The flora of double hill (Dunedin Volcanic Complex, Middle-Late Miocene) Otago, New Zealand

Abstract

Plant fossils from a diatomaceous lake deposit at Double Hill within the Dunedin Volcanic Complex (Middle to Late Miocene) are described. Tentative affinities are assigned on the basis of leaf morphology, cuticle morphology and co-occurrence of micro- and megafossils. From an assemblage of more than 1000 fossil leaves, 35 different morphotypes can be discerned: four are assigned to Podocarpaceae, four to Monocotyledonae and 27 to Eudicotyledonae or Magnoliidae. All the possible plant families recognized from Double Hill as megafossils still occur in New Zealand today, but most could not tolerate the low temperatures or relatively low precipitation rates of the Dunedin area today.