tuatara Hear it!

tuatara definition

tua·tara (to̵̅o̅′ə tä′rə)

noun

either of two primitive, amphibious, lizardlike reptiles (Sphenodon punctatus or S. guntheri) of the SW Pacific, with a row of spines along the back and a well-developed third eye: they are the only rhynchocephalians still in existence

Etymology: Maori tuatàra < tua, back (< Proto-Polynesian *tu'a) + tara, spine (< Proto-Polynesian *tala, sharp object)

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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