Re: New Zealand

[tholtz@geochange.er.usgs.gov]

>New Zealand hasn't got a large number of excavation sites for dinosaur
>remains.  Essentially there is one, near Napier, where remains have been
>found from about 7 different types of dinosaur.  These are represented by 
>_very_ few bones indeed.  New Zealand was essentially placed in a near 
>shore environment during the Cretaceous and all the specimens were washed 
>into this environment from afar.  There is a rich fauna of marine reptiles
>and pterasaurs though.
>
>Most (if not all) of the New Zealand dinosaur specimens have been found 
>by Joan Wiffen and the Napier Palaeo Society.  Joan essentially took 
>up fossil hunting to keep herself occupied when she retired.  Her 
>book "Valley of the Dragons" is certainly worth reading.
>

Does anyone in the Northern Hemisphere (or better yet, North America) know
where I can get a copy of this?  Has it distributed by any international
booksellers, or is there an address I can write to in NZ in order to get
it.

>
>Australia has a much better fossil fauna.  Current excavations at 
>'Dinosaur Cove' are turning up lots of interesting specimens.  I'll
>post references later if necessary.

Also, there are some interesting dinosaurs from other regions of Australia,
especially the unusual primitive armored dinosaur Minmi and the roman-nosed
ornithiopod Muttaburrasaurus.

                                     
Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Vertebrate Paleontologist in Exile
U.S. Geological Survey
Branch of Paleontology & Stratigraphy
MS 970 National Center
Reston, VA  22092

email:  tholtz@geochange.er.usgs.gov 
Phone:  703-648-5280
FAX:            703-648-5420