Prehistoric and present-day coastal landsnail faunas between Whananaki and Whangamumu, northeastern New Zealand, and implications for vegetation history following human colonisation

Fossil landsnail faunas from eastern Northland are compared with extant faunas from coastal forest, shrubland and sandfield habitats in the same area. The fossil faunas indicate that shrubland-forest established on mainland coastal dunefields following Maori colonisation (probably less than 700 years ago) and was subsequently almost completely destroyed during the later part of the prehistoric and early historic periods. The fossil faunas show greater affinity with present-day landsnail faunas of nearshore islands in the area than with the forest faunas of adjacent mainland headlands and coastal hills.