By Daphne Lee, Uwe Kaulfuss and John Conran (Otago University Press, 2022)
This generously illustrated book takes the reader through the story of, and significance of, the Foulden Maar site in Otago. Formed by a volcanic eruption 23 million years ago, the Maar’s undisturbed sedimentary layers are chocka with rare, well-preserved fossils. It’s an extraordinary record of life and ecosystems at the beginning of the Miocene, and it’s come under threat by a proposal to mine its diatomite deposits. There is no legislation in Aotearoa that safeguards geological and palaeontological taonga on private land – weirdly, if the critters preserved in the sediment were alive, they might be protected. Long dead, not so much.
And what excellent critters that are. There are freshwater sponges, ancient whitebait, eels, primitive planthoppers, a sexually dimorphic scale insect and a whole lot of weevils. They, along with an astonishing range of plant and floral matter, are all rendered in detailed photographs, with wings, eyes, bones and teeth visible. You are transported not just to Foulden Maar, but to the Miocene itself. And once you are there, you cannot help but say, “save this place”. – LW
