The animal on the cover of RESTful Web Services Cookbook is a great fringed lizard orHatteria punctata. Hatteria, more commonly known as tuatara, are endemic to NewZealand; "tuatara" is a native Maori word meaning "peaks on back" (referring to theirspiky, or fringed, spines). The name "great fringed lizard" is a misnomer; though theyresemble common lizards, tuatara are quite different anatomically, and, unlike lizards,they're nocturnal and enjoy cool weather. Misclassified as lizards by the British Museumin 1831, tuatara were reclassified by zoologist Albert G nther in 1867 as Rhynchocephala, an order from which many Mesozoic fossil species are known. In fact, some scientists refer to these reptiles, the only living representative of Rhynchocephala, as"living fossils."

Tuatara grow very slowly-they don't reach maturity until they are 13-20 years old and don't stop growing until they are about 30. It is believed that tuatara in the wild can reach the impressive age of 80 or older. Their average length is 20-31 inches and they weigh 1-3 pounds. They can be gray, olive, or brick red, and their coloring can change over their lifetime. As adults, they shed their skin at least once per year. Other physical characteristics include a diapsid skull (two openings on either side), a lack of external ears, acrodont tooth structure (meaning the teeth are fused to the jawbone-another fact that distinguishes tauatara from lizards), and a third eye. This third eye grows on top of the head-under the skin in adults-and has a retina, lens, and nerve endings, although it is not used for seeing. It is, however, sensitive to light and is thought by some to help the tuatara detect the time of day or season.

Despite an endangered status, the tuatara maintains high visibility in and around NewZealand. Until October 2006, it was featured on one side of New Zealand's 5-cent piece,but the coin has since been phased out. The reptiles also figure prominently in Maoriculture; they are esteemed as ariki (god forms). According to indigenous legends,they're messengers of Whiro, the god of death and disaster, and Maori women areforbidden to eat them. They also represent tapu, the line marking all things sacred andbeyond which lie potentially serious consequences (manu). Maori women have beenknown to tattoo lizards or tuatara near their genitals to symbolize the concept oftapu. Today, tuataras are regarded as a taonga (treasure), and as the kaitiaki (guardian) of the trails to the mental and spiritual realms that give humans life.

The cover image is from Wood's Animate Creation. The cover font is Adobe ITCGaramond. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed;and the code font is LucasFont's TheSansMonoCondensed.