ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the history of New Zealand’s biota in greater detail using three examples – New Zealand temperate rain forests, in particular Northland’s kauri forests, Cenozoic Mollusca and the alpine flora and fauna. Plant macrofossils and palynological research have provided an insight into what these high-latitude polar forests, which were widespread and ranged over southern South America, West Antarctica, southeast Australia and New Zealand, were like. The widespread occurrence of Nothofagus, Podocarpaceae and Araucariaceae prior to the fragmentation of East Gondwana provided the base from which some of New Zealand’s modern forests evolved. A long period of compression tectonics resulting from offshore subduction ended by 100 Ma in the New Zealand sector of East Gondwana following the culmination of the Rangitata orogeny. The core components of modern New Zealand – in terms of geographical extent – are the Eastern Province terranes of the North and South Islands and the Western Province Challenger Plateau.
