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 (210 Ma); 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.