A Million-Year-Old ‘Time Capsule’ Beneath New Zealand Is Finally Opened

A cave near Waitomo on New Zealand’s North Island has preserved the remains of an animal community unlike the one people later encountered. Researchers identified fossils from 12 bird species and four frog species dating to around one million years ago.

The “time capsule” was not a sealed container but fossil-rich sediment protected inside Moa Eggshell Cave. Its contents fill a major gap in New Zealand’s natural history and show that climate upheaval and enormous volcanic eruptions were transforming wildlife long before humans arrived.