IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19147, 15 April 1924, Page 2

IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

THE WORLD’S BIGGEST 15 ABN ACHE, By J, DauimoNu. E.L.S., F.Z.3. Amongst the world's records established by New Zealand' is the biggest barnacle. It lived near Motutapu Island, Auckland Harbour, in Miocene seas, in the Tertiary Eia —quite recently geologically—but sufficiently lung ago to oe before that recent arrival, man, had appeared in any part of the world, according to palaeontological reasoning. This giant of the barnacle tribe, Hexalenia Aucklandicum, has left fragmentary remains in beds that formed a Miocene shore-line. Associated with it in its lifetime were corals, lamp-shells, and representatives of the sea-urchins and the starfishes. Since its remains were collected by Professor J. Park, of Dunedin, some 37 years ago, it has attracted attention oil’ and on, but not to the extent that might bo expected, as New Zealand s fossil i.irripedes—the “curly-feet,” literally, a title given to this sub-class of the crustacca on account of their curled, jointed feet-—have been sadly neglected by paleontologists. The nearest relative of the extinct giant of Motutapu Island, which belonged to the acorn-shell division, is represented by fossils found by Mr R. E. Priestly, a member of the Terra Nova Antarctic Expedition, in a glacier 30ft above sea level, at Evans Cove, Terra Nova Bay, Victoria Land. The Antarctic species was twice as large as the largest living member of the order, but less than half the size of the Miocene species of Motutapu Island, but it had some advantage in a stouter build.

The Antarctic barnacle seemed to be free of a matrix of rock. This lias perplexed palaeontologists. The soundes* explanation scorns to be that of Mr E. Debcnham, one of the Terra Nova’s geologists. He believes that an ice sheet may be lifted off the floor of the sea. bv the thaw and the decrease of the ice afiovc, and by additions by freezing from below'. It encloses some of the imid where it touches the sea floor, taking some marine organisms with the nrud. As the process continues the mud rises through the ice, and appears on the surface without having suffered shock or disintegration. The mud is dispersed by water, and the marine organisms are left on the ice. That, apparently, is a chapter in the history of the barnacle found by ihe Terra Nova expedition during its enforced stay at Evans Cove. A barnacle still found ii. New Zealand waters, Bakuns dcconis, scorns to have been a fairly characteristic, species in New Zealand ’n Miocene and the succeeding Pliocene times. Some of the Pilocene forms still retain traces of their pale rose colour, although, if the latest calendar of the earth.' issued by physicists, is correct, those barnacles lived somewhere between 55,000,000 and 65,000,000 years ago.

One of the matipos, a shrub about nine feet high, with a fragiant light yellow flowei-s, often edged on the sides ot the petals with a narrow reddish hue. has an interesting history. It has been reported from only three places, all in New Zealand. It was discovered bv A Raoul, a Trench surgeon and botanist, at Akaroa, about 84 years ago. Many botanists have searched for it in the Akaroa district since Raoul s time, but in vain. Twenty-three years ago, Mr K. H. Matthews found it at the outlet of Lake, Tongonge, near Kaita'a, North Auckland, and four years ago Mr G. O. K. Sainsbury was fortunate to find the species at Wairoa, between Napier and titsborne. The Wairoa specimens of this rani native plant were, noted in a swampy Forest in the. flats of the Wairoa River, about half a mile from the river's western bank. The forest 18 reserved, and those, matipos, it is hoped, with it. Mr Salisbury states that the species seems to lie strictly a swamp plant, as it has not been found in any hilly or dry. place. It has an extraordinary resemblance to the mapou ; even at a few paces away, when neither plant was in flower or fruit, he could not distinguish them. Kaiatia and Wa’roa are. the only places where this matipo, Pittcspornm obcordata, is known to grow at present. “Other swampy forests with a superficial resemblance to the forest in which the species grows have been visited by me, Mr Sainsbury writes, ‘but a careful search has faded to disclose it. As it is fairly plentiful in the small part of the forest in which it is found, as it seeds profusely, and as the seeds germinate freely, it is somewhat surprising that it appears to lie confined to one locality. The explanation may be, that in a situation of that nature, the seeds could be distributed only by birds, and that birds do not relish them.”

“1 had an opportunity a few days ago to watch a spider and a fly under a magnifying glass, ' Dr Gordon MacDonald, Dunedin, 'wrote on March 27. “The web had been spread for a wandering fly in a corner. I could not see the spider at first, but discovered it after hunting around the places where its anchor cables had been hitched. A large'blowfly buzzed up, and, laughing at the flimsy obstacle, went slap : nto it. A halt, a struggle, much Buttering of wings and kicking of logs, and the blowfly reduced the web to a thing of shreds, but it held by the main cables. The blow fly became exhausted, and silence prevailed. The spider then emerged from its hiding-place. After surveying the scene, it ran along its main cable, climbed on to the blowfly’s back, dug deeply into the blowfly's neck, and seemed to inject a poison, which immediately paralysed the captive. The spider, douLtless, congratulated itself on its suecess. I bound the blowfly’s wings and legs close to the body. I was interested to see how the spider, a bantam or featherweight, would take the enormous body away. Leaving the blowfly trussed up, the spider examined and repaired its main cable, returned, fixed a rope to tire blowfly, and tugged until it was placed ,11 tlie dining-room, available for a splendid feast. The following morning I found the blowfly’s shell, with all the fastenings undone, fluttering in the wind like a scarecrow. Spiders, undoubtedly, arc mighty hunters, crafty and cruel, but fulfilling their purpose in Nature. '

The latest edition to a great mass of botanical and zoological evidence of a, former land connection between New Zealand and South America, through the Antarctic Continent, is supplied by an extinct cockle-shell, Lahillia, which has a restricted geographical range, and is restricted, also, in geological time. Until recently it had been reported from only the Upper Crestaccous and the Lower Tertiary formations of South America and the Antarctic Cont’nent, where it 3 of frequent occurrence. Specimens now have been found at Wangaloa, near Kaitangata, Utago.

A Waipukurau farmer last year supplied notes cm a family of tame eels in a creel; on his property. A resident of Whatu whiwhi, near Mangunui, North Auckland, has reported somewhat similar experiences by a lady who lives near Lake Ohia. “The lake,” he writes, "is a small area of water only a few chains in diameter. Hard sandstone slopes very gradually down to the edge of the water. Regularly at sundown the lady goes to the lake to feed eels that live there. She places the food a few inches from the water. The eels wriggle out, each takes a piece, and they flop back into the water. She can pick them up and fondle them. If the food is placed further and further from the water, they come further ui> the bank, looking around for the pieces. The presence of other people, laughing and talking, makes no difference to them. When I vis'ted the lake, cooked meat was on the menu, but I was assured that boiled rice went like hot cakes. The ladv first induced one shy cel to approach and accept food. She now ieeds more than 29’ every evening. They always are waiting for her.”