Quaternary fossil faunas of Otago, South Island, New Zealand

The Quaternary terrestrial faunas, primarily birds, of three inland districts in Otago, South Island, New Zealand are described. The three areas (North Otago, Central Otago and near Wanaka) differ in their present topography and climate, and their palaeofaunas are also different: that of North Otago is considerably more diverse than either of the others. The differences are related to habitat diversity and climate. In Otago, 62 native species of birds, plus greater and lesser short‐tailed bats Mystacina spp., tuatara Sphenodon, Duvaucel's gecko Hoplodactylus duvaucelii, common gecko H. maculatus, and indeterminate skinks Oligosoma spp, are recorded from fossil deposits. Most deposits are of Holocene age. Swamp‐miring, predation by laughing owls and falcons, and pitfall processes were responsible for accumulating the fossils. The holotype of Ocydromus insignis Forbes is identified, and the species synonymised with Gallirallus australis Sparrman.

[1]  M. Trotter,et al.  Some radiocarbon dates for moa remains from natural deposits , 1979 .

[2]  G. Coote,et al.  Bone pretreatments for radiocarbon dating: a study incorporating AMS dating and ion beam analysis , 1994 .

[3]  T. Worthy.  Osteological observations on the larger species of the skink Cyclodina and the subfossil occurrence of these and the gecko Hoplodactylus duvaucelii in the North Island, New Zealand , 1987 .

[4]  B. Livezey,et al.  Evolutionary Morphology of Flightlessness in the Auckland Islands Teal , 1990 .

[5]  S. Trewick.  Morphology and evolution of two takahe: flightless rails of New Zealand , 1996 .

[6]  R. Holdaway,et al.  Scraps from an owl's table — predator activity as a significant taphonomic process newly recognised from New Zealand Quaternary deposits , 1994 .

[7]  R. Holdaway,et al.  A new fossil species of shearwater Puffinus from the late Quaternary of the South Island, New Zealand, and notes on the biogeography and evolution of the Puffinus gavia superspecies , 1994 .

[8]  M. McGlone,et al.  Late Pleistocene and Holocene vegetation history, Central Otago, South Island, New Zealand , 1995 .

[9]  Matthew S. McGlone,et al.  Faunal and floral remains from Earnscleugh Cave, Central Otago, New Zealand , 1996 .

[10]  R. Sibson,et al.  The New Guide to the Birds of New Zealand and Outlying Islands , 1979 .

[11]  P. Andrews.  Interpreting Fossils. (Book Reviews: Owls, Caves and Fossils. Predation, Preservation, and Accumulation of Small Mammal Bones in Caves, with an Analysis of the Pleistocene Cave Faunas from Westbury-sub-Mendip, Somerset, U. K.) , 1990 .

[12]  C. Daugherty,et al.  Neglected taxonomy and continuing extinctions of tuatara (Sphenodon) , 1990, Nature.

[13]  R. Holdaway,et al.  Quaternary fossil faunas from caves in Takaka Valley and on Takaka Hill, northwest Nelson, South Island, New Zealand , 1994 .

[14]  R. Holdaway,et al.  Quaternary fossil faunas from caves in the Punakaiki area, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand , 1993 .

[15]  C. Daugherty,et al.  Reinstatement of the genus Oligosoma (Reptilia : Lacertilia : Scincidae) , 1995 .

[16]  J. Baumel,et al.  Handbook of avian anatomy : nomina anatomica avium , 1993 .

[17]  T. Worthy.  Quaternary fossil fauna of South Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand , 1997 .

[18]  T. Worthy.  An analysis of the distribution and relative abundance of moa species (Aves: Dinornithiformes) , 1990 .

[19]  A. H. Munsell,et al.  Munsell book of color , 1950 .

[20]  Atholl Anderson.  The chronology of colonization in New Zealand , 1991, Antiquity.

[21]  R. Holdaway,et al.  A reappraisal of the late Quaternary fossil vertebrates of Pyramid Valley Swamp, North Canterbury, New Zealand , 1997 .

[22]  R. Holdaway,et al.  Quaternary fossil faunas from caves on Mt Cookson, North Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand , 1995 .

[23]  C. Daugherty,et al.  Four new species and one new subspecies of skinks, genus Leiolopisma (Reptilia: Lacertilia: Scincidae) from New Zealand , 1990 .

[24]  R. Holdaway,et al.  Quaternary fossil faunas, overlapping taphonomies, and palaeofaunal reconstruction in North Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand , 1996 .

[25]  R. Holdaway,et al.  Taphonomy of two holocene microvertebrate deposits, Takaka Hill, Nelson, New Zealand, and identification of the avian predator responsible , 1996 .

[26]  Trenor H. Worthy.  Fossils of Honeycomb Hill , 1993 .

[27]  T. Worthy.  Reappraisal of Dinornis (Aves: Dinornithiformes) species: a morphometric analysis , 1994 .

[28]  R. Holdaway.  New Zealand's pre-human avifauna and its vulnerability , 1989 .

[29]  J. Hamel.  Prehistoric man and his environment in the Catlins, New Zealand , 1977 .

[30]  W. Buller,et al.  A History of the Birds of New Zealand , 2017 .

[31]  E. Dawson.  RE‐DISCOVERIES OF THE NEW ZEALAND SUBFOSSIL BIRDS NAMED BY H. O. FORBES , 1958 .

[32]  T. Riney,et al.  New Zealand birds , 1956 .

[33]  D. Mildenhall.  Summary of the age and paleoecology of the Miocene Manuherikia Group, Central Otago, New Zealand , 1989 .

[34]  R. Holdaway,et al.  Arrival of rats in New Zealand , 1996, Nature.

[35]  R. Holdaway.  Systematics and palaeobiology of Haast's eagle (Harpagornis moorei Haast, 1872) (Aves: Accipitridae) , 1991 .