The little penguin is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as fairy penguins, little blue penguins, or blue penguins, owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name kororā. They are fossorial birds.
Moa are an extinct group of flightless birds formerly endemic to New Zealand. During the Late Pleistocene-Holocene, there were nine species. The two largest species, Dinornis robustus and Dinornis novaezelandiae, reached about 3.6 metres (12 ft) in height with neck outstretched, and weighed about 230 kilograms (510 lb) while the smallest, the bush moa, was around the size of a turkey. Estimates of the moa population when Polynesians settled New Zealand circa 1300 vary between 58,000 and approximately 2.5 million.
A wallaby is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and sometimes the same genus, but kangaroos are specifically categorised into the four largest species of the family. The term "wallaby" is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or a wallaroo that has not been designated otherwise.
The Auckland Islands are an archipelago of New Zealand, lying 465 km (289 mi) south of the South Island. The main Auckland Island, occupying 460 km2 (180 sq mi), is surrounded by smaller Adams Island, Enderby Island, Disappointment Island, Ewing Island, Rose Island, Dundas Island, and Green Island, with a combined area of 570 km2 (220 sq mi). The islands have no permanent human inhabitants.
The Oceanian realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms and is unique in not including any continental land mass. It has the smallest land area of any of the WWF realms.
The erect-crested penguin is a penguin endemic to the New Zealand region and only breeds on the Bounty and Antipodes Islands. It has black upper parts, white underparts and a yellow eye stripe and crest. It spends the winter at sea and little is known about its biology and breeding habits. Populations are believed to have declined during the last few decades of the twentieth century, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed it as being "endangered".
The bushwren, also known as the mātuhituhi in the Māori language, was a very small and almost flightless bird that was endemic to New Zealand. It had three subspecies on each of the major islands of New Zealand, the North Island, South Island, and Stewart Island / Rakiura and nearby smaller islands. The species disappeared gradually after the introduction of invasive mammalian predators, last being seen on the North Island in 1955 and the South Island in 1968. Attempts were made to save the remaining population on small islands off Stewart Island, but they ultimately failed with the death of the last remaining known birds in 1972.
The New Zealand grebe, also known as the New Zealand dabchick or weweia, is a member of the grebe family endemic to New Zealand.
The Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat, known to the Māori as kiore, is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. Contrary to its vernacular name, the Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asia, and like its relatives has become widespread, migrating to most of Polynesia, including New Zealand, Easter Island, and Hawaii. It shares high adaptability with other rat species extending to many environments, from grasslands to forests. It is also closely associated with humans, who provide easy access to food. It has become a major pest in most areas of its distribution.
The biodiversity of New Zealand, a large island country located in the south-western Pacific Ocean, is varied and distinctive. The species of New Zealand accumulated over many millions of years as lineages evolved in the local circumstances. New Zealand's pre-human biodiversity exhibited high levels of species endemism, but has experienced episodes of biological turnover. Global extinction approximately 65 Ma resulted in the loss of fauna such as non-avian dinosaurs, pterosaurs and marine reptiles e.g. mosasaurs, elasmosaurs and plesiosaurs. The ancient fauna is not well known, but at least one species of terrestrial mammal existed in New Zealand around 19 Ma. For at least several million years before the arrival of human and commensal species, the islands had no terrestrial mammals except for bats and seals, the main component of the terrestrial fauna being insects and birds. As recently as the 14th century a component has been introduced by humans, including many terrestrial mammals.
The South Island piopio also known as the New Zealand thrush, was a passerine bird of the family Oriolidae.
The bush moa, little bush moa, or lesser moa is an extinct species of moa from the family Emeidae endemic to New Zealand.
The North Island takahē is an extinct species of flightless swamphen that was native to the North Island of New Zealand. It is closely related to the living South Island takahē.
The whitehead is a small species of passerine bird endemic to New Zealand. It is classified in the family Mohouidae. The male whitehead's upperparts, wings and tail are a pale brown in colour, while the head and underparts are white – in the case of the male an almost pure white in colour. Females and juveniles have similar colouration except that the nape and crown are shaded brown. The black beak and eyes contrast with the white head and the feet are bluish black in colouration.
The New Zealand owlet-nightjar is an extinct, comparatively large species of owlet-nightjar formerly endemic to the islands of New Zealand. Fossil remains indicate the species was once widespread across both the North Island and the South Island.
Pennantia is the sole genus in the plant family Pennantiaceae. In older classifications, it was placed in the family Icacinaceae. Most authorities have recognised three or four species, depending on whether they recognised Pennantia baylisiana as a separate species from Pennantia endlicheri. British-born botanist David Mabberley has recognised two species.
Victoria Forest Park, is situated on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. At 2,069 square kilometres (799 sq mi) it is New Zealand's largest forest park. The park is administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC).
Manuherikia is a genus of extinct species of ducks from the Miocene of New Zealand. It was described from fossil material of the Saint Bathans Fauna, in the lower Bannockburn Formation of the Manuherikia Group, found by the Manuherikia River in the Central Otago region of the South Island. The genus name comes from the name of the geological formation in which the fossils were found and, ultimately, from the Manuherikia River and its valley.
The Chatham Island merganser is an extinct species of merganser duck from New Zealand. The binomial name refers to Dr. Philip Millener, to recognise his work in collecting material on the species.
