180 million years of the forest biome in New Zealand: New insights from fossilized wood
A seminar by Otago PhD student Mathew Vanner.
Forests have been the dominant vegetation type in New Zealand since Gondwanan times and their fossil remains are found throughout New Zealand. However, the Jurassic to Miocene fossil wood flora of southern Zealandia is poorly understood.
To further our understanding of these paleo-forests, fossil wood was collected from 24 sites and identified using wood anatomical structures. Gymnosperms identified include Araucarioxylon, Planoxylon and Podocarpaceae. Angiosperms included Leguminoceae, Arececeae, Casuarinoxylon, Eucalyptoxylon, Araliaceae, Scrophulariaceae and Violaceae.
These records provide new insights into the extensive fossil flora and forest ecosystems of Zealandia, though much remains to be investigated.
Livestream
This seminar will be available to watch live online via Zoom at the link below: