Tuatara

A Tuatara at the Toledo Zoo. It's interesting because it is not a lizard (squamate), but a relative to snakes and lizards. Toledo Zoo was one of the first US zoos to have them, and this was taken before they were placed on display. They like it cool and moist and needed a special enclosure, that they were calling the tuataratarium. They also are great diggers, which is why the glass of the cage is so dirty. There are now two species of tuataras recognized, but I am not sure which this was a more recent discovery. This is likely Sphenodon punctatus as it is the more common of the two.