RHVNCIiOCEPHALI 299 



greater part of the day, are very fond of lying in the water, and 

 they can remain below for hours without breathing. They live 

 strictly upon animals, but these are only taken when alive and 

 moving about. The kind of food seems to vary according to 

 the custom or fancy of the individuals. Sir W. L. Buller observed 

 that some of his captives stubbornly refused to eat until 

 one day, rather accidentally, minnows were offered. Others eat 

 insects and worms ; those which live near the seashore not im- 

 probably eat also crustaceans. From November to January they 

 lay about ten eggs — white, hard-shelled, long and oval — about 

 28 mm. long, in holes in the sand, where they can be warmed by 

 the sun. They are as a rule lazy in their movements. The usual 

 pace is a slow crawl, the belly and tail trailing on the ground, 

 but when chasing prey they lift the wliole trunk off the ground. 

 After runnincp, or rather " wobbling " three or four yards, thev 

 grow weary and stop. They cannot jump the smallest obstacle. 



Von Haast ^ has carefully examined their habitations on the 

 Chicken Islands. The Tuatara excavates its own hole, and this 

 is shared sociably Ijy various kinds of Petrels. The entrance to 

 the chamber is generally 4 or 5 inches in diameter, and the 

 passage leading into the inner chamber is 2 to 3 feet long, 

 first descending and then ascending again. The chamber itself 

 is one foot and a half long, by one foot wide and 6 inches 

 high, lined with grass and leaves. The petrel lives usually on 

 the left side, the Tuatara on the right side of the inner chamber. 

 Whilst very tolerant of the bird with its egg and young, it does 

 not allow another of its own kind to live in the same hole, 

 which it is ready to defend by lying in such a manner that the 

 head is placed where the passage widens out into the chamber. 

 On putting one's hand or a stick into the burrow the Tuatara 

 bites at them furiously. They can run very fast, and defend 

 themselves with great pluck against dog or man by biting or 

 scratching. As soon as the sun has set they leave their holes 

 to seek food. During the night, and especially during the 

 pairing season, they croak or grunt. 



The eggs, having been deposited during the Southern summer, 

 from November to January or February, in holes on a sunny 

 and sandy spot, contain nearly ripe embryos in the following 

 August. They are, however, not hatched until about thirteen 

 ■• I'rans. N. Zealaiid Inst. xiv. 1881, p. 276 ; cf. also Reischek, o'p. cit. xiv. p. 274. 



