The officials, from the Southland Museum, said the tuatara lizard named Henry previously had very little interest in mating, but a tumor was recently removed from his genitals and the operation seemed to have given his sex drive a kick-start, The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday.

"He wasn't interested in sex until a cancerous tumor was removed from his bottom and he bit the tail off his female companion twice. But since the operation his hormones have been raging," museum curator Lindsay Hazley said.

Henry's female companion, Matilda, produced 12 eggs that are expected to hatch in 12-16 months, museum officials said.

Tuataras are the last remaining members of Order Sphenodontia, which included numerous species during the time of the dinosaurs, about 200 million years ago.