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The kiwi is a national symbol of New Zealand.. The animals of New Zealand, part of its biota, have an unusual history because, before the arrival of humans, less than 900 years ago, the country was mostly free of mammals, except those that could swim there (seals, sea lions, and, off-shore, whales and dolphins) or fly there ().
Birds comprise the most important part of New Zealand's vertebrate fauna. It is uncertain if many birds in New Zealand are descended from Gondwanan stock, as DNA evidence suggests that even the ratites (the kiwis and the moas) arrived after the split from Antarctica. [citation needed] Recent studies suggest that New Zealand wrens are Gondwanan ...
The environment of New Zealand is characterised by an endemic flora and fauna which has evolved in near isolation from the rest of the world. [1] The main islands of New Zealand span two biomes , temperate and subtropical , complicated by large mountainous areas above the tree line. [ 2 ]
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.
This is a list of the native living mammals of New Zealand. It does not include introduced species, nor extinct Saint Bathans fauna. There are around 51 native mammal species in New Zealand, of which three are critically endangered, three are endangered, three are vulnerable, and one is near threatened. [1]
Prior to human settlement, the mammals of New Zealand consisted entirely of several species of bat and several dozen marine mammal species. Far earlier, during the Miocene , at least one "archaic" terrestrial mammal species is known to have existed, the Saint Bathans mammal .
The extant (living) reptiles of New Zealand consist of numerous species of terrestrial lizards and the lizard-like tuatara, and several species of sea turtles and sea snakes. [1] All but one species are native to New Zealand, and all but one of the terrestrial species are endemic to New Zealand, that is, they are not found in any other country.
Fauna of New Zealand, the animal life of the country. Subcategories. This category has the following 20 subcategories, out of 20 total. ...