ABSTRACT
New Zealand is one of the most isolated ancient land masses on earth, having been separated from other land masses for more than 65 million years. This isolation resulted in the evolution of high levels of endemism in both the flora and the fauna. The terrestrial vertebrate fauna was particularly unusual; dominated by birds and reptiles, it contained no indigenous land mammals apart from some small bats. New Zealand was among the last habitable land masses to be settled by humans; the first settlers were Maori people from Polynesia, who arrived perhaps as recently as only 700 years ago.
