﻿BuLLER. 
  — 
  Further 
  Notes 
  on 
  the 
  Habits 
  of 
  the 
  Tiiatara 
  Lizard. 
  349 
  

  

  Art. 
  XLII. 
  — 
  Further 
  Xotes 
  on 
  the 
  Habits 
  of 
  the 
  Ttiatara 
  Lizard. 
  

   By 
  Walter 
  L. 
  Buller, 
  CM 
  G., 
  Sc.D., 
  F.L.S. 
  

  

  [Bend 
  bpfore 
  the 
  Wellington 
  Philosophical 
  Society, 
  3rd 
  August, 
  1878.] 
  

  

  In 
  Vol. 
  IX. 
  of 
  tlie 
  Transactions 
  I 
  gave 
  an 
  account 
  of 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  

   tnatara 
  lizards 
  (Sphenodon 
  jnmctatnm 
  ) 
  which 
  I 
  had 
  received 
  from 
  the 
  Island 
  

   of 
  Karewa, 
  in 
  the 
  Bay 
  of 
  Plenty, 
  in 
  April, 
  1876, 
  to 
  which 
  were 
  afterwards 
  

   added 
  an 
  adult 
  pair 
  of 
  my 
  Sphenodon 
  fpintheri 
  and 
  a 
  young 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  

   species, 
  obtained 
  by 
  exchange 
  from 
  the 
  Colonial 
  Museum. 
  It 
  is 
  now 
  nearly 
  

   two 
  years 
  since 
  I 
  received 
  these 
  lizards, 
  and 
  I 
  have 
  a 
  few 
  notes 
  to 
  add 
  to 
  

   the 
  observations 
  so 
  fully 
  recorded 
  in 
  that 
  paper. 
  

  

  For 
  many 
  months 
  ray 
  captive 
  lizards 
  ate 
  nothing, 
  although 
  I 
  tempted 
  

   them 
  with 
  all 
  sorts 
  of 
  savoury 
  morsels. 
  A 
  small 
  tree 
  lizard 
  f 
  Xaiiltivvs) 
  

   which 
  I 
  placed 
  in 
  the 
  cage 
  with 
  them 
  disappeared 
  ; 
  but 
  whether 
  it 
  was 
  

   devoured 
  by 
  the 
  tiiataras 
  or 
  effected 
  its 
  escape 
  I 
  was 
  unable 
  to 
  determine. 
  

   They 
  were 
  sluggish 
  in 
  their 
  movements, 
  and 
  usually 
  appeared 
  to 
  be 
  asleep 
  

   with 
  their 
  eyes 
  partially 
  closed, 
  even 
  when 
  lying 
  in 
  the 
  trough 
  of 
  water 
  with 
  

   their 
  bodies 
  submerged. 
  As 
  the 
  summer 
  approached 
  they 
  showed 
  more 
  acti- 
  

   vity 
  and 
  began 
  to 
  feed, 
  evincing 
  a 
  decided 
  preference 
  for 
  flies 
  and 
  the 
  large 
  

   brown 
  locust 
  f 
  Cicada), 
  of 
  which 
  latter 
  they 
  sometimes 
  devoured 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  

   fifty 
  in 
  the 
  course 
  of 
  a 
  day. 
  But 
  as 
  it 
  was 
  necessary 
  to 
  catch 
  the 
  locusts 
  

   on 
  the 
  garden 
  trees 
  before 
  they 
  could 
  be 
  supplied, 
  for 
  many 
  days 
  together 
  

   the 
  tuataras 
  were 
  compelled 
  to 
  fast, 
  as 
  they 
  stubbornly 
  rejected 
  the 
  minced 
  

   meat 
  which 
  we 
  continued 
  to 
  place 
  in 
  the 
  cage. 
  As 
  winter 
  came 
  round 
  

   again 
  they 
  relapsed 
  into 
  their 
  former 
  languid 
  state, 
  although 
  never 
  

   absolutely 
  torpid, 
  and 
  for 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  months 
  did 
  not 
  eat 
  a 
  morsel 
  of 
  any 
  

   thing. 
  In 
  November 
  last 
  we 
  tried 
  them 
  with 
  earth-worms, 
  of 
  which 
  they 
  

   partook 
  freely. 
  When 
  the 
  supply 
  of 
  worms 
  rail 
  out 
  we 
  gave 
  them 
  fresh 
  

   meat 
  again. 
  Sphenodon 
  puvctatum 
  refused 
  it, 
  but 
  (strange 
  to 
  say) 
  Sphenodon 
  

   gnntheri 
  devoured 
  it 
  greedily, 
  gorging 
  themselves 
  to 
  repletion. 
  Apparently 
  

   from 
  this 
  cause 
  (following 
  so 
  immediately 
  on 
  the 
  prolonged 
  fast) 
  the 
  

   largest 
  of 
  them 
  died. 
  About 
  this 
  time 
  also 
  they 
  developed 
  a 
  new 
  phase 
  of 
  

   character 
  by 
  attacking 
  and 
  biting 
  one 
  another. 
  One 
  lost 
  an 
  eye, 
  and 
  

   another 
  had 
  a 
  portion 
  of 
  his 
  under 
  lip 
  torn 
  off, 
  completely 
  altering 
  the 
  

   expression 
  of 
  his 
  face. 
  The 
  half-grown 
  Sphenodon 
  (/iintheri 
  suffered 
  m^st. 
  

   First 
  of 
  all 
  he 
  had 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  his 
  tail 
  bitten 
  off, 
  and 
  ultimately 
  he 
  was 
  killed 
  

   outright, 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  his 
  tail 
  consumed, 
  and 
  one 
  of 
  his 
  hind 
  legs 
  much 
  

   crunched 
  and 
  lacerated. 
  

  

  A 
  temporary 
  change 
  of 
  residence 
  made 
  it 
  difficult 
  for 
  a 
  time 
  to 
  obtain 
  

   locusts, 
  and 
  the 
  lizards 
  (with 
  the 
  exception 
  of 
  the 
  surviving 
  L. 
  guntheri) 
  

  

  