Radiolaria of Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous ages from the Torlesse Complex, eastern Tararua Range,New Zealand

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Abstract
Radiolarians have been successfully extracted from cherts from two localities within the Torlesse Complex of the eastern Tararua Range. Several genera have been identified and these indicate a Middle Jurassic – Early Cretaceous age for the chert from near the Tauherenikau River, and a Late Jurassic – Early Cretaceous age for the chert from the eastern Manawatu Gorge. The radiolarians define the minimum age of oceanic crust upon which the clastic submarine fan-type greywacke and argillite, which make up most of the Torlesse Complex in the eastern Tararua Range, was deposited. The boundary between fossil zones 4 (Monotis) and 5 (Late Jurassic – Early Cretaceous) occurs in the central part of the Tararua Range and not to the east of the range, as previously thought.