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A pleistocene mummifiedostracod from the WairarapadistrictStephen H. Eagar aa Geology Department , Victoria University ofWellingtonPublished online: 30 Mar 2010.

To cite this article: Stephen H. Eagar (1969) A pleistocene mummified ostracodfrom the Wairarapa district, New Zealand Journal of Marine and FreshwaterResearch, 3:4, 607-609, DOI: 10.1080/00288330.1969.9515323

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00288330.1969.9515323

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1969] 607

A PLEISTOCENE MUMMIFIED OSTRACOD FROMTHE WAIRARAPA DISTRICT

STEPHEN H. EAGAR

Geology Department, Victoria University of Wellington

(Received for publication 18 August 1969)

SUMMARY

A mummified specimen of Scottia insularis Chapman is recorded from beds ofUpper Nukumaruan age (Pleistocene) at Gladstone in the Wairarapa Valley.This is the first record of a mummified species from New Zealand.

DESCRIPTION

In the Wairarapa district opposite the Gladstone Hotel (grid referenceN162/114473) the Ruamahanga River has partially eroded an anticline,forming on the south bank a series of cliffs exposing a section of UpperPleistocene strata. The sequence is a series of alternating marine andfluviatile beds which have been described in detail by Kennett (1964).In the Gladstone Formation (Upper Nukumaruan age) are the "lignitemeasures", and the sample collected for mieropaleontological examin-ation was from a fresh-looking band of lignite 15 cm thick.

The 1 kg sample was dried, boiled in sodium carbonate solution thensieved, but because the lignite content caused matting, it was not per-mitted to dry out, but was "picked" wet. During this operation a singlespecimen cf an ostracod with soft parts was found (Fig. 1).

The species has been provisionally identified as an early instar ofScottia insularis Chapman on account of its size, restored shape andappendages. The calcareous carapace has entirely disappeared, presum-ably having been dissolved by the acids in the ground water, leavingonly the chitinous membranes of the body and the appendages (alsochitinous). At least one of the latter has been broken off and the othersare damaged, making identification difficult. The specimen has beencompressed along the upper lateral surfaces and between the dorsal toventral margins, so that it now appears "T"-shaped in cross section.Traces of the internal morphology can be seen when the specimen isviewed with transmitted light.

Specimens of mummified ostracods have been found elsewhere, e.g.,Schmidt and Sellmann (1966). The mode of preservation described bythese authors differs from that of the present example in that theappendages were protected to a large extent by the tightly sealed valves.

The presence of S. insularis in this lignite is consistent with the present-day habitat of peat ponds recorded by Chapman (1963). The lignitichorizon represents a former bog where water movement would have beennegligible, and since very little sediment was present in the sample, it isclear that the preservation medium for the specimen was the peat of the

N.Z. Jl mar. Freshwat. Res. 3: 607-9

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608 N.Z. JOURNAL OF MARINE & FRESHWATER RESEARCH [DEC.

FIG. 1—Mummified ostracod: (1) lateral view; (2) ventral view.

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1969] EAGAR—MUMMIFIED OSTRACOD 609

bog. In such conditions the ostracod would not have been subjected todamage by currents or abrasion and the process of oxidation would havebeen considerably retarded by the environment, so that there is no needto postulate rapid burial. Peats are not unusual as a medium for mummi-fication.

The possibility of contamination is minimal, first because the cliff wasdevoid of vegetation, and secondly because the horizon sampled wascarefully cleaned up and the surrounding surface layers removed; more-over, the nearest water was a stream several metres away. Treatmentof the sample was rather vigorous for such fragile specimens; it maywell be that any other specimens present were disintegrated.

This record increases the range of S. insularis, which now becomesUpper Nukumaruan to Recent. The specimen has been deposited in theDominion Museum, Wellington, registration number Cr. 1855.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The author offers his sincere thanks to Dr Brian R. Kemp (University ofReading, U.K.) for critically reading the manuscript.

REFERENCES

CHAPMAN, M. A. 1963: A review of the freshwater ostracods of New Zealand.Hydrobiologia 22 (1-2): 1-40, 23 pls.

KENNETT, J. P. 1964: A Pleistocene anticline at Gladstone in the Wairarapa.N.Z. Jl Geol. Geophys. 7 (3): 561-72.

SCHMIDT, R. A. M. and SELLMANN, P. V. 1966: Mummified Pleistocene ostracods inAlaska. Science 153: 167-8.

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