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Daphne LeeBSc PhD(Otago)

Paleobotany,  Paleontology and Paleoecology

Google Scholar: Daphne E. Lee
Email daphne.lee@otago.ac.nz
Tel +64 3 479 7525

Office – Geology 1S11

Research interests

  • Cenozoic paleobotany and paleoclimate
  • Cenozoic invertebrate paleontology
  • Brachiopoda
  • Cenozoic stratigraphy

Foulden Maar

A paleontological site of international significance, Foulden Maar in Otago, New Zealand is home to an amazing record of life on Earth.

Formed by a volcanic eruption 23 million years ago, the maar's undisturbed sedimentary layers are the resting places for countless rare, well-preserved fossils. The site is unsurpassed in the southern hemisphere as a scientific record of changing life and ecosystems at the beginning of the Miocene. Although excavations have been limited to an area the size of a tennis court, Daphne and colleagues have discovered hundreds of undescribed species. The sediments are rich in fossil flowers, fruits, seeds, pollen, and bark from plants, as well as fungi, fish, insects and spiders.

For further information see the publications listed below and the book: Fossil Treasures of Foulden Maar.

Publications

Baranov, V. O., Hammel, J. U., Lee, D. E., Schmidt, A. R., & Kaulfuss, U. (2025). Extending the fossil record of late Oligocene non-biting midges (Chironomidae, Diptera) of New Zealand. PeerJ, 13, e18893. doi: 10.7717/peerj.18893 Journal - Research Article

Wu, Y., & Lee, D. (2024). A Late Oligocene chiton fauna (Polyplacophora) from a rocky shore ecosystem, Cosy Dell, Southland, New Zealand. In F. Nelson, H. Jack & S. Chanony (Eds.), Geoscience Society of New Zealand Miscellaneous Publication: Mountains to Sea. 167A, (pp. 279). Wellington, New Zealand: Geoscience Society of New Zealand. [Abstract] Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Vanner, M., Lee, D., Larcombe, M., & Conran, J. (2024). Cenozoic fossil wood records of extinct and extant angiosperm tree lineages from southern Zealandia. In F. Nelson, H. Jack & S. Chanony (Eds.), Geoscience Society of New Zealand Miscellaneous Publication: Mountains to Sea. 167A, (pp. 258). Wellington, New Zealand: Geoscience Society of New Zealand. [Abstract] Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Reichgelt, T., Bannister, J., Lee, D., Conran, J., Kennedy, E., Prebble, J., & Lee, W. (2024). Winners and losers in the New Zealand flora since the Miocene: The effects of changing climate on vegetation in southern Zealandia. In F. Nelson, H. Jack & S. Chanony (Eds.), Geoscience Society of New Zealand Miscellaneous Publication: Mountains to Sea. 167A, (pp. 209). Wellington, New Zealand: Geoscience Society of New Zealand. [Abstract] Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Lee, D., & Kaulfuss, U. (2024). Fossil arthropods from Zealandia reveal a complex ecological and biogeographic history. In F. Nelson, H. Jack & S. Chanony (Eds.), Geoscience Society of New Zealand Miscellaneous Publication: Mountains to Sea. 167A, (pp. 137). Wellington, New Zealand: Geoscience Society of New Zealand. [Abstract] Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

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