Endangered New Zealand.

Indigenous.
Yes the tuatara is a native animal. They were not brought from a different country. The tuatara was of course around when the dinosaurs were but were first found in New Zealand by humans.
Introduced,
It was introduced in New Zealand.There is no exact time that the tuatara was discovered as they are older than humans.

Adaptions.

Structual
The tuatara resembles an ordinary lizard in appearance, but it is so radically different, it is classified in its own order, as well as its own family. It is characterised by a second bony bridge in its skull which is also found in crocodilians, but is lost in lizards and snakes.Tuatara are also unusual because they have a third 'eye'. They have two normal eyes. The third eye is on top of their head, in between their other eyes. It does not see like a normal eye. The parietal eye, as it is called, is only visible in hatchlings.Tuataras do not have ears, but they can hear.

Behavioural.
Adult tuatara are nocturnal reptiles,though they will often bask in the sun to warm their bodies.The optimal body temperature for the tuatara is from 16 to 21 °C (61 to 70 °F), the lowest of any reptile.Tuatara probably have the slowest growth rates of any reptile, continuing to grow larger for the first 35 years of their lives.The average lifespan is about 60 years, but they can live to be well over 100 years old. Some experts believe captive tuatara could live as long as 200 years.

Physilogical,
Tuatara reproduce very slowly, taking 10 to 20 years to reach sexual maturity.Mating occurs in midsummer; females mate and lay eggs once every four years. During courtship, a male makes his skin darker, raises his crests, and parades toward the female. He slowly walks in circles around the female with stiffened legs. The female will either submit, and allow the male to mount her, or retreat to her burrow. Males do not have a penis; they reproduce by the male lifting the tail of the female and placing his vent over hers. The sperm is then transferred into the female, much like the mating process in birds.

Analyse the importance.
These adaptions are very important to the tuatara because originally the tuatara would not be able to survive. They are using these adaptions to survive and create their offspring for easily.
They use their other special parts to help them live in the islands and keep away from predators.

Evaluate.
These adaptions may have come about when the tuatara lived in the wild. They would of needed to protect themselves and be able to live without getting killed. It could of been also when they lived in the offshore islands.Where along with their different enviornment changed they body.

Success in it's community.

Tuataras have in fact survived in their now habitat. Although when tuataras were in the mainstream wild, they were getting killed everyday, the tuataras have now been able to survive living in off shore islands. Tuataras may still be under threat but they are not as prone to be killed as they were before.

Tuatara in the wild.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIEDcFDdqYU

Relationship with other organisms.

Tuataras are not friendly with rats. As rats are one of the main reasons as to why they are endangered, Tuataras do not enjoy others company. In fact things used to be so bad in where they used to live in the mainland , that the tuatara had to leave and live in several offshore islands. Tuataras spend most of their life in their burrows and only hunt at night to avoid predators. Tuataras are very sensitive creatures and are not created to fight. This is a big problem especially since tuataras are victims of othr animals.

Habitat destruction threaten our unique endemic reptile. All island groupings of Tuatara face common threats. Norway rats, ship rats and the native kiore may be the single greatest threat to both eggs and young, as Tuatara cannot seem to persist when these predators are present.Fires destroy Tuatara habitat, although they may not lead to extinction of populations. Poaching, however, does pose a threat. The extent of its impact is not known, but Tuatara fetch a considerable price on the rare species black market

Habitat

Tuataras were once found all over New Zealand but now they only survive on offshore islands because of the rodents, wild cats and pigs that were introduced to the mainland.They are found in 30 islands around New Zealand, having become extinct from the mainland last century.Where there are burrows, you might find a tuatara. The tuatara is in areas where seabirds are found as they make burrows. The tuatara then occupys the burrow. They prefer to live in coastal clearings. Rain
 can effect their burrows where they live. If their burrow is destroyed their either have to move or they will die.