New DNA research has questioned previous notions about the evolution of the Tuatara.
In a study of New Zealand's "living dinosaur" an evolutionary biologist at Massey University, Professor David Lambert, has looked at DNA sequences from the bones of Tuatara up to 8000 years old.
He found that although Tuatara are physically fairly unchanged over long periods of evolution, they're evolving at a DNA level faster than any other animal examined.
Professor Lambert says they have the highest molecular evolutionary rate anyone has ever measured.
Advertisement
