Pindai Caves

The Pindai Caves are a complex of six caves that are located on the peninsula Pindai on the west coast of New Caledonia 240 km northwest of Noumea. The caves are located 400 m from the sea, with the exception of Pindai II, which is only 20 meters away from the coast.

The location is known as a paleontological locality, were found in the subfossil remains of the extinct giant tortoise Meiolania and of extinct bird species. The first fossils were discovered here on July 3, 1983 by Jean -Christophe Balouet, the neocaledoniae a complete skull of the type Sylviornis only 2 meters away from the entrance was on the cave floor. The deposits in the main cave have probably accumulated on the bottom of an underground lake, which had formerly filled the cave. The sediments in the main part of the cave consist of phosphates and magnesium alumina with several incorporated, 2 to 10 cm deep, gypsum layers that have arisen during the dry periods when the cave was not yet flooded.

Bone accumulations were found at two locations near the page outputs, which are now filled by unlayered sediment. Bone occur both at the surface and at depths up to 1.5 m, where the excavations were stopped. The bone concentration was very high. More than 6,000 bones have been promoted in less than 3 cubic meters of earth to light. Mollusc shells, in particular by Arca, Ostrea and Nautilus that were probably transported by humans in the caves of the deposits were fairly common in the majority. The charcoal, which was taken in direct connection with the bones of extinct birds and other Sylviornis has, according to the radiocarbon age of 1750 ± a dated 70 years BP, which corresponds to the period 130-270 AD. Sylviornis neocaledoniae is the type most commonly found in the Pindai Caves. Of the 23 other species, 8 are also extinct and only 7 are still existent. Four of the extinct species are only known from the Pindai Caves. These are Caloenas canacorum, the New Caledonian Ground Dove ( Gallicolumba Longitarsus ) and the two birds of prey Accipiter Accipiter efficax and quartus. More often than the bird bones are those of bats (at least four species). More than 1,000 bones of extinct reptiles, including the genera Mekosuchus, Meiolania and Varanus, are also known.

The bone accumulation in this locality apparently does not include deposits in owl pellets, as most small bird species are lacking and remains were rarely found of passerine birds. Cave-dwelling species such as bats and bats ( Collocalia ) are common in the subfossil deposits and the presence of other species is probably endeavor to or due by transporting people. The sediment was washed in collaboration with the Water and Forest Service Noumea and Koné from the deposits. Big bones were removed in the field and from the resulting concentrate the small bones were read at the Smithsonian Institution. A neighboring cave contains an underground lake with deep, treacherous mud accumulations. Balouet found in this lake each femur of the endemic gap swing Dove ( Drepanoptila holosericea ). Pindai II is a small cave with an area of ​​5 square meters and a height of 50 cm. It was discovered in 1983. Here were three bones of giant pigeon ( Ducula goliath ), discovered the whole basin of the flightless fur Rail ( Gallirallus lafresnayanus ) and three skull roofs of people.