The Canterbury Plains, South Island, New Zealand Photograph by Peter Sundstrom   Southeastern part of New Zealand's South Island Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands   20,700 square miles (53,500 square kilometers) -- about half the size of Tennessee Critical/Endangered

· Vast Open Plains
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Vast Open Plains

Lining the east coast of South Island, this ecoregion is the largest and driest flat area to be found in New Zealand, with the driest climate. Coastal hills give way to inland basins and extensive grasslands. The craggy peaks of the Block Mountains of Central Otago reach 8,500 ft (2,300 m). The slopes of these mountains are covered with hardy grasses, including slim snow tussock, blue tussock, and alpine fescue tussock. At the summits, a dense blanket of cushion-forming plants grows. Despite the uniqueness of this semi-arid landscape, few endemic plant species are found here, and this ecoregion has largely been converted to pasture.

Special Features

What was once a riotous mix of swamp, forest, tussock grassland, and scrub has largely been reduced to pasture, with some native vegetation remaining on low hills between the mountains and the plains. After splitting from the supercontinent Gondwanaland 75 million years ago, New Zealand evolved in isolation, with no mammals other than two species of bat. A unique assemblage of flightless birds, endemic plants, and large, nocturnal, plant-eating insects had evolved by the time Polynesians (Maori) arrived a thousands years ago. Subsequent alterations to the habitat and the introduction of non-native animals have had a severe effect on the whole country and on this ecoregion in particular.

	Male wetas defend themselves by raising their legs vertically in the air and displaying the sharp spines on their legs.

Wild Side

The tussock savannas of the Block Mountains are crawling with insects: more than 1,200 species are found, including many local endemics. Beetles, grasshoppers, cicadas, moths, and wetas are all present in abundance. Wetas are large nocturnal insects, similar to grasshoppers, that have evolved in New Zealand to fill the same niche mice fill on other landmasses. Even in areas with severe climates, a yellow- and black-striped race of mountain weta is present. Pukekos, or purple swamp hens, seek out insects and frogs, and the small patches of habitatgrassland patches inside gorges, dotted with and schist tors (craggy rock pillars), are swarming with skinks. The endemic Otago and grand skinks, which are overrun plagued by predation and pastoralism elsewhere, are thriving heresurvive in rocky gorges unsuitable for farming. The Otago skink has distinctive black and green spots and can grow up to 10 inches (25 cm). Along the shore, The rare and endemic yellow-eyed penguins breeds in small groups along on tussock-covered coastal slopes.

Cause for Concern

This ecoregion has largely been modified for pastoral use, and overgrazing, fires, and urban development are a concern. Feral and introduced animals, including introduced mammalian predators, have had a devastating effect on native wildlife and vegetation.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.