FAUNAL AND FLORAL REMAINS FROM EARNSCLEUGH CAVE, CENTRAL OTAGO, NEW-ZEALAND

Earnscleugh Cave, near Alexandra in Central Otago, was excavated in or der to recover and date faunal and floral remains and to provide a pal aeoenvironmental analysis. The pollen analysis showed that a complex v egetation community, comprising a dense scrub with local stands of pod carps, grew around the cave during the late Holocene and before Polyne sian deforestation. The results from Earnscleugh Cave suggest that at this time permanent water-courses on the flanks of Central Otago range s supported diverse and rich plant communities of forest and shrubland . The cave fauna included moas Euryapteryx geranoides, Emeus crassus a nd Dinormis giganteus, goose Cnemiornis calcitrans, Finsch's duck Eury anas finschi, kea Nestor notabilis, rifleman Acanthisitta chloris, rob in Petroica australis, tuatara Sphenodon sp. and greater short-tailed bat Mystacina cf. robusta.