With the precious fossils laid out carefully on a sun-hat held in my hands, I took a confident stride from one boulder to the next. And slipped. My left knee cap took the full impact of my body on another boulder, about a meter down. My head, fortunately, hit the Buller River, as did the… Continue reading New Zealand’s first fossil horsetails in millions of years
Tag: Manuherikia Group
Phyllocladus fossils from the Miocene of New Zealand, and Cretaceous Protophyllocladus
A rare plant fossil in the Miocene Manuherikia Group of New Zealand, is Phyllocladus (the Celery Pine). This is a strange conifer which, instead of leaves, the adult plant has multi-veined flattened branches that are called phylloclades. With these phylloclades, the average person would scarcely believe Phyllocladus is a kind of conifer (very broadly, a pine). But it… Continue reading Phyllocladus fossils from the Miocene of New Zealand, and Cretaceous Protophyllocladus
The Amazing Miocene Fossil Leaf Pack of Mata Creek, New Zealand
I was crouched in a long boat somewhere up a rainforest-swathed river in Kalimatan, Borneo, when I saw it – a ‘living’ example of a fossil leaf pack I had once seen in New Zealand. Several years before, I had been exploring down a little stream near St Bathans, New Zealand. I was looking for… Continue reading The Amazing Miocene Fossil Leaf Pack of Mata Creek, New Zealand
Miocene Rain and Fire Forests of Bannockburn
Canungra is the perfect place to stop for a snack on the drive up to O’Reilly’s/Lamington National Park in southeastern Queensland. On a weekend you can grab a latte and pie and sit outside a cafe, watching the biker crowd doing pretty much the same thing. From there you start winding your way up the… Continue reading Miocene Rain and Fire Forests of Bannockburn
Miocene Swamp Forests of St Bathans, New Zealand
The white sands and muds surrounding Blue and ‘Grey’ Lakes at St Bathans were laid down in a braided river (Manuherikia Group; Douglas 1986). About twenty million years ago, in the Miocene period, It was flowing from the New Zealand hinterland in the west to the east coast. Braided rivers are constantly changing their channels,… Continue reading Miocene Swamp Forests of St Bathans, New Zealand
New Zealand’s Rata and Pohutakawa – riders of the Miocene storms?
There is a Maori legend than when one of their ancestral canoes (the Te Arawa) approached New Zealand after traveling from its Pacific homeland, its crew saw the trees along the coast covered in red. Thinking these were abundant red-feathered birds, a chief thew away his priceless red-bird feather headdress. When the canoe finally reached shore, the… Continue reading New Zealand’s Rata and Pohutakawa – riders of the Miocene storms?
Miocene Nothofagus in New Zealand’s Manuherikia Group
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Nothofagus leaf fossils in New Zealand is – not finding them. Nothofagus is another name for the southern beech trees that form forests in New Zealand, as well as Australia, Patagonia, New Caledonia and New Guinea. As a group, the beeches are certainly an old element in New Zealand, with at least… Continue reading Miocene Nothofagus in New Zealand’s Manuherikia Group
Blue Lake, St Bathans – the most biodiverse Miocene fossil plant locality
The biodiversity of Blue Lake, at St Bathans, New Zealand, is precisely zero. It is an artificial lake partly filling a hole blasted out in the search for gold in the 19th century. The hole is directly in front of one of St Bathan’s and New Zealand’s gems – the Vulcan Hotel. If you ran out… Continue reading Blue Lake, St Bathans – the most biodiverse Miocene fossil plant locality