28
Health & Science3h 34m ago

Field notebooks belonging to the late Dr. Richard Köhler provided crucial details for researchers to complete a study of a 55-million-year-old fossil fish found on Pitt Island, New Zealand.

Archive Window: 7 Days Left

Pitt Island, Chatham Islands, New Zealand

Who
Dr. Richard Köhler, Emeritus Professor Daphne Lee, Professor Ewan Fordyce, Andrew Grebneff, Professor Mike Gottfried, Richard's family, Heidi Lanauze, Hokotehi Moriori Trust
What
Field notebooks belonging to the late Dr. Richard Köhler provided crucial details for researchers to complete a study of a 55-million-year-old fossil fish found on Pitt Island, New Zealand.
When
Fri, 12 Jun 2026 14:06:00 GMT · 3h 34m ago
Where
Pitt Island, Chatham Islands, New Zealand ·
Why
Missing geological information about the fossil's discovery site, which Dr. Richard Köhler had recovered, was finally found in his donated field notebooks, enabling the completion of the study.
The Frontline Impact

How this affects you

The discovery and subsequent study of this 55-million-year-old tarpon fossil, named Ikawaihere koehleri, significantly expands knowledge of tarpons' evolutionary history and represents the first report of such a predatory bony fish from the Paleogene age in New Zealand, offering a rare glimpse into prehistoric marine life.

Story chain

3 events in this thread

Verified Sources & Citations