Th. Worthy et Rn. Holdaway, QUATERNARY FOSSIL FAUNAS, OVERLAPPING TAPHONOMIES, AND PALAEOFAUNAL RECONSTRUCTION IN NORTH CANTERBURY, SOUTH ISLAND, NEW-ZEALAND, Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 26(3), 1996, pp. 275-361
This paper describes the late Quaternary fossil fauna from the area wi
thin a 10 km radius of Waikari, North Canterbury, New Zealand. Fossils
from a pitfall deposit (Waikari Cave), ten predator sites attributed
to laughing owls Sceloglaux albifacies (notably Ardenest, Gowan Hills
Owl site, and P. Lamb's Owl site), five swamp sites (notably Pyramid V
alley and Glencrieff), and three archaeological sites, contributed mos
t of the data. A few specimens came from coalluvial deposits in rock s
helters. A small fauna is described from alluvial deposits along Home
Creek, near Waipara. The age of these faunas includes the Late Pleisto
cene (Otira Glacial) for the Home Creek fauna, Late Glacial - early Ho
locene for Glencrieff, and Late Holocene for Pyramid Valley swamp, Wai
kari Cave, and all predator sites. Some of the predator sites accumula
ted fauna until late in the nineteenth century.