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The high hills in the vicinity of Dunedin and of the Otago Peninsula were within easy reach of an indefatigable walker as Aston. Some excursions further afield to Central Otago, Southland and Stewart Island appear to coincide with summer and Easter holidays, others may have been in the course of his employment as a chemist to the Milburn Lime and Cement Company. He moved to Wellington in 1899 to take up a position with the Department of Agriculture where his distinguished career in Agricultural Chemistry began.
As his published papers show, his botanical interests widened and the lengthy exploratory trips he made into the Tararua, Ruahine and Kaimanawa ranges, and later to the Marlborough mountains provided opportunities for him to make plant collections. He also visited the Subantarctic islands twice and made many trips to all parts of New Zealand whilst investigating various agricultural problems. Later his interests turned more to horticulture and, until his death on May 31, 1951, his hillside garden at 26 Espin Crescent in the Wellington suburb of Karori provided pleasure to him and his many friends and was a source of study material of many unusual and uncommon native plants.
Aston was unmarried but, in his retirement, he was able to take an
Aston's name has been commemorated in the following — genera Coprosma, Muehlenbeckia, Epilobium, Hebe, Carmichaelia, Gentiana, Myosotis, Uncinia, and Poa.
Little has been mentioned in the botanical literature concerning Aston's herbarium that was presented during his lifetime (1920-21), to the Dominion Museum, now the National Museum (WELT). Unfortunately these specimens were incorporated piecemeal, often without attribution to Aston. Only those familiar with his distinctive handwriting have recognised their source.
In Thomas Kirk's ‘private’ herbarium received in 1931 from Professor
A recent effort to complete the numbering and cataloguing of the indigenous plants in WELT has given us an opportunity to mark all Aston's specimens as ‘Herb.
Aston's field notebooks (WELT) recording the vegetation and soil samples taken, daily memoranda of expenses, provisions and places visited, have served to explain and expand the otherwise inconclusive data gleaned from the herbarium labels alone.
January 21 Dunedin.
November 9 North Otago Heads. 25 St Leonards Waterfall. 27 Flagstaff. 29 and 30 Flagstaff.
December 1 Ocean Beach, Otago Peninsula. 24 Green Is., Peninsula. 27 Hoopers Inlet. 28 Flagstaff. 29 St Leonards.
January 3 Sandymount, Otago Peninsula. 26 Black Head.
February 11 St Leonards. 16 Pelichet Bay. 18 Mt Cargill.
March 9 Signal Hill.
October 19 St Leonards.
November 9-10 Top of Blue Mountains, Tapanui.
December 1 Reservoir, Dunedin. 11 Signal Hill. 14 Flagstaff; Waikari Creek. 15 Waikari Creek. 25 Bluff Hill. 27 Glory Cove, Ocean Beach and the Old Neck, Stewart Is. 30 Ryans Creek, Paterson Inlet.
January 1 Sydney Cove, Ulva and S.W. Arm, Paterson Inlet. 3 Moses Beach. 5 Akers Point. 6 Akers Point; Moses Beach, Stewart Is. 16 Mihiwaka, Otago. 20 Lumsden. 26 Mihiwaka, Port Chalmers; Waterworks, Dunedin.
February 1 McLaren's paddock, St Clair; Black Head. 2 Flagstaff. Kaikai Beach and North Heads, Otago Harbour. 16 Maungatua. 18 Maungatua. 19 Wycliffe. 29 Tomahawk.
March 7 Mihiwaka. 8 Wycliffe Bay. 29 Mt Cargill. Undated — Otago Heads; Maungatua.
October Awarua Siding near Bluff.
November 6 Te Anau. 16 Te Anau. 17 Croydon Bush near Gore; Lumsden. 22 Winton. 25 Te Anau. 26 Awarua.
December 11 Waikari Creek. 15, 16 Maungatua. 25 Maungatua.
January 1 Lowther, swamp behind Lowther Hotel; Lumsden Kingston line. 2 Kingston. 6 Victoria Bridge. 7, 8 Cromwell. 9 Lowburn. 10 Queensberry. 14 Shores of Lake Wanaka near Pembroke (Wanaka township). 15 Skippers Creek, Queenstown. 17 Ben Lomond.
March 23 Old Waipori Road; Maungatua near Trig Station.
April 16 North Heads, Otago Harbour. 17 Whare Flat. 19 Devils Staircase. 23 Kaikorai Bush; Pelichet Bay. 27 Blue Spur, Lawrence. 29 Roxburgh Hills.
May 15 Colac Bay; Wairau Ferry. 16 Winton. 17 Wairau Ferry island. 19 Fortrose; Wairau Ferry.
June Black Jack's Point near Pelichet Bay. Whisky Gully near Tapanui.
November 14 St Leonards. 15 Fortrose. 25 Head of Lake Te Anau. Undated — Takitimu Mountains.
December Near Kyeburn Pass Hotel;. Upper Kyeburn; Mt Kyeburn; Mt St Bathans; Naseby.
January Naseby; Mt St Bathans; Eweburn; Maniototo; Rock and Pillar; Wyndham-Fortrose; Waikawa; Bluff Hill.
February Lumsden; Bullendale; Skippers Creek; Bold Peak, 6,000 ft.
May 1 Aston was appointed Chemist to the Department of Agriculture, Wellington.
No records.
February Undated — near Wellington; Mt Egmont; ‘The ascended Mount Egmont to the summit by the Inglewood on the 14th February, 1901 and again on the 20th March,
December Rotorua.
February Mt Egmont. [1901?]
November Mr Mantell's garden, Wellington.
December Rotorua.
January 31 Otaki Gorge. Aston visited Britain, Canada, United States and Australia in 1903.
December Te Kuiti; Lake Papaitonga (Levin).
January Wainui-o-mata mouth (Wellington south coast).
March Upper Hutt.
December Halfmoon Bay. 24 Devon Street, Wellington. at this time lived at 71 Devon Street, Kelburn.
January Pleasant River, Waikouaiti; Botanical Gardens, Wton. 28-31 A three-day trip to Mt Holdsworth with Profe Easterfield, Dr
February Hutt Gorge; Kaitoke; Days Bay; Muritai.
March Wiltons Bush; Wellington Botanical Gardens.
June Lake Wakare, Waikato; Waerenga.
October 27 Happy Valley, Wellington.
November Bluff Hill. 11 St Clair.
December Muritai; South Karon; Terawhiti; Tararuas, ‘a th days solitary ramble to Mt Dennan and the Otaki Gorgo’, Idab
January 26 Lake Papaitonga, Levin. 29-31 ‘a three day asce of Mt Hector from Otaki with
February 23 Days Bay. Undated — Sinclair Head; Orongorong Moores Valley; Wellington.
March ‘A three days journey on Mt Holdsworth with Mess G. de S. Baylis and Turners (two).’ Kaitoke; Crofton; Days Bay. Dunedin; Brighton bluffs; Maungatua; Outram; Gimmorbu, Mt Ida; Alexandra; Clinton.
August Tongue Point; Wellington coast.
May St Clair.
October Palliser Bay; Cape Turakirae; Muritai; Gollans Valley, Moores Valley hut; Naenae.
November 14 Bluff, departed on the Government steame ‘Hinemoa’ on the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury Expedition to the Subantarctic Islands. 14 Port Pegasus, 15 Snares Is 16 Auckland Is. — Port Ross and Carnley Harbour. 17 Camp Cove, Carnley Harbour. 18 Adams Is. 19 Adams Is. return to Camp Cove. 20 Camp Cove to head of North Arm, Carnley Harbour. 21 North Arm to west coast cliffs and Flat Topped Mountain. 22 return to Camp Cove. 24 Masked Is. and hills above Camp Cove. 25 Adams Is. 26 Skua Gull Flat, Carnley Harbour and to Norman Inlet. 27 Norman Inlet and to Enderby Is. 28 Disappointment Is. and return to Port Ross. 29 Port Ross near depot. 30 Arrived at Bluff in the afternoon (Godley, 1979).
December Palliser Bay; Little Mukumuku; Lake Ferry. 26 To Kaitoke with
January 12 Swampy Hill. 15 Mt Holdsworth — three days on Mt Holdsworth with
February Open Bay Is., Westland; Spooner Range, Nelson; Picton; Titahi Bay; Stratford; Thames; Karangahake Gorge near Paeroa; Aston may also have visited Te Aroha at this time. Kaitoke.
March Hutt Gorge; Porirua Bush; Titahi Bay; Mornington, Dunedin, at Mr Matthew's garden; North Otago Heads.
October Waerenga, Waikato; State Farm Bush, Levin.
November 9 Makara Beach. 15 Seatoun. 11 Terawhiti. Undated — Waiheke (?); examined plots at Stratford, Hawera, Marton, Bulls, Makino near Feilding and Kimbolton. 29-30 Hutt Gorge to Quoin with Mr John Chilwell.
December Wallaceville; Makino, Feilding; Levin sea beach; State Farm bush, Levin. 25-30 Maniototo County. 25 Patearoa; above Eweburn township; Ida Valley; Mt Ida; Ranfurly. 29 Rock and Pillar Range. 30 Middlemarch. 31 Ocean Beach, Bluff.
January 1 Bluff bush near freezing works, reservoir track, Signal Hill Station and along shore. 3 Wards Parade. 4 Lowland opposite Bluff. Sailed from Bluff to the Subantarctic Islands on the Government steamer ‘Hinemoa’. 8 Enderby Is., Port Ross. 9 Disappointment Is. 10 Carnley Harbour. 12 N.E. Harbour, Campbell Is. Undated — Antipodes Is.; Bounties Is.; Normans Inlet. 28 Tiwai Point. Undated — Open Bay Is., Jacksons Bay.
February Anita Bay; Milford Sound; West Coast Sounds.
March North Heads, Dunedin.
April Easter, partial ascent of Mt Dennan with Messrs C. O'Connor and Simmons.
June Quoin with E. Phillips Turner.
August 28 Happy Valley, Wellington.
October Mt Owen.
November 13 Rongoroa. 21 Kaitoke.
December 2 Westport.
January Tauherenikau Valley.
February 12 Crossed from Kaitoke to the Otaki Gorge with
March Wellington. 20 Mt Egmont.
January Kaimanawas, ‘A week spent in these mountains with Mr
March Mt Hector.
April 9 Seatoun.
October 22 Rangitoto Is.
January Paraparaumu; Kapiti Is.; Gull Is., Kapiti; Taumarunui.
February 2 Orongorongo River with
December Rainbow Mountain. 12 Kaiangaroa Plains.
March 13 Mamuku farm bush. 14-15 Rotorua. Undated — Otira.
April 12 ‘Three days trip to Makaretu and Umutoi with Mr Frank Hutchinson Jnr of Rissington’ (Aston, 1914). 14 Dannevirke. 17 Bishops Bush; Wangehu River bank near Nortons:
September 14 and/or 15 Mt Tarawera. 27-28 Horoeka Road, Weber; Bishops Bush. 30 Norton's, Towai Road; Mangatoro Road, Pahiatua.
October Ruakura State Farm;
November Wellington.
January ‘A ten days’ journey with Mr Robert A. Wilson, Bulls, and Mr Frank Hutchinson Jun. when a crossing of the mountains was made from Wakarara to Waiouru over what is known as Colenso's track’ (Aston, 1914). 1 Waipawa; Wakarara, camped 1450 ft Makaroro River. 2 Makaroro River to 3600 ft on slopes. 3 To trig of Te Atua Mahuru. 4 Bald Hill; Maropea River. 5 Maropea River, junction of Waikamaka River; Mokai Gorge; top of Mokai Patea. 6 Riddiford's Station; Mokaitaoroa; Moawhango. 7 Moawhango; Erewhon; Oarenga River, 8 Oarenga whare. 9 Motu Matai above Moawhango. 10 Moawhango to Waiouru. 11 Auckland. Undated — Reparoa Bog.
February 27 Taruarau Gorge.
March Hawkes Bay, ‘A solitary ascent of Whariti In March 1914’ (Aston, 1914).
December 23 Taihape to begin crossing of the northern Ruahines, Kaimanawas to the summit of Makorako and a return journey to the Rangitikei River near Taihape with R. A. Wilson, Bulls, and F. K. Hutchinson Jnr. 24 Rangitikei River; Aorangi. 25 Mt Aorangi. 26 Limestone bluffs, Mangaohane Station. 27 Boyd's run; Mangataramea; Kuripapango; Taruarua River gorge; Otupae Plateau; Tokaanu. 28 Boyd's run. 29 Terraces upper
January 1 ‘Hill S. of camp. 4600 ft.’, junction of Mangamaire and Rangitikei Rivers; Motu Matai hut. 2 Motu Matai for Waiouru; branch of Moawhango River. 3 Across largest branch of Moawhango; ‘13 mile peg at 6 p.m.’ Waiouru at 10.45 p.m. (11.20 Express for Wellington). 6-14 Rotorua area.
February Parkes Peak, Ruahines. 8 Matukituki River, Ruahines [sic]. Undated — Tarawera, Hawkes Bay, apparently not Mt Tarawera (Oliver, 1952). Upper Hutt.
April Easter trip to Marlborough with A. Morris Jones, A. F. O'Donoghue and H. J. Ferrar. 23 Isolated Hill Creek; Ure Canyon; Ure Basin and Ure River. 24 Ben More. 25 Isolated Hill. 26 Ure River. Undated — Sherry River near Tadmore.
September 9 Manawatu Gorge. 19 Kaitoke.
August Birkenhead, Auckland.
October 24-25 Kapiti Island.
November 13 Kaitoke. 15 Seatoun. 27 Kaiwarra [sic].
December Undated — lower Awatere Valley; Clarence; Flaxbourne; Mouatts Lookout. 18 Picton. 19 Omaka River, Blenheim, 20 Hauwai Station, Lake Grassmere; Ward. 21 Ward to Kekerengu with R.
January 1 Coverham to Kekerengu; Ward. 2 W.
March Kekerengu River. 26 Te Kaminaru Bay hills. Undated — hills behind Fitchett's Farm and Happy Valley, Brooklyn, Wellington; Days Bay.
April 16 Happy Valley. 21 Wellington to Auckland. 22 Auckland with
May 6 Silverstream. 20 Crows Nest, Wellington.
June 10 Plimmerton. 17 Mexted's bush, Porirua. Undated — Days Bay.
July 17 Levin tarn.
August 27 Maungaroa. 29 St Leonards, Dunedin.
September 2 Waikanae. 16 Ruakura. 17 Mt Tarawera, landed at Tapahora Beach, ascended to top of Wahanga. 24 Wainui Hill near
October 17—Seatoun with
November Field's swamp, Waikanae.
December Undated — Blenheim. 13 Napier.
January 1 Maungatua. Undated — Thames.
February 12 Silverstream, Karori. Undated — South Karori.
March Waiotapu; Titiokura.
April Kaiangaroa Plains.
October 12 Foxton.
December 15 Blenheim to Nelson. 16 Dun Mt track. 17 Spooner Range, Hope Saddle, Glenhope. 21 To Takaka. 22 Takaka, Pupu Springs, to Collingwood. 23 Pakawau Hills, West Whanganui Inlet. Undated — Tarakohe; Havelock.
March Riwaka Hill; West Whanganui Inlet; Knuckle Hill near Cape Farewell.
June 4 Top of Ponawha. 23 Makara Hill. Undated — Pohoropa ridge, Smith's farm, South Makara.
August 18 Field's property, Waikanae. 24 Levin State Farm, Wereroa; Waiopehu Reserve; Ohau. 25 Mt Robertson. 26 Levin tarn. Undated — Levin beaches; Hokio River; Moutere Block; Manawatu Bridge at Foxton.
September 1 Fitchett's Bush; Khandallah; Kaka (Kaukau) trig; between Kaka and Crows Nest. 21 Swamp,
October Days Bay.
November Undated — Gollans Valley; Tongue Point. 14 South Karori Creek.
December Days Bay; Rona Bay; Gollans Valley; Mt McKerrow, Tararuas.
February Banks Peninsula.
March 29 Wireless Station.
April 5 Christchurch-Lyttelton; Port Hills near Sumner.
May 8 Ruakura.
June 13 Wallaceville. 27 Wallaceville.
July 12-14 Waikanae-Levin.
August Nelson 12-18. 14 Little Grey Valley; Glenhope Station; Hope River near Glenhope. 15 Mai Mai Railway Station. Undated — Waimaungu; Totara Flat.
November Table Top and Mt Hector; Otaki Gorge; Waikaremoana.
December Ngaio; Tongariro; Waimarino Plain; Kaimanawa.
January Tokaanu; Waimarino; Kaimanawa; Ketetahi, Mt Tongariro.
February 1 Murdering Beach; Tomahawk, Otago. 2 Tomahawk. 4 Wycliffe Bay; Kaikai; North Otago Heads. Undated — Tokitima; Port Hills; Mamuku.
March Kelburn; Ohura Basin near houseboat (Taumarunui).
December Waimarino; Tongariro.
June 3 Gollans Valley (1921 or 1931).
December Waimarino Plain.
January Ruahines; Upcot and Molesworth.
February Upcot and Molesworth.
Ngahauranga Gorge, Wellington.
April Wairarapa. 18 Maungatiritiri River. 19 Carters Bush. 20 Mt Holdsworth; Maungatiritiri River. 21 Castlepoint and Tinui Taipos with
October Kaweka Range.
January Kaweka Range.
February Awatere near Jordan (1916?).
August Campbells Bay, Auckland.
April Cape Turakirae; Tongariro National Park 4000 ft.
September Napier Harbour.
December Miramar.
July Whangarei. Napier.
April Wellington.
July
In 1975 Riccia sorocarpa Bisch, was growing on the shore of Lake Pukaki (Tuatara 22 : 227), but this area has since been flooded in the interests of water storage for the generation of electricity. Despite a search at this time of several likely areas in the North Island, it was not found there. However, on May 1, 1979, it was located growing abundantly in rosettes on paths and soil in a garden at 3 Pipi Street, Taupo. It is probably in other gardens near Taupo.
Riccia sorocarpa is easily recognised at a magnification of X 10 by the surface pattern of squares and the deep, narrow median groove. The only other Riccia species found in New Zealand which shows a similar surface pattern is R. bifurca Hoffm. (Tuatara 21 : 123-4). The latter only occasionally forms rosettes and has a narrow groove which soon widens. There are differences in the spore marking also.
Like fish and amphibians, reptiles are ectothermic animals, which is to say that they produce very little metabolic heat and their body temperature depends essentially on that of the environment. However, in contrast to the first two groups, reptiles are all more or less thermophilic and can only accomplish their main functions — i.e. locomotion, feeding, reproduction, etc. — at relatively elevated temperatures. For example, even in species living in very cold regions, such as Lacerta vivipara and Vipera berus which in Europe live as far north as the polar circle, digestion cannot be carried out below a temperature of 16 to 18°C and spermiogenesis below 21-22°C (Joly and Saint Girons, 1975). These limiting temperatures vary for different physiological functions and from one species to another, and differences as great as 14°C have been found between, for example, the lower limiting temperature for locomotion (Cowles and Bogert, 1944; Saint Girons and Saint Girons, 1956).
The relationship between the body temperature and the intensity of a particular biological phenomenon also varies for different functions between 10° and 35°C, which represents the range of normal body temperatures experienced. Oxygen consumption, for example, increases by a factor of 2.4 for every 10°C rise in temperature, and the heart rate increases by a factor of 2.2 (Bennett and Dawson, 1976). These co-efficients or Q10's, which reflect the basic chemical reactions occurring, vary in effect according to the temperature, and generally they decrease as the temperature increases. For example (Fig. 1), the frequency of rattling in rattlsnakes changes from a Q10 of 3 between 10° and 20°C to a Q10 of 1.4 between 20° and 30°C (Martin and Bagby, 1972). For other functions, usually those which do not proceed at a great rate, the Q10 may be much greater. This is particularly the case, for example, with the rate of spermiogenesis which increases by a factor of 6.7 between 22° and 32°C (Joly and Saint Girons, 1975).
For each species of reptile one can measure maximal and minimal lethal temperatures, critical temperatures, above and below which the animal is incapable of co-ordinated movement, and within these two limits there are also maximum and minimum voluntarily-tolerated temperatures which determine the real thermal activity zone, in the centre of which lies the preferred body temperature (Cowles and
The notion of an optimal body temperature or preferred body temperature has led to numerous discussions in the herpetological literature (Brattstrom, 1965; Heatwole, 1976; Werner and Whitaker, 1978). Many workers consider that this temperature corresponds to the mean body temperature measured in nature, which is obviously an aberration because these measures will forcibly include many animals which are in the process of basking and therefore have reduced body temperatures, or animals which are for example searching for food under cold conditions. Logically, one should only record temperatures of an animal when it is given a real choice. When one studies reptiles under these conditions it is quite evident that their body temperature varies only by a matter of ±2°C and that the mean calculated under these circumstances corresponds to the real preferred body temperature. It is worth noting, however, that when diurnal reptiles are maintained in the laboratory within a thermal gradient (Fig. 2), they generally choose night body temperatures which are definitely lower than those which they prefer during the day (Regal, 1967; Spellerberg, 1974), and the difference may be as great as 15°C for species living in temperate and cold regions. This difference is less marked for species living in intertropical forests, but some change between day and night would appear to be essential since animals maintained continuously at their preferred temperature in the laboratory die within two or three months.
The body temperature of a reptile depends on the one hand on the calories gained by direct solar radiation or reflected from the environment, from conduction from the substrate and by convection from the air. On the other hand it depends also on the calories lost due to radiation, conduction, convection and evaporation. The quantity of energy absorbed depends on the energy spectrum of the radiation falling on the animal, and on the reflection or reflectivity of its integument, and this is also influenced by the surface area exposed and by the orientation of the animal. These last two factors are under the control of the animal, and by changing the colour or reflectivity of its integument many species are able to modify the absorptive spectrum. The extent of thermal exchanges by conduction obviously depends on the surface area which is in contact with the substrate and also on the conductivity of the particular substrate, which is relatively high for sand and rocks but quite low for animals living in, for example forest situations where the substrate is covered with litter. The thermal exchanges with the air by convection are relatively small compared with radiation and conductive changes,
Even though the production of metabolic heat by reptiles is very low, these animals possess other physiological means to assist their thermoregulation (Templeton, 1970, Heatwole, 1976; Tucker, 1967). Most important of these is the control exerted over the dermal vascularity. Increases in heart rate and dilation of superficial blood vessels significantly augment the rate of thermal exchanges with the environment, and conversely thermal exchange is retarded when the heart rate is reduced and the dermal blood vessels are constricted. In general, over the range of temperatures which are voluntarily tolerated by reptiles, the rate of heating is almost invariably faster than the rate of cooling.
It is clear from the above that, overall, reptiles possess a large number of means of maintaining the internal body temperature at a preferred level, so long as they have an external source of heat.
Burrowing forms, or thigmotherms as they are called, utilise the temperature gradients in the soil, which in general is hottest close to the surface during the day. In intertropical humid forests the environmental gradients are very small and the body temperature of these reptiles varies very little throughout the day and night, and even throughout the whole year the body temperature will not vary much between 20° to 25°C. This is very different from the case in regions where the climate is much more variable, and especially in the desert regions which lack any adequate vegetation cover. In these habitats the sand-living forms, which are the only reptiles which have really been analysed from this point of view, are able to thermoregulate with remarkable precision. The Saharan viper Cerastes, for example, by burying its body in the sand with just the head poking out, is able to maintain its body temperature between 32° and 33° throughout the whole of the day, despite the fact that there are much greater variations of the air temperature and the surface soil temperatures (Saint Girons and Saint Girons, 1956).
Terrestrial reptiles, and particularly those which live in trees, have
These experiments were carried out in large enclosures which are exposed to natural climatic conditions, and the internal temperatures of the vipers were monitored continuously by a radio emitter which was placed inside a prey item and then fed to the vipers. In the morning the vipers emerge often quite early in order to drink the dew before it evaporates, and during this period there is no effort at thermoregulation. After they have drunk the dew they assume a basking position in the early sunlight, and they normally place themselves on top of a little shrub or bush which separates them from the soil which is at this stage still very cold (Fig. 3). Some species even flatten their body, which obviously augments the surface area exposed to the sun's rays, although this capacity is not shared by
Thermoregulatory methods in other species of reptiles in temperate regions are essentially the same as for vipers, but evidently they vary according to the system of alimentation: animals which are active hunters, for example, are forced to make frequent sallies into regions of the environment which are quite cold (Saint Girons and Saint Girons, 1956). Physiological adaptations which accelerate heating and retard cooling are obviously very beneficial under these conditions. Lizards which generally feed on very small prey eat every day. Their preferred body temperature shows no variation between periods of digestion and non-digestion and falls between 30° and 33°C for the great majority of species. Anguis fragilis, a legless lizard, represents a special case since its food consists essentially of earthworms and slugs which it hunts mainly at dawn and dusk and also after periods of rain. Otherwise the rest of the day is spent more or less hidden, with the exception that the males in spring at the moment of spermiogenesis and pregnant females in summer can be seen frequently exposed to sunlight. At this time their body temperature is generally close to 30°C, but otherwise these lizards appear to have temperature needs which are extremely slight, and it is
Sphenodon in New Zealand and a number of species of gecko, have a similar behaviour although for other reasons (Werner and Whitaker, 1978). They hunt at night,
when temperatures may be as low as 10° or 12°C, but they heat themselves either by exposing their bodies directly to the sun's rays or by moving underneath flat stones or bushes.
In regions with very cold winters or even cool winters and a lot of rain, reptiles are incapable of obtaining sufficient heat during that season to enable them to digest their food. Under these conditions, temperatures between 4° and 8°C become the most suitable for the
In reality then, even in cold regions adult reptiles are able to survive even if they only attain their preferred body temperature for a few hours every day and for as few as 40 days a year. But they are unable to reproduce under these conditions. In ovoviviparous species the females must at the same time make sure that embryonic development proceeds and they must also replace their energy reserves which have been depleted as a result of the process of vitellogenesis. Snakes, which do not eat during the period of gestation, are not able to breed more than one year in two. Oviparous species are somewhat better off, but eggs which are laid in the soil obviously do not have the benefits conferred on them by the thermoregulation of the female and they do not have time to develop before the arrival of winter in the coldest regions. This is why species which apparently have the same thermal needs and preferred temperatures often do not have the same distribution in terms of altitude or latitude.
In hot deserts the principal problem of thermo regulation which the reptiles must face is the one of high environmental temperatures (Cowles and Bogert, 1944; Bradshaw and Main, 1968; Cogger, 1974). Low environmental temperatures, although just as frequent in deserts, do not present any difficulty for reptiles because there is so much heat available in the day, and low temperatures are handled by desert reptiles in just the same way as animals living in temperate regions. The tortoises, almost all the snakes and many lizards become strictly nocturnal in summer, and may pass the daylight hours in their burrows where temperatures usually remain below 35°C. The preferred body temperature of these species is usually close to that of species living in temperate regions, usually between 31° and 33°C, and normally only the minimal critical temperature and the minimal voluntarily supported temperature differ, being somewhat higher. Despite this, many of the lizards which hunt small arthropods by eye, must remain diurnal even during the hottest periods of summer. Their adaptation to these extreme conditions takes the form of modifications in both physiology and behaviour. Effectively, their
In intertropical humid forests, which have relatively constant and hot climates, temperature regulation poses no problems and reptiles here are able to adopt a great number of modes of existence. In principle, however, there is no essential difference from those methods which are utilised in other regions. The preferred body temperature is realised by placing the whole or part of the body in the sun and by choosing a microhabitat which is homogeneous and has a convenient temperature, either soil or on the surface of, say, a bush. The preferred body temperature of reptiles living in intertropical forests and even subtropical forests generally falls between 27° and 30°C, probably less for burrowing forms. However, one should remember that because of the very small amount of cooling which occurs at night in the tropics, the mean body temperature of the animal over a 24-hour period is in fact much higher than that of reptiles living in temperate regions. This constancy of body temperature reaches the point in some species where they appear no longer to need to bother to thermoregulate behaviourly. The minimal voluntarily-tolerated temperatures also are often quite high, and may be above 15°C.
Obviously there exists a great number of intermediates between the three extreme cases which have been treated here. In general, in middle latitudes the reptiles have to struggle against the cold in spring and autumn, and against heat in summer, at least in continental regions where the temperature variations are extremely large.
The problems of thermoregulation are obviously quite different for reptiles which are aquatic or semi-aquatic. Species which never leave water, such as sea-snakes and marine tortoises, as well as a number of forms which live in fresh water, do not have at their disposal a very large thermal gradient (Graham, 1974). By exposing their body to the sun's rays at the surface of the water they are no doubt capable of raising the body temperature by two or three degrees Centigrade above the surrounding liquid. But this does not restrict them to living in only warm regions, and the very long gestation period of sea-snakes for example — 5-6 months instead of 2-3 is usual — demonstrates that they find themselves in a difficult thermal situation.
Semi-aquatic forms, such as crocodiles, tortoises, many snakes and
In general, as we have just seen, the preferred body temperatures are close to 30°C in the majority of reptiles, somewhat higher than this in species which are normally exposed to a substantial cooling at night, and a little lower in species living in intertropical humid
In many cases, identical thermal preferences will be found in species which live in very different climates and which have modes of living which are extremely different. Only reptiles which are strictly burrowers or aquatic and which, of course, have very limited possibilities for thermoregulation, are strictly localised in and restricted to hot regions. For the other species, the geographical distribution depends as much on inter-specific competition and other environmental factors such as the soil and the vegetation as it does on thermal factors. This is in contrast to the situation in other ectotherms. The case of diurnal lizards living in and regions with hot summers is very different, because their mode of existence obliges them to withstand elevated body temperatures. Here behavioural adaptations alone are insufficient and must be reinforced by appropriate biochemical adaptations. In all probability these adaptations depend essentially on the thermal sensitivity of several important key enzymes. For example, it has been shown that even though the relationship between the activity of the enzyme myosin-ATPase and the temperature may vary from one species to another, the maximum temperature for full activity of the enzyme is almost always only a few degrees Centigrade below the preferred body temperature (Licht, 1967). The problem is also complicated by the existence of iso-enzymes with different thermal characteristics, which can be mobilised according to the temperature to which the animal is exposed, as has been demonstrated in the case of lactate dehydrogenase in muscles (Aleksiuk, 1971; Hoskins and Aleksiuk, 1973). The possibilities of adaptation then, of species which are exposed to an unstable environment as is usually the case with reptiles, are thus very great, and this explains the wide distribution in both altitude and latitude of a number of species which have few competitors.
Although thermoregulation is an essential part of the existence of all reptiles, it does not cover obviously all of the biology of these animals (Cloudsley-Thompson, 1971). The independence of an aquatic environment displayed by reptiles — that is, the passage through evolution of reptiles from amphibians — is due to a series
It is particularly interesting to compare this last representative of a group of reptiles which flourished in the past with the living squamates (lizards and snakes), particularly those which most resemble the Tuatara and have an analogous mode of life in cold temperate regions.
In contrast to the tortoises and the crocodiles, which occupy an ecological niche very different from that of the squamates, the Tuatara holds a place rather similar to a large terrestrial lizard which is oviparous, insectivorous and nocturnal. These are the characters which one finds reasonably frequently in the lizards, particularly the iguanids and the agamids, but not in a similar climate. Effectively lizards living in temperate cold climates are always of small size and, with few exceptions, ovoviviparous and diurnal. These particulars of Sphenodon punctatus therefore pose a number of problems, especially concerning the question of thermoregulation.
All the diurnal reptiles living in cold temperate regions are able to move readily and even hunt at relatively low environmental temperatures. They are also able to take advantage of dew, which is often the only source of liquid in the environment. It evaporates rapidly in summer, and must be collected by the animals before sunrise if they are to profit from it. In addition, for some species such as Anguis fragilis, which lives principally on earthworms and slugs which are only really active at dawn and dusk or following rain, the activity of the lizard is forcibly limited to temperatures between 10° and 16°C. This does not stop the animal, however, from maintaining its body temperature constant and at a relatively high level during the day, because the males at least during spermiogenesis and the females during the period of gestation must be able to reach a body temperature of 30°C for a number of days. The few nocturnal reptiles living in cold temperate zones — mainly the New Zealand gecko genus Hoplodactylus — have a behaviour which is very analogous to this, and even if they hunt exclusively during the night, they bask during the day either by exposing themselves directly to the sun or placing themselves under a flat stone or under bark. In a recent paper, Werner and Whitaker (1978) have shown that the body temperature of H. maculatus often falls between 25 and 30°C during the middle of the day (Fig. 7).
The minimum temperature voluntarily tolerated by the Tuatara (roughly 6°C) is very low and, like other nocturnal reptiles living in the same region, hunting activities are usually carried out at temperatures between 10 and 15°C, at least in spring and autumn and in the coldest regions of the animal's home range. The first observations of the Tuatara, by Bogert (1953), showed that the Tuatara sometimes exposes itself to the sun during the day, usually at the entrance to its burrow, yet for many years the highest body temperature recorded from the animals in nature was 18°C, and following the study of Wilson and Lee (1970) the preferred body temperature would appear to be between 18 and 19°C. As a result of these data one must admit that this species shows adaptations to cold which are unknown in any other reptile.
The study of Werner and Whitaker (1978) and the recent observations of Saint Girons, Bell and Newman (in prep.) do little to change our opinions on this subject. It is clearly seen from these data that
These differences in behaviour do not depend on age or sex, or at least not at the time when our observations were made, for it is possible that at other times certain stages of the reproductive cycle — spermiogenesis, for example — involve increased thermic needs. At the moment, the only hypothesis we can formulate is that the temperatures sought by the animals differ according to the quantity of food absorbed the night before. Indeed, it is known at least in the species which swallow their large victims whole, that the preferred temperature at the beginning of the digestive process is about 2°C
et al, 1979). It is thus very possible that, so far as thermoregulation is concerned, the Tuatara does not really differ from other lepidosaurians living in cold temperate regions, or differs less than originally thought, but certainly more research is necessary and especially under natural conditions and with properly controlled laboratory experimentation.
Published results on the sensitivity of the Tuatara to changes in environmental temperature are also somewhat unsatisfactory. So far as metabolism is concerned (Milligan, 1924; Wilson and Lee, 1970), the oxygen consumption at 20°C and 30°C is approximately two-thirds of the mean of other reptiles of the same weight, but it falls non-the-less within the margin of variation for the whole group of species studied. An elevated rate of metabolism, of course, at a given body temperature would be the expected adaptation to cold conditions. The respiratory quotient is quite normal in the Tuatara and remains unchanged despite an increase in the consumption of oxygen in active animals, of the order of 5-6 times greater than that in animals at rest, as in the majority of reptiles.
So far as I am aware, there are no data on the temperature requirements of the Tuatara during the period of digestion. This is not surprising, however, as there have been few studies of this problem in lizards in general, and one knows only that the lizards which are the least sensitive to cold lose weight once they are maintained at temperatures below 20°C. At this temperature, digestion is still possible, because the animals continue to eat and do not die from alimentary intoxication, but digestion is too slow to compensate for the losses of energy even though they are extremely small.
In most species which live in cold zones, vitellogenesis occurs in spring, and under conditions which show that this physiological function does not require an elevated temperature so long as females have the necessary energetic reserves. This is not the case, however, for spermatogenesis. The time taken for embryonic development is also directly proportional to the temperature, but we have few precise results on this subject, unfortunately. In cold regions the period of incubation or gestation generally lasts about three months, but during very cold or wet summers the young often cannot reach the point of birth before the arrival of winter, and the result very often is a great mortality of young. So far as I am aware, there are no data on the temperature sensitivity of different physiological functions in the Tuatara, and we know only that the embryonic development occupies a particularly long period.
For reproduction to be assured, one needs something more than just the satisfactory conclusions of these various physiological processes. The cycles of the male and the female must be synchronised, and the young must find favourable ecological conditions when they emerge from the egg. In cold temperate zones, the active season
The sexual cycle of the Tuatara is poorly understood and would appear to be somewhat peculiar. A number of rather haphazard observations, many of which would appear to be somewhat contradictory, suggest that spermatogenesis occurs in spring and mating at the beginning of summer, but the eggs are not laid until the following spring (i.e. October to December in New Zealand). Incubation therefore lasts for 15 months, indicating that when the eggs finally hatch in summer, a period of two years has elapsed after mating, which is somewhat extraordinary. The problem of embryonic development in cold zones has been resolved in the Tuatara not by ovoviviparity, as is the case in other lepidosaurians, but by the possibility of an extremely slow development which is no doubt completely arrested during winter. I should like to emphasise, however, that the chronology of the sexual cycle of the Tuatara needs to be confirmed, and such a scheme of reproduction would appear to be extremely aberrant. It would be particularly interesting to know what is the duration of spermatogenesis, and whether deferred fertilisation exists. The oviducts of the female do not contain seminal receptacles which are morphologically differentiated, but one knows that in other reptiles the spermatozoids are able to survive for a number of months in diverticula in the vaginal tract. One should note also that the uterine glands, which are particularly abundant and large in the Tuatara, resemble quite closely those of the tortoises and those of lizards as welt, and this suggests that a more detailed study of the egg-shells would be of some interest.
Amongst reptiles, the Tuatara is the only one where the male does not have a copulatory organ, which suggests immediately that a study of mating behaviour in this animal would be of some interest. In addition, one finds on the ventro-lateral surfaces of the cloaca two large sebaceous glands which are more developed in the male than in the female and which are not found in other reptiles. Their function is of course at this stage unknown, and would be of interest to study.
There are many other morphological peculiarities of the Tuatara, but one is worth underlining because it is bound to be of eventual significance in the understanding of the pituitary gland of this animal. This peculiarity resides in the mode of contact between the neurosecretory fibres coming from the supra-optic and the para-ventricular nuclei in the hypothalamus and the primary capillaries of the hypophyseal portal blood system. In birds these capillaries terminate simply on the roof of the diencephalon, whereas in other tetrapod vertebrates the capillaries break up in the limiting glial membrane which they do not really traverse. In the Tuatara, on the other hand, groups of neurosecretory fibres go in front of the capillaries and locally traverse the limiting glial membrane at the level of the pars tuberalis, thus realising the third type of hypothalamic-hypophyseal contact which is theoretically possible (Gabe and Saint Girons, 1964). We know nothing unfortunately of the functional significance of this different form of neuro-hypophyseal contact.
Another unexpected characteristic of the Tuatara is its nocturnal habit in a cold temperate region, and associated with this the animal's sense organs which play an important role in the circadian rhythm of the animal, and ensure that it is able to find food and carry out thermoregulation. In certain cases the structure of sensory organs imposes a precise mode of existence. For example, iguanid lizards, which have very poorly-developed chemical senses and vision which is exclusively diurnal, are only able to capture mobile prey and then only during daylight hours. This evolution reaches its apogee in the chameleons, which are totally disoriented and helpless in complete darkness. Many other lizards which have a poor chemical sense, hunt solely mobile prey using their vision, and in these cases their circadian rhythm depends essentially on the type of vision they possess; nocturnal or diurnal. Some species with nocturnal vision, such as many of the geckos, possess possibilities of diurnal adaptation which are much more developed. Finally, amongst the many squamates which largely utilise their chemical sense for detection and capture of prey, are numerous species which are either diurnal or nocturnal depending upon the circumstances and, most notably, the necessity for temperature regulation. A small number of species maintain a strictly circadian rhythm and are unable to change for reasons which are purely behavioural.
The eye of the Tuatara, which is reasonably large, in general has a structure which is lizard-like (Underwood, 1970); the visual elements of the retina are very like cones, but modified secondarily for nocturnal vision, like those of the geckonids. The olfactory epithelium covers approximately half of the vestibule, but the ratio of olfactory cells to supporting cells is only about 1.4, which indicates that the capacity for smell is not well-developed in this animal. By comparison one may note that this ratio is 5.9 in Hoplodactylus maculatus, the only other nocturnal reptile living in these cold
Hoplodactylus) and, although probably functional, this organ could certainly play a very minor role in the detection of chemical substances. The ear lacks an external orifice and a tympanic cavity, and although the tympanic membrane is also degenerate, the internal ear is of a normal lacertilian type. It is obvious that the Tuatara must have a fairly mediocre sense of hearing although not completely absent (Baird, 1970). From this quick examination of the animal's sensory apparatus, it is apparent that the Tuatara must hunt its mobile prey principally or exclusively by sight, like nocturnal geckos, and such a diet is perfectly normal for a reptile of this size living in such a habitat.
The nocturnal mode of life of the Tuatara is thus doubly surprising: one the one hand, because it corresponds to an extremely rare behaviour in cold temperate regions, one which it does share with Hoplodactylus maculatus; and on the other hand, because it is the only nocturnal reptile in the world which has poorly-developed chemical senses. As there is absolutely no indication of a regression of these sense organs, one can only suppose that it corresponds to a fundamental characteristic of the Sphenodontidae, or of the rhynchocephalians, which was not able to be modified during the secondary adaptation of the group to a nocturnal mode of existence. Such a sequence of events is difficult to explain. One may imagine that the ancestors of the Tuatara, having small thermal requirements, became nocturnal during a warm climate, and have maintained this mode of life when they were forced to exist in colder climates to which they have become adapted by others means. This is not really a very satisfactory hypothesis, however, because all the results show that the circadian rhythm, even if it is innate, may evolve rapidly when circumstances require it, and certainly much more rapidly than any sensory epithelium.
I should like to thank Dr. S. D. Bradshaw for translating, from French, the original lectures on which this article is based.
The Editor wishes to thank the following for permission to use figures that accompany this article:
Fig. 1: with permission from Copeia. Copyright American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.
Fig. 2: with permission from Biology of the Reptilia: A. d'A. Bellairs, C. Gans, E. Williams. Copyright Linnean Society of London.
Fig. 5: with permission from Journal of Zoology, London. Copyright The Zoological Society of London.
Fig. 7: with permission from New Zealand Journal of Zoology. Copyright New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.
There are many who find, at one time or another, a need to preserve insect specimens — whether for display, to send to an authority for identification, for teaching purposes or for a collection of one's own. This booklet is an inexpensive guide to the most acceptable methods for dealing with insect specimens. It was written expressly for the management of the large insect collections at Entomology Division, D.S.I.R., but its relevance and appeal extend well beyond this context. Its presentation is clear and well illustrated with simple drawings. The subject matter covers preparation and preservation of pinned specimens, specimens in alcohol, or on microscope slides with notes on specific methods for each of the major orders of insects. Standardised labelling is described and the codes employed by Entomology Division for future data retrieval are outlined. The booklet also covers organisation of collections, packaging and posting of specimens, restoration, freeze-drying of larvae and concludes with a list of suppliers of entomological material, entomological catalogues and a reference list.
Review of The Geological History of New Zealand and its life. Auckland University Press/Oxford University Press. N.Z. $7.60. 141 pp.
‘… the “normal” scientist … is a person, one ought to be sorry for …, I believe, and so do many others, that all teaching on the university level … should be training and encouragement in critical thinking. The “normal” scientist … has been badly taught. He has been taught in a dogmatic spirit: he is a victim of indoctrination.’
— Popper (1970: 52-53)
‘The phrase, “the fossil record”, sounds impresive and authoritative. As used by some persons it becomes, as intended, intimidating, taking on the aura of esoteric truth as expounded by an elite class of specialists.’
— Nelson (1978: 329)
For the past thirty years, Sir
Believing, along with numerous others, that informed criticism is essential to the growth of scientific knowledge (see e.g. Lakatos and Musgrave, 1970) I am compelled to ask ‘Where in the New Zealand biogeographic literature is the critique one might expect of Fleming's work?’. We are forced to turn to our fellow Gondwanan,
‘Cet auteur (i.e. Fleming) est évidemment dans une complète ignorance des faits essentiels de la repartition… . Il envisage des “centres”, des “moyens de transport”, des “migrations” qui l'empêchent de raisonner par le bon sens les
faitsdont pourtant la Nouvelle Zelande abonde dans toute sa biogéographie. Sa “methode” est une épave ballottée par des relents darwiniens qu’ on lui a insufflé à ses heures d'ecole. Nous ne voudrions, évidemment, rien discuter avec lui, pas plus que nous voudrions analyser une question de mathématiques avec tel qui nous assurerait que si nous voulons nous entendre il es indispensable que nous croyons que deux et deux, font cinq… .En effet entre la biogéographie deZimmerman, Fosberg, Darlington Jr., Mayr, Simpson, Van Steenis, Fleming,etc., et celle que nous allons exposer à nos lecteurs la difference est la même qu' entre la cosmogonie de Ptolemee et celle de Copernic.’1
Croizat (reviewed in Craw, 1978) has written extensively on problems of New Zealand biogeography, especially with emphasis on the avifauna (Croizat, 1958), an interest he shares with Fleming, yet Croizat merits scarely a mention in the present volume and that only in the following context (p. 12): ‘I do not class myself in any particular school of biogeographers but this does not mean I will not
On the Origin of Species.
It is fair to ask ‘Is this important?’ Yes, of course it is, for Fleming would have us believe that he works in an intellectual vacuum, reading the history of life with complete objectivity from the fossil record:
‘Interpretation springs from the observational data of the fossil record and of living organisms. Paleontologists, who realise the extent of imperfection in the fossil record, are in a good position to appreciate the imperfection of the present distribution patterns of living plants and animals and the great changes that have occurred, in the geologically recent past, in the composition of biotas and the communities they comprise’ (p. 12) and:
‘Universal laws may be sought in the observed data but not imposed upon them’ (p. 13).
This is of course the inductivist view of science, first formulated in popular form by Lord Bacon, at the close of the Renaissance. But there is a problem with induction, with this supposed inferring directly from the fossil record. This is known, not surprisingly, as the problem of induction; our knowledge of which we attribute to David Hume, the famous Scots philosopher of the 18th century who first pointed out that it is impossible to justify a law by observation or experiment. Popper, a foremost philosopher of science, has this to say on the problem (1972: 27):
‘According to a widely accepted view … the empirical sciences can be characterized by the fact that they use
“inductive methods”, as they are called… . It is usual to call an inference “inductive” if it passes fromsingular statements… such as accounts of the results of observations or experiments, touniversal statements, such as hypotheses or theories.Now it is far from obvious, from a logical point of view, that we are justified in inferring universal statements from singular ones, no matter how numerous; for any conclusion drawn in this way may always turn out to be false: no matter how many instances of white swans we may have observed, this does not justify the conclusion that
allswans are white."
Now if I understand Popper correctly the scientific methodology and its application to biogeography espoused by Fleming is philosophically unsound. Popper's alternative is ‘the theory of the deductive method of testing or … the view that a hypothesis can only be empirically tested — and only after it has been advanced' (1972: 30). The criterion between science and non-science becomes whether or not a hypothesis is able to be falsified; not how ‘objectively’ or
rationally rather than on the basis of weight of consensus, personal authority, etc?’. It is by now, pretty well accepted that centres of origin/dispersal biogeographic hypotheses, such as those advanced by Fleming, are not scientifically resolvable as they are not able to be falsified (see McDowall, 1978, and Craw, 1979, for some discussion of this with reference to the New Zealand situation). Application of the hypothetico-deductive method to biogeography and the manner in which falsifiable biogeographic hypotheses can be constructed has been explored in some considerable depth and detail, and often with reference to problems of Southern Hemisphere biogeography, by (amongst others) Ball (1975) and Rosen (1975, 1978).
What this all means is that there is an alternative approach to Fleming's biogeography and that this alternative finds its immediate roots in the work of et al. (1974: 277) point out, why do we not ‘admit that ideas and beliefs have a history; and in the search for that history, … be candid with students so that they may not wander in a world of make-believe and pretense — however reputable and orthodox that world might seem.’ Why indeed!
The notion that organisms arise in a specific centre of origin is an important concept in Darwin/Wallace biogeography, and naturally enough in Fleming's application of that hallowed tradition to states of affairs in the New Zealand sector. The problem with this notion, as pointed out by Cain (1943), is that none of the criteria advanced for the recognition of a centre of origin are of any real value in biogeographic studies. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the controversy between on the one hand Fleming (1976, present book pp. 104-106) and Wardle (1978), and on the other hand, West and Raven (1977) over whether or not certain taxa had their centres of origin in New Zealand or Australia respectively. What it boils down to is ‘How do we choose between the alternatives?’ Do we accept Fleming's view because he is the foremost biogeographer in New Zealand or do we accept Raven's because he is an expert in the taxonomy of the taxa involved? Perhaps all these gentlemen would care to inform us on what grounds we should accept their authority and their divining of centres of origin.
In contrast to Croizat's view that the distributions of individual plant and animal taxa when compared yield patterns that are not random, and that taxa with the same disjunct distribution patterns have a common history being members of an ancestral biota that has
Hebe arose in a New Zealand centre of origin and dispersed outwards from this centre to Rapa Island, Fuegia and Falkland Islands. Such a method of biogeographic analysis ignores the pretty massive and fundamental ties between Rapa Island and New Zealand occurring in organisms, with diverse ‘means of dispersal’ ranging from numerous plants (Brown, 1935; Croizat, 1952) to an isopod (Jackson, 1938).
As Croizat (1964: 141) notes ‘it is not so that [species X] next after birth by a Darwinian, “origin of species” in, e.g. Florida decided one fine morning to “migrate” by “casual means” to Hawaii and Rapa’ but ‘much has been, and still is being written by “zoogeographers” and “phytogeographers” to prove that dispersal in and around the Pacific is due to “very gradual” transportation of seed, etc., by “casual means”, “coloizing flights” and the like’ (p. 153). It is interesting to note that on the basis of his biogeographic studies Croizat (1952: 180) was led to the following conclusion: ‘… we are bound to connect Stewart Island, the Kermadecs, Tahiti, Somoa, Fiji, New Hebrides and New Caledonia by a track also touching New Zealand… . It may be that Tahiti was not solidly connected within a single landmass with Stewart Island though good evidence is at hand that an “antarctic” shore ran all the way between New Zealand and the New World immediately interesting such modern islands as Rapa, Sala y Gomez Island and the Juan Fernandez.’ It is quite significant that Croizat's prediction about an ancient Pacific continent, where there is no ocean and supposedly ‘oceanic’ islands, is being independently corroborated at this very hour by workers in the geological sciences (e.g. Shields, 1976). And Nur and Avraham (1977) postulate a large, lost Pacifica continent that once existed next to Australasia and Antarctica. They conclude (p. 43) that ‘the evidence from geophysics, geology and biology makes a compelling case for a now extinct Pacific continent, whose fragmented remains are now embedded in the circum-Pacific, mountain belts.’ Further evidence is supplied by Cranwell's (1963) report of coal from Rapa Island. Hardly the sort of find one would expect on a recent volcanic, oceanic island. Where now Fleming's (p. 106) birds and plants that have ‘crossed the sea from New Zealand to some of the Pacific Islands’? Which brings me to my final point.
What is most noticeable to the discerning reader of Fleming's book is the tension that exists between his geological and his biogeographical
avantgarde geology-wise but he does not extend the insights gained from geology to his biogeography. Matthew, writing in 1915, expressed the view that animal groups arose in centres of origin in the northern hemisphere and dispersed southwards through the main land masses. Fleming, in 1979, appears to believe likewise (p. 111): ‘Antarctica was closer to New Zealand, was not heavily glaciated, and was at least partly vegetated in the earlier Tertiary with Paleoaustral plants … and this undoubtedly contributed … to the dispersal of Paleoaustral elements, most of which had probably entered the area from the north down one of the southern land masses’ (my emphasis). It will come as no surprise to readers of this review to learn that I personally believe that concepts of continental drift/plate tectonics have somewhat different implications for the biogeography of New Zealand, than those attributed to them by Fleming, some of which have been explored by Nelson (1975) and Craw (1979).
My conclusion? Perhaps Fleming, as a paleontologist, has been preoccupied with stratigraphy, and ignored the implications of tectonics, to the detriment of his biogeography. And it is only fair that the last word go to very new stratigraphy may harbour very ancient life …’ (Croizat. 1964: 259).
1 My translation, somewhat free, of the passage: ‘This author (i.e. Fleming) is evidently in complete ignorance of essential facts of distribution… . He considers ‘centres’, ‘means of dispersal’, ‘migration’, which prevent him from weighting in the best sense, the facts which however abound in New Zealand biogeography. His ‘method’ is a wreck of the Darwinian vapours that had been forced into him in his school hours. Obviously we would never discuss with him, no more than we would analyse a mathematical question with one who would assure us that if we wish to come to an understanding it is essential to
In fact, between the biogeography of Zimmerman, Fosberg, Darlington Jr., Mayr, Simpson, Van Steenis, Fleming, etc,. and that which we are going to outline to our readers the difference is the same as between the cosmology of Ptolemy and that of Copernicus.’
As Sir Monographiae Biologicae. The average student and lay reader will be grateful to the publishers for this new version. The book is not just for the initiated, but carefully worded to be understood by the novice. The attempt to simplify the language goes a little too far in places. For example, the title of Chapter 5, “Pleistocene Ice Ages”, perpetuates a long-standing layman's misconception, and is inaccurate. Even a first-year undergraduate today should know that the “ice ages” to which the author refers started well before the Pleistocene Epoch, and also that the Holocene Epoch which is treated in the same chapter is not a part of the Pleistocene. I foresee endless explanations to students who read this chapter.
I don't want to discredit the book; far from it! It is going to be very useful for teaching, containing suitable material for all undergraduate stages, and for Continuing Education classes. It is also a useful research reference both for the highly authoritative views of the author and for locating the many sources of his data. It is a very versatile book, Syntheses of New Zealand geology are all too few, and very seldom as comprehensive as this one.
The main purpose of the book is to outline the biogeographic history of New Zealand, as far as it is known at present. The student of geology must not be put off by this reference to biogeography. The author disassociates himself from particular biogeographic theories and philosophies, drawing attention to Wallace's comment in 1855 that the fossil record provides indispensible data for understanding how the modern biogeography has developed. The book is strongly oriented towards geology as is to be expected from an author
Sir Charles has always been the most prolific writer on New Zealand's biogeographic history, and it is natural therefore that his book draws heavily on his own earlier articles. Two that were probably the most widely read were published in previous issues of Tuatara (1949, 1962). Others have appeared in various New Zealand and international journals. The book is not merely a rehash of the earlier articles and the concepts laid down in them are modified and amplified in the light of modern data and ideas from many sources, as attested by the long list of references (which itself is invaluable for the student).
Within its 141 pages the book encapsulates an up-to-date outline of the last 250 million years of New Zealand's paleogeographic history — from a minuscule part of the giant Gondwanaland continent's edge to the present microcontinent alone in the Southwest Pacific. Together with this is a wealth of information about the fossils, both plant and animal, their nature, distributions and relationships. Pre-Permian geological history receives only a passing mention because not much has been known about the pre-Permian fossils until very recently (since the book was written). Five pages are devoted to the Palaeozoic, 22 to the Mesozoic, 27 to the Tertiary and 36 to the Quaternary. This proportional representation reflects the geological law of increasing returns with decreasing age. It would not happen in Britain where the Tertiary is poorly developed (a bit of dirt on top), and probably not in North America. But here in New Zealand the Tertiary and Quaternary Series form the most important part of our geology, both aerially and economically. Chapter 5, despite its inaccurate title mentioned earlier, is perhaps the most entertaining one in the book, bringing together for the first time accounts of the Quaternary climatic influences on plants, marine invertebrates, land snails (Paryphanta), parrots and wrens, and cicadas (the author's hobby-study); there is also a brief but informative section on the influence of the Maoris and their introduced animals.
The book is amply illustrated by black and white diagrams and drawings of fossils. Many of the diagrams are taken directly from the author's earlier publications, and quantitative ages on some of them have not been brought up to date. Because the diagrams were originally published at different times the quantitative ages are sometimes inconsistent. For example the base of the pliocene is dated at 7 million years on figures 13 and 15 and about 13 million years on figure 31. Since the early 1970's the generally accepted age for the base of the Pliocene has been about 5 million years. The serious reader can cope with this by pencilling in revised ages. The drawings of fossils vary in quality because the block-maker has had to contend with originals from different sources with different
The faults of the book are outweighed by the virtues. It is to be dipped into from time to time, rather than read from cover to cover. New Zealand's biogeographic history is still too poorly known to provide better than a series of episodes. As this stage of our knowledge no author could pretend to give any more than a progress bulletin. Sir Charles does not intend anything more; he is fully aware of the limitations of the data at present, and of the rate at which the data are increasing. His book will serve admirably for a time. At seven dollars it is good value for money.
This popular work has been preceded by a number of authoritative human ectoparasite studies some of which are now classics of the scientific literature. Along with these, more general works have appeared — Zinsser's Rats, Lice and History and Rosebury's Life on Man are two well known examples. The book now being reviewed is the latest of this type, which provides a scientific account of the human ectoparasitic fauna and flora in layman's terms, liberally laced with historical facts and anecdotes. Andrews' book arose out of the popularity of a BBC-TV film on the subject, a not unusual event these days where the preceding film tests the depth of public interest and at the same time alerts it, thus assuring a market — even for books on ectoparasites. The present book differs from its predecessors in two significant ways, first there is a good variety of illustrations, secondly the book attempts to cover all the major ectoparasitic groups including bacteria, viruses and some fungi. Bearing in mind the scope of the work and the history of the subject, it was inevitable that there would be some clutter, as 20th century therapy jostles with 18th century anecdote. Most of this would have been acceptable were it not for the parsimony of the publishers who have shoe-horned illustrations and text into pages of woefully small size and with mean margins. The lively text and relevant illustrations, that range from 15th century engravings to recent scanning electron microphotographs, deserve a better home than this.
These criticisms aside, it can be said that the author has produced a book that is every bit as interesting and stimulating as the film that
The book may have a further value in that the treatment and control of some human ectoparasitic diseases have been dogged by superstitution and ignorance — even today, outdated and misheld beliefs are commonplace wherever these diseases are present or are discussed. By reaching out to a wider audience, books such as the present one, which can both entertain and educate, should do much to enlighten us.
This is a specialist's book which brings together under one cover the current genetical/morphological/ecological data on a difficult genus. A key is provided and each species so keyed is described in detail. Line drawings of basidiospores and other important taxonomic features of the species appear in a block at the back of the book.
The text is clearly presented, using capitals for subdivisions within species descriptions, enabling ease of data location when the book is used in conjunction with microscopic examination of specimens. Some difficulty, however, was experienced in using the keys due to the specialist terms used. For example, although ‘submitriform’ is explained as meaning ‘shouldered’ (p. 51), just what do amygdaliform or lageniform mean? Inclusion of a glossary would have alleviated this small difficulty.
In spite of its high cost, this book is a ‘must’ for all serious taxonomic mycologists is New Zealand. It is another good quality and comprehensive publication whose appearance will please many mycologists who hitherto have been grappling with this difficult genus.
This latest book from Dr Graeme Stevens describes the past events which have shaped our country and influenced the survival of the plants and animals that we have today. There is, however, far more to the book than its title implies, for it does not restrict itself to New Zealand's geological history in terms of continental plate movements (like the ‘jostling of ice floes’). Rather it deftly unravels the history of the concept of plate tectonics and assembles the whole spectrum of evidence for drift on a world scale. Thus the breadth of topics covered include fossil magnetism, the structure of the oceanic ridges and trenches, earthquake distributions, the significance of sea mounts, ‘hotspots’ and ophiolites, as well as the theories of the origin of the solar system and the structure of the earth's core. In short, it is the layman's complete guide to geological processes with New Zealand as its central theme.
Continental drift has done wonders for the earth sciences. Like some other major scientific concepts that deal with ‘inconceivable’ events, a long time elapsed before the first coherent theory of continental movement was proposed by Alfred Wegener and a further 60 years was needed for it to reach a level of widespread acceptance. Now we find that it provides a great unifying theme on which the many diverse aspects of geology can be brought together. This exciting reorientation of thought has taken place during Dr Sevens' life and he has succeeded in conveying ‘something of this excitement’ in his book.
The book is aimed at ‘the needs of the general reader who is interested in how our earth has evolved’. Unnecessary jargon is avoided and essential technical terms are carefully defined. Literature references are not cited in the text, but there is a chapter by chapter list of ‘suggestions for further reading’ (a total of 359 including 105 concerned with the development of fauna and flora of New Zealand and the SW Pacific). Dr Stevens has, at the expense of repetition (even to reprinting an illustration twice), catered for the selective reader who wants to dip into the text at any point. Moreover, this policy extends also to the captions which are expanded explanations, allowing a great deal of the story to be gleaned from browsing through the pictures. Incidentally, the author's wife contributed the multitude of maps and diagrams, all redrawn from a variety of sources to provide a uniformity to the illustrations.
A large portion of the book is devoted to the development of New Zealand's biota, a discussion of its fossil record and the biogeography of the present-day fauna and flora. Although the
I found the book both entertaining and informative on first reading and I am sure it will be used for reference for a long time to come. Graeme and Diane Stevens should be congratulated for the care with which they have presented this complex material so that it becomes available to the general reader.