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Meaning of "tuatara" in the English dictionary

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DICTIONARY
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ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD TUATARA

From Māori, from tua back + tara spine.
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Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF TUATARA

tuatara  [ˌtuːəˈtɑːrə] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF TUATARA

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Tuatara is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES TUATARA MEAN IN ENGLISH?

tuatara

Tuatara

Tuatara are reptiles endemic to New Zealand and which, although resembling most lizards, are part of a distinct lineage, the order Rhynchocephalia. The two species of tuatara are the only surviving members of their order, which flourished around 200 million years ago. Their most recent common ancestor with any other extant group is with the squamates. For this reason, tuatara are of great interest in the study of the evolution of lizards and snakes, and for the reconstruction of the appearance and habits of the earliest diapsids. Tuatara are greenish brown and gray, and measure up to 80 cm from head to tail-tip and weigh up to 1.3 kg with a spiny crest along the back, especially pronounced in males. Their dentition, in which two rows of teeth in the upper jaw overlap one row on the lower jaw, is unique among living species. They are further unusual in having a pronounced photoreceptive eye, the "third eye", which is thought to be involved in setting circadian and seasonal cycles. They are able to hear, although no external ear is present, and have a number of unique features in their skeleton, some of them apparently evolutionarily retained from fish.

Definition of tuatara in the English dictionary

The definition of tuatara in the dictionary is a greenish-grey lizard-like rhynchocephalian reptile, Sphenodon punctatus, occurring only on certain small islands near New Zealand: it is the sole surviving member of a group common in Mesozoic times.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH TUATARA


afara
əˈfɑːrə
antara
ænˈtɑːrə
Ara
ˈɑːrə
Asmara
æsˈmɑːrə
Carrara
kəˈrɑːrə
Ferrara
fəˈrɑːrə
Guadalajara
ˌɡwɑːdələˈhɑːrə
Guevara
ɡəˈvɑːrə
heketara
ˈhɛkɛtɑːrə
Lara
ˈlɑːrə
mascara
mæˈskɑːrə
Nara
ˈnɑːrə
para
ˈpɑːrə
Sahara
səˈhɑːrə
samara
səˈmɑːrə
satara
sɑːˈtɑːrə
sayonara
ˌsaɪəˈnɑːrə
solfatara
ˌsɒlfəˈtɑːrə
tiara
tɪˈɑːrə
vara
ˈvɑːrə

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE TUATARA

tu quoque
tu-whit tu-whoo
Tuamotu Archipelago
tuan
Tuareg
tuart
tuath
tuatua
tub
tub gurnard
tub-fast
tub-thumper
tub-thumping
tuba
tuba player
tubae
tubage
tubaist
tubal
tubal ligation

WORDS THAT END LIKE TUATARA

Ankara
Aymara
chara
Che Guevara
Guanabara
Honiara
Kara
mara
marinara
Marmara
Niagara
Novara
Nusa Tenggara
Pescara
Santa Clara
tantara
tara
totara
Vadodara
Western Sahara

Synonyms and antonyms of tuatara in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «tuatara» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF TUATARA

Find out the translation of tuatara to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of tuatara from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «tuatara» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

tuatara
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

tuatara
570 millions of speakers

English

tuatara
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

tuatara
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

tuatara
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

гаттерия
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

tuatara
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

tuatara
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

tuatara
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Tuatara
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Brückenechse
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

ムカシトカゲ
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

투아 타라
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Tuatara
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

tuatara
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

ஊர்ந்து செல்லும் பல்லி போன்ற பிராணி
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

तुतारारा
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

tuatara
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

Tuatara
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

tuatara
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

гаттерия
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

tuatara
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

Tuatara
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

tuatara
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

tuatara
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

tuatara
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of tuatara

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «TUATARA»

The term «tuatara» is regularly used and occupies the 94.435 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Regularly used
56
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «tuatara» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of tuatara
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «tuatara».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «TUATARA» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «tuatara» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «tuatara» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about tuatara

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «TUATARA»

Discover the use of tuatara in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to tuatara and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Tuatara: A Living Fossil
This book reveals virtually everything known about the animal as well as describing New Zealand's plans for its future protection. Also covers its existence in a few zoos around the world.
Dick Lutz, Richard L. Lutz, 2006
2
Old Tuatara
Joy Cowley. OLD TUATARA by Joy Cowley "Asleep," said the gull.
Joy Cowley, 1983
3
New Zealand Journal of Zoology
spring, summer, and early autumn, and were most evident on warm, humid evenings. All the large invertebrate species recorded were regularly seen at night on the ground, where tuatara do most of their hunting, as well as on tree trunks, ...
4
International Wildlife Encyclopedia: Tree squirrel - water ...
The tuatara burrows in soil naturally enriched by the guano of nesting seabirds, helping to sustain the numbers of soil-dwelling invertebrates on which the reptile feeds. A tuatara among the leaf litter on Stephens Island, Marlborough. The two ...
‎2002
5
New Zealand Journal of Zoology
DONALD G. NEWMAN lANMcFADDEN Science & Research Division Department of Conservation P.O. Box 10420, Wellington, New Zealand Abstract Results from a survey of the tuatara populations on Hongiora and Ruamahua-iti Islands, ...
6
Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates
Sensory Ecology of Sphenodon Most of what is known about the sensory ecology of feeding in tuatara is anecdotal. Tuatara are nocturnal foragers and their retinas are dense with rod-like photoreceptors (Underwood, 1970). As noted earlier ...
Kurt Schwenk, 2000
7
New Zealand Journal of Zoology
Department of Zoology, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand Quantitative and biochemical observations were made on the peripheral blood of a hibernating female tuatara. The packed red cell volume (haematocrit) was 30%.
8
New Zealand Journal of Zoology
D. NEWTON department of Laboratory Services Wellington Public Hospital Wellington, New Zealand Abstract Techniques for detecting plasma vitellogenin ( the precursor to egg-yolk proteins) were investigated in a rare reptile, the tuatara  ...
9
New Zealand Journal of Zoology
Our study demonstrates that such analyses, if conducted at an appropriate time of the reproductive cycle, can be used to identify incipient nesters (geographic variation in the timing of ovulation has not been documented in tuatara but should ...
10
New Zealand Journal of Zoology
Plasma cholesterol and triacylglycerol concentrations in wild and captive tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus LINDA K. CARTLAND ALISON CREE NICOLA M. GR1MMOND Department of Zoology University of Otago P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New ...

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «TUATARA»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term tuatara is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Locals enjoy prince, even tuatara namesake
Ardent royalist Yvonne Gawn could not help herself when coming face to face with Prince Harry at Invercargill Airport yesterday. After shaking his hand she stole ... «Otago Daily Times, May 15»
2
Scientists sequencing DNA of endangered tuatara
Genetics researcher Stephen O'Brien meets Spike, a resident tuatara of Victoria University. O'Brien, based in Russia, is visiting the country to talk about how the ... «Stuff.co.nz, Apr 15»
3
Tuatara hatching first for 500 years
''It is pretty exciting,'' tuatara expert Associate Prof Alison Cree, of the University of Otago, said. Prof Cree and her research team believe three tuatara hatched in ... «Otago Daily Times, Apr 15»
4
Tuatara's Wellington tasting room building on the market
The Wellington city building where the Tuatara Brewing Company opened its new Third Eye tasting room and micro- brewery has been put on the market by ... «Stuff.co.nz, Mar 15»
5
Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash bonds with tuatara
Rock guitarist Slash showed off his soft underbelly as he cuddled a couple of tuatara at Zealandia. The former Guns N' Roses lead guitarist leapt at the offer to ... «The Dominion Post, Feb 15»
6
Tuatara's cousin survived asteroid impact that killed dinosaurs
The humble tuatara's ancestors lived in the time of the dinosaurs. File photo / NZ Herald. A distant cousin of the tuatara also survived the extinction event that ... «New Zealand Herald, Aug 14»
7
Tuatara hatching caught on film
Extremely rare footage of a tuatara hatching has been filmed at Victoria University of Wellington. Last to hatch, the egg was one of 23 being incubated in captivity ... «The Dominion Post, Aug 14»
8
Bugatti Veyron-rivalling SSC Tuatara supercar will be built in …
Shelby Supercars (SSC) hopes to start building a factory for its Tuatara supercar in West Richland, Washington, the local Tri-City Herald (via Autoblog) reports. «Digital Trends, Jun 14»
9
Tuatara's New Album Features Peter Buck, Mike McCready; Song …
Tuatara, the long-running project led by Mad Season/Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin and rounded out by a rotating cast of all-stars that includes ... «Billboard, Jun 14»
10
SSC's New Supercar Factory Back on Track – SSC Tuatara To Follow!
As for the SSC Tuatara, the sky is the limit! The concept looked extremely futuristic at the time, however, it will probably receive a number of styling changes by ... «GTspirit, May 14»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Tuatara [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/tuatara>. Apr 2024 ».
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