Story: Fossils
Around 248–205 million years ago, during the Triassic, New Zealand was largely a marine environment and the sea was full of invertebrates and reptiles. Clockwise from top left: the gastropod Pleurotomaria hectori (200 million years ago [Ma]); ammonoid Rhacophyllites debilis (215 Ma); a bivalve mollusc, Monotis richmondiana (210Ma); a lampshell or brachiopod, Alipunctifera kaihikuana (235 Ma); rubber casts of ichthyosaur teeth from specimens held in Otago Museum (215 Ma); and a lampshell or brachiopod, Clavigera tumida (200 Ma).
These fossils are part of the GNS Science National Paleontological Collection.
About this item
GNS Science
Photograph by Alastair McLean
Permission of GNS Science must be obtained before any use of this image