Tuatara skeleton with eggs, micro-CT

3D reconstruction of a tuatara. Tuataras are rare reptiles which once shared the earth with dinosaurs but are now only found in New Zealand. Some refer to them as "living fossils" as they are the last member of an ancient group of reptiles. Despite looking similar to lizards they are only very distantly related to them and belong to a separate lineage (order Rhynchocephalia). Their lizard-like exterior (grey) hides unique skeletal anatomy (white) and even a clutch of eggs (yellow). Micro-computer tomography (CT) scanning was used to image this rare preserved tuatara and digitally dissect and study it without damaging the original. Horizontal width of image is 180 mm.