A 111-year-old lizard-like thing becomes a dad
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
A New Zealand reptile - regarded as one of the last living reptilian descendants of the dinosaurs - is to become a father for the first time in decades, at the impressive age of 111.

Henry the Tuatara: not bad going for an older chap
Henry the Tuatara and his mate Mildred (who herself is aged between 70 and 80) produced 12 eggs in mid-July after mating earlier this year at the Southland Museum on New Zealand's South Island, Tuatara curator Lindsay Hazley said
Tuatara are the lizard-like last descendants of a species of reptile that walked the earth with the dinosaurs 225 million years ago, zoologists say.
Henry has lived at the Southland Museum's special enclosure for Tuatara since 1970 and had shown no interest in ---, until he recently had a cancerous growth removed from his genitals.
He is now enjoying the company of three females and might breed again next March, Hazley said.
'With these guys, foreplay might take years. One has to be patient,' he said.
Hazley said while Henry had never before mated in captivity, it is unknown whether he had ever done so in the wild. The male Tuatara reaches sexual maturity at age 20.
The population of Tuatara in New Zealand is estimated at about 50,000
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descendant
a person or animal that is descended from a specific ancestor; an offspring
zoologist
a specialist in zoology
zoology
The branch of biology that deals with animals and animal life, including the study of the structure, physiology, development, and classification of animals
breed
to produce by mating; propagate sexually; reproduce: Ten mice were bred in the laboratory