually became extinct about 60 million years ago. Tuatara are therefore of huge international interest to biologists. They are recognised internationally and within New Zealand as species in need of active conservation management.

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Keywords: creatures, flickr, fossil, ication, living, nature, photograph, reptiles, tuatara., zealand.