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Officials say a rare reptile with lineage dating back to the dinosaur age has been found nesting on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in about 200 years.

Four leathery, white eggs from an indigenous tuatara were found by staff at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellington, during routine maintenance work Friday.

Conservation manager Rouen Empson said the nest proves that the animals are breeding and suggests there may be more. Baby tuatara could be born any time between now and March.

Zoologists say tuatara are dragon-like reptiles that grow to up to 80 centimetres.

They say the reptiles are the last descendants of a species that walked the earth with the dinosaurs more than 200 million years ago.

They have unique characteristics, such as two rows of top teeth closing over one row at the bottom. They also have a pronounced parietal eye, a light-sensitive pineal gland on the top of the skull. This white patch of skin – called its “third eye” – slowly disappears as they mature.

A native species to New Zealand, tuatara were nearly extinct on the country's three main islands by the late 1700s after the introduction of predators such as rats. They still live in the wild on 32 small offshore islands cleared of predators.

A population of 70 tuatara was established at the Karori Sanctuary in 2005. Another 130 were released in the sanctuary in 2007.

The sanctuary was established to breed native birds, insects and other creatures securely behind a predator-proof fence.

The four eggs – the size of table-tennis balls – were unearthed Friday and immediately covered again to avoid disturbing their incubation further. The preserve staff expects there are more, because nests usually contains about 10 eggs.