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# tuatara

«tuatara» in Mova's school dictionary: **a lizard-like reptile found only in New Zealand; it is…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (a tuatara, tuatara or tuataras)

### meaning for a pupil

A tuatara is a lizard-like reptile found only in New Zealand; it is the last living member of a very old group of reptiles that lived alongside the dinosaurs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tuatara/#m1)

### sense in the lessons

In science and New Zealand studies it is a famous "living fossil" example. It shows how islands can keep very old kinds of animals. The name comes from Maori and means "peaks on the back". Phrases: a living fossil, tuatara sanctuary.

### examples

- The tuatara lives only in New Zealand. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tuatara/#x1)
- A tuatara is not a true lizard, even though it looks like one. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tuatara/#x2)
- Some tuatara live for more than a hundred years. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tuatara/#x3)
- The tuatara has spines along its back. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tuatara/#x4)
- Rats nearly wiped out the tuatara on many islands. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tuatara/#x5)
- We saw a tuatara at the wildlife sanctuary. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tuatara/#x6)

### note

Plural: tuatara (as in Maori) or tuataras. Said too-a-TAH-ra. Trap: it looks like a lizard but belongs to a different group. Young tuatara have a "third eye" spot on the top of the head that senses light.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «tuatara» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tuatara/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.