Dactylioceratidae (Cephalopoda, Ammonoidea) from the early Jurassic of New Zealand

Abstract

Dactylioceratidae are recorded from New Zealand from two localities in strata of Early Ururoan age. Catacoe‐loceras grangei n.sp. is recorded from north of the North Island and Zugodactylites braunianus (d'Orbigny, 1845) from south of the South Island. Catacoeloceras grangei has a very close affinity with Catacoeloceras species from the Crassum Subzone (latest part of the Early Toarcian) in southern Europe. Zugodactylites braunianus occurs in Europe in the lower (but not basal) and middle parts of the Fibulatum Subzone and therefore is one subzone older than C. grangei and is of comparable age to the occurrences of Harpoceras subplanatum (Oppel, 1856) in the North Island. Catacoeloceras grangei, Z. braunianus, and H. subplanatum are part of a migration that took place primarily in the Crassum and Fibulatum Subzones, presumably in response to a major eustatic rise in sea level that opened up new migration routes and areas to colonise for Tethyan taxa.

Keywords:

• Catacoeloceras grangei n.sp.
• Zugodactylites
• Harpoceras
• Juraphyllites
• New Zealand
• Early Jurassic
• Early Toarcian
• Bifrons Zone
• Crassum Subzone
• Fibulatum Subzone
• Ururoan Stage
• Murihiku Terrane
• Kawhia Harbour
• Te Akau
• Wyndham
• Ururoa Formation
• Ohautira Conglomerate
• Diamond Peak Group
• Gondwana
• Tethyan
• Viking Corridor
• Hispanic Corridor
• circum‐Pacific migration routes
• eustatic rises in sea level
• new taxonomic names