BurrER.— On a New Tuatara. 821 
part of the day it may be seen cautiously peering out of its hole, apparently 
waiting to pounce upon a fly, grasshopper, or perhaps some smaller lizard. I 
noticed that the excrement contains portions of grass and leaves undigested, 
legs of grasshoppers, spiders, and a small oval-backed black-beetle, which is 
found in great numbers in the sand and earth on the sea shore, A few 
months ago I caught some Tuataras on the Rurima Rocks. At the same 
time, I put a number of small lizards (Naultinus pacificus) into the box with 
them. There were at first about 90. I observed that these diminished 
every day, till at last only six were remaining, and these appeared quite 
paralyzed with fear. For, whenever the Sphenodon made a movement, the 
poor little creatures would crouch down and try and hide themselves under 
the dry leaves in the box. I watched the box very carefully, and.at length 
found a Tuatara in the act of eating one of the small lizards. He had 
crushed it quite flat, beginning at the head, and rejecting about an inch of 
the tail. At the bottom of the box I found about a dozen tails. There 
were four or five little Tuataras about three inches long, but none of these 
disappeared. I generally found them perched on the heads of the big ones, 
asleep ! 
* Regarding the probable age to which these funny creatures live, I 
should have mentioned that I have seen an unusually large one which has 
been kept in an old kumara pit on Flat Island (Motiti) for over three 
generations. Could the old fellow only speak, what an interesting account 
he might give us of the fight on ‘bare Motiti,’ when the famous tohunga, 
Te Haramiti, and 170 of his warriors (the Ngatikuri) were killed and eaten 
by the Ngaiterangi, under the leadership of Tupaea! He may even have 
been an eye-witness when Tikiwhenua ‘shuffled off this mortal coil’ by 
blowing himself from the mouth of a gun, fired by his own red hand! You 
will not easily forget Judge Maning’s graphic description of this original 
suicide in * Old New Zealand.’ ” 
I have only to add that, out of 26 small lizards (Naultinus,) put into the 
box with the Tuataras, to supply them with food, only two were surviving 
when the consignment arrived in Wellington ; and that, after this cannibal 
feast, the Tuataras have fasted for three months without any apparent discom- 
fort, and certainly without becoming emaciated in the body. Ihave tempted 
them with earth-worms, insects, and minced meat, but they seldom touch 
any of this food. They are fond of water, however, drinking freely, and 
continually bathing their bodies in the open vessel. 
In Vol. III. of the ‘‘ Transactions," pp. 151-158, will be found some 
of islets situated about four miles from the mainland, and five or six miles 
north-east from the entrance to the Awaateatua river, in the Bay of Plenty. 
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