| 释义 |
‖ tuatara|tʊaˈtara, tuːəˈtɑːrə|
Also (erron.) tuatera, -tura.
[Maori, f. tua on the back + tara spine (Webster, 1911).]
A large lizard, Sphenodon punctatum or Hatteria punctata, dark bronze green in colour with white or yellowish specks, and having a dorsal row of yellow spines, formerly common in New Zealand: see quot. 1911.
[1820Gram. & Voc. N. Zealand 218 (Morris) Túa tára, a species of lizard.] 1890Catal. N. Zealand Exhib. (ibid.), The Tuatara is the largest existing New Zealand reptile. It..is placed..in a separate order (Rhyncocephalina). 1911C. de Thierry in United Empire Mar. 183 One of the peculiar animals from which scientists have estimated the probable age of New Zealand is the tuatara, a small lizard about a foot in length and of a dark bronze colour. It is extinct on the mainland but is still to be found on the shores of the outlying islands. 1914Chamb. Jrnl. Nov. 750/2 The extraordinary characteristic of the tuatara is its capacity for perfect rest, and its apparent power of existing without food or water. |