New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics abstracts

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Description and interpretation of a fossil beetle assemblage from marine isotope stage 6 from Banks Peninsula, New Zealand

M. J. Marra

Department of Geological Sciences
University of Canterbury
Private Bag 4800
Christchurch, New Zealand
email: maureen.marra@canterbury.ac.nz

Abstract  A penultimate glaciation-age beetle fauna is described from a core record from Banks Peninsula, South Island, New Zealand. A total of 19 beetle species belonging to 5 families was recorded. The fossil beetles indicate a forest environment of montane affinity but in a coastal setting. The assemblage is dominated by phytophagous species, mainly weevils, associated with forest habitats. The beetle fauna includes Rhicnobelus metallicus, which is a forest canopy species; forest floor and swamp forest taxa; and Cecyropa modesta, which is specific to coastal dune systems. Fossil seeds were also identified. They include species from salt marsh and tidal flats, indicating an estuarine setting, which suggests that the beetle remains were washed into an estuary from an adjacent forest. The fossil beetle assemblage indicates cooler than modern conditions but not full glacial. This interpretation is consistent with the regional pollen record for this interval.

Keywords  fossil beetles; paleoclimate; environmental reconstruction; paleoecology; penultimate glaciation

G02036; Received 12 July 2002; accepted 28 July 2003; online publication date 13 November 2003
New Zealand Journal of Geology & Geophysics, 2003, Vol. 46: 523-528
0028-8306/03/4604-0523 $7.00/0 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2003

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