Biostratigraphy, Sr isotope chronology and chronostratigraphy of the Late Eocene – earliest Miocene Te Kuiti Group, Waikato – King Country Basin, New Zealand

Abstract

This report reviews and synthesises the biostratigraphy of the Te Kuiti Group based on existing sample data archived in the Fossil Record Electronic Database (FRED). Based on these faunal and floral data, New Zealand biostratigraphic stages for the Late Eocene to Early Miocene are assigned to the formations and members within the group. Analytical strontium (Sr) data and resulting numerical ages are reported here for 26 new macrofossil samples from the Te Kuiti Group, but they do not improve the accuracy of the biostratigraphy and the age information that can be derived from it. The identification of unconformity-bound sequences, the boundaries of which align with the formation contacts within the group, provide an important set of time planes within the group. The integration of the biostratigraphy and sequence stratigraphy produces a robust chronostratigraphy for the Te Kuiti Group.