Podcasts about Tuatara

Summary: You are what you eat, right? Find out what tuatara eat and how they eat it in the seventh episode of Tuatara.   For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean   Show Notes: “Tuatara” Royal Ontario Museum, https://collections.rom.on.ca “Microstructure of dental hard tissues and bone in the Tuatara denture, Sphenodon punctatus,” by J.A. Kierser, T. Tkatchenko, M. C. Dean, M. E. H. Jones, and N. J. Nelson. Front Oral Biol. 2009:13:80-85. https://pubme.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19828975 Music written and performed by Katherine Camp   Transcript (Piano music plays) Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife. (Piano music stops)   Kiersten - Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… This is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we'll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.  This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won't regret it. We have made it to the seventh episode of Tuatara and the seventh thing I like about these super cool reptiles is their diet and dentition. We have hinted a bit about what they eat but today we'll take a closer look at what that is specifically and how their teeth help.  Let's start with food. Tuatara are carnivores. They eat mainly invertebrates like worms and arthropods such as beetles, millipedes, spiders, and weta. Weta are insects native to New Zealand that look similar to crickets but like crickets on steroids. Weta have big bodies, spiny legs, and tusks. They look kind of like a cricket and a warthog had a baby.     The majority of the tuatara diet is made up of invertebrates but they will also eat lizards, seabird eggs and chicks, and occasionally they venture in to cannibalism and will eat young tuatara. Because of this, juvenile tuatara are active during the day while adult tuatara are active at night. I mean, really, if your relatives might eat you at night, then who wouldn't want to avoid them.  Humans that live on the islands where tuatara are found always know when they've been hunting because they will see headless birds. Definitely not something you want to come across on a relaxing walk in nature. Why is this the indicator of the tuatara? The tooth pattern of the tuatara is unique. Just like almost everything else about them. They have two incisor like teeth in front of their top jaw. And they have three rows of teeth (I was not able to find an actual count but am guessing it's around 85 teeth). One row of teeth lines the bottom jaw and two rows line the top jaw. The bottom row of teeth fit neatly into the two upper rows of teeth when the jaw is closed. Wait for it, we almost have our answer. The jaw motion of the tuatara is also unique. Instead of an up and down motion, like chewing, they have a forward and backward motion, like sawing.  And there it is! This is why the birds that tuatara hunt are missing heads. They saw them off with their unique teeth. Hah! Didn't see that coming did you? Besides the unique pattern of teeth, the structure of their teeth is also unique. They have acrodont teeth which means they are rootless and attached directly to the bone of the jaw. They kind of emerge from the actual bone. This is unlike any other reptile teeth alive today. The teeth are serrated which helps with the sawing motion. Tuatara cannot replace lost or cracked teeth. Once the tooth is gone, it is gone. As tuatara age their teeth wear down from use. They are eating crunchy invertebrates and bony vertebrates, so they do take a beating. Tuatara can live for up to 100 years, so the older tuatara have to switch their diet to softer prey as their teeth wear down.  Now for a long time, we thought they didn't have real teeth. We thought they were just bony protrusions that stuck out of the jaw, but some researchers in 2009 looked more closely at the teeth. They looked at teeth from a juvenile as well as an adult and found layers of typical tooth material. This was a surprise. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy, which is a sophisticated imaging technique that uses an electron beam to examine the surface of various materials, researchers found evidence of enamel containing dentine tubules, dentine, and cementum. All of these are found in other types of teeth. It's not just serrated, bony material sticky up in their mouths. They have actually teeth. They are different then your average tooth, but they are teeth none-the-less. These tuatara are just full of surprises! I hope you enjoyed our dental adventure because my seventh favorite thing about the tuatara is what they eat and how they eat it!   If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change.  Join me next week for another exciting episode about the tuatara.        (Piano Music plays)  This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

Summary: The term “living fossil” is a bit controversial but does it fit the tuatara? Join Kiersten to find out.   For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean   Show Notes:  “New study shows modern tuatara are little changed from 190 million year old ancestors.” Harvard University Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, March 2022. https://www.oeb.harvard.edu/news Music written and performed by Katherine Camp   Transcript (Piano music plays) Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife. (Piano music stops)   Kiersten - Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… This is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we'll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.  This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won't regret it. The sixth thing I like about the tuatara is how long they have lived. Just like another animal we have talked about, the coelacanth, the tuatara appears in the fossil record from way back in time. The first time we see the tuatara in the fossil record is during the Jurassic period. Now, of course, a certain book and movie series has made this a very popular time in Earth's history, so you may be familiar with this time period. It is famous for being the age of dinosaurs, at least some of the most popular and recognizable dinosaurs.  The term living fossil has been tossed around in reference to the tuatara, as well as the coelacanth, but this term is controversial. It is quite the romantic phrase actually. To think that an animal is so well adapted to the world it lives in that is hasn't changed since the first time it appeared on this planet is a notion that a lot of us want to believe, but is it true? The first major problem with this concept, is that there is no real definition of what makes an animal or plant a living fossil.  Charles Darwin coined the term “living fossil” in 1859. According to Darwin's definition a living fossil is a species or group of species that is so little changed that it provides an insight into earlier, now extinct, forms of life. A living fossil can also be described as an organism that has remained relatively unchanged over millions of years, or one that has no, or very few, close surviving relatives. It certainly sounds like we have stumbled on another controversy here. In the last episode we answered the question of whether the tuatara is a lizard or not. Spoiler here, listeners, if you haven't heard the previous episode and you don't want a spoiler to this question, stop listening now and go back and listen to last week's episode. With that warning, let's move on. We have established that tuatara are not lizards, they are reptiles but not lizards for various reasons. Shall we jump into the next controversial question then? Are tuatara living fossils? Let's look at Darwin's definition first. How much  have tuatara changed since they first appeared in the fossil record? A 2022 study from Harvard University's Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology may give us some insight. Tuatara are the last remnant of the Rhynchocephalians. These reptiles peaked in abundance in the Jurassic period. Then they disappeared from the fossil record.   Two researchers were looking through the archives in the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology and came across something that had been sitting in the drawers for decades, a tuatara fossil. This fossil was discovered in northern Arizona in the Kayenta Formation of the United States in 1982. Professor Stephanie Pierce and postdoctoral fellow Tiago Simoes jumped into examining this forgotten fossil. They used micro-CT scans to examine the fossil in three dimension. Then they digitally pieced the puzzle together revealing a full unflattened skull. It greatly resembled the modern day tuatara. It had rows of interlocking teeth that extended directly from the bone and it had two holes behind the eyes, just like the modern day tuatara.  Pierce and Simoes named the fossil Navajoshenodon sani which means “old age” in the indigenous language of the Navajo. This fossil provides the first nearly complete skull of any fossil sphenodontine in the world. It also places the tuatara in the Late Triassic. They may be older than we thought.  So how does this help us determine the answer to the living fossil question? It does give support for both descriptions. The modern day tuatara is similar enough to the fossil that it gives us insight into a long dead relative, and it seems to have changed very little from the long ago fossil of a creature that roamed the planet with dinosaurs.  Unlike the coelacanth, which is definitely not a living fossil, maybe the tuatara is a living fossil. It is food for thought and that is one of the reasons I started this podcast. I hope you will continue to think about this small living fossil controversy because it is my sixth favorite thing about the tuatara. If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change.  Join me next week for another exciting episode about the tuatara.        (Piano Music plays)  This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

Summary: Is the tuatara a lizard? We have hinted at it for a few episodes. Join Kiersten to find out if the tuatara is or is not a lizard.   For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean   Show Notes: “It's not a lizard or a dinosaur: the tuatara is something else entirely,” by Bec Crew. Australian Geographic, https://www.australiangeographic.com.au “New study shows modern tuatara are little changed from 190 million year old ancestors.” Harvard University Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. https://www.oeb.harvard.edu Parietal Eye, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/veterinary-science-and-veterinary-medicine/parietal-eye Music written and performed by Katherine Camp   Transcript (Piano music plays) Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife. (Piano music stops)   Kiersten - Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… This is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we'll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.  This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won't regret it. During the last few episodes of tuatara, I have asked the question of whether the tuatara is a lizard or not a lizard. Today we are going to answer that question. The fifth thing I like about the tuatara is the unusual quirks that make them a unique reptile. We have established that the tuatara is in an order of reptiles all by itself, Order Rhynchocephalia. This means that they have no living relatives. That in itself doesn't mean they are not lizards, it just means they are not related to any living lizards. So let's look at a few more attributes of the tuatara that will help us answer our question. In the last episode we discussed the third eye, or parietal eye of the tuatara. Now other species of reptiles, mainly lizards, have a third eye as well. Certain iguanas, skinks, and monitors have a parietal eye, but their third eye is primitive and is not visibly seen at any stage of their development. The basics of the eye are there but it is hidden under a scale. The tuatara's eye is much more developed and is exposed in young hatchlings. For more in depth discussion of the tuatara's this eye, please listen to the previous episode. There are several things about the tuatara's skeleton that also sets it apart from lizards.  One is the teeth. The tuatara has three rows of teeth. One row in the lower jaw and two in the upper jaw. When the tuatara bits down the lower teeth fit into the groove between the two rows of upper teeth. That is very unusual and as far as we currently know, no other reptile has a tooth formation like this. The teeth are fused to the jaw and have no roots, which is unlike most lizard teeth. Tuatara teeth are not replaced during their lifetime and as they age and their teeth wear down, they have to switch to softer prey.  Another strange and interesting thing about the tuatara's jaw is that when it eats the jaw doesn't open and close in the typical chewing motion of most animals. It moves forwards and backwards slicing their prey like a saw. Locals of the islands where tuatara live always know when the reptiles have been hunting because they find birds with their heads sawed off.  Another unique attribute of the tuatara skull is the complete lower temporal bar that closes the lower temporal fenestra. The temporal fenestra is the opening in the skull behind the eye socket. Most modern lizards do not have a complete temporal bar. Researchers believe the complete bar in the tuatara is used to stabilize the skull during biting. It's a unique jaw motion and it makes sense that the skull needs a bit more support. As we travel down the skeleton of the tuatara we see some more unique features. The spine is made up of hourglass shaped vertebrae. This shape can be found in fish and amphibians but is unique reptiles to the tuatara. Each vertebrae has a tiny hole through which a rennet of the notochord passes. This was typical in early fossil reptiles but not in modern ones.  Could there be more unique features of this amazing reptile? Yes. We are not done with the odd features of the tuatara. Their ribs have some unique features as well. They have extra ribs, or rib-like bones, called gastralia that are not attached to the ribcage. These are also found in a few lizards and crocodiles. The tuatara have unicate processes on the actual ribs that are indicative of birds, and are found in modern bird skeletons, but are found only in the tuatara in the reptilians. The pelvis and shoulder girdles of tuatara are also completely different from lizards. Tuatara have a different rotational angle that allows them to push their body up off of the ground to move, should they choose to, where as lizards have a more sprawling motion when they walk. Tuatara don't often hold themselves up to walk as it is tiring. Tuatara are also equipped for a cooler habitat than lizards. They have a unique hemoglobin structure that allows them to survive very cold temperatures. One last unique attribute of tuatara that I will mention in this episode is how long they live. Tuatara can live up to one hundred years! That is definitely longer than any lizard we know of today.   So knowing about all these different and unique attributes of the tuatara, we come back to the question of whether they are lizards or not lizards. Science says, no they are not lizards and those that study the tuatara are definitely offended when they are called lizards. If anyone ever asks or incorrectly refers to the tuatara as a lizard, you can now politely inform them that they are incorrect. Tuatara are not lizards, reptiles yes, lizards no. My fifth favorite thing about the tuatara is that they are truly not lizards. If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change.  Join me next week for another exciting episode about the tuatara.        (Piano Music plays)  This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

Summary: Are tuatara eyes like every other reptile's eyes? Maybe. Join Kiersten to find out what makes tuatara eye so special.   For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean   Show Notes: “The lonely eye,” by I R Schwab and G R O'Connor. Br J Ophthalmic. 2025 Mar:89(3):256. Doi:10.1136/bio.2004.059105 “Reptilian Eyes and Orbital Structures,” Jeanette Wyneken. 2012 Proceedings Association of Reptiles and Amphibian Veterinarians. https://cdn.ymaws.com Parietal Eye, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/veterinary-science-and-veterinary-medicine/parietal-eye Music written and performed by Katherine Camp   Transcript (Piano music plays) Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife. (Piano music stops)   Kiersten - Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… This is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we'll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.  This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won't regret it. As I begin episode four, I want to remind you of the question I posed at the beginning of the third episode. Is the tuatara a lizard or not a lizard? It is definitely lizard like. This episode, episode four, we will be talking about an attribute that might shed some light on the answer to this question. The fourth thing I like about the tuatara is their eyes, all three of them. To start, let's look at the anatomy of the general reptile eye. Reptilian eyes are similar to other vertebrate eyes in the fact that they are layered, filled with fluid, and have a lens that focuses light on a retina. The structure of the eye includes three chambers. The anterior chamber is the fluid-filled space inside the eye between the iris and the cornea's innermost surface. The posterior chamber is a small space directly behind the iris, close to the lens, and bordered by the ciliary muscles. The anterior and posterior chambers are filled with aqueous humour. The third chamber is the vitreous chamber located between the lens and the retina and filled with vitreous humour.  Tuatara have two lateral eyes, one on each side of the head, that rest in a bony orbit. They are separated by a cartilaginous interorbital septum. A periorbital membrane lines the orbital bones and septum that connects to the orbital membranes and the internal parts of the upper and lower eye lids. Whoa! We got a little scientific for a moment there, but anatomy can do that! These two lateral eyes are placed on the opposites sides of the head so they can have a wide perspective of their environment. Typically we see this eye position in prey animals and not all lizards are prey animals, but many of them are. Tuatara, as full grown adults, don't have to worry too much about being eaten, but this eye placement is very helpful, none the less.    Most diurnal reptiles can see some amount of color, whether they see color the same way other vertebrates see color is still being studied, but the presence of cones is proof that they can see colors. Cones are useful in bright light, so reptiles active during the day will have more cones that those that are crepuscular, active at dawn and dusk, and those that are nocturnal. More rods are present in the eyes of nocturnal animals and these help pick up light and dark shades. Tuatara are active during the day and night, but are most active after dark; therefore, they most likely have more rods than cones.  They do have both upper and lower eyelids and are capable of closing their lids. They do not appear to have a nictitating membrane, which is another protective lens that can open and close over they eye, that some other reptiles have. They also have pupils that can contract and expand to allow various levels of light into the eye. When looking at close up photos of the tuatara's eye the pupil is circular or oval along the vertical horizon. Interestingly, pupil shape in reptile eyes varies with behavior of the animal. Diurnal reptiles tend to have to have round pupils while nocturnal hunters have slits. Reptiles with slit pupils will have a pupil that is perpendicular to their orientation because that offers the best focus. The shape of the pupil has a profound influence on the retinal image because of the way light is allowed into the eye. Who knew the anatomy of the reptilian eye could be so fascinating. Okay, let's get to that third eye I mentioned. There are actually two orders of reptiles that have a third eye, Order Squamata, which includes lizards and snakes, and Order Rhynchocephlia, which includes only the Tuatara. Lizards and the tuatara are the only reptiles that we know of that have third eyes. The third eye is also called the parietal eye and is found on the dorsal portion of the skull. It is smack dab in the middle of the top of the skull, because where else would a third eye be found? Anatomically speaking the parietal eye cannot focus on images like lateral eyes, so the third eye is not used for vision. At least not the parietal eyes on the current living tuatara. But this eye is more similar to lateral eyes than you might expect. The parietal eye is ventral to a parietal plug that is very similar to a cornea. Immediately below the plug is a lens that is remarkably similar to the lens in the lateral eyes. Below the lens are layers of pigment and photoreceptors. Photoreceptors detect light. Now we see where we are going with this whole third eye anatomy, maybe.  For a long time we thought that the parietal eye was used to detect light. It helped the animal tell when it was day and when it was night, and probably helped set animal's the circadian rhythm. It helps the tuatara determine the changing of the seasons based on differences in the light cycle. But is that all there is to it? Some researchers believe that the third eye might be included in melatonin synthesis was well as other hormones. What it truly does is still a mystery. So….does this help answer our question about whether the tuatara is a lizard or not? Some lizards do have third eyes, just like the tuatara so leaning towards yes? Before you comment though, let me through out one more thing about the tuatara's third eye. When they are newly hatched the third eye is  exposed and looks just like their lateral eyes. I'm not joking, search for tuatara hatchling third eye and you'll see what I'm talking about. It's very cool! As the tuatara ages the third eye is covered over with a clear scale obscuring it from view.  I hope you have enjoyed this discussion about tuatara eyes because it's my fourth favorite thing about these interesting reptiles. If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change.  Join me next week for another exciting episode about the tuatara.        (Piano Music plays)  This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

Summary: Join Kiersten as she takes you on a slow look at tuatara reproduction.   For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean   Show Notes: “Novel mating behaviors in male tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) expand our understanding of reptile courtship,” by Sarah K. Lamar, Diane K. Ormsby, and Nicola J. Nelson. Austral Ecology, vol 49, Issue 2. https://doi.org/10.1111/aec13496 “Tuatara.” San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, https://animals.sandiegozoo.org Music written and performed by Katherine Camp   Transcript (Piano music plays) Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife. (Piano music stops)   Kiersten - Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… This is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we'll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.  This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won't regret it. Welcome back to Ten Things I Like About after a year end break. I hope the new year treats you well and opportunities abound. Let's get started! We will continue with Tuatara. The third thing I like about tuatara is reproduction. As we travel along with the journey of discovery with tuatara, I want to pose a question to you. Is the tuatara a lizard? Or is it something else? Based on the physical description I outlined in the first episode, they seem to be lizards, if not very lizard like. But I want you to keep this question in the back of your mind as we progress through each new episode. We will revisit this question at the end of this series and see what we all think. Okay, let's talk about how baby tuatara are made. Tuatara mating and reproduction is not like anything else in the reptile world. Long incubation periods, extensive maturation, and unusual consummation marks the reproductive cycle of the tuatara. It all begins sometime between January and March when males begin showing off to attract a mate. Remember those spines that they have on their neck and back, well they are there for pretties. They can fan out and shake the larger crest of spines in hopes of attracting a lady. For a long time we thought this was all the males did during the breeding season, but a study that looked more closely at males on Takapourewa Island revealed many more tricks they use to catch the ladies eye.  Boys will come a courting at a female's burrow and it can get complicated and lengthy. It might be a good idea that she gets to stay at home once all the excitement begins. First, the male adopts body positions that make him look big, such as inflating the body and gular region (that's the chin area), elevating his body off the forest floor (the up part of a push-up), and erecting those spines on his neck and back. Next, the male will begin the slow proud walk, also known as stolzer Gang, in a circle around the female. He'll perform this slow exaggerated walk in concentric circles, pausing occasionally, and decreasing the circle circumference with each pass. If the female is interested, she will leave her burrow entrance, allow the male to paw at her, and then mount her from behind. If there are obstacles in the male's circular path, they will climb over, or go around. If the obstacle is too big to conquer, they'll just shorten the circle to a semi-circle. I mean you gotta give them props for not getting distracted from their goal. The proud walk can last up to 44 minutes.    A few novel behaviors were observed by researchers studying the Takapourewa population. Mirrored head bobbing between the male and female was observed a few times, something that has not been seen in reptiles before. The male would bob his head a specific number of times and when he paused, the female would bob the small numbers of times. This was a very exciting discovery that will need more research to determine what it means and if it is found in other populations of tuatara, but how very interesting. Vocalizations in tuatara are typically limited to croaks emitted when handled, or during aggressive moments between males, but these researchers encountered several males that purred during the mating process. We aren't sure what this means or if this is a wide spread behavior but it is another exciting discovery. Once the female has accepted the male and he mounts her from behind, he positions his pelvis so that both of their cloacas come in contact. This is how he spreads his sperm to her. Males do not have special reproductive organs like most other reptiles. So they perform the cloacal kiss to pass their sperm to the female. Male sperm are fast swimmers. They are actually the fastest sperm in the reptile kingdom, moving two to four times faster than any other reptile's sperm. The female can store the sperm for 10 to 12 months.  Before all this happens, the female has been working on creating the eggs inside her body. It can take three years for a female to create and egg with yolk and an additional 7 to 8 months to create the shell. A female is only able to successfully breed every three to five years.  Once the eggs are ready and fertilized, the female can lay 1 to 19 soft-shelled, white eggs in her burrow. Incubation is extremely long at 12 to 15 months! Yes, it takes a year or more for baby tuatara to hatch into the world. This is unheard of in reptiles. Maybe not the best survival tactic for a species, but as we can see tuatara don't do anything quickly. Similar to some other reptiles, temperature during incubation is important to the sex of a hatchling. Warmer temperatures produce males while cooler temperatures create females.  The eggs are on their own during incubation and the hatchlings have to fight for life alone as soon as they emerge from the burrow. Neither parent remains at the nest to protect the eggs or hatchlings. If they survive their early years, they have to wait ten to twenty years before they can join the reproductive cycle.  In this episode, I think we've proven that tuatara don't do anything fast and that's why their reproductive cycle is my third favorite thing about them.     If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change.  Join me next week for another exciting episode about the tuatara.        (Piano Music plays)  This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

Summary: Where do tuatara live? Can I see one in MY backyard? Join Kiersten to find out if you can see a tuatara in your own backyard.   For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean   Show Notes: “Distribution of tuatara”, Te Ara: https://teara.govt.nz/en/map “Tuatara” by Marc E. H. Jones and Allison Cree. Current Biology, Vol 22, Issue 23, PR986-R987, Dec 4, 2012. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.10.049, https://www.cell.com/current-biology “Sphenodon punctatus (Tuatara)” Animal Diversity Web: https://www.animaldiversity.org Music written and performed by Katherine Camp   Transcript (Piano music plays) Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife. (Piano music stops)   Kiersten - Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I'm Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we'll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.  This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won't regret it. Last week's overview of the tuatara probably made you want them in YOUR backyard, but they are only found in a small section of the world. This week we are going to find out where the tuatara live. The second thing I like about the tuatara is where they are found.  To see a tuatara in the wild you will have to visit New Zealand. They are found on different islands surrounding the main island of New Zealand as well as on the mainland. Those found on the mainland are there due to a reintroduction program begun in 2005.  The islands where you can find tuatara are fairly inaccessible which probably helped save them from extinction. The ones on the mainland were extinct before Europeans ever came to the island.  There are about thirty islands surrounding New Zealand where you can find tuatara today. Those island include Poor Knights Island, Hen and Chickens Island, Little Barrier Island, Cuveir Island, Mercury Island, The Alderman Island, Karewa Island, Plate Island, Moutoki Island, Moutohora Island, and Tiritiri Matangi Island. These are all off the northern coast. Sphenodon punctatus occurs naturally on all of these islands except Moutohora and Tiritiri Matangi Islands where the Northern Tuatara were introduced to help increase their population. Tuatara can also be found on Stephens or Takapourewa Island, Trio Island, Titi Island, The Brothers Island, and Matiu or Somes Island. Sphenodon guntheri occurs naturally on The Brothers Island and was introduced to Titi and Matiu Islands to boost their population. Please excuse any mispronunciations.  A scientific paper published in December of 2012 states that “there are about 32 natural populations of tuatara living on small offshore islands, a few island reintroductions, and at least one reintroduced mainland colony on the North Island [of New Zealand]. Most of the populations include just tens or hundreds of animals, but there are estimated to be at least 30,000 on Takapourewa Island.” End quote. The habitat that tuatara live in is an odd choice for a reptile as the islands are riddled with cliffs and exposed to strong winds. The vegetation is salt and wind tolerant; therefore, are pretty tough plants. The average temperature is below what the typical reptile can tolerate but tuatara are adapted to survive temperatures as low as 45 degrees Fahrenheit.  They spend their days in burrows that are dug by seabirds such as petrels, prions, and shearwaters when they are available or they will dig their own burrows. They also spend time soaking up the sun on the cliffs. Tuatara are more active at night leaving their burrows or basking spots to hunt for food. This episode is a bit shorter than my usual episodes and I do apologize. I will make it up to you in future episodes of the tuatara. Thank you for visiting with me to find out where the tuatara lives. It is my second favorite about this seriously cool animal. As the holiday season is upon us, I will be taking a break until the new year. We will pick up where we left off with the tuatara in January 2026. If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change.  Join me in January 2026 for another exciting episode about the tuatara.        (Piano Music plays)  This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, my very own piano playing hero.

Summary: Tua-what? Join Kiersten to find out what the tuatara is.   For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean   Show Notes:  “Sphenodon punctatus (Tuatara)” Animal Diversity Web: https://www.animaldiversity.org Music written and performed by Katherine Camp   Transcript (Piano music plays) Kiersten - Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… This is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we'll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.  My name is Kiersten and I have a Master's Degree in Animal Behavior and did my thesis on the breeding behavior of the Tri-colored bat. I was a zookeeper for many years and have worked with all sorts of animals from Aba Aba fish to tigers to ravens to domesticated dogs and so many more in between. Many of those years were spent in education programs and the most important lesson I learned was that the more information someone has about a particular animal the less they fear them. The less they fear them the more they crave information about them and before you know it you've become an advocate for that misunderstood animal. This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won't regret it. The next unknown animal I have chosen takes us on a journey through ancient times. We haven't ventured this far back in time since we talked about the coelacanth. Welcome to the first episode of tuatara. The first thing I like about this unknown animal is their continued existence.  You may be saying tau-what? Tuatara is our next animal. Let's jump right into the classification which will answer some of your initial questions. Like what the heck is a tuatara? Remember classification is the way scientists identify different living things including animals and plants so that we all know who exactly we are talking about.  The classification of the tuatara is as follows:   Kingdom: Animalia (that's the animals) Phylum: Chordata (chordates) Subphylum Vertebrata (that's the animals that have an internal skeleton or the vertebrates) Class: Reptilia (that's the reptiles) Okay! Now we're getting somewhere. Tuatara must be a reptile! Order: Rhynchocephalia (there is only one reptile in this order) You guessed it! The tuatara. Family: Sphenodontidae Genus: Sphenodon Species: punctatus The scientific name for the tuatara is Sphenodon punctatus.  There are two recognized species of tuatara. The Brother's Island Tuatara is Sphendon guntheri. The first tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus, is referred to as the Northern tuatara.  Now, we know this animal is a reptile, but what does it look like? Is it small? Is it large? Is it green, brown, or purple?  Tuatara can be green, olive, or brick red in color. Their adult size ranges from 15 inches, or 40 cm, in the female to 24 inches, or 60cm, in the male. Both male and female have two crests of dull-edged spikes that travel down the back of the head to the neck with the second on the middle of the back along the spine. The male's crests will be larger than the female's which helps to distinguish the sexes from each other. They have four short legs and a long tail that usually exceeds the length of their body. They look a lot like a lizard, but they aren't exactly lizards. We will dissect that statement in a future episode. They have no external earhole but they do have ears. They have two eyes that can focus independently and are placed on the sides of the head.  They have a variety of scale structures along their body giving them a dinosaur-ish look. There are a few attributes that set tuatara apart from other species of reptiles. One of those is their third eye. Yes, they have a third eye, a parietal eye, right in the middle of the top of their head. It has a retina and is functionally similar to a normal eye. In juveniles it is exposed but as it ages a scale grows over it. We are currently uncertain of its purpose.  Another attribute that sets the tuatara apart is their teeth. Tuatara teeth are fused to the jaw bone, unlike any other toothed reptile. This is an acrodont tooth structure. This speaks to the age of this species of reptile. The tuatara is the only living specimen of Rhynchocephalia. All of them, expect the tuatara, went extinct in the late Cretaceous period. We will dive into this topic in a future episode.  One last thing about the tuatara before we end the first episode of this new series. One tuatara, many tuatara. When talking about the tuatara, the singular is the same as the plural.  Thank you for choosing to start this series with me. We are going to have a fun time with the tuatara. My first favorite thing about them is them!   If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change.  Join me next week to find out where the tuatara are found.   (Piano Music plays)   

News; birthdays/events; ways to spread positvity; word of the day. News; gravestone cookbook; game: Back to the Future movie trivia; how bachelors really live. News; what are you willing to do without this holiday season to cut costs?; game: disco music trivia; signs your job is taking advantage of you. News; a man has created what he thinks is the perfect way to keep people from 'doomscrolling'; game: $1,000 pyramid; goodbye/fun facts....Not every person can look at a boa constrictor or a toad and think lovable thoughts. However, National Reptile Day is the perfect day for the squeamish and admirers alike to appreciate the role these creatures play in our ecosystem. ​There are four orders of species: the Crocodilia (crocodiles, alligators, etc.), the Tuatara (lizard-like), the Squamata, (includes lizards and snakes), and the Testudines (turtles, tortoises, and terrapins)....so visit a zoo or reptile store  learn more.

What sets the tuatara apart from other reptiles in the wild? Cam Hoffbeck can tell you - she's the first person ever to study the tuatara's gut biome. 

Composites might seem like the secret language of aerospace engineers and hypercar builders, but Gabriel Mountjoy from Common Fibers is here to break down those barriers. He's out to prove that composites aren't just exotic materials—you can use them to elevate your own builds too.

It’s time for another trip through the solar system and beyond on the Fun Kids Science Weekly! In this episode, we answer YOUR questions, meet a prehistoric-looking reptile in Dangerous Dan, and uncover the science behind invasion biology. In Science in the News, SpaceX has pulled off a nail-biting test flight that could change the future of space travel, researchers in India have uncovered a fossil that looks like it came straight from the age of the dinosaurs, and Ian White joins us to celebrate a conservation first — the arrival of baby dormice in Bragate Park! Etta wants to know how our bodies digest large amounts of food, while Ed Turner from the National Space Centre helps us solve the mystery of Uranus: if it’s so far from the Sun… why is it hot? In Dangerous Dan, we discover the Tuatara — a fascinating creature that looks like a dinosaur and hides some amazing secrets. And in Battle of the Sciences, Dan is joined by Tim Blackburn from UCL to explore invasion biology and find out what happens when species spread into new environments. What do we learn about?· A dramatic new SpaceX test flight· A dinosaur-like fossil unearthed in India· Why Uranus is hot, even though it’s far from the Sun· The incredible Tuatara and its prehistoric past· And in Battle of the Sciences… the science of invasion biology All on this week’s episode of Science Weekly!Join Fun Kids Podcasts+: https://funkidslive.com/plusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We drove the 1750HP SSC Tuatara! What a thing it was! How's it feel? Compare to a Bugatti or a Pagani or a Koenigsegg? Is it worth the money? And what about that record thing...Plus, Mercedes stops selling EVs in CA; fuel economy standards end: what does it mean?; and we answer Patreon questions including:Why do old cars have "patina" and newer cars "look rough"?Should I replace my tired suspension with aftermarket or OEM?Are mild performance cars a good value?How do we feel about Detroit?Has the G80 M3 grown on us?Best T-tops for summer?Which generation of Audi TT RS is best?Why we haven't talked about Subaru EVsGlock watchesBest snow super SUVAnd more!Recorded Friday, August 1, 2025  Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/tire #rulapod DeleteMeGet 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/TIRE and use promo code TIRE at checkout. New merch! Grab a shirt or hoodie and support us! https://thesmokingtireshop.com/ Use Off The Record! and ALWAYS fight your tickets! For a 10% discount on your first case go to https://www.offtherecord.com/TST Want your question answered? Want to watch the live stream, get ad-free podcasts, or exclusive podcasts? Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thesmokingtirepodcast Instagram:https://www.Instagram.com/thesmokingtirehttps://www.Instagram.com/therealzackklapman   Want your question answered? Want to watch the live stream, get ad-free podcasts, or exclusive podcasts? Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thesmokingtirepodcast Use Off The Record! and ALWAYS fight your tickets! Enter code TST10 for a 10% discount on your first case on the Off The Record app, or go to http://www.offtherecord.com/TST. Watch our car reviews: https://www.youtube.com/thesmokingtire Tweet at us!https://www.Twitter.com/thesmokingtirehttps://www.Twitter.com/zackklapman Instagram:https://www.Instagram.com/thesmokingtirehttps://www.Instagram.com/therealzackklapman

In unserer heutigen Folge klingen die Protagonisten, als würden wir nach Zamonien oder in ein anderes sagenhaftes Fantasiereich reisen. Wir erzählen vom Milu, vom Eremiten, von Mulm und von der Tuatara. Die Wahrheit ist aber gar nicht so unfantastisch, denn viele dieser Arten öffnen uns ein Fenster in die Vergangenheit. Tiere wie der Eremit und der Veilchenblaue Wurzelhalsschnellkäfer sind Relikte alter Ökosysteme. Sie leben nur in sehr alten Bäumen – und das nur dort, wo schon seit sehr langer Zeit sehr alte Bäume stehen. Darum verrät ihre Anwesenheit, wo noch kleine Reste uralter Wälder den Zerstörungs- und Gestaltungsdrang des Menschen überleben konnten. Beispiele hierfür finden sich an den steilen Hängen des Nationalparks Kellerwald-Edersee.Milu und Omma sind ebenfalls Überbleibsel einst weit verbreiteter Arten. Damit sie nicht nur ein Fenster in die Vergangenheit sind, sondern auch eine Zukunft haben, brauchen sie vor allem eins: Trittsteine.Was das bedeutet, wie oder was Mulm ist und warum er viele Fans hat: Das hört ihr hier.Weiterführende Links:Urwaldrelikte im Kellerwald-Edersee: https://nationalpark-kellerwald-edersee.de/schuetzen/urwaldrelikteXylobionte Käfer: https://www.afsv.de/images/download/literatur/waldoekologie-online/waldoekologie-online_heft-2-9.pdfWas ist Mulm? https://youtu.be/zMhoC9_LGEg?feature=sharedReliktarten als Fenster in die Vergangenheit: https://www.waldwissen.net/de/lebensraum-wald/naturschutz/artenschutz/urwaldreliktartenDer Milu breitet sich natürlich aus: https://www.nature.com/articles/srep27297Die Brückenechse: https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/reptiles-and-frogs/tuatara/Käferevolution, featuring: Der Omma: https://resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/syen.12623Unterstützt uns! https://steady.page/en/tierisch/aboutUnsere Förderpartner: https://www.bodden-nationalpark.de/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Auckland Tuatara suffered a heartbreaking 111–110 loss to the Taranaki Airs in a tightly contested Sal's NBL game in New Plymouth on Monday. They'll be looking to rebound at home against the second-placed Canterbury Rams. Dylan Wilkie joined D'Arcy Waldegrave from the Tuatara camp to preview the upcoming clash. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Claire Concannon heads to Auckland Zoo to meet their resident tuatara.   Tuatara are pretty special, the only remaining species of reptile from an order that lived alongside the dinosaurs. And they haven't changed much in millions of years.   University of Auckland PhD candidate Cam Hoffbeck has been investigating the tuatara gut microbiome, to see whether it is also unique.   First though, ectotherm keeper Chye-Mei Huang brings Claire inside the tuatara display enclosure to have a closer look as she feeds them some small locusts. 

Are you a woman looking to break barriers and achieve leadership in dentistry? Today, we're thrilled to have the esteemed JJ Littrell join us. As the Co-Founder and COO of Tuatara, a Strategic Finance Agency specializing in serving single-location dental practices, JJ brings a wealth of expertise and passion to the world of business finance.JJ's journey is a testament to her versatility and leadership. From Fortune 500 companies to international startups, she's led teams of all sizes, demonstrating her ability to navigate diverse business landscapes. With a firm belief in the transformative power of finance, JJ is committed to helping dental practices achieve sustainable growth and success.In this thought-provoking interview, JJ shares her insights on the changing dynamics of business ownership, the challenges and opportunities facing women in leadership, and the pursuit of a fulfilling work-life balance.Get ready to be inspired, motivated, and empowered to achieve your goals.Discover More about JJ Littrell:

News; birthdays/events; holiday travel with the kids; word of the day. News; game: quiz; game: feud; is it "cheating" to use the new butterball turkey? News; accessories that make you feel "cool"; do you think you could solve crimes because you watch shows like csi?; don't let the holiday season give you a nervous breakdown! News; game: calendar trivia; if you watch a "based on a true story" tv/film...do you expect it to be 100% factual? there's a website that can verify that info!; goodbye/fun facts....National Reptile Awareness Day...not only for reptile lovers to celebrate, but also to educate those who don't know or understand much about reptiles or are sqeamish around them. A reptile is any amniote that is neither a mammal nor a bird...they have scales or scutes, and can lay eggs on land.​ the majority of all reptiles are considered ectothermic, meaning they rely on their environments to regulate their internal body temperature, reproductive health, immune system functioning, and daily stamina.There are four orders of species: the Crocodilia (crocodiles, alligators, etc.), the Tuatara (which looks like a lizard but isn't), the Squamata, (includes lizards and snakes), and the Testudines (turtles, tortoises, and terrapins). so learn about a reptile today.

Carmen Hoffbeck is a microbiologist at the University of Auckland specialising in the gut microbiome of the mighty tuatara. She joins Emile Donovan.

Tomasz Kostrzab is the Chief Technology Officer, currently leading the technology strategy and innovation efforts at TUATARA, based in Warsaw, Poland. With a background spanning over two decades, Tomasz has demonstrated expertise in information technology and services, particularly in areas such as Business Process, Enterprise Transformation, and Application Architecture. His professional journey includes significant roles at TUATARA, where he initially served as the Chief Technology Architect before assuming the role of CTO in June 2017. Tomasz's career also encompasses valuable experiences at IBM, where he contributed as an IT Architect, and at Orange Poland, where he worked as an IT Analyst.To know more about Tomasz Kostrzab, visit https://businessabc.net/wiki/tomasz-kostrzabAbout TUATARATuatara is a technology and consulting firm dedicated to revolutionizing customer experiences through a harmonious blend of innovative consulting and cutting-edge technology solutions. With a mission to drive digital transformation, Tuatara offers an extensive range of services, from back-end integration solutions to process digitalization and the creation of pioneering business models. The company operates at the intersection of technology and consulting, encouraging businesses to embrace change with agility, creativity, and spirit. Tuatara's commitment to exceeding expectations is reflected in its diverse portfolio of products, including Actionbot, Fintin, Tasil, and more, all geared towards providing businesses with a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.To know more about TUATARA, visit https://businessabc.net/wiki/tuataraAbout citiesabc.comhttps://www.citiesabc.com/​​​​​​​​​​​ About businessabc.nethttps://www.businessabc.net/About fashionabc.orghttps://www.fashionabc.org/ About Dinis Guardahttps://www.dinisguarda.com/Support the Show.

The Sals NBL action continues tomorrow night as the Tuatara will host the Bulls to tip off round 5. SkySport commentator Andrew Mulligan joins Smithy on the show ahead of the coming round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 5 Episode 16 FACULTY: JJ Littrell CLASS: #SocialStudies TITLE: Creating Accounting Client Avatars In this podcast episode, Scott interviews JJ Littrell, CFO at Tuatara. The conversation spans JJ's unconventional entry into accounting through the FBI, experiences with Elliot Davis and Starmount, insights into balancing parenting and business growth, the genesis of Tuatara, managing multiple agencies under one practice, establishing an institute, similarities between accountants and dentists, considerations about partnerships, and the importance of identifying client avatars. JJ Got into Accounting through the FBI Elliot Davis and Starmount Parenting versus Growing a Business The Origins of Tuatara Two Agencies, One Practice Building an Institute Creating A Community Platform with Value Similarities between Accountants and Dentists Partnerships Dealing with Conflict in Partnerships Advice for Generalist Dentists Finding your Client Avatar Shout Outs: Thinkific, Ryan Reynolds --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/accountinghigh/message

I have always loved travel, especially to great Natural Environments. We all have favourite destinations and I have been extremely lucky touring the world while filming for Discovery Channel and Animal Planet – But in New Zealand alone, there are plenty of places that are inspirational when you want to have a break for all sorts of reasons: Gardening Botanic gardens in Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch, Otari (Wellington), Dunedin, Queens Park Invercargill, Napier and Waikereru (Just outside Gisborne). Most have their own botanical highlights: local plants, or a series of trees and shrubs from around the world – others focus on botanists and their historical discoveries. Otari/Wilton Bush: New Zealand's only public botanic garden dedicated solely to native plants – all because of a vision by Leonard Cocaine. Waikereru – Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander plants from Cook's Endeavour. If you want to get some inspiration for your garden, go and visit some of those places mentioned above. This is gardening on a huge scale. At the same time you'll find out what grows well in your region and often keep up on the latest plant releases. Stunning Natural Parks Mount Taranaki – great tracks in the National park: The Puffer Track going up steeply and showing you the spectacular botany as you climb higher and higher, ending up on the Round-the-Mountain track. You may have heard about the famous cloud forests (Moist air going upwards in Mountainous Tropical areas) – well, if you park your car at the lower end of the North Egmont carpark (down from the visitor centre) you can access the Connett loop track, which goes through New Zealand's cloud forest. This is the real deal in Aotearoa. The Lewis Pass (right at the top) has a fabulous, high altitude walk around wetlands (tarns) with orchids flowering and constantly on the edge of the tree-line: shrunken alpine versions of trees you might know from lower altitudes. If you like Lichens, this is the walk to make. Great insect life all over the place, especially in late spring and summer. (Alpine stone weta!) Further south, try to spend some time in the Catlins. Sealions, Southern rata flowering, deserted beaches and extraordinary forests in pristine landscapes. This is where you immediately get the definition of Biodiversity. This is the very first time in my life that I have mentioned the Catlins on the wireless – it should remain a secret place for ever and ever (ake ake). Milford track too long for you? I have a perfect alternative: Start the Routeburn track on SH 94 (the Milford Road, an hour north of Te Anau) and get to Key Summit. Pick a good weather day and get to the top: Alpine views, wetlands with magical wetland plants (a few Sundew species – Drosera); these plants eat insects – extraordinary! Key summit is the Natural History of Lord of the Rings. Oh yes… rock wrens !!! Ecological “Islands” These are bits of our Landscape that have been made predator-free. That allows the presence of pretty rare birds, lizards, aquatic critters and insects, to name but a few groups under pressure. Zealandia (Wellington) is a mere 20 minutes from down town. Predator proof fence keeps the nasties out; kaka,Tuatara, falcons, kiwi, tieke hihi etc etc. The noise can be deafening. Maungatautari near Cambridge, south of Hamilton is an impressive breeding ground for western brown kiwi: “kohanga kiwi”. After releasing some of these birds there, the numbers increased dramatically. Now these birds can be translocated to other sites with effective pest control. Good numbers of other endangered birds and bats. Brook Waimarama near Nelson where the predator-proof fence keeps the locals safe. It's a great valley with aquatic habitats and my favourite giant carnivorous snails (Powelliphanta) Orokonui EcoSanctuary North of Dunedin city. One of the few places where you can see the large Otago skink, sunning itself on warm rocks in the sun. With Kaka, Tui and Bellbird sipping nectar from native flowers and additional sugar water dispensers, the sounds are reminiscent of the concept of a cacophony This is what New Zealand sounded like when Maori arrived! Tawharanui Open Sanctuary is probably the most “summer Holiday destination”: North of Auckland on the Coast, not far from Goat Island. Kiwi, Takahe, brown teal, Kaka and bellbird, tui and some stunning (albeit small) areas with original forests. Puriri trees with puriri moth holes in the trunks, beaches with dotterels and rocky sea-shore sites with amazing marine rockpools with endemic Nudibrancs and endemic fishes. It's the place where we take teachers for the school holidays with the Blake Inspire sessions: Nature Nerd teachers, ready to teach Nature Nerd Kids! Finally: My environmental “home” in Aotearoa: Wingspan in Rotorua. This is the place where you can interact with falcons, harriers and owls, and learn about the people that rescue these raptors and teach them to fly and hunt for prey, using ancient falconry techniques and traditional methods in ornithology, language and culture.   LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The title of this episode may make you laugh, but we're serious. Our guest today is JJ Littrell, who is my very best "b*tch please" friend...meaning we get on Zoom every Tuesday morning and push each other to express our full potential. Whether that's money mindset, pushing each other to do sales, coaching each other through slumps, or just cheering each other on.  So why "b*tch please?" because that's what we say to snap each other out of playing small.  JJ is a force to be reckoned with. In the last 12 months, she's exited her role as a corporate CFO of an international company to co-found a 7-figure business called Tuatara. She's lost over 30 pounds, invested in her marriage and parenting, taken dream trips and is living a life she truly designed.  In fact, she recently spoke on stage in Vegas to over 3500 people, alongside Ryan Reynolds!  JJ is the ultimate badass, proof that you don't have to stay trapped in a "good-on-paper" life, and her BIG, bajillion-dollar dreams will inspire you to go bigger too.  Lastly, JJ is a keynote speaker at the Grab Life by the Goals Summit January 6-7, 2024 in Charlotte, NC! Get your ass there, and enter code JJ for 10% off at checkout: https://www.laurenwidrick.com/summit Tuatara Website: https://growwithtuatara.com/ Connect with JJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jj-littrell-1a15894/   And don't forget to connect with me on the socials!  IG: https://www.instagram.com/laurenwidrick/ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-widrick/  

Invercargill has long been home to a group of tuatara, ranging from juveniles to perhaps Invercargill's most famous resident of all, Henry - aged somewhere between 100 and 150 years old. And this week they've been their six-monthly health checks - known around the council offices as their 'Plunket checks. Mark Leishman talks to Caroline Rain and Kate Gough about what goes into a tuatara health checkup.

New research has found tuatara sperm are fast moving and three times longer than the human version. But the viability of the sperm is hugely variable. Researchers at Victoria University of Wellington say the discovery could help boost tuatara survival rates. Lead author, Dr Sarah Lamar, spoke to Corin Dann.

Dave Laux joins us to talk about developing as a keeper, some of the attitudes in reptile keeping over the years, and how they have changed/have not changed. We cover how Dave discovered happiness in his battle with himself over collecting. How his collection grew and shrank, and grew and on and on, how did Dave break out of that cycle? Dave pours over life in New Zealand in fine detail working with everything from green geckos to Tuatara. SHOW NOTES: https://www.animalsathomenetwork.com/20-dave-laux/ LINKS FROM THE EPISODE: Support, Subscribe  & Follow: CHECK OUT Custom Reptile Habitats CLICK HERE SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST NETWORK: SPOTIFY► https://spoti.fi/2UG5NOI Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/ReptilesandResearch Subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/c/ReptilesandResearch Follow on Instagram: @reptilesandresearch  

You might have seen these animals, but you've unlikely imagined they could be millions of years old! Tuatara might look like a regular iguana at first, but it's literally a living fossil since it's been around for about 250 million years. Jellyfish have been present on our planet for over 500 million years. Chinese Giant Salamander can grow to be bigger than an adult person, and it's been roaming our planet for 170 million years already. The sea lamprey is ancient parasitic fish that lives in the western and northern Atlantic Ocean. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Ethan and Tom are joined by David Long, Senior Sports Reporter at stuff.co.nz, to discuss the unfortunate demise of the Australian Baseball League's Auckland Tuatara franchise. The guys dive into the incredible rise, and tragic fall of New Zealand's only ABL team, and discuss what the future of baseball in New Zealand looks like. Tom and Ethan also discuss their season-long frustration with the Phillies, as well as some exciting upcoming episodes of the show!Follow the Baseball Podcast on Twitter @thebaseballpod2 or email us at thebaseballpod@gmail.comAnd check out our show on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thebaseballpodcast2748FFollow David on Twitter @davidlongffxAnd read his fantastic work at https://www.stuff.co.nz/authors/david-long

The main handler of Invercargill's celebrity tuatara Henry is retiring this month, after a relationship dating back more than five decades. Lindsay Hazley met Henry back in 1970, then a schoolboy volunteering at Southland Museum.

Che talks to Kathryn about why Southern mayors can't keep out of the news, the intentional poisoning of trees, Henry the tuatara's keeper calls it a day after 52 years and the Routeburn Classic Trail Running Race is on weekend.

Piney catches up with Baseball NZ CEO Megan Crockett after the news that the Auckland Tuatara baseball team had gone into liquidation. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's only professional baseball club has entered liquidation. Auckland's Tuatara Baseball Franchise was unfortunately unable to survive both the pandemic and the recent weather events. Tuatara's CEO Regan Wood says that while the club was insured, they have yet to be paid out. He said that if the money had come through earlier, it's likely that they would not have had to go into liquidation. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who doesn't like a good survivor story? Today, Laura and Katy talk about some species who have survived mass extinctions and remain relatively unchanged. These living fossils help us to imagine what our planet looked like millions of years ago and how evolution has changed things. They are the embodiment of the old adage, “if it ain't broke, don't fix it.”Support the show

Southland/Otago mayors have been divided over whether to challenge the Dunedin Hospital design cuts, Tess talks to Kathryn about the apology for the communications failure. Also an update on water shortages and drought in the region, and new information suggest Invercargill's famous Tuatara, Henry may be older than originally thought.

Piney catches up with manager of the Auckland Tuatara, Steve Mintz, as they prepare for their playoff match against Adelaide. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Piney talks to Jason Matthews after the Auckland Tuatara picked up a much-needed win on their hunt for a spot in the ABL Playoffs. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2:06:42 – Frank in NJ, plus the Other Side. Topics include: The Incoherent Tuatara’s Telephone Cantina, Choston Bands & Junkard Sane, AI interview time, modeling the world – past and present, Snoopy’s Hotel Life, reorganized the bookshelf, new vegan vitamins, Roky Erickson – “The War of the Worlds martians have landed”, Post-Arlen Monologix, Patch 001, Akka Arrh, […]

2:06:42 – Frank in NJ, plus the Other Side. Topics include: The Incoherent Tuatara’s Telephone Cantina, Choston Bands & Junkard Sane, AI interview time, modeling the world – past and present, Snoopy’s Hotel Life, reorganized the bookshelf, new vegan vitamins, Roky Erickson – “The War of the Worlds martians have landed”, Post-Arlen Monologix, Patch 001, Akka Arrh, […]

Slowly but surely, threatened native species are being reintroduced to our mainland from reserves and offshore islands.. Sarah K. Lamar, PhD candidate in Ecology and Biodiversity at Victoria University talks to Jesse.

Hello everyone and welcome to Episode Seventy One!  Here it is, mid-October and the fall rains are soaking us here at SMP world headquarters. As always, I want to say thank you to all of the show's patrons, including Brandon Bourassa, who came in at one Patreon level and recently went up to the next level – thank you Brandon, I appreciate that.  I also want to give a shout out to our newest patron, Christian Diederich, who made a one-time contribution via Venmo.  Thank you so much, Christian, and it was fun hearing about your recent experiences with rainbow snakes.  Christian spotted a neonate rainbow snake while driving 55 on a highway at night, which is pretty cool.  It got me thinking about my own rainbow snake sighting, which was 25 years ago and I haven't seen one since.  It was suggested that maybe I should herp better. I took a peek at some of the show's stats this week, I don't do this often, because it's easy to obsess over numbers and guess what?  42 thousand listens to date.  I think that's an amazing number and I appreciate everyone's help in getting here. Our show this week features a conversation with Sarah Lamar, a doctoral candidate at the Victoria University of Wellington in Wellington, New Zealand.  It's amazing to me that I can talk with someone on the other side of the planet with relatively little effort at all.  Sarah's research brings her into close contact with those amazing rhynchocephalians (see photo) and I thoroughly enjoyed our talk. Thanks for coming on the show, Sarah!  It was so much fun.  And thanks for listening everyone! And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming, and please take time to rate the show on your podcast platform! The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there's also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, methods for opening your third eye, tips for herping better, etc. Cheers! Mike

In this episode, we're exploring New Zealand's largest reptile and a species that is considered among the most unique wildlife in the world. We're talking about the tuatara! Hosts Rick and Ebone discuss how these creatures have a “third eye” and why even though it looks like a lizard, its lineage traces back to the age of the dinosaurs. Later, Kim Gray, curator of herpetology and ichthyology, joins the show to chat about this truly one-of-a-kind animal often referred to as a “living fossil.” If you have a question for Amazing Wildlife you can send them to wildlife@iheartmedia.com for your chance to hear it on the show!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What Is a Tuatara? Join us today as we learn about the fascinating creature that is similar to a lizard, but is not--the Tuatara. Sources: https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/tuatara https://www.forestwildlife.org/tuatara/ https://www.britannica.com/animal/tuatara Send us listener mail! Send an audio message: anchor.fm/inquisikids-daily/message Send an email: podcast@inquisikids.com

Psybient.org Podcast -42- Tuatara - Ultimate Question of Life visit @ www.psybient.org and for more episodes @ www.soundcloud.com/gagarinproject/sets/psybient-org-podcast ! Full tracklist, necessary project links and description below

Empezamos 10ª temporada emocionados por los grandes invitados que vendrán. Para estrenamos por todo lo alto, hablamos con Fran García Obledo, Principal VFX Artist en Tuatara. Fran cuenta con un extenso currículum, habiendo trabajado en empresas como Novarama, Pyro Studios, GameLoft, MercurySteam, Rockstart Games, King o Ubisoft entre otros. Un invitado con muchísima experiencia en […] Lee la entrada completa en 10x01 - VFX artist, un rol muy demandado.

Please welcome SKERIK, Seattle's inimitable master of saxophone skronk, to Episode 056 of *The Upful LIFE Podcast. Brilliant on both tenor and baritone saxophone,  most often mixing in electronics, effects, and loops, Skerik is nothing short of a pioneer in saxophonics. 3:15 - Introducing Skerik 9:30 - Skerik interview Co-founder of Critters Buggin, Garage a Trois, Tuatara, DRKWAV, and Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet. He is also an original member of both Les Claypool's Fancy Band and Fearless Flying Frog Brigade. Skerik has worked extensively with Stanton Moore (drummer-Galactic) and Charlie Hunter (8-string guitar) across numerous collabs, including Bastard Jazz, Emerald Quintet, plus Omaha Diner, Coalition of the Willing. His list of projects and peers is far too long for a podcast synopsis! Skerik is a son of Seattle through and through, even briefly working with grunge super-band Mad Season. We touch on a number of these topics in this wide-ranging conversation   Vibe Junkie JAM 30 mins of Col. Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade LIVE from Tipitina's Uptown in New Orleans, during Jazz Fest late night May 2002   EMAIL the SHOW! B.Getz@UpfulLIFE.com PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW on Apple Podcasts! Listen to Upful LIFE on Spotify ! Theme Song: "Mazel Tov"- CALVIN VALENTINE

Most of us know our beloved national reptile, the tuatara, as the rarest of global creatures. Time was, however, when the tutara was just as plentiful as those other reptilian characters, and not just here in the land of the long white cloud. Now a new Harvard-led study throws light on the tuatara's reptile whanau, in Arizona, dating all the way back to the Early Jurassic period. The American species has been named Navajosphenodon sani after the Navajo nation. University of Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory director Nic Rawlence was involved with the study. He spoke to Corin Dann.

Alex and Tucker recap the Aston Martin Valhalla review, the new F1 Car, SSC admits the Tuatara didn't go to 300, and the amazing new C8 Z06 sound!

Latin Grammy-winning producer, composer, percussionist, and writer, Barrett Martin, has been playing music professionally for over 30 years, including work on over 100 albums worldwide. His work can be heard on albums by REM, Queens Of The Stone Age, Mad Season, Screaming Trees, Tuatara, Blues legend CeDell Davis, and recording sessions that range from the Peruvian Amazon, to Brazil, Cuba, the Palestinian West Bank, the Mississippi Delta, and the Alaskan Arctic. Barrett also holds a master's degree in ethnomusicology and linguistics, and has practiced Zen and various martial arts for over 25 years.Barrett has taught at several universities across the United States, and has written essays for The Huffington Post and Riot Material. In 2014 he was awarded the ASCAP Deems Taylor/Virgil Thompson Award for excellence in writing, and in 2017 he won a Latin Grammy for producing the Best Brazilian Rock Album (Nando Reis, “Jardim-Pomar”). Barrett's first book, “The Singing Earth,” was released in 2017, and his second book, “The Way Of The Zen Cowboy,” was released in 2019. His solo band, The Barrett Martin Group, has released 9 studio albums to date.His essays for Huffington Post can be read here: Huffington PostHis essays for Riot Material can be read here: Riot MaterialScattered Diamonds is the 9th studio album from Latin Grammy-winning producer, composer, percussionist, and writer, Barrett Martin. This time around, Barrett is featuring his collaborations with artists from around the world, from countries such as Iraq, India, Senegal, and Ghana, and including well-known rock and jazz musicians from Seattle, WA and Santa Fe, NM. These songs are as diverse as the guests themselves, and feature Barrett's original compositional style, built around his visceral drumming and global percussion techniques. As Barrett describes it in his own words:Scattered Diamonds is a collection of my best songs and collaborations with friends from around the world. The album represents my global musical influences, and it seems particularly timely now, because they feature musicians and singers from the Middle East, West Africa, and India, as well as several jazz and rock musicians, who I have worked with over the years. Scattered Diamonds encapsulates all of these special guests and their immense talents, organized into one concise album. Each of these songs is a diamond in their unique example of how music can be expressed globally, and I think it's my favorite album so far – it's certainly the most adventurous!”Barrett has also been promoting his 2 books, The Singing Earth and The Way Of The Zen Cowboy (both available as audiobook, paperback, E-Book, and Kindle), and he will be embarking on a One-Man Storytelling Tour in 2021. At the shows, he will be telling stories from his books, performing on drums and multiple percussion instruments, and presenting a slideshow of his photos from 6 continents, over the course of 30 years.Learn more about Lyte.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

282 mph, 1,750 horsepower. If you are insane, an incredible driver, and insane... you should buy an SSC Tuatara. This is either the best Hyper car ever made or one of the most insane land rockets since... well the last car they built. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-sNJzDvYdAuYqS_NV45OhQ/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=tuatara Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Staging-Lane-108077544324125/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=tuatara Thanks to our Sponsors: Pro Systems Turbo: https://www.prosystemsturbo.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=tuatara #Tuatara​ #SSC​ #SSCTuatara​ #ProSystemsTurbo #StagingLane

This is our very first episode of The Horsepower Hour and we're kicking it off with Aaron Samuelson from The Offroad Podcast! GM claims that they'll be all electric in 15 years (that's a lie), Edelbrock HQ in Los Angeles County CLOSES IT'S DOORS after 83 years in business, and the SSC Tuatara finally breaks the records that they said they did last year. An all new Honda K24 based v8 is in the works and the boys discuss what we'd love to put that in. Top 5 Of The Week are the Most Overlooked Overlanders and Aaron drops some insights, and our Smokin Deal or Smokin A Doob is a 2ZZ-GE swapped Mr2 with a surprise ending!https://www.motortrend.com/news/gm-ev-sales-2035https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/edelbrock-to-shutter-los-angeles-county-hq-after-83-yearshttps://www.caranddriver.com/news/a35327947/ssc-tuatara-speed-recordhttps://jalopnik.com/blue-birds-new-7-3-liter-school-bus-v8-from-ford-proves-1846145757https://www.hagerty.com/media/people/neutron-engines-honda-based-k48-v-8-promises-to-be-a-pint-sized-screamerSmokin Deal/Doob: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1313808028985409/Join our Facebook Group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehorsepowerhour