First 'living fossil' reptile born on New Zealand mainland in 200 years

"He is unlikely to be the only baby to have hatched this season, but seeing him was an incredible fluke."

A rare "living fossil" tuatara reptile has been born in the wild in an area of New Zealand where it had been believed extinct for 200 years, conservationists said yesterday.

The tuatara - a lizard-like reptile which has existed for 200 million years and shared the earth with dinosaurs - had been believed extinct on New Zealand's three main islands for 200 years.

But since 2005 200 have been reintroduced from offshore islands into the Karori Sanctuary in the capital Wellington, where the baby was discovered.

Staff at the 252-hectare sanctuary found the eight-centimetre long hatchling, thought to be about a month old, in an area where tuatara nests were found late last year.

"This is an extremely significant discovery," said sanctuary conservation manager Raewyn Empson.

"It means we have successfully re-established a breeding population... which is a massive breakthrough for New Zealand conservation," she said.

"He is unlikely to be the only baby to have hatched this season, but seeing him was an incredible fluke."

The infant tuatara will need to avoid the attentions of cannibalistic adult tuatara as well as some native birds if it is to reach adulthood, she remarked.

"Like all the wildlife living here, he'll just have to take his chances," Ms Empson said.

"However, hatching within the safety of a mammal-proof fence has already given him a far better chance of survival than he would get outside."

Baby tuatara hatch about 12 to 15 months after their mothers lay, and then abandon, their eggs.

The reptiles became extinct on New Zealand's three main islands after the Pacific rat arrived with the Polynesian Maori in the previously uninhabited country about 700 years ago.

They live to about 100 years old but do not become fertile until aged about 13.