List of dinosaurs and other Mesozoic reptiles of New Zealand facts for kids
Although the evidence is rare, fossils reveal that there were dinosaurs in New Zealand. Possibly because it lacks the right conditions for fossilization, only fragments of bone and a few vertebrae have been found there. Because these fossils are only a single bone or a piece of a bone, the dinosaurs' species cannot be identified, but by comparing the fossils with others it can be seen which family or order a given fossil belonged to. Marine fossils are more common than fossils of land animals in New Zealand because dead animals and plants are easily preserved in sand and mud. Therefore, some fossils of large marine reptiles are nearly complete, and so can be identified to species.
Species list
So far, there have been fossils found in New Zealand that have been identified as coming from:
Non-avian dinosaurs
| Name | Time | Formation | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ankylosaur | Maastrichtian (Haumurian) | Tahora Formation | Probably a nodosaurid similar to Kunbarrasaurus | |
| Compsognathid? | Tithonian (Puaroan or Ohauan) |
Huriwai Measures Formation | Waikato River, Waikato | Known from phalanges. Associated with possible coprolites. It can’t be identified for certain, but the bones superficially resemble Compsognatids |
| Ornithopod | Maastrichtian (Haumurian) | Tahora Formation | Possibly an elasmarian | |
| Joan Wiffen's theropod | Maastrichtian (Haumurian) | Tahora Formation | Possibly a megaraptoran | |
| Titanosaur | Maastrichtian (Haumurian) | Tahora Formation | Known from a rib | |
| Unidentified dinosaur | Early Maastrichtian (Haumurian) | Tahora Formation | Known from footprints. Possibly a thyreophoran. | |
| Unidentified theropod | Late Cretaceous | Tahora Formation | Known from toe bone around the size of Allosaurus | |
| Unidentified ostrich dinosaur | Mid Cretaceous | ??? | Possibly an ornithomimid |
Dinosaurs that lived in the Ross Dependency, a part of Antarctica within the Realm of New Zealand, include the tetanuran Cryolophosaurus. The Ross Dependency, unlike the Chatham Islands, is not actually part of New Zealand, and this is why it is excluded from the list above until sufficient evidence shows that it entered what was the sector of Gondwana that is now New Zealand. Newer fossils from a Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary fossil formation known as the Takataka Grit in the Chatham Islands include six or seven (possibly more) bones from dinosaurs, as well as numerous bones from early birds, but more information is needed about these to add them to the list.
Other Mesozoic reptiles
Fossils of other reptiles from the Mesozoic Era have also been found in New Zealand. These creatures include:
| Name | Period | Formation | Area | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eidolosaurus | Cretaceous | A mosasauroid outside of the mosasaurid family | ||
| "Hector's ichthyosaur" | Triassic | Mount Potts | The first ichthyosaur reported from New Zealand. Known from very large vertebral centra, almost double the diameter of those of Shonisaurus sikanniensis. These specimens can no longer be located, and may have been lost. A Canterbury Museum presentation mentioned unprepared giant ichthyosaur bones from Mount Potts. | |
| Kaiwhekea | Late Cretaceous | Katiki Formation | An aristonectine plesiosaur | |
| Liodon | Cretaceous | A dubious genus, the maximum length of this species is 30 feet (9.1 m). | ||
| Mauisaurus | Late Cretaceous | A dubious genus; largest plesiosaur in New Zealand | ||
| Moanasaurus | Late Cretaceous | Largest mosasaur in New Zealand | ||
| Nothosaur | Triassic | |||
| Prognathodon | Cretaceous | |||
| Pterosaur | Late Cretaceous | Possibly an azhdarchid. | ||
| Taniwhasaurus | Late Cretaceous | Conway Formation | A mosasaur | |
| Tuarangisaurus | Late Cretaceous | Tahora Formation | An elasmosaurid |
See also
- Reptiles of New Zealand
- Geology of New Zealand
- New Zealand geologic time scale
