The Holocene fossil waterfowl fauna of Lake Poukawa, North Island, New Zealand: Tuhinga 15

Tuhinga 15: 77 - 120

ABSTRACT: Lake Poukawa, in Hawke’s Bay, North Island, New Zealand, has a number of lacustrine deposits of early to late Holocene age on its margins. A total of 13 475 anatid bones from these sites were examined to reveal minimum numbers of individuals as follows: Anas superciliosa 332, A. chlorotis 442, A. rhynchotis 157, Aythya novaeseelandiae 158, Tadorna variegata 6, Chenonetta finschi 28, Oxyura n.sp. 19, Malacorhynchus scarletti 16, Cygnus atratus 66, Biziura delautouri 3, Mergus australis 2. Four bones of Cnemiornis gracilis are presumed to be from a Pleistocene site. The fossils of Anas rhynchotis reveal that this species was a resident in the prehuman avifauna. Descriptive diagnoses are given for humeri, ulnae, carpometacarpi, scapulae, coracoids, femora, tibiotarsi, and tarsometatarsi of all mainland New Zealand anatids except Cygnus, Cnemiornis, and Biziura.

KEYWORDS: Anatidae, Holocene fossil assemblages, bone descriptions, Lake Poukawa, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand.