New Zealand faunal colonisation (topical)

[Derek Tearne <derek@iprolink.co.nz>]

Te Papa, The Musuem of New Zealand opened very recently with much
fanfare (and controversy).  I managed a brief visit this weekend
and only had time to see the 'awesome forces' exhibit - which covered
tectonics, fossils, volcanoes and earthquakes.

Of interest.  A glass case containing three of Joan Wiffen's dinosaur
bones and  Mosasaur skull.  A specimen of Lytoceras, a giant Jurassic
ammonite (possibly the largest Jurassic ammonite.

There was a whole series of exhibits of modern (or recently extinct)
specimens labelled as original gondwanaland fauna that has always
been here (tuatara, peripatus, native frogs, the flightless wren, Moa)
and 'recent landings'.  The creatures labelled recent landings included
Haasts Eagle and the Kiwi.

Unfortunately there was no indication of how they deduced this.

There was also an extremely good (and very simple) 'pull the lever and
watch the plates move' explanation of the relationship between the
complex series of faults parallel with (and moving along) the
boundary between the pacific and indian plates.







---
Derek Tearne.   ---   @URL Internet Consultants  ---  http://url.co.nz
Some of the more environmentally aware dinosaurs were worried about the
consequences of an accident with the new Iridium enriched fusion reactor.
"If it goes off only the cockroaches and mammals will survive..." they said.