The town lends its name to the
St Bathans fauna, a rich
palaeontological section of the lower Bannockburn
Formation of the
Manuherikia Group, with an age range of 19–16 million years ago. The layer in which the fossils are found derives from
littoral zone sediments deposited in a large shallow freshwater lake bordered by an extensive
floodplains. The fossiliferous layer has been exposed at places along the
Manuherikia River close to the town, and is the remnant of the prehistoric
Lake Manuherikia.
St Bathans mammal In 2006, scientists reported the finding of
nontherian mammal fossils in the Manuherikia Group near St Bathans. Previously it had been thought that
bats were the only terrestrial mammals native to New Zealand. Dubbed the
SB mammal (for St Bathans), the scientists' analysis indicates that the creature has a lineage distinct from
monotremes (egg-laying mammals),
eutherians (placental mammals) and
metatherians (
marsupials).
Other taxa The St Bathans formation also bears fossils of
moa,
mekosuchine crocodiles,
turtles,
skinks,
tuatara,
geckoes, at least eight taxa of
waterfowl including the
endemic Miotadorna and
Manuherikia, a
petrel,
Accipitriformes,
rails, a possible
seagull,
herons, a
palaelodid flamingo,
pigeons,
parrots, a
swift, an
owlet-nightjar,
songbirds, the enigmatic
Aptornis and a primitive
kiwi,
Proapteryx. File:Saint Bathans 278.JPG|Road to Saint Bathans File:Saint Bathans 595.JPG|Old gold-buying office of the
Bank of New South Wales, St Bathans, Central Otago File:St Bathans Post Office (Former) building.jpg|Former Post Office File:Saint Bathans 305.JPG|St. Patrick's Church File:Former Vulcan Hotel Billiards Room and Stables.jpg|Former Vulcan Hotel Billiards Room and Stables File:Saint Bathans 600.JPG|Blue Lake ==Climate==