Mrs Churchill and the Tuatara

The most likely introduction to the Tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus), that sole living survivor of an ancient reptilian group the Rhynchocephalia, to anybody studying zoology in the last century was by means of its skull. The reason why zoology departments had a tuatara skull was because it exhibits two holes on either side—the diapsid or ‘two arches’ condition—that was used as a key feature in the classification of reptiles. The skull would have to do. The chances of seeing a live tuatara in the..