Zealand Fauna Research Articles

The Contribution of Kurī (Polynesian Dog) to the Ecological Impacts of the Human Settlement of Aotearoa New Zealand

The pre-human Aotearoa New Zealand fauna was dominated by avian and reptilian species. Prior to first human settlement by East Polynesian colonists, the top predators were two giant raptorial birds. Aside from humans themselves, colonisation also resulted in the simultaneous introduction of two novel mammalian predators into this naive ecosystem, the kiore (Pacific rat) and kurī (Polynesian dog). While the ecological impacts of kiore are relatively well understood, those of kurī are difficult to assess, and as such kurī have frequently been disregarded as having any meaningful impact on New Zealand’s biodiversity. Here we use the archaeological and palaeoecological record to reassess the potential impacts of kurī on this ecosystem. We argue that far from being confined to villages, kurī could have had a significant widespread but relatively localised impact on New Zealand’s avian, reptilian and marine mammal (seals and sea lions) fauna as a novel predator of medium-sized species. In this way, kurī potentially amplified the already significant impacts of Polynesian colonists and their descendants on New Zealand’s ecosystem, prior to European arrival. As such, kurī should be included in models of human impact in addition to over-hunting, environmental modification and predation by kiore.

Integrative Taxonomy of New Zealand Stenopodidea (Crustacea: Decapoda) with New Species and Records for the Region

The New Zealand fauna of the crustacean infraorder Stenopodidea, the coral and sponge shrimps, is reviewed using both classical taxonomic and molecular tools. In addition to the three species so far recorded in the region, we report Spongicola goyi for the first time, and formally describe three new species of Spongicolidae. Following the morphological review and DNA sequencing of type specimens, we propose the synonymy of Spongiocaris yaldwyni with S. neocaledonensis and review a proposed broad Indo-West Pacific distribution range of Spongicoloides novaezelandiae. New records for the latter at nearly 54° South on the Macquarie Ridge provide the southernmost record for stenopodidean shrimp known to date.

Spatial and temporal sex ratio bias and Wolbachia-infection in New Zealand Crambidae (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea).

The New Zealand fauna of snout moths (Pyraloidea) predominantly consists of endemic species. During 2017 and 2018, 56 species of Pyraloidea in 1,749 individuals were collected at 14 localities. All species were screened for Wolbachia-infection, with specimens of eight species (14%) being positive, of which six species belong to Scopariinae. This is the first record of Wolbachia-infection amongst New Zealand Lepidoptera. The most common pyraloid species, Eudonia submarginalis and Orocrambus flexuosellus, were analysed for a larger set of individuals looking for sex ratio and Wolbachia-infection. There is a sex ratio bias towards females in both species, but it varies in space and time. Wolbachia is found in all populations of E. submarginalis with 10–80% of the tested individuals being positive, depending on locality. No Wolbachia-infection has been found in O. flexuosellus. Thus, sex ratio bias might be linked to Wolbachia-infection in E. submarginalis, but not in O. flexuosellus.

What were they thinking? Tracing evolution in the Otago Museum, 1868–1936

ABSTRACT The first three curators at the Otago University Museum, Dunedin, NZ had much in common. They were zoologists, all evolutionists, all part-time curators (they held professorial posts in the University), all Englishmen, and all professed an Anglican faith, qualities that brought them unexpected conflict in the largely Presbyterian Scottish settler town. The men struggled to complete their time-constrained research in more-or-less isolation amongst unfamiliar and peculiar New Zealand fauna. Spanning the years 1873 when the first curator was appointed, to 1936 when the third retired, this paper sets their achievements against their individual evolutionary stances that subtly guided the layout in the museum.

The Pselaphini (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) of the Subantarctic and Chatham Islands of New Zealand; Description of Five Species and One Genus

AbstractThe staphylinid subfamily Pselaphinae is generally depauperate at high latitudes. We examine one exception, the tribe Pselaphini, at the southern extreme of its global distribution, the New Zealand subantarctic islands and the Chatham Islands, an archipelago farther north. Currently, only two species are known from remote Campbell Island (Pselaphotheseus hippolytae Park and P. ihupuku Carlton and Leschen). A new genus, Pselaphopluteum gen. nov. (type species, Pselaphopluteum motumaha sp. nov.) and two new species, Pselaphopluteum motumaha sp. nov. and Pselaphaulax dracophyllum sp. nov., from the Auckland Islands, are added to the subantarctic fauna. Pselaphophus atriventris Westwood, introduced from Australia, is currently the only species known from the Chatham Islands, although several unidentified species were noted by Emberson (Emberson, R. M. 2002. The beetle (Coleoptera) fauna of the Chatham Islands: additions and corrections. N.Z. Entomol. 25: 69–77.). Three new species are described from the Chatham islands: Pselaphaulax caeruleus sp. nov., Pselaphaulax flavus sp. nov., and Pselaphaulax traversi sp. nov. Potential biogeographic implications of these new taxa are discussed within the context of the overall New Zealand fauna of Pselaphini, which is the subject of ongoing study.

Revision of the Shore-fly Genera Parahyadina Tonnoir and Malloch and New Zealand Hyadina Haliday (Diptera: Ephydridae).

Two genera of the shore-fly tribe Hyadinini, Hyadina Haliday and Parahyadina Tonnoir Malloch, are revised, and all species treated, save P. lacustris Tonnoir Malloch, are described for the first time. The phylogenetic position of both genera within Hyadinini is presented along with confirming, morphological evidence. The New Zealand fauna of Hyadina is now limited to the single new species H. breva, and Parahyadina is expanded from being a monotypic genus based on P. lacustris to also include the following 9 endemic new species: P. angusta, P. atra, P. bifurcata, P. bulla, P. debilis, P. edmistoni, P. hennigi, P. irwini, and P. latistylis. For both genera, emphasis is given to structures of the male terminalia, which are fully illustrated. Detailed locality data and distribution maps for all species are provided, and structures of the male terminalia are fully illustrated. For perspective and to facilitate recognition of genera, the tribe Hyadinini is diagnosed and a key to genera from New Zealand is provided.

RECENT BRACHIOPODS FROM THE TONGA ISLANDS, SW PACIFIC: TAXONOMY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY

Twenty species of Recent brachiopods belonging to the genera Neoancistrocrania, Basiliola, Basiliolella, Dyscolia, Abyssothyris, Xenobrochus, Terebratulina, Fallax, Septicollarina, Frenulina, Amphithyris, Annuloplatidia, Leptothyrella, Dallina, Campages, Thecidellina and Minutella have been identified in the material collected during the French cruise Bordau 2 to the Tonga Islands, South-West Pacific. Apart from Frenulina sanguinolenta all species represent the first records for the Tonga Islands. The investigated brachiopod fauna shows the greatest affinity to that from Fiji and New Caledonia, having 16 and 12 species in common, respectively. Although less affinity is observed with the New Zealand fauna, there are two species, Terebratulina australis and Amphithyris buckmani reported so far only from New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga. The biodiversity of brachiopods inTonga is similar to that inFiji but half as great as that inNew Caledonia andNew Zealand regions and much higher than inFrench Polynesia.

First insects from the Manuherikia Group, early Miocene, New Zealand

ABSTRACTThe Miocene Manuherikia Group in southern New Zealand is well known for its diverse assemblage of plant, invertebrate and vertebrate fossils. Here, we report the first fossil insects from the Manuherikia Group, comprising three isolated wings recovered from leaf beds in the Dunstan Formation near Cromwell, Otago. One partially preserved tegmen is tentatively assigned to Tropiduchidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea), a family of mainly tropical and subtropical planthoppers that is no longer represented in the New Zealand fauna. The brentine weevil Perroudia manuherikia n. sp. (Coleoptera: Brentidae) is the first fossil record of Brentinae from the Southern Hemisphere, with the sole extant species of Perroudia occurring in New Caledonia. A further wing has the typical venation pattern of Polycentropodidae (Trichoptera), a caddisfly family with two genera in the modern New Zealand fauna. These fossil taxa are reported from the Australasian region for the first time.urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D95D30CF-9518-4BE8-ABFA-94087B7A30DE

The behavioral energetics of New Zealand's bats: Daily torpor and hibernation, a continuum

We examine the impact of behavior on the short-term energy expenditures of the only terrestrial mammals endemic to New Zealand, two bats, the long-tailed (Chalinolobus tuberculatus, family Vespertilionidae), and the lesser short-tailed (Mystacina tuberculata, family Mystacinidae). Vespertilionidae has a world-wide distribution. Mystacinidae is restricted to New Zealand, although related to five neotropical families and one in Madagascar reflecting a shared Gondwanan origin of their Noctilionoidea superfamily. Both species have highly variable body temperatures and rates of metabolism. They feed on flying insects, which requires them to be torpid in shelters during cold, wet periods. In dry weather Mystacina is active in winter at ambient temperatures as low as −1.0 °C, foraging for terrestrial invertebrates in leaf litter, even in the presence of snow, and consuming fruit, nectar, and pollen from endemic plants that bloom in winter. The behavior of Mystacina expands its presence in a cool, wet, temperate forest in a manner unlike any other bat, another example of the distinctive characteristics of the endemic New Zealand fauna. The use of torpor generally depends on a series of factors, including body mass, ambient temperature, latitude, reproductive cycle, sociality, and fat deposits. These factors result in a diversity of responses that range along a continuum from short-term torpor to hibernation.

Phylogenetic Placement of Abraeus vividulus Broun and Notes on New Zealand Histeridae (Coleoptera)

Abstract Thomas Broun, the prolific New Zealand Coleopterist, described four species in the genus Abraeus Leach (Histeridae), two of which were placed in the genus Tribalus Erichson (Tribalus phylloides (Broun) is a junior synonym of Tribalus brouni (Broun), new synonymy), including one that is transferred to Parepierus Bickhardt (Parepierus brunneus (Broun), new combination). The fourth species, Abraeus vividulus Broun, was scored for 37 characters into a previously published data matrix, which demonstrated that a new genus-level status is required to accommodate the species. Brounhister Leschen and Oˆ hara, new genus is named and the type species, Brounhister vividulus (Broun), new combination, is redescribed and placed in Abraeinae incertae sedis. A key to the New Zealand histerid genera is presented. Comments on histerid characters and the New Zealand fauna are included.

Advances in Reintroduction Biology of Australian and New Zealand FaunaDoug P.Armstrong, Matt W.Hayward, DorianMoro and Philip J.Seddon (eds). CSIRO Publishing, Australia, 2015. xi + 303 pp. Price AUD $89.95. ISBN 9781486303014 (paperback).

Austral EcologyVolume 42, Issue 4 p. e7-e7 Book Review Advances in Reintroduction Biology of Australian and New Zealand Fauna Doug P. Armstrong, Matt W. Hayward, Dorian Moro and Philip J. Seddon (eds). CSIRO Publishing, Australia, 2015. xi + 303 pp. Price AUD $89.95. ISBN 9781486303014 (paperback). Elinor E. Ebsworth, Elinor E. Ebsworth Senior Ecologist. Brett Lane & Associates eebsworth@ecologicalresearch.com.au Hawthorn East, Victoria, AustraliaSearch for more papers by this author Elinor E. Ebsworth, Elinor E. Ebsworth Senior Ecologist. Brett Lane & Associates eebsworth@ecologicalresearch.com.au Hawthorn East, Victoria, AustraliaSearch for more papers by this author First published: 25 May 2017 https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.12413Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume42, Issue4June 2017Pages e7-e7 RelatedInformation

Potential impacts ofTuberolachnus salignus(giant willow aphid) in New Zealand and options for control

The giant willow aphid Tuberolachnus salignus was discovered in New Zealand in late 2013. Despite being a recent addition to the New Zealand fauna, the aphid is already widespread and abundant throughout the country. The giant willow aphid is expected to have negative impacts on host trees, primarily willows (Salix spp.), as has been observed elsewhere. All willows are exotic to New Zealand and a few have formal weed status, however many species are valued for multiple purposes, including flood protection, land stabilization, shelterbelts, and as early season pollen and nectar resources for honey bees. Tuberolachnus salignus presents a unique problem for New Zealand's thriving honey and honey products industries. Bees readily forage on the vast quantities of honeydew secreted by the aphid, however the honeydew contains melezitose sugar. The low solubility of this sugar results in honey crystallizing in the comb, making it difficult to extract and thereby reducing yield. It is also considered to be poor food for bees, and has been linked to bee dysentery and low overwintering survival. We elaborate on the potential complications for New Zealand as a result of the arrival of this new species and present options for its control and management.

Revision of Epuraea of New Zealand (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae)

Species of the genus Epuraea Erichson, 1845 from New Zealand are revised and redescribed. The New Zealand fauna comprises six species. One new species, Epuraea glabrata sp. nov. is described. Epuraea mayendorfii (Reitter, 1873) is provided as a valid replacement name for Nitidula lateralis (White, 1846), not Nitidula lateralis C. R. Sahlberg, 1820. One new synonymy is proposed, Epuraea mayendorfii (Reitter, 1873) = Epuraea zealandica Sharp, 1878, syn. nov.

Additions to the New Zealand fauna of black fungus gnats (Diptera: Sciaridae), with descriptions of six new species

ABSTRACTThe sciarid fauna of New Zealand is not well known and only two major studies have dealt with this group. The present study is based on material from the later of the two studies as well as new material. Six species are recognised as new to science and are here described: Bradysia novaeseelandiae sp. nov., Corynoptera aggregata sp. nov., Corynoptera catrinjaschhofae sp. nov., Ctenosciara etorutao sp. nov., Pseudolycoriella frederickedwardsi sp. nov. and Pseudolycoriella tonnoiri sp. nov. Bradysia novaeseelandiae sp. nov. is the first Bradysia species described from New Zealand. The Holarctic species Bradysia pallipes and Corynoptera fatigans are recorded from New Zealand for the first time.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7E1F0507-8740-41C7-BCB9-84910D8EBC65

A re-examination of doubtful New Zealand tick records: lost species, misidentifications or contamination?

ABSTRACTIn the early twentieth century, three species of ticks – Haemaphysalis leachii, Hyalomma aegyptium and Ixodes ricinus – were originally thought to be part of the New Zealand fauna. In the absence of any firm evidence for their continued existence in this country, and without any satisfactory explanation for their original appearance, they were deleted from faunal lists about 60 years later. After consulting all relevant literature, we have dismissed the original suggestion that both the ticks Ha. leachii and Hy. aegyptium – originally taken from a museum specimen of the extinct huia, Heteralocha acutirostris – were introduced along with the Indian myna, Acridotheres tristis. Instead we find that there was a greater chance that their presence was the result of contamination, possibly through the collecting efforts and extensive travel of Walter L. Buller, a nineteenth-century naturalist and ornithologist. Further, although Hy. aegyptium was correctly identified, the other huia tick is actually Haemaphysalis (Rhipistoma) indica, not Ha. leachii sensu stricto. The taxonomic history of Ha. leachii (but not the other two species) has been convoluted and the spelling of the species epithet has frequently been contradictory. We briefly examine this history and clarify the correct spelling of that species name. We conclude that the supposed presence of I. ricinus was due to misidentification, possibly being confused with the cattle tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, or the kiwi tick, Ixodes anatis.

Cafioquedus gularis Sharp, 1886 and other poorly understood Staphylinini: a review of the New Zealand fauna of the tribe with discussion of its potential for biogeography (Insecta: Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)

ABSTRACTThe formation of New Zealand's terrestrial biota is a subject where conclusions depend strongly on the properties of the focal organisms. Here, we bring the systematic knowledge of the New Zealand fauna of the very diverse rove beetle tribe Staphylinini closer to the level appropriate for biogeographic research. In particular, the hitherto puzzling New Zealand endemic genus Cafioquedus is considered a member of the Creophilus-complex (Staphylinina), while several other endemic species proved to be misidentifications of common introduced species. With these taxonomic updates, and taking into account the relative age and extant distributions of lineages that occur in New Zealand, we conclude the following: 1. the New Zealand Staphylinini are dominated (66%) by the endemic members of the subtribe Amblyopinina, which are likely Gondwanan paleoendemics; 2. species from the Creophilus- and Cafius-complexes (Staphylinina and Philonthina, respectively), are neoendemics (15%), possibly resulting from trans-oceanic colonisation; 3. human-transported adventive species (19%) form the notable, most recent and taxonomically heterogeneous component of the New Zealand fauna. Cafioquedus gularis Sharp, 1886 is redescribed. The following new combinations and synonymies are proposed: Philonthus longicornis Stephens, 1832 = Philonthus burrowsi (Broun, 1915), comb. nov., syn. nov.; Philonthus politus (Linnaeus, 1758) = Philonthus ohiaensis (Broun, 1923), syn. nov.; Philonthus umbratilis (Gravenhorst, 1802) = Philonthus insularis (Bernhauer and Schubert, 1916), syn. nov.; Sphingoquedius novaezeelandiae (Duvivier, 1883), comb. nov. = Sphingoquedius mannaiaensis (Cameron, 1945), comb. nov., syn. nov.; Quediomimus hybridus (Erichson, 1840), comb. nov. = Quediomimus taurus (Blackburn, 1888), comb. nov. = Quediomimus brookesi Cameron, 1948, syn. nov. A lectotype is designated for Philonthus insularis (Bernhauer and Schubert, 1916).

Early Miocene Formicidae (Amblyoponinae, Ectatomminae, ?Dolichoderinae, Formicinae, and Ponerinae) from the Foulden Maar Fossil Lagerstätte, New Zealand, and their biogeographic relevance

AbstractThe fossil record of Australasian Formicidae is extremely sparse. It currently comprises two ants in the subfamilies Ponerinae and Dolichoderinae from Plio/Pleistocene strata in Victoria, Australia, 14 as-yet undescribed ants from Cape York amber, and one ant in the subfamily Amblyoponinae from the early Miocene Foulden Maar in southern New Zealand. Here, we report on a diverse myrmecofauna preserved as compression fossils from Foulden Maar and describe Amblyoponinae gen. et sp. indet.,Rhytidoponera waipiatan. sp.,Rhytidoponera gibsonin. sp.,Myrmecorhynchus novaeseelandiaen. sp., andAustroponera schneiderin. sp. Further isolated wings are designated as Formicidae sp. A, B, and C, the former resembling a member of subfamily Dolichoderinae. Fossils ofAustroponeraandMyrmecorhynchusare reported for the first time, whereasRhytidoponera waipiatan. sp. andR.gibsonin. sp. are the first Southern Hemisphere fossil records of this genus.The fossil taxa from Foulden Maar establish the subfamilies Ectatomminae, Formicinae, Ponerinae and, possibly, Dolichoderinae in the Australasian region in the early Miocene and provide evidence that the few native ants in the extant New Zealand fauna are the surviving remnant of taxonomically different, possibly more diverse, warm-temperate to subtropical myrmecofauna.

Invasive redback spiders (Latrodectus hasseltii) threaten an endangered, endemic New Zealand beetle (Prodontria lewisii)

Australian redback spiders (Latrodectus hasseltii Thorell, 1870) are invasive, opportunistic predators that threaten New Zealand fauna. Initially recorded in Central Otago in 1981, they were observed in 2012 preying on the endemic, nationally endangered Cromwell chafer beetle (Prodontria lewisii Broun, 1904) in the species’ last occupied habitat, the 81 ha Cromwell Chafer Beetle Nature Reserve (CCBNR). We surveyed the redback spider population over the entire reserve in October (spring) and December (summer) 2013, recording web occupants, web condition, and prey caught. During the 5 weeks between surveys, prey caught in half of the recorded spider webs were monitored each week. We estimated a redback population of between 208 and 371 spiders, an average of between 2.57 and 4.58 spiders per hectare within the CCBNR, with maximum web densities ranging between 8.7 and 10.7 webs per hectare. In the final survey in December, 278 P. lewisii cadavers were found in redback spider webs. Redback spiders occupied a large portion of the habitat to which the Cromwell chafer beetles are restricted. Ten of the 26 prey species recorded in webs were native, including McCann’s skink (Oligosoma maccanni); the first record of skink predation by redback spiders in New Zealand.

TAPHONOMICALLY- AND INFAUNALLY-ADJUSTED SALT MARSH FORAMINIFERAL RECORD OF LATE HOLOCENE EARTHQUAKE DISPLACEMENTS AND A TSUNAMI SAND, NEW ZEALAND

Most paleoenvironmental assessments of fossil salt-marsh foraminiferal faunas are based on modern analogue samples from the surface 1–2 cm. Usually no account is taken of the faunal modifications that result from the 60–90% of the fauna that live at greater infaunal depths or from the patchy loss of agglutinated tests that mostly occurs in the oxic and taphonomically active zone (TAZ, upper 10–15 cm). Here we provide examples of the highly variable foraminiferal test distribution in New Zealand salt marsh cores and surface transects. Using these, we suggest two simple adjustments that could be made to quantitative estimates of paleoelevation derived from fossil salt marsh faunas based on modern surface analogues: 1) Determine a minimum dead specimen density (8 per cm3 in this study) below which all fossil faunas are considered to have suffered significant taphonomic loss (in the TAZ) and their paleoelevation estimates are deemed suspect and may be applied tentatively to core depths ~15+ cm above. 2) Move the core depths of all acceptable paleoelevation estimates upwards by the mean infaunal depth of the dominant species (2.5–8 cm in this study). We applied these adjustments to two late Holocene cores located 5 m apart in salt marsh in tidal Big Lagoon, Marlborough, New Zealand. Fifty percent (18) of the fossil faunas have unacceptably low specimen densities (<8 per cm3). A 15 cm thick fine pebbly sand bed contains a mix of calcareous tests derived from subtidally offshore and from intertidally within the adjacent sheltered lagoon, and agglutinated tests of salt marsh taxa inferred to be displaced and/or infaunally in-situ. These faunas provide strong evidence for sand deposition on top of the high salt marsh by the outgoing surge of a tsunami. The upper 7 and 13 cm of the sand lacks calcareous tests, which are inferred to have been dissolved by acidic pore waters following colonisation by salt marsh vegetation. Our taphonomically- and infaunally-adjusted paleoelevation estimates, generated by modern analogue technique using a training set of 1017 modern New Zealand faunas, provide near-identical elevational histories for both cores. Both core sequences (70 and 85 cm thick) were deposited within a 50 cm-wide elevational envelope in middle- and high-tidal salt marsh. Both record an inferred 0.5 m co-seismic subsidence event coincident with emplacement of the tsunami sand (~840 cal yrs BP) and a second smaller, ~0.3 m, presumably co-seismic, subsidence event coincident with a sharp peat-mud contact in one core (~500 cal yrs BP).

Advances in Reintroduction Biology of Australian and New Zealand Fauna

Advances in Reintroduction Biology of Australian and New Zealand Fauna