Croc Site
Basic information
Sample name: Croc Site

Sample aka: Mata Creek

Reference: T. H. Worthy, A. J. Tennyson, C. Jones, J. A. McNamara, and B. J. Douglas. 2007. Miocene waterfowl and other birds from central Otago, New Zealand. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 5(1):1-39 [ER 4429]
Geography
Country: New Zealand

State: Otago

County: Central Otago

Coordinate: -44.889444° S, 169.837778° E
Latlng basis: stated in text

Scale: outcrop

Formation: Bannockburn

Time interval: Middle Miocene

Section: 4429

Max Ma: 19.0

Min Ma: 16.0

Age basis: other

Geography comments: Located southeast of the town of St Bathans on the western side of Mata Creek

late Early Miocene-earliest Middle Miocene, Late Burdigalian (NZ Altonian Stage)

Age of layers based on palynostratigraphy (Pole and Douglas 1998)

Environment
Lithology: sandstone

Taphonomic context: lake deposit

Habitat comments: "Fossiliferous beds located in the lower Bannockburn Formation, Manuherikia Group"

Bones occur in "discontiunous sandy or muddy sand layers of lacustrine shallow sublittoral-littoral (near shore) sediments"

"5-10 cm thick bed of silty medium-coarse pale sand"

Methods
Life forms: birds

Excluded forms: fishes, other invertebrates

Sampling methods: screenwash

Sample size: 69 specimens

Sampled by: T. H. Worthy, A. J. Tennyson, C. Jones, J. A. McNamara

Years: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004

Days: 41

Museum: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (MNZ)

Net or trap nights: 0

Basal area status: not applicable

Sampling comments: Specimens were collected during the following periods: 21-26 April 2001; 27 Nov-7 Dec 2001; 8-13 Dec 2001; 1-6 Oct 2002; 16-19 March 2003; 18-25 Feb 2004

Sediment screen washed over 1mm - 4mm sieves

Several fragments of eggshell were also recovered

Metadata
Sample no: 4718

Contributor no: John Alroy

Enterer: Jack Nesbitt

Created: 2025-12-01 02:12:50

Modified: 2025-12-01 02:12:50

Abundance distribution
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts. Values are logged.
Statistics
11 species
5 singletons
total count 69
geometric series index: 23.5
Fisher's α: 3.691
geometric series k: 0.7117
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.753
Shannon's H: 1.7861
Good's u: 0.9275
Register
Passeriformes indet.4
Manuherikia lacustrina 30
Manuherikia minuta 8
Miotadorna sanctibathansi 10
Matanas enrighti 1
Laridae indet.1
questionably assigned
Charadriiformes indet.7
Psittacidae indet.5
Accipitridae indet.1
Pelecanoides miokuaka 1
Cracticidae indet.1