87-583: Foulden Maar is a fossil site near Middlemarch in Otago , New Zealand. The fossils were deposited in the small deep crater lake of a maar formed around 23 million years ago by a volcano in the Miocene era. The crater lake existed for a period of around 130,000 years, and during this time it gradually filled up with diatomite , composed of annual layers of silica-shelled algae ( diatoms ). These layers of diatomite have preserved exceptional fossils of fish from
174-472: A constant rate. These " molecular clocks ", however, are fallible, and provide only approximate timing: for example, they are not sufficiently precise and reliable for estimating when the groups that feature in the Cambrian explosion first evolved, and estimates produced by different techniques may vary by a factor of two. Organisms are only rarely preserved as fossils in the best of circumstances, and only
261-585: A crater lake. Foulden Maar is a maar-diatreme volcano. The diatreme is a long vertical conduit where gas-filled magma rises to the surface of the Earth during an eruption. The Foulden Maar crater is filled with fossilised diatomite as well as sedimentary rock , debris flows , and pyroclastic rocks . Two main methods have been used for dating the eruption of Foulden Maar. These are biostratigraphy and radiometric dating , based on analysis of samples from drill cores to depth of 180 metres (590 ft) taken at
348-426: A fraction of such fossils have been discovered. This is illustrated by the fact that the number of species known through the fossil record is less than 5% of the number of known living species, suggesting that the number of species known through fossils must be far less than 1% of all the species that have ever lived. Because of the specialized and rare circumstances required for a biological structure to fossilize, only
435-499: A hierarchical classification system still in use today. Darwin and his contemporaries first linked the hierarchical structure of the tree of life with the then very sparse fossil record. Darwin eloquently described a process of descent with modification, or evolution, whereby organisms either adapt to natural and changing environmental pressures, or they perish. When Darwin wrote On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or
522-418: A mid-Ordovician age. Such index fossils must be distinctive, be globally distributed and occupy a short time range to be useful. Misleading results are produced if the index fossils are incorrectly dated. Stratigraphy and biostratigraphy can in general provide only relative dating ( A was before B ), which is often sufficient for studying evolution. However, this is difficult for some time periods, because of
609-536: A mutation first appeared. Phylogenetics and paleontology work together in the clarification of science's still dim view of the appearance of life and its evolution. Niles Eldredge 's study of the Phacops trilobite genus supported the hypothesis that modifications to the arrangement of the trilobite's eye lenses proceeded by fits and starts over millions of years during the Devonian . Eldredge's interpretation of
696-476: A petition to preserve the site, garnering nearly 10,000 signatures in the first month. A leaked report by Goldman Sachs details the engagement of former Labour MP Clayton Cosgrove as a lobbyist to "secure approval" for the mine. Some locals wanted to see the area turned into a geo-park, along similar lines to other diatomite sites in Norway, Germany, and China. Former Prime Minister Helen Clark suggested that
783-570: A portion of the deceased organism, usually that portion that was partially mineralized during life, such as the bones and teeth of vertebrates , or the chitinous or calcareous exoskeletons of invertebrates . Fossils may also consist of the marks left behind by the organism while it was alive, such as animal tracks or feces ( coprolites ). These types of fossil are called trace fossils or ichnofossils , as opposed to body fossils . Some fossils are biochemical and are called chemofossils or biosignatures . Gathering fossils dates at least to
870-400: A richly diverse assembly of early multicellular eukaryotes . The fossil record and faunal succession form the basis of the science of biostratigraphy or determining the age of rocks based on embedded fossils. For the first 150 years of geology , biostratigraphy and superposition were the only means for determining the relative age of rocks. The geologic time scale was developed based on
957-439: A small area the size of a tennis court, palaeontologists have discovered hundreds of undescribed species. The sediments are rich in fossil flowers, fruits, seeds, pollen, and bark from plants, as well as fungi. Several new species of plants have been discovered, and the fossil plant genus Fouldenia is named in honour of its type locality Foulden Maar. Fossilised freshwater fish are common. The earliest galaxiid fish fossil and
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#17327797924731044-448: A small percentage of life-forms can be expected to be represented in discoveries, and each discovery represents only a snapshot of the process of evolution. The transition itself can only be illustrated and corroborated by transitional fossils, which will never demonstrate an exact half-way point. The fossil record is strongly biased toward organisms with hard-parts, leaving most groups of soft-bodied organisms with little to no role. It
1131-475: A warm temperate or sub-tropical rain forest with canopy trees, with an understorey of shrubs, ferns and on the margins pioneer species. Climatically, the area resembled modern-day south-eastern Queensland with species that no longer occur in the New Zealand flora. The lake contained small and large galaxiid fishes and eels, ducks (inferred from coprolites ), and likely crocodiles as well. Leaf fossils from
1218-449: Is a notable example of how knowledge encoded by the fossil record continues to contribute otherwise unattainable information on the emergence and development of life on Earth. For example, the research suggests Markuelia has closest affinity to priapulid worms, and is adjacent to the evolutionary branching of Priapulida , Nematoda and Arthropoda . Despite significant advances in uncovering and identifying paleontological specimens, it
1305-479: Is generally accepted that the fossil record is vastly incomplete. Approaches for measuring the completeness of the fossil record have been developed for numerous subsets of species, including those grouped taxonomically, temporally, environmentally/geographically, or in sum. This encompasses the subfield of taphonomy and the study of biases in the paleontological record. Paleontology seeks to map out how life evolved across geologic time. A substantial hurdle
1392-657: Is known as the fossil record . Though the fossil record is incomplete, numerous studies have demonstrated that there is enough information available to give a good understanding of the pattern of diversification of life on Earth. In addition, the record can predict and fill gaps such as the discovery of Tiktaalik in the arctic of Canada . Paleontology includes the study of fossils: their age, method of formation, and evolutionary significance. Specimens are usually considered to be fossils if they are over 10,000 years old. The oldest fossils are around 3.48 billion years to 4.1 billion years old. The observation in
1479-580: Is of a more recent origin. In all cases, New Zealand uses the same periods as those used internationally; the renaming only applies to subdivisions of these periods. Very few epochs and stages cross international period boundaries, and the exceptions are almost all within the Cenozoic Era. New Zealand updates will always be behind any significant international updates in the International Geological Time Scale . Although
1566-438: Is replete with the mollusks , the vertebrates , the echinoderms , the brachiopods and some groups of arthropods . Fossil sites with exceptional preservation—sometimes including preserved soft tissues—are known as Lagerstätten —German for "storage places". These formations may have resulted from carcass burial in an anoxic environment with minimal bacteria, thus slowing decomposition. Lagerstätten span geological time from
1653-572: Is strongly bound to its unique plants and animals. We cannot stand by and see this fountain of paleontological knowledge about where we have come from destroyed; particularly not for so little transient local and national gain." In November 2019, the Dunedin City Council issued a "notice of desire" under the Public Works Act, signalling the intention to purchase the land and return it to public ownership. As of September 2022,
1740-470: Is the difficulty of working out fossil ages. Beds that preserve fossils typically lack the radioactive elements needed for radiometric dating . This technique is our only means of giving rocks greater than about 50 million years old an absolute age, and can be accurate to within 0.5% or better. Although radiometric dating requires careful laboratory work, its basic principle is simple: the rates at which various radioactive elements decay are known, and so
1827-413: Is the science of deciphering the "layer-cake" that is the sedimentary record. Rocks normally form relatively horizontal layers, with each layer younger than the one underneath it. If a fossil is found between two layers whose ages are known, the fossil's age is claimed to lie between the two known ages. Because rock sequences are not continuous, but may be broken up by faults or periods of erosion , it
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#17327797924731914-467: Is very difficult to match up rock beds that are not directly adjacent. However, fossils of species that survived for a relatively short time can be used to match isolated rocks: this technique is called biostratigraphy . For instance, the conodont Eoplacognathus pseudoplanus has a short range in the Middle Ordovician period. If rocks of unknown age have traces of E. pseudoplanus , they have
2001-801: The Cambrian period to the present . Worldwide, some of the best examples of near-perfect fossilization are the Cambrian Maotianshan Shales and Burgess Shale , the Devonian Hunsrück Slates , the Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone , and the Carboniferous Mazon Creek localities. A fossil is said to be recrystallized when the original skeletal compounds are still present but in a different crystal form, such as from aragonite to calcite . Replacement occurs when
2088-544: The Dunedin City Council reached an agreement with the receivers to purchase the land, including the surrender of the mining permits. Foulden Maar is named for the nearby farm of Foulden Hills, itself probably named after the town of Foulden in the Scottish Borders . Many other local locations—such as Kelso , Ettrick , Roxburgh , and the nearby Nenthorn —are similarly named. The landscape of
2175-787: The North Island town of Hāwera . The New Zealand stages and epochs are not the same as internationally defined periods and epochs (e.g. the Wanganui epoch started at 5.33 Ma which is within the Neogene period and matches the start of the international Pliocene epoch, but contains also the international Holocene and Pleistocene epochs). Times given indicate the start of the respective stages and epochs. Several of these stages are further divided into upper and lower or upper, middle, and lower, although this has not been noted below unless unique names have been given to these sub-stages. As with
2262-586: The Phacops fossil record was that the aftermaths of the lens changes, but not the rapidly occurring evolutionary process, were fossilized. This and other data led Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge to publish their seminal paper on punctuated equilibrium in 1971. Synchrotron X-ray tomographic analysis of early Cambrian bilaterian embryonic microfossils yielded new insights of metazoan evolution at its earliest stages. The tomography technique provides previously unattainable three-dimensional resolution at
2349-569: The Renaissance . Leonardo da Vinci concurred with Aristotle's view that fossils were the remains of ancient life. For example, Leonardo noticed discrepancies with the biblical flood narrative as an explanation for fossil origins: If the Deluge had carried the shells for distances of three and four hundred miles from the sea it would have carried them mixed with various other natural objects all heaped up together; but even at such distances from
2436-602: The Song dynasty during the 11th century, who kept a specific seashell fossil with his own poem engraved on it. In his Dream Pool Essays published in 1088, Song dynasty Chinese scholar-official Shen Kuo hypothesized that marine fossils found in a geological stratum of mountains located hundreds of miles from the Pacific Ocean was evidence that a prehistoric seashore had once existed there and shifted over centuries of time . His observation of petrified bamboos in
2523-633: The University of Otago , explaining the scientific importance of the site. The University of Otago also formally opposed the mining proposal. Sir Alan Mark , chair of the environmental group the Wise Response Society , called for the government to purchase the site and establish a geological reserve. Juliet Gerrard , the Prime Minister's Chief Science Adviser, said that "the tale is far from simple and at least two weak spots at
2610-402: The law of superposition ) preserved different assemblages of fossils, and that these assemblages succeeded one another in a regular and determinable order. He observed that rocks from distant locations could be correlated based on the fossils they contained. He termed this the principle of faunal succession . This principle became one of Darwin's chief pieces of evidence that biological evolution
2697-403: The thunderbird . There is no such direct mythological connection known from prehistoric Africa, but there is considerable evidence of tribes there excavating and moving fossils to ceremonial sites, apparently treating them with some reverence. In Japan, fossil shark teeth were associated with the mythical tengu , thought to be the razor-sharp claws of the creature, documented some time after
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2784-453: The 16th century. Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder wrote of " tongue stones ", which he called glossopetra . These were fossil shark teeth, thought by some classical cultures to look like the tongues of people or snakes. He also wrote about the horns of Ammon , which are fossil ammonites , whence the group of shelled octopus-cousins ultimately draws its modern name. Pliny also makes one of
2871-739: The 19th century that certain fossils were associated with certain rock strata led to the recognition of a geological timescale and the relative ages of different fossils. The development of radiometric dating techniques in the early 20th century allowed scientists to quantitatively measure the absolute ages of rocks and the fossils they host. There are many processes that lead to fossilization , including permineralization , casts and molds, authigenic mineralization , replacement and recrystallization, adpression, carbonization , and bioimmuration. Fossils vary in size from one- micrometre (1 μm) bacteria to dinosaurs and trees, many meters long and weighing many tons. A fossil normally preserves only
2958-413: The 8th century AD. In medieval China, the fossil bones of ancient mammals including Homo erectus were often mistaken for " dragon bones" and used as medicine and aphrodisiacs . In addition, some of these fossil bones are collected as "art" by scholars, who left scripts on various artifacts, indicating the time they were added to a collection. One good example is the famous scholar Huang Tingjian of
3045-431: The Dunedin City Council had not proceeded with acquiring the land under the Public Works Act, and the protection of the site remained unclear. Scientists were unable to access the site. In February 2023, the Dunedin City Council reached an agreement with the receivers for Plaman Resources for the purchase 42 hectares (100 acres) of land at the site. The agreement included Plaman surrendering mining permits. The total cost of
3132-485: The Dunedin Volcanic Group. Eruptions within the group began around 25 Ma near Middlemarch and finished with the youngest in the group by around 9 Ma. The group is considered extinct. A maar is a volcanic crater with a low rim that is formed in an explosion (known as a phreatomagmatic eruption), when magma or hot lava comes into contact with groundwater. The maar typically fills with water to become
3219-478: The Iris Corporation and Burleigh Nominees, have allegedly been involved in corruption and humans-rights abuses and have unpaid debts. It was unclear if Iris Corporation would remain a shareholder of Plaman if Overseas Investment Office (OIO) approval for the mine was received. Plaman held the mining rights and planned to turn all of the fossil-containing diatomite into an additive for incorporating into
3306-401: The New Zealand geologic time scale has not been formally adopted, it has been widely used by earth scientists , geologists and palaeontologists in New Zealand since J. S. Crampton proposed it in 1995. The most recent calibrated update was in 2015. A standard abbreviation is used for these epochs and stages. These are usually in the form Xx, where the first letter is the initial letter of
3393-615: The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life , the oldest animal fossils were those from the Cambrian Period, now known to be about 540 million years old. He worried about the absence of older fossils because of the implications on the validity of his theories, but he expressed hope that such fossils would be found, noting that: "only a small portion of the world is known with accuracy." Darwin also pondered
3480-566: The Proterozoic and deeper still in the Archean is only "recounted by microscopic fossils and subtle chemical signals." Molecular biologists, using phylogenetics , can compare protein amino acid or nucleotide sequence homology (i.e., similarity) to evaluate taxonomy and evolutionary distances among organisms, with limited statistical confidence. The study of fossils, on the other hand, can more specifically pinpoint when and in what organism
3567-421: The analysis was based on the decay of isotopes of argon . Analysis of volcanic clast taken from a depth of 126 metres (413 ft) in the drill core indicated an age of 23.38 Ma. Subsequent dating adjustment is to 23.2 ± 0.4 Ma. A geomagnetic reversal was discovered in minerals at a depth of around 107 metres (351 ft) in the drill core. A global magnetic polarity time scale shows few reversals in
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3654-480: The anticipated levels of dust, noise, and general disruption the proposed mine would create. The Otago Regional Council granted Plaman Resources resource consent to discharge air dust for the purpose of quarrying diatomite until 1 July 2020. The original mining permit was for 20 years but was extended to November 2033. A wider group of people concerned about the loss of the unique fossil record described as "Dunedin's Pompeii" and an "irreplaceable treasure box" launched
3741-413: The beach, indicating the fossils were once living animals. He had previously explained them in terms of vaporous exhalations , which Persian polymath Avicenna modified into the theory of petrifying fluids ( succus lapidificatus ). Recognition of fossil seashells as originating in the sea was built upon in the 14th century by Albert of Saxony , and accepted in some form by most naturalists by
3828-714: The beginning of recorded history. The fossils themselves are referred to as the fossil record. The fossil record was one of the early sources of data underlying the study of evolution and continues to be relevant to the history of life on Earth . Paleontologists examine the fossil record to understand the process of evolution and the way particular species have evolved. Fossils have been visible and common throughout most of natural history, and so documented human interaction with them goes back as far as recorded history, or earlier. There are many examples of paleolithic stone knives in Europe, with fossil echinoderms set precisely at
3915-477: The crater lake, and plants, spiders and insects from the sub-tropical forest that developed around the crater. The site is the only known maar of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and is one of New Zealand's pre-eminent fossil sites. A 2018 proposal to mine Foulden Maar for livestock-food additive attracted significant public opposition. The mining company went into receivership in 2019, and in 2023,
4002-670: The deity Sopdu , the Morning Star, equivalent of Venus in Roman mythology. Fossils appear to have directly contributed to the mythology of many civilizations, including the ancient Greeks. Classical Greek historian Herodotos wrote of an area near Hyperborea where gryphons protected golden treasure. There was indeed gold mining in that approximate region , where beaked Protoceratops skulls were common as fossils. A later Greek scholar, Aristotle , eventually realized that fossil seashells from rocks were similar to those found on
4089-458: The deposit have been used to link past spikes in carbon dioxide levels with melting of Antarctic ice, and the variations in the laminations of the diatomite have been studied to reveal the New Zealand climate from that time. Diatomite was extracted in small quantities from the site during World War II when transport difficulties hindered access to foreign sources. Diatomite has a range of applications, depending primarily on purity, diatom size, and
4176-519: The deposit) of the eastern pit at Foulden Maar for scientific research, but geologists said that if the deposit is drained for mining the fossils may be lost regardless. The company was placed in receivership and voluntary liquidation in June 2019, and the OIO approval process was placed on hold. The Save Foulden Maar group considered crowdfunding to permanently protect the site. Some locals were opposed to
4263-466: The dry northern climate zone of what is now Yan'an , Shaanxi province, China, led him to advance early ideas of gradual climate change due to bamboo naturally growing in wetter climate areas. In medieval Christendom , fossilized sea creatures on mountainsides were seen as proof of the biblical deluge of Noah's Ark . After observing the existence of seashells in mountains, the ancient Greek philosopher Xenophanes (c. 570 – 478 BC) speculated that
4350-415: The earlier known references to toadstones , thought until the 18th century to be a magical cure for poison originating in the heads of toads, but which are fossil teeth from Lepidotes , a Cretaceous ray-finned fish. The Plains tribes of North America are thought to have similarly associated fossils, such as the many intact pterosaur fossils naturally exposed in the region, with their own mythology of
4437-417: The earliest known fossilised eel both come from Foulden Maar. Numerous arthropod fossils have been found at the site, among them Araneae (spiders), Plecoptera (stoneflies), Odonata (dragonflies), Isoptera (termites), Hemiptera (true bugs), Diptera (true flies), Coleoptera (beetles), Trichoptera (caddis flies), and Hymenoptera (wasps, ants and bees). The four arachnids found at Foulden Maar are
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#17327797924734524-550: The earliest known stromatolites are over 3.4 billion years old. The fossil record is life's evolutionary epic that unfolded over four billion years as environmental conditions and genetic potential interacted in accordance with natural selection. The Virtual Fossil Museum Paleontology has joined with evolutionary biology to share the interdisciplinary task of outlining the tree of life, which inevitably leads backwards in time to Precambrian microscopic life when cell structure and functions evolved. Earth's deep time in
4611-464: The earth during earthquake and subsidences, and petrifies whatever comes into contact with it. As a matter of fact, the petrifaction of the bodies of plants and animals is not more extraordinary than the transformation of waters. From the 13th century to the present day, scholars pointed out that the fossil skulls of Deinotherium giganteum , found in Crete and Greece, might have been interpreted as being
4698-508: The east Otago region includes a large number of volcanoes. Early studies indicated there were separate volcanic areas within the region – Waipiata Volcanic Field and the Dunedin Volcanic Group which contained the Dunedin Volcano and basaltic monogenetic volcanoes like the maar. However, later research has found that these volcanic fields overlap in both space and time. Foulden Maar is now considered to be one of around 150 volcanoes in
4785-581: The epoch and the second (lower-case) letter is the initial letter of the stage. These are noted beside the stage names in the list below. Currently, from the New Zealand perspective we are in the Haweran stage of the Wanganui epoch which is within the internationally defined Holocene epoch of the Quaternary period of the Cenozoic era. The Haweran, which started some 340,000 years ago, is named after
4872-478: The existence of a world previous to ours, destroyed by some kind of catastrophe. Interest in fossils, and geology more generally, expanded during the early nineteenth century. In Britain, Mary Anning 's discoveries of fossils, including the first complete ichthyosaur and a complete plesiosaurus skeleton, sparked both public and scholarly interest. Early naturalists well understood the similarities and differences of living species leading Linnaeus to develop
4959-434: The first arachnid fossils identified in New Zealand; previous spider specimens had been found in amber but were not identifiable. The first fossil hymenopteran in New Zealand is an ant found at Foulden Maar. Fossils of immature aquatic flies obtained from Foulden Maar are helping scientists to shed light on the ecological history of true flies in New Zealand. The fossil evidence derived from pollen and spores suggests
5046-522: The food of intensively farmed animals such as ducks and pigs. Initial seed funding of about US$ 20 million (NZ$ 28 million) was raised through Goldman Sachs New Zealand Holdings, the Auckland branch of New York stock-exchange listed investment bank in August 2018. The financial viability of these plans was reported to hinge on the purchase of an adjoining farm, which the OIO must rule on. No timetable
5133-507: The general time frame indicated by other dating methods for the eruption, and the reversal found in the drill core provides supporting evidence for the age. The Foulden Maar crater is approximately 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in diameter; its diatomaceous layer is estimated to be 200 metres (660 ft) deep. The Foulden Maar lake formed in a volcanic crater during the Waitakian ( early Miocene ), approximately 23 million years ago. It
5220-519: The hand grip, dating back to Homo heidelbergensis and Neanderthals . These ancient peoples also drilled holes through the center of those round fossil shells, apparently using them as beads for necklaces. The ancient Egyptians gathered fossils of species that resembled the bones of modern species they worshipped. The god Set was associated with the hippopotamus , therefore fossilized bones of hippo-like species were kept in that deity's temples. Five-rayed fossil sea urchin shells were associated with
5307-473: The interface of science and policy are exposed as we dig through the complexities: there is no obvious point in central government to consider the value of a fossil record; and the science community has perhaps not previously sufficiently communicated the national and international value of this geological site." The Geoscience Society of New Zealand called for the mining proposal to be stopped, with President Jennifer Eccles saying, "New Zealand’s national identity
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#17327797924735394-639: The international geologic time scale , many nations–especially those with isolated and therefore non-standard prehistories–use their own systems of dividing geologic time into epochs and faunal stages . In New Zealand , these epochs and stages use local place names (mainly Māori in origin) back to the Permian . Prior to this time, names mostly align to those in the Australian geologic time scale, and are not divided into epochs. In practice, these earlier terms are rarely used, as most New Zealand geology
5481-573: The international geologic scale, these epochs and stages are largely named for locales where rock dating from these time periods is in evidence, with stage names predominantly but not always named for locales close to their epoch's namesake site. Where known, these places are also linked in the list below. Stages prior to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period use either international (Devonian/Silurian) or Australian (Ordovician/Cambrian) geologic stage names; very little New Zealand rock
5568-503: The lake. As the lake gradually filled in and dried out, the diatomite layers capture a detailed fossil record of about 130,000 years. Foulden Maar is one of New Zealand's pre-eminent fossil sites, and is unique in the Southern Hemisphere for the time period it covers. Fossils were first discovered at the site by gold prospectors in the early 1870s and were described as "polishing powder" by the geologists Frederick Hutton and George Ulrich in 1875. Although excavations have been limited to
5655-535: The limits of fossilization. Fossils of two enigmatic bilaterians, the worm-like Markuelia and a putative, primitive protostome , Pseudooides , provide a peek at germ layer embryonic development. These 543-million-year-old embryos support the emergence of some aspects of arthropod development earlier than previously thought in the late Proterozoic. The preserved embryos from China and Siberia underwent rapid diagenetic phosphatization resulting in exquisite preservation, including cell structures. This research
5742-545: The problems involved in matching rocks of the same age across continents . Family-tree relationships also help to narrow down the date when lineages first appeared. For instance, if fossils of B or C date to X million years ago and the calculated "family tree" says A was an ancestor of B and C, then A must have evolved earlier. It is also possible to estimate how long ago two living clades diverged, in other words approximately how long ago their last common ancestor must have lived, by assuming that DNA mutations accumulate at
5829-556: The processing plant, although no application was made. Previous mining at the site yielded low-quality diatomite only suitable for inclusion in concrete, rather than the high-quality product Plaman was marketing as "Black Pearl". Plaman claimed that livestock will benefit nutritionally from Black Pearl, because the diatomite is "rich in natural organic matter (which contains humics, such as humic and fulvic acid) and other valuable nutrients, which have been shown to be beneficial in animal nutrition." Animal nutrition experts expressed doubt that
5916-595: The product produced by Plaman will have any animal-health benefits, as there is no published data to support their claims. Concerns were expressed by the New Zealand Green Party that the diatomite would be sold as fertiliser to support the production of palm oil . Plaman Resources offered to refrain from mining nearby Hindon Maar if opposition to the Foulden Maar proposal was dropped. They also offered to set aside 5 hectares (12 acres) (12–20% of
6003-509: The purchase was $ 924,000. [REDACTED] Media related to Foulden Maar at Wikimedia Commons Fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin fossilis , lit. ' obtained by digging ' ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age . Examples include bones , shells , exoskeletons , stone imprints of animals or microbes , objects preserved in amber , hair , petrified wood and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils
6090-443: The ratio of the radioactive element to its decay products shows how long ago the radioactive element was incorporated into the rock. Radioactive elements are common only in rocks with a volcanic origin, and so the only fossil-bearing rocks that can be dated radiometrically are volcanic ash layers, which may provide termini for the intervening sediments. Consequently, palaeontologists rely on stratigraphy to date fossils. Stratigraphy
6177-462: The relative ages of rock strata as determined by the early paleontologists and stratigraphers . Since the early years of the twentieth century, absolute dating methods, such as radiometric dating (including potassium/argon , argon/argon , uranium series , and, for very recent fossils, radiocarbon dating ) have been used to verify the relative ages obtained by fossils and to provide absolute ages for many fossils. Radiometric dating has shown that
6264-504: The release of all the information in favour of the mine. Dunedin City Council councillor Aaron Hawkins proposed that the council should "recognise the importance of Foulden Maar, and support its preservation, and protection as a scientific resource", and the council voted to do so, later formally opposing the mining proposal. The council made this decision after hearing from Daphne Lee , a palaeontologist and associate professor at
6351-429: The sea and that they were still living when the strait of Gibraltar was cut through. In the mountains of Parma and Piacenza multitudes of shells and corals with holes may be seen still sticking to the rocks.... In 1666, Nicholas Steno examined a shark, and made the association of its teeth with the "tongue stones" of ancient Greco-Roman mythology, concluding that those were not in fact the tongues of venomous snakes, but
6438-423: The sea we see the oysters all together and also the shellfish and the cuttlefish and all the other shells which congregate together, found all together dead; and the solitary shells are found apart from one another as we see them every day on the sea-shores. And we find oysters together in very large families, among which some may be seen with their shells still joined together, indicating that they were left there by
6525-473: The shell, bone, or other tissue is replaced with another mineral. In some cases mineral replacement of the original shell occurs so gradually and at such fine scales that microstructural features are preserved despite the total loss of original material. Scientists can use such fossils when researching the anatomical structure of ancient species. Several species of saurids have been identified from mineralized dinosaur fossils. Waitakian While also using
6612-530: The site could be protected as a scientific reserve under the Reserves Act 1977 , saying "It just doesn't stack up. It's a question of values. Do we value knowledge? Do we value natural heritage? Do we value science and research, or do we just want to a quick dollar from a low value pit? I mean, really, it's distressing." MP Clare Curran voiced support for the mining proposal, saying that she had been given assurances by Plaman. She argued that "misinformation"
6699-507: The site in June 2009. Sedimentary rocks in New Zealand can be dated using analysis based on existing data about the first and last occurrences of key taxa in fossil records. Fossil pollen from the Foulden Maar drill cores has been dated at 23 Ma with reference to fossil pollen found at other fossil sites in Southland and Otago . This method uses the known rate of decay of radioactive isotopes present in minerals. In this case,
6786-586: The skulls of the Cyclopes of Greek mythology , and are possibly the origin of that Greek myth. Their skulls appear to have a single eye-hole in the front, just like their modern elephant cousins, though in fact it's actually the opening for their trunk. In Norse mythology , echinoderm shells (the round five-part button left over from a sea urchin) were associated with the god Thor , not only being incorporated in thunderstones , representations of Thor's hammer and subsequent hammer-shaped crosses as Christianity
6873-467: The sudden appearance of many groups (i.e. phyla ) in the oldest known Cambrian fossiliferous strata. Since Darwin's time, the fossil record has been extended to between 2.3 and 3.5 billion years. Most of these Precambrian fossils are microscopic bacteria or microfossils . However, macroscopic fossils are now known from the late Proterozoic. The Ediacara biota (also called Vendian biota) dating from 575 million years ago collectively constitutes
6960-451: The teeth of some long-extinct species of shark. Robert Hooke (1635–1703) included micrographs of fossils in his Micrographia and was among the first to observe fossil forams . His observations on fossils, which he stated to be the petrified remains of creatures some of which no longer existed, were published posthumously in 1705. William Smith (1769–1839) , an English canal engineer, observed that rocks of different ages (based on
7047-658: The trace elements present. Foulden Maar is on privately owned land. The area was initially developed for mining by Featherston Resources Ltd in 1997. The deposit was estimated as 5 million tonnes (Mt) by NZ Petroleum and Minerals . This proved uneconomic for the company, and its assets were sold to Plaman Resources Ltd in March 2015. Plaman Resources claimed the size of the deposit was 31 Mt. The shareholders for Plaman Resources are Iris Corporation , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (50.95 percent) and Burleigh Nominees Ltd, Douglas, Isle of Man (49.05 percent). Plaman Resources' shareholders,
7134-524: The world was once inundated in a great flood that buried living creatures in drying mud. In 1027, the Persian Avicenna explained fossils' stoniness in The Book of Healing : If what is said concerning the petrifaction of animals and plants is true, the cause of this (phenomenon) is a powerful mineralizing and petrifying virtue which arises in certain stony spots, or emanates suddenly from
7221-515: Was abundant due to the slow overseas-investment-approval process and said that the resource-consent process would still need to be followed. Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull , who wrote a letter of support for the mining proposal, publicly called for clarification from Plaman after hearing details of the leaked Goldman Sachs report. Clutha Mayor Bryce Cadogan, who also supported the proposal, expressed frustration that commercial sensitivity prevented
7308-458: Was adopted, but also kept in houses to garner Thor's protection. These grew into the shepherd's crowns of English folklore, used for decoration and as good luck charms, placed by the doorway of homes and churches. In Suffolk , a different species was used as a good-luck charm by bakers, who referred to them as fairy loaves , associating them with the similarly shaped loaves of bread they baked. More scientific views of fossils emerged during
7395-428: Was deep and anoxic at the bottom, which precluded decomposition of plant and animal remains. The lake was hydrologically isolated, meaning that no rivers or streams disturbed the sedimentation, which formed multiple laminated layers. These thin layers of silica are known as diatomite, as they are composed primarily of one diatom species, Encyonema jordaniforme Krammer, that grew on submerged rocks or aquatic plants in
7482-408: Was real. Georges Cuvier came to believe that most if not all the animal fossils he examined were remains of extinct species. This led Cuvier to become an active proponent of the geological school of thought called catastrophism . Near the end of his 1796 paper on living and fossil elephants he said: All of these facts, consistent among themselves, and not opposed by any report, seem to me to prove
7569-401: Was set for the decision. The proposal involved building a new $ 36.8m processing plant at Milton to crush the diatomite before shipping offshore from Port Chalmers or Bluff. It was estimated by the company that the trucking and processing would create 100 jobs over 27 years. Plaman discussed with local councils applying to New Zealand's Provincial Growth Fund for help with the costs of building
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