North America in the Tri-Cities, Washington, is named after the reptile, noting its fast evolving DNA and "peaks on the back" as inspiration in the creation of the car. The Auckland Tuatara, one of two expansion teams for the 2018–2019 Australian Baseball League season, chose the tuatara name to celebrate the resilience of the ancient reptiles, and to raise awareness of New Zealand's commitment to species protection. Tuatara is a music band from Seattle named after the animal. Tuatara Day is 2 May to recognise the day that the tuatara was first recognised not to be a lizard. In the season one finale of Abbott Elementary an old tuatara named Duster is used to represent themes of aging and transition. See also Tuataric acid Tuatara tick References Further reading External links Endemic fauna of New Zealand Extant Late Pleistocene first appearances Māori culture Reptiles of New Zealand Sphenodontia Taxa named by John Edward Gray Endemic reptiles of New Zealand