Knowra New Zealand biogeography New Zealand biogeography New Zealand biogeography studies the distribution and evolution of organisms across New Zealand and nearby islands, especially how long isolation shaped their distinct lineages and ecosystems.
Zealandia : A largely submerged continental fragment in the southwest Pacific that includes New Zealand and New Caledonia. New Zealand’s biota developed on the surviving land of this mostly submerged continent.
Gondwana : An ancient southern supercontinent that included the landmasses now forming Antarctica, Australia, Africa, South America, and parts of Asia. New Zealand’s geological history began as part of this southern landmass.
Moas : A group of extinct, flightless birds native to New Zealand, ranging from small species to giants over three metres tall. Their diversity and extinction illustrate the evolution of large flightless birds in New Zealand.
Māori settlement of New Zealand : The settlement of New Zealand by Polynesian voyagers, beginning around the late thirteenth century. Human arrival initiated hunting and habitat changes that affected native species.
New Zealand landmass history : The geological development of New Zealand’s land area through continental breakup, submergence, uplift, and volcanism. How much land remained above water during past intervals bears on claims of continuous terrestrial life.
Plate tectonics : The movement and interaction of Earth’s lithospheric plates, which reshape continents and ocean basins. Plate movements formed New Zealand’s landforms and altered connections with neighboring regions.
Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event : A mass extinction about 66 million years ago that eliminated many species, including non-avian dinosaurs. It marks a major interval in the history of lineages ancestral to New Zealand’s living biota.
Kiwi : A group of small, flightless birds endemic to New Zealand, with nostrils near the tip of the bill. Kiwis exemplify distinctive bird adaptations in ecosystems historically lacking native terrestrial mammals.
Polynesian rat : A rat species, Rattus exulans, spread across the Pacific by Polynesian voyagers. Its introduction added a mammalian predator to ecosystems with vulnerable ground-nesting wildlife.
Molecular phylogenetics : The use of molecular sequence data to infer evolutionary relationships among organisms. Genetic trees can distinguish ancient persistence from more recent arrivals and diversification.
Show all 28