 As well as fishes, shellfish, including freshwater mussels, and freshwater crayfish dominated the aquatic life in the palaeolake Manuherikia.A new species of St Bathans freshwater limpet, "Latia manuherikia", was described by malacologist Bruce Marshall in 2011.This was both the first known fossil "Latia" and the first record of this genus from the South Island.