The Lonely 3-Eyed Reptile

[@evodolka]

honestly never knew they had such odd looking skulls, especially the whole bit were their teeth are just jagged bits of the jaw bone

[@BenGThomas]

Yeah I didn't know about that either until I started researching them, they are really unique animals :)

[@evodolka]

agreed

[@rabbit0664]

evodolka That actually reminds me of turtles/tortoises.

[@evodolka]

i can see what you mean actually

[@abyssalzei552]

I'm trying to imagine myself chewing with my jawbone.

[@koolnomi95]

Tuataras are such cool creatures! it's amazing to think they're the last of an entire branch of the reptile family

[@BenGThomas]

I agree, they are certainly very special animals :)

[@milesarcher8502]

Countless species are extinct, and the vast majority of them were long gone before human 'hit the scene'!

[@glenbe4026]

@@milesarcher8502 A bloody lot of them have gone extinct because of the human race over the last 100, 000 years though. So much so that it is often referred to as the 6th great mass extinction.

[@quoththeraven3985]

All "branches" end... there's nothing elts a branch can do, except rejoin the tree like Neanderthals did with humans......then later..end'

[@ArigatoPlays]

@@quoththeraven3985 Yes, and every living thing on earth will die in a few billion years when the sun boils away every ocean. That doesn't mean we shouldn't care.

[@raiden3636]

Raising Tuatara in captivity will indeed help the population, it’s a effective method that has saved other endangered animals like the bald eagle, giant panda, and etc. from extinction. If we caused it, we can fix it.

[@Tiri_the_takehe]

I mean its not going all that badly tbh. Just need adequate pest control for them

[@ninjahombrepalito1721]

Why can't they be raised in captivity to eat rats? They are large enough, and they are carnivores... they should feed them beetles, lizards, birds, and rats. Then they could reclaim their territory. And, well, they will have good food supply. Rats are quite hard to get rid of.

[@malnutritionboy]

@@ninjahombrepalito1721 they eat the eggs

[@ninjahombrepalito1721]

Germs many if the adults eat the rats, there will be less rats and less eggs eaten.

[@kennethsatria6607]

@@ninjahombrepalito1721 Hmm...

[@danyul2571]

Henry the tuatara is over 120 years old, and is still living and reproducing in invercargills museum pyramid, new zealands most successful tuatara preservational breeding sanctuary. sadly due to the buildings lack of earthquakeproof structure it has been closed down and will require over $20, 000,000nz to upgrade to new standards. 😓

[@jeremyashford2145]

I saw Henry thirty years ago. When he is resting he is so still you cannot see either breathing or heartbeat.

[@kaisahfx1246]

I've been there

[@TrilobiteTerror]

Yeah, some experts believe they could live as long as 200 years.

[@Ranstone]

Henry getting it on at 120.

[@chieckenman4432]

Henry Tuatara Henry Stickmin

[@admiralcat3809]

Triassic reptiles are always bizarre.

[@G0die16]

But Permian reptiles are even weirder

[@theshamanite]

@@G0die16 The farther back you go, the weirder. Take the Greek gods, for instance...

[@mareksicinski3726]

all creatures from time periods not commonly explored in media (now, historical times often, and dinosaurs) is considered 'bizarre'

[@kommandantss672]

The Permian extinction left many open niches with little to no competition resulting in the impressive diversification of species during the Triassic... similar to literally all other extinction events. It's bizarre but it happens.

[@JakobMagnus]

SAVE THE TUATARAS!!!

[@platipus-yn9zr]

I'm from New Zealand and at my school every one allways thinks they are genuinely dinosaurs just becase they lived at the same time as them. It drives me mad. Allso you can see tuitara in its natril habitat just 5 mins drive away from wellington the capital of nz. It's a wildlife reserve called Zelandea,I would definitely visit it if you come past New Zealand. -sorry for bad spelling.

[@BenGThomas]

Wow that's really cool, I'd love to see a tuatara some day, especially in its natural habitat :)

[@theelderlardrider2425]

yea and there is also some at willow bank but they arent really that much but there are some : )

[@ggittins4097]

@Alex Nutman Dinosaurs distant cousin

[@exxpired6521]

@plaguelock english might not be his first language, no need to bee an asshole about it

[@defaultkid99]

Walter stop being an asshole he literally said he lives in New Zealand

[@oneword2481]

First off: I LOVE the toxic free comments Secondly: How is it possible for you to make such a simple topic oh so interesting, seriously! Amazing.

[@BenGThomas]

Haha, thanks so much :D Most of the time the comments are pretty good, sticking to science and reason hopefully encourages this I think.

[@elgatochurro]

NIGGA LIKES HIM SOME TOXIC FREE COMMENTS???

[@elgatochurro]

@@BenGThomas WHAT DID YOU SAY NIGGA????

[@danielguerrero2575]

Oh really, follow these steps: 1: Go to the speculative zoology part 1 video 2: Go to the comment section 3: Check the replies for Simon J's comment 4: Enjoy!

[@ajoajoajoaj]

ur mum gay

[@venomousjuggernaut6235]

It look like a gangster iguana

[@osmosisjones4912]

Rat sex dolls so they males waist there sperm. . If just killing them that would leave resources and space upon for others. But attacking rats reproduction

[@Jay-jb2vr]

Like a baby Godzilla

[@casof97]

@@osmosisjones4912 guess u never seen sea iguana or rock iguanas

[@theshamanite]

@@osmosisjones4912 Spermicide to the balls! (In the sex doll)!

[@milesarcher8502]

The tail area looks to me like a crocodillian!

[@therealzilch]

I didn't know about the aquatic rhincocephalians. Live and learn. Thanks.

[@BenGThomas]

No problem :) I didn't know about them either until researching for the video, they're a surprisingly unique group!

[@maxgreece1]

Once you said it wasn't a lizard I must admit I thought the legs looked a little thick in comparison to lizards. Is that a differentiation or is it just me?

[@BenGThomas]

It might be, I'm not sure, although it could just be the angles of the photos perhaps. Depends what lizards you're comparing too I suppose, Monitor Lizards would have much thicker legs than a tuatara.

[@zacharyhandy9606]

The whole thing looks thicker to me

[@thatsnotveryfresh]

@plaguelock big agree, lizards are incredibly diverse in body type and shape.

[@kckdude913]

@plaguelock This one's thicc though. Do you know of any reptile that is so thicc?

[@TheLuismaBeaTle]

Zachary Handy thats what she said

[@The_Robert.Fletcher]

That was an absolutely wonderful presentation. Thanks Ben and team.

[@BenGThomas]

Thanks for watching, glad to hear you enjoyed :)

[@patchyfish1]

Such a beautiful animal, so sad that it's dying out ;_;

[@Tiri_the_takehe]

We're doing our best - the ecosantuaries now have them!

[@opalthediloalt9595]

We know nothing, for all we know it could secretly be evolving a new power to evolve into ultra evolution creature to evolve into the reincarnation of DINOSAURS TO FIGHT MAN... and probably fail to our technology...

[@toastthecarnotaurus9402]

People if you see a tuatara take care of it and if it multiplied realease or give it to a proper zoo

[@oliverwilson11]

New Zealand is working to eradicate invasive mammals from more islands and fenced off areas so the amount of suitable tuatara habitat is increasing over time

[@HenrythePaleoGuy]

Yep! They are doing better now than they have in hundreds of year

[@angelahoffman119]

Aren't parietal eyes light sensors? Sleeping during the day and a bird of prey flies over, the passing shadow wakes them up to run and hide.

[@rachell381]

Angela Hepp Yeah that’s what I was thinking! That’s what it’s for in relation to iguanas!

[@rachell381]

plaguelock they are also called parietal eyes...

[@chadcastagana9181]

Yes, but it is more like photosensor that detects harmful amounts of UV from the sun

[@DatAlien]

@plaguelock Pineal eyes are a type of parietal eyes, but in Tuatara the parietal eye is an parapineal eye.

[@sirloinofbeef9683]

WOKE

[@ErebusTheDragonn]

*_gizzard the lizard wizard_*

[@fenny1578]

That's King Gizzard, to you, sir.

[@FlintSparkedStudios]

Man, this is incredibly interesting. I've never heard of these.

[@coldsobanoodle7407]

Got hella nerfed during the time of the dinosaurs, and the time of the mammals

[@BenGThomas]

I hope they do get a buff soon, seems like they deserve it by now.

[@coldsobanoodle7407]

The devs will work it out. Though they haven't been the best at balancing the game. I mean look at humans. Humans have changed how every server works, and they even added the urban biomes to the game.

[@Kacey2301]

Time of the mammals...never happened in New Zealand (except for two tiny bats), then the mammals (humans) came.

[@altaccount9903]

@@Kacey2301 well there are native prehistoric mammal in miocene new zealand

[@jasontan5311]

They weren’t nerfed, it’s just that everything else got buffed

[@denisefrickey5636]

I remember discovering this wonderful creature when I was about 10, and spent more than a half-century pursuing my fascination for relict species. Thank you for a welcome update to a very old passion.

[@ichifish]

Maybe I've got this wrong, but it's my understanding that some epigenetic DNA changes can be passed on to offspring. So if the Tuatara take longer to mature, would that mean they pass along more epigenetic DNA, and thus mature faster?

[@googleminus266]

No; theoretically, this might ratger yield somewhat better adopted offspring (assuming same mechanism in reptiles as in mammals, whose epigenetics I've studied).

[@butlordtims7098]

And that’s why I love being a New Zealander, being able to have one the last members of the dinosaur family, btw excellent video most people from other countries get all the facts and names wrong but you got them all right!

[@Sporedude135]

We must protect the Tien Lizard!

[@MonsterGaming-fz4fs]

It's not a lizard

[@sunheartspeedpaints1141]

Oh my God yes.

[@colelacount5592]

This gave me an amazing fakemon idea. Thank you for the operation. I will gladly subscribe.

[@thesfnz3104]

lets here what you got i'm genuinely curious

[@CHloE748]

The SFNZ same!

[@quuuuro]

.

[@quuuuro]

I feel sad

[@tagrisaj3344]

@@thesfnz3104 hear*

[@theberrby6836]

This is the most cute not-lizard I have ever seen and so interesting!! :D Thank you so much for sharing the existence of this poor endangered creature

[@Users_balls]

Have you also heard of the blue anole another extremely rare reptile Though because of the rarity breeders are normally just breeding them with common green and Know though because of how rare they are breeders are normally just breeding them with common green anoles

[@Kacey2301]

Excellent video. I live in Invercargill where the breeding program was pioneered and getting to see these guys was the main reason meusum visits were so exciting as a kid. I grew up learning that there was two species, but after watching this, and then some googling, turns out you're now correct. Gene studies in the 2000's revealed that the two species were just a single geographically separated species. You learn something every day!

[@blobbertmcblob4888]

"And dinosaurs" *shows picture of an actual heccin' living Dinosaur*

[@lilitheden748]

The Tuatara is a remarkable animal indeed. It’s great that you make a video of this animal and include the danger of it becoming extinct due to human actions. I hope that by watching this video more people will become aware of the pressure that is caused on nature by humans. Thanks so much.

[@jayjohn9893]

Hey dude, new to your video's, really enjoying them. This one was great and I appreciate the information you're sharing with us. All the best.

[@alliebean3235]

I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have seen tuatara in the wild at the wildlife sanctuary just outside wellington - they were young, so were much smaller than i was expecting, but even seeing one was so magical! The nz department of conservation has helped save so many of our unique animals here, not just tuatara, but kiwi, takahe, kakapo, and so many more have been brought back from the brink by breeding programs and rat-free sanctuaries. When you travel here from overseas, customs is incredibly strict about perishable items brought over, because our fauna and flora were so isolated for such a long period of time, and pests or diseases brought over could decimate our precious natives, like rats and dogs did in the past

[@kayseek1248]

It looks quite cute

[@natejansen892]

When I was a little kid I learned a lot about animals. The Tuatara was actually my favorite, because of its unique differences. Thank you for making this video👍

[@willbennett1167]

I would recommend visiting Zealandia in Wellington (my hometown) in New Zealand. There are plenty of Tuatara now living in the sanctuary and are almost garunteed everytime to see one.

[@SavannahBurris]

These guys are one of my favorite reptiles - as a biology/herpetology student, I would love to be able to see one in person, or even work with them in the future to support the conservation.

[@PastorPeewee20]

He's so cute, wish I could have a breeding pair of them to increase the number of them as well to help out as I already have been a reptile breeder for over 20yrs wit iguanas and others!

[@PastorPeewee20]

@O Sullivan ?

[@PastorPeewee20]

@@PondScummer yup I understand it doesn't have a heart for all reptiles use to be a full time breeder of green iguanas for years. ..

[@TimidBeastie]

It's nice to see our little lizard pop up time to time I'm a New Zealander and I've only seen 2 tuatara in my life in person and it was in the wellington zoo lol

[@Streetsvillainy]

there are animals with 3 eyes!?!? WHAT? This is a amazing series of video Ben, keep up the good work!

[@vickieglore2390]

Thesaurus Rext spiders have way more.

[@FreedomAnderson]

Triops.

[@martialkintu2035]

It's not an eye like the one we have.

[@safron2442]

One word: Scallops

[@duanesamuelson2256]

3 eyes...even humans the pituitary gland is light sensitive even though its buried under our skulls...same for virtually all mammals

[@aaronmarks9366]

These animals are really cute! And it's incredible how unique they are evolution-wise. Thanks for this video!

[@spiralpython1989]

Thanks for such an informative and balanced discussion of one of my very favourite animals, the elusive tuatara.

[@entombedmachine1518]

It looks like what I imagine some dinosaurs to look like... The head and jaws anyway. Gorgeous animals, and great video! The third eye is so strange!!!

[@WASDLeftClick]

I kinda want one as a pet. But maybe they're not so great for that, especially since they breed slowly. Maybe once we learn more about breeding and keeping them in captivity and their population recovers some we could have them in home terrariums someday. Reptiles are severely underrated pets imo.

[@FreedomAnderson]

Tuatara are similar to Tortoises in the way that they live for a very long time and reach maturity later in life. Which is why Tortoises are not the most common pet Reptile.

[@Kacey2301]

I live in Invercargill where they're breed in captivity. I know what you mean about wanting one as a pet, but honestly they move about so little most of the time you'd get more interaction from a tautara statue than a live one.

[@sleeepybae1459]

they seem like they would be a cool pet, the only problem i see is that they can live a really long time, especially in captivity. i'd worry that they would outlive their owners! but other than that they seem chill lol

[@jpm1965ful]

Nice video, well done. I am from New Zealand and spend a bit of time with tuatara that live and breed on a sanctuary island at which I volunteer.

[@jameskelman9856]

Well done! Thanks!

[@BenGThomas]

Thanks for watching! :)

[@GodlyAtheist]

Thank you for this video. I had no idea such an animal even existed. It really is remarkable and it's lineage is something worth saving.

[@HiTechKeema]

Really well presented. Tuataras turn out to be more interesting than thought. I never thought much of them or their evolutionary history until now - they were more of the weird little cousins that are otherwise dull. Again, great conveying of information. One little gripe though - shouldn't the crown group at 4:47 be Sauropsida, not Reptilia? Reptiles are paraphyletic.

[@BenGThomas]

Thank you! And do you mean that Reptiles are paraphyletic when birds are included? Or is there another group I'm forgetting? I probably should have noted that I meant the crown group Reptilia and not the stem group.

[@HiTechKeema]

No, I meant they are paraphyletic under most uses, but I guess since you didn't exclude birds explicitly, then they aren't technically paraphyletic in that case. Still, isn't there already the name of Sauropsida (or is it Diapsida?, turtles are a bit of a conundrum, if memory serves me well) to refer to the whole clade uniting lepidosauromorpha and archosauromorpha?

[@BenGThomas]

Yes, I think both Sauropsida and Diapsida include lepidosauromorphs and archosauromorphs, but for the sake of simplification I thought it would be best to just have it labelled as Reptilia. And yes turtle phylogeny is a fairly controversial topic, though apparently there's good evidence to support their placement in a sister clade to archosauromorphs.

[@HiTechKeema]

I was aware of the inclusion of lepidosauromorpha within both those groups, but turtles were the confusing ones, as you've rightly pointed out..

[@AbsolutelyAblative]

Hi Ben, thanks heaps for making an accessible and interesting video about our native taonga. I happened to be there at the release of the first tuatara into the sanctuary in Wellington, now known as Zealandia. There is really nothing like them, even though their appearance is so lizard-like, there's so much more to them as a natural phenomenon.

[@caileyrookids]

I recently watched a short video documentary about the project at Wellington to remove rats from the area! They're doing a lot for restoring their native ecosystem; it's really cool!

[@naughtyadventuresofmcbrouh5410]

Director: No, see, we wanted a three eyed RAVEN. GOT Artist: ooooh a raven, yes , yes i understand.

[@JungleJoeVN]

I first learned about the tuatara from a very unlikely source; an encyclopedia from 1916 that I had bought at an antique book store near my home. Ever since then I have been fascinated by this remarkable animal.

[@mattr2238]

Not to mention how cute they are

[@malignantastralinfestation5834]

Excellent video as always Mr. Thomas, and a great subject to boot. I knew a zoologist as a kid who had a tuatara about 60 or so years old he would occasionally use for outreach, it was a real fucking dinosaur! Easily the coolest animal in his care, and he had blue tongued skinks and a new guinea singing wild dog.

[@REXTHEAPEX]

For all the years I have owned lizards, I've caught them, looked for them and bread them. I do believe that the third eye they posses is used for detecting predators. But it is designed in a way where it picks up light or (shadows). For instance a bird flying over head casts a shadow. I consider it early warning alarm system. When it detects changes in the light spectrum it sends electrical signals to the brain sending a message to run, look up or freeze. I have seen this happen multiple times with my bearded dragons and iguanas. From either planes flying over head, waving my hand, or even birds flying over head. That's my guess at least, from observation. . .

[@Users_balls]

CaliBass Slayer that’s basically the use it’s a light sensor for birds

[@colinthiel3447]

Good info, watching from New Zealand 🇳🇿

[@Mikemike-gr6xt]

If the 3rd eyes start to operating again. They'll summons the juubi

[@KayCray875]

They are now #1 on my personal cutest reptile list

[@BobPantsSpongeSquare97]

How come when describing different animal groups birds generally appear by themselves alongside mammals, amphibians, and reptiles when they're actually dinosaurs which are reptiles?

[@BenGThomas]

Reptiles are usually defined paraphyletically, meaning that it excludes birds, even though it should include them to make the group monophyletic. So in a scientific definition, birds are classified as reptiles, but there seems to be a lot of confusion when you try to tell people this.

[@RRW359]

I think some people DO argue that they should be reptiles, but all groups evolved from another (invertebrates-fish, fish-amphibians, amphibians-reptiles, and reptiles-birds/mammals). I think true birds arrived not long after true mammals in the Jurassic, and I don't think *any reptiles are warm-blooded like them. *I think some Dinosaurs were warm blooded, but I tend to think of Dinosaurs as the bird version of mammal-like reptiles (Cynodont, Dimetrodon, Gorgonopsid, ect.). Not quite reptiles or birds, but somewhere in-between with features of both.

[@glenbe4026]

@@RRW359 Are Synapsids still considered reptiles? I was under the impression "reptiles" now only refereed to Sauropsida and their descendants.

[@juliehobbs665]

I definitely just learned something new! I didn't even know these creatures existed! So interesting!!! Thank you for taking the time bring awareness to many lesser known species.. Especially those who are threatened.

[@TomsBackyardWorkshop]

My green iguana has a large parietal eye. Its about 3mm x 2mm and she hates it when people touch it.

[@trash1614]

My bearded dragons have them to

[@Yunidude]

Beautifully made video. This is a very comprehensive report on this animal I have never heard of. Please keep this sort of research up, you seem to go very in depth, and it is very wonderful to see such interest and passion in researching something like this. Best of luck on KZbin!

[@GirtheAlienGoldfish]

They're so cute!!

[@GabrielaMendoza-bu2tk]

Man i hope it's not too late for these guys to survive. I've never heard of them but just with this one video I love them.

[@blowfishes]

No wonder their DNA is evolving at a fast rate considering the reduction in the genetic pool. Cool animals and a great explanation.

[@sapelesteve]

Yet another unique Reptile that I had never heard of. Very interesting. Great video.................

[@crackedemerald4930]

Tuatara: the world's most Zen reptile

[@captainsensiblejr.]

As a child, 45 years ago, I remember going to see tuatara at the Southland Museum in Invercargill the southernmost city in New Zealand. Only one other city in Chile is further south than Invercargill.

[@RadicalCaveman]

0:05 Check out the giraffasaurus.

[@eyemallears2647]

Great content fantastic video Thank you Ben!!

[@silkworm6861]

Great video! One amphisbaenian genus (bipes) actually retains the front limbs. Also, I would think about them as lizards generally because they are not as highly derived as snakes are.

[@BenGThomas]

Ah yes, I probably should have said mostly legless. And lizard is usually used in a paraphyletic sense, excluding snakes and amphisbaenians, but I guess you could probably group them in if you wanted to make lizards monophyletic.

[@Gs-kl6rd]

unreal. Feels like I’m looking back in time

[@jaydenh5748]

I want one

[@isaacbailey3681]

I'd heard of the Tuatara but until now I had _no idea_ of the Rhynchocephalia! Very fascinating!

[@mariahmakinen6887]

Its so cute! Who would want to hurt it?

[@rateeightx]

4:20 I agree, it is pretty strange that Amphisbaenians are legless. Not that Snakes are, Or that Slow Worms or the creatively named Snake-Lizards are, Only Amphisbaenians' leglessness is strange.

[@kasinokaiser1319]

It's third eye is clearly it's substand used to see 10 seconds into the future

[@Mattay20]

Such a rugged looking beast. The lifespan is amazing also, got to keep these guys going

[@TrilobiteTerror]

And he really understates the lifespan in the video. Henry the tuatara made the news by becoming a first time father at 111. That was over 10 years ago and he's now around 121 years old. Some experts believe tuataras may live as long as 200 years.

[@NARKISDUDE]

I wonder if any effort is made to kill off the rats at some places so they can expand the reptile's habitat

[@TheTheotherfoot]

This has been done on many off short islands, and a new area. Getting rid of all the imported pests is a long term job.

[@theshamanite]

A third eye may be for detecting objects above the head. Like a certain type of blindness in humans, it allows the brain to detect obstacles around them, but sends no information to parts of the brain that allow the individual to perceive sight.

[@paratiel5058]

And horseshow crabs have nine eyes... Like the tuatara it has two "eyes" on its back and then six more down the back

[@chadcastagana9181]

That's 8 not 9

[@sleeepybae1459]

such an adorable and interesting reptile!!

[@gonzalogutierrez510]

"...several theories of what the fu--" *gasp* "--nction is..." *sigh*

[@BadlndsBob]

This is a very interesting and educational video. I've read a little about the tuatara and its 3rd eye before, but, never saw a picture of the eye. I also never understood the differences between them and lizards before. Thanks!

[@Sei783]

Not sure why such emphasis is placed on the "third eye" it is present in dozens of species if not more and is not exclusive to reptiles or amphibians, yet your title "The Lonely, 3-Eyed Reptile" implies it's a special characteristic of the Tuatara. Kinda click-baity if ya ask me.

[@baneofbanes]

Seldin Gardane Then don’t watch.

[@jacobhoover1654]

@@baneofbanes r/whoosh You can't tell if it's clickbait till after u watch it

[@baneofbanes]

Jacob Hoover this isn’t reddit dumbass.

[@WildWorld81]

I remember seeing tuataras for the first time at the Dallas Zoo. Amazing reptiles! I was so giddy I nearly forgot to take pictures

[@SpiritBear12]

4:37 That, is not a dinosaur, it's a modern bird, called a cassowary. That third eye might be there to help them orient themselves according to the sun. Honey bees have 5 eyes, 2 main large ones for seeing details, and 3 small ones on the very top of their head. These are used to orient themselves to the sun and they use that information to help them navigate to new food sources and to find their way home.

[@SpiritBear12]

@Bring peter griffin to Super Smash bros They evolved from dinos, yes. However, they are different now. They're not fully dinosaurs any more, close, but not the same. Just as we evolved from apes, but we are not apes any more. We can be considered primates, but we are not apes, just as apes are not monkeys any more. Birds are now their own sort of species, their own class and have been for some time.

[@WobblesandBean]

I had no clue the Tuatara wasn't related to lizards. That's amazing!

[@rod9527]

I love tuataras, i remember reading about them when i was a kid, such interesting creatures.

[@lepointique9706]

this channel is wonderful, keep up the enlightenment

[@jupekai4601]

Bearded dragons have that "3rd eye" on the top of the head and it is light/dark sensitive and is useful in detecting and evading aerial predators that would prey on them. Tuatara are amazing reptiles. Captive breeding and raising is an effective method of conservation, the Crested Gecko is a great example of that.

[@arkinyte13]

Tuataras have beautiful eyes.

[@aaronmarks9366]

So cool to think that the laat remnant of this Mesozoic group of reptiles survived on one of the most remote landmasses on Earth. It's like finding a mini Skull Island.

[@bigred8438]

Excellent presentation.

[@michellewerries7433]

These are fabulous creatures. Thanks for the article.

[@_sacredseven_]

Wasp and hornet species as well as many other insects have third eyes as well. And so do humans. Very interesting stuff

[@Users_balls]

Where is my third eye then

[@facestealer1040]

its really cool to see an extant species like this!

[@dinamush1342]

'Lonely 3 eyed reptile', is a good description for some people

[@chadbrown107]

Thank you so much for teaching me about the tuatara to pursue my career in hepatology.

[@paulbags123]

This is the second time I’ve watched this video because I enjoyed it so much the 1st time 😊

[@BenGThomas]

Haha, glad you like this one so much! :D

[@zennyfieldster4220]

With 60,000 to 100,000 Left in the wild. Seems pretty good. Keep going though new Zealand!!!

[@Luna_Spiritus]

Tuatara are adorable! I sure hope their numbers improve!

[@YsabetJustYsabet]

Excellent vieo! With bearded dragons, it's believed that their third eye is used to show changes in light and dark above due to the flight of predatory birds, their main foes. They can't see properly out of the eye either, but they can register that light/shadow change, and when I've had any of mine outside the passing of a bird will make them flatten and turn to look up right away.

[@tatevancleve1802]

That thing is bad ass! I'm surprised its young ones are so vulnerable with that 3rd eye covering their 6

[@dinosinspace]

The KZbin CC changes Rhynchocephalians to "winkers of aliens" and I think that's pretty hilarious. Nice video!

[@paulbags123]

Fact filled Interesting and informative film again 👍