Molluscan evidence of warm sea temperatures in New Zealand during Kapitean (Late Miocene) and Waipipian (Middle Pliocene) time

Abstract

465Very cool sea temperatures have been suggested for the New Zealand Kapitean Stage from the evidence of planktonic Foraminiferida and for the Waipipian Stage on the basis of Foraminiferida, spores and pollen and oxygen isotopes, and the former has been used as evidence for a late Miocene glaciation. The Mollusca in rocks of these stages include several genera now living only to the north of New Zealand, and there is no molluscan evidence of lowered sea temperatures at these times.Planktonic foraminiferal faunas occurring with Kapitean molluscs vary markedly, and a 63% sinistral Globigerina pachyderma population from East Cape occurs with Amphistegina and Conus. Probably the ecology of planktonic foraminifers is not well enough known for them to be used as direct temperature indicators,

A New Zealand climatic template back to c. 3.9 Ma: ODP Site 1119, Canterbury Bight, south‐west Pacific Ocean, and its relationship to onland successions

“…Milankovitch cycle, in the Early Nukumaruan (c. 2.4 Ma), Early Waitotaran (Waipipian) (c. 3.0 Ma), and Late Opoitian (c. 3.5 Ma), respectively. However, the suggestion of Waipipian glaciation has previously provoked spirited discussion between Beu ( 1974) and Vella et al ( 1975) regarding contradictory evidence from foraminifera and molluscs. Beu (1974), with Fleming (1953), pointed out that molluscs of warm water affinities, such as Maoricardium, Crassostrea, and Neopanis, are characteristic of the Waipipian shellbeds at Waipipi Beach, Wanganui.…”

“…However, the suggestion of Waipipian glaciation has previously provoked spirited discussion between Beu ( 1974) and Vella et al ( 1975) regarding contradictory evidence from foraminifera and molluscs. Beu (1974), with Fleming (1953), pointed out that molluscs of warm water affinities, such as Maoricardium, Crassostrea, and Neopanis, are characteristic of the Waipipian shellbeds at Waipipi Beach, Wanganui. He therefore questioned the reliability of inferring cold Late Pliocene temperatures from foraminiferal evidence, concluding that "the palaeoecology of planktonic foraminifera is not well enough understood for their geographic ranges to be used as direct evidence of sea temperatures".…”

Late Pleistocene–Recent marine malacological assemblages of the Colorado River delta (south of Buenos Aires Province): Paleoecology and paleoclimatology

“…The presence of warm water species and species that today are displaced toward lower latitudes were also used as source of paleoenvironmental information, in this case, as indicators of warmer conditions (e.g., Valentine, 1955Valentine, , 1958Beu, 1974;Aguirre, 1993b;Farinati, 1999, 2000). The illustrated material is housed in the Paleoinvertebrate Collection of the Museo de La Plata, Argentina (MLP-UNLP).…”

“…Angulo et al, 1978Angulo et al, , 1981Cionchi, 1987;Rutter et al, 1989Rutter et al, , 1990Rostami et al, 2000;Schellmann and Radtke, 2000;Pedoja et al, 2011;Fucks et al, 2012b). Different authors studied fossil marine molluscs, especially bivalves and gastropods in Quaternary deposits of South America (e.g., Martin and Suguio, 1992;Díaz and Ortlieb, 1993;Ortlieb et al, 1994Ortlieb et al, , 1996Guzm an et al, 1995Guzm an et al, , 2001Martínez et al, 1997Martínez et al, , 2001Martínez et al, , 2006Maasch et al, 2001;Ragainia et al, 2002;Jones et al, 2010;Rojas and Urteaga, 2011) and particularly in Argentina (e.g., Farinati, 1978Farinati, , 1985Farinati, , 1994Aguirre and Whatley, 1995;Gordillo, 1998Gordillo, , 1999Aguirre and Farinati, 1999;Pastorino, 2000;Aguirre, 2003;Aguirre et al, 2005Aguirre et al, , 2006Aguirre et al, , 2007Gordillo et al, 2005Gordillo et al, , 2008C ardenas and Gordillo, 2009;Rabassa et al, 2009;Char o et al, 2013a,b; achieving paleoecological, paleoenvironmental, and paleobiogeographic reconstructions for the Quaternary.…”

The Miocene climate in New Zealand: Estimates from paleobotanical data

“…In the early middle Miocene temperatures fell abruptly by about 4°C. 4 However, disagreement was expressed between those workers using marine plankton and those who emphasised molluscan proxies (Kennett, 1967;Beu, 1974;Vella et al, 1975). At least for the late Miocene (Kapitean), the former argued for significantly cooler water (glacial) temperatures than the later.…”