Abstract
The late Quaternary fossil vertebrate faunas from 42 caves in Oligocene limestones of the Barrytown Syncline, Westland, New Zealand, are described and discussed. The depositional environments in cave sites in the area are described and interpreted. Several major sites, including Metro Cave, Madonna Cave, and Te Ana Titi, are described in detail. The Hermit's Cave deposit is probably derived from pellets ejected by laughing owls (Sceloglaux albifacies) at one of their roost sites. Radiocarbon dating shows that the faunas were laid down at various times during the past 25,000 years. A date of 25,070 years is the oldest so far obtained from any cave fossil in New Zealand. The fossil fauna consisted of 50 species of bird, three frogs, one skink, one gecko, one tuatara, and two or possibly three bats. They comprised two distinct faunal assemblages. A glacial fauna, dating from the last (Otira) Glaciation and Late Glacial periods, between 10,000 and 25,000 radiocarbon years ago, contained taxa typical of Holoce...
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