II.-200L0GY. 
Art. XXX.— Notes on the Tuatara Lizard (Sphenodon punctatum), with a 
description of a supposed new species. 
By Warren L. Burer, C.M.G., Sc.D., President. 
[Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 29th July, 1876.] 
Tue earliest mention of the Tuatara occurs in * Polack’s New Zealand” 
(1838), where it is stated that a gigantic lizard or guana is found in the 
isles of the Bay of Plenty, and that “ the natives relate ogre-killing stories 
of this reptile." It was not, however, till five years later that any authentic 
account was obtained respecting it. This was furnished by Dr. Dieffen- 
bach, the naturalist sent out by the New Zealand Company, who in his 
* Travels in New Zealand," Vol II. (1848), p. 205, thus announced its 
discovery :—‘‘ I had been apprized of the existence of a large lizard, which 
the natives called Tuatara or Ngarara, as a general name, and of which they 
were much afraid. But although looking for it at the places where it was 
said to be found, and offering great rewards for a specimen, it was only a 
few days before my departure from New Zealand that I obtained one, which 
had been caught at a small rocky islet called Karewa, which is about two 
miles from the coast in the Bay of Plenty. From all that I could gather 
about this Tuatara, it appears that it was formerly common in the islands ; 
lived in holes, often in sand-hills near the sea shore, and the natives killed 
it for food. Owing to this latter cause, and no doubt also to the introduc- 
tion of pigs, it is now very scarce, and many even of the older residents of 
the islands have never seen it. The specimen from which the description 
is taken I had alive, and kept for some time in captivity. It was extremely 
sluggish, and could be handled without any attempt at resistance or biting." 
This specimen was presented by the discoverer to the British Museum, 
where it stil is (as Dr. Günther informs us) in the most perfect state of 
preservation. It was described and figured by Dr. Gray, who recognized it 
as the type of a distinct genus, referring it to the family of Agamide and 
* The ** monstrous animal of the lizard kind” mentioned in the diary of Mr. Ander- 
son, the companion of Captain Cook, on the authority of the Maori boys who joined the 
expedition at Queen Charlotte Sound, was no doubt the fabled monster, or Taniwha of 
the Natives. (‘ Cook's Third Voyage," 2nd edit., 1785, Vol. I., p. 153.) Native tradition 
has always ascribed to this mythical dragon the form of a lizard, 
