Rare reptile found nesting

WELLINGTON, New Zealand—Officials say a rare reptile with lineage dating back to the dinosaur age has been found nesting on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in about 200 years.
Four leathery, white eggs from an indigenous tuatara were found by staff at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellington during routine maintenance work today.

Conservation manager Rouen Empson said the nest proves the animals are breeding and suggests there may be more.
Empson says baby tuatara could be born any time between now and March.
Zoologists say tuatara are dragon-like reptiles that grow to up to 80 cm.
They say the reptiles are the last descendants of a species that walked the Earth with the dinosaurs more than 200 million years ago.
They have unique characteristics, such as two rows of top teeth closing over one row at the bottom. They also have a pronounced parietal eye—a light-sensitive pineal gland on the top of the skull.
This white patch of skin—called its “third eye”—slowly disappears as they mature.
A native species to New Zealand, tuatara were nearly extinct on the country’s three main islands by the late 1700s due to the introduction of predators such as rats. They still live in the wild on 32 small offshore islands cleared of predators.
A population of 70 tuatara was established at the Karori Sanctuary in 2005. Another 130 were released in the sanctuary in 2007.
The sanctuary was established to breed native birds, insects, and other creatures securely behind a predator-proof fence.