Darriwilian (Middle Ordovician) conodonts from Thompson Creek, Nelson Province, New Zealand

A well preserved Middle Ordovician conodont fauna of 24 species has been recovered from seven samples of a small limestone lens exposed in Thompson Creek, northwest of Nelson, on the South Island of New Zealand. The presence of Histiodella holodentata, Baltoniodus? sp., Paroistodus originalis, P. horridus, Periodon macrodentatus, Protopanderodus sp. cf. P. varicostatus, Costiconus ethingtoni and Venoistodus balticus in the fauna indicates a Darriwilian (late Da2 to mid Da3) age. The occurrence of Ansella jemtlandica, Baltoniodus? sp., Periodon macrodentatus, Spinodus sp., Spinodus? sp. and Histiodella holodentata suggests a relatively deeper water (outer shelf to slope) setting, comparable with contemporaneous faunas, in the lower part of the Weemalla Formation and from allochthonous limestones within the Oakdale Formation of central New South Wales.