August 15, 2008

An endangered reptile tuatara has fathered a dozen eggs for the first time in decades at 111-years old. (Pet Pulse Photo Illustration by Mike Lloyd)

NEW YORK -- Henry the tuatara, an endangered “living fossil,” will now become a father for the first time in decades at the age of 111, officials say.

Coupled with the younger Mildred, the reptile pair produced a dozen eggs last month after mating in March at the Southland Museum on New Zealand’s South Island.

What makes Henry’s rekindled fatherhood so unique, is that at 111 years old, he has surpassed the expected lifespan of his species which is between 60 and 100 years of age.

Henry has never shown much interest in sex during his residence at the museum’s special enclosure since 1970. That all has changed since he recently had a cancerous growth removed from his genitals. Now he is enjoying the company of three females.

Healthy tuataras can breed once a year, so curators hope next March could bring a new clutch of eggs spawned by Henry.

But it won’t be with Mildred. Female tuataras can only breed once every four years, much to the chagrin of their male counterparts, and zoologists who are struggling to keep this endangered ancient reptile alive.

Threatened by habitat loss and the introduction of Polynesian rats into that environment, tuataras have been on the endangered species list since 1895. It is a common story for many of New Zealand’s native species and the tuatara has only survived in the wild on the 31 offshore islands, while being extinct on the mainland. But in 2005 the tuataras were reintroduced to New Zealand’s mainland with a release into the heavily fenced and monitored Karori Wildlife Sanctuary.

Named after its physical characteristics, tuatara means “peaks on the back” in the Māori language.

Measuring up to 32 inches from head to tail-tip, tuataras are greenish brown and have a spiny crest along the back. They also have a pronounced parietal eye, fondly called the “third eye” by researchers who are still determining the function of it.

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