The systematics, biogeography and conservation status of species in the freshwater crayfish genus Engaewa Riek (Decapoda : Parastacidae) from south-western Australia

2000 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Horwitz ◽  
Mark Adams
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Species Boundaries ◽  
Entire Group ◽  
Freshwater Crayfish ◽  
Incipient Speciation ◽  
Genetic Groups ◽  
Eastern Australia

This paper presents a review of the systematics of freshwater crayfish species in the genus Engaewa Riek, endemic to south-western Australia. Allozyme electrophoresis of six allopatric populations of Engaewa and several outgroup taxa at 17 loci was initially used to identify four distinct genetic groups within the genus. Morphological characters were then used to establish within and between species boundaries more precisely. Five species were recognised, comprising the existing species E. subcoerulea Riek, E. reducta Riek, and E. similis Riek, plus two new species, E. pseudoreducta, sp. nov. and E. walpolea, sp. nov. The genus is endemic to south-western Australia where distributions of species conform to those expected for slowly dispersing, inland aquatic organisms wedded to year-round cool and wet conditions. The range of the genus occurs within the Warren Bioregion of Australia. The species occupy well-defined and largely non-overlapping geographical ranges. Within the bioregion, apparent incipient speciation exists in the Cape Naturaliste–Cape Leeuwin subregion, confirming a pattern observed for other aquatic organisms. Morphological and electrophoretic evidence suggests that species in the genus are more closely related to each other than they are to other species of extant freshwater crayfish, suggesting that they represent a monophyletic group. Nevertheless, the morphological variation displayed by Engaewa clearly falls within that found for the genus Engaeus Erichson from south-eastern Australia, indicating that a broad-scale generic revision for the entire group would be appropriate. The narrow geographical ranges of E. walpolea, sp. nov., E. pseudoreducta, sp. nov. and E. reducta, coupled with known threats to populations, warrant concern for these species from a conservation viewpoint. precisely.

A new species of frog in the Litoria ewingii species group (Anura: Pelodryadidae) from south-eastern Australia

Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4858 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-230
Author(s):  
MICHAEL MAHONY ◽  
BEDE MOSES ◽  
STEPHEN V. MAHONY ◽  
FRANK L. LEMCKERT ◽  
STEPHEN DONNELLAN
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Nuclear Genome ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Genetic Groups ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
A New Species

Population declines and range contractions among Australian frogs that commenced in the early 1980s continue in some species that were once widespread. The generality of this pattern has been difficult to discern, especially for those species that are encountered rarely because they have restricted periods of calling activity with poorly defined habitat preferences, and are not common. Several lines of evidence indicate that Litoria littlejohni is such a species. This frog was once known from mid-eastern New South Wales to eastern Victoria, and evidence from wildlife atlas databases and targeted searches indicate that it has declined in large portions of its former range, leaving several populations that are isolated, in some cases restricted in distribution, and of small size. We investigated the relationships among populations using mitochondrial ND4 nucleotide sequences and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the nuclear genome. We found that northern and southern populations form two highly divergent genetic groups whose distributions abut at the southern margin of the Sydney Basin Bioregion and these genetic groups also show divergence in morphology and male advertisement calls. Here we describe the populations to the south of the Sydney Basin Bioregion as a new species and provide information on its distribution and ecology. In light of the apparent isolation and small size of known populations of the new species and the consequent restriction of the range of L. littlejohni, we assessed the conservation status of both species. 

Revison of the Tasmanian genus of freshwater crayfish Astacopsis Huxley (Decapoda : Parastacidae)

1982 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 699 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Swain ◽  
AMM Richardson ◽  
M Hortle
Keyword(s):  
Geographical Distribution ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Species Boundaries ◽  
Freshwater Crayfish ◽  
Separate Species ◽  
Drainage Systems ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Animal Size

Astacopsis Huxley is revised by examination of a wide range of morphological characters. The number of species is reduced from four to two by synonymy. Variation in spination is examined in A. franklinii in relation to geographical distribution (based upon the major drainage systems in Tasmania), animal size and habitat; spininess is found to relate predominantly to animal size. The distribution of Astacopsis within Tasmania is greatly extended and previous reports of geographically separate species' boundaries, indicating limited distributions. can no longer be accepted. Synonymies and diagnoses are provided for A. franklinii and A. gouldi, and a key to their identification is presented.

Phylogeny and biogeography of the Australasian centipede Henicops (Chilopoda: Lithobiomorpha): A combined morphological and molecular approach

2006 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Colgan ◽  
Gregory Edgecombe ◽  
Deirdre Sharkey
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
New Caledonia ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
28S Rrna ◽  
Southeastern Australia ◽  
Lord Howe Island ◽  
Eastern Australia

AbstractThe lithobiomorph centipede Henicops is widely distributed in Australia and New Zealand, with five described species, as well as two species in New Caledonia and Lord Howe Island. Parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses of ca. 800 aligned bases of sequence data from 16S rRNA and 28S rRNA were conducted on a dataset including multiple individuals of Henicops species from populations sampled from different parts of species' geographic ranges, together with the allied henicopines Lamyctes and Easonobius. Morphological characters are included in parsimony analyses. Molecular and combined datasets unite species from eastern Australia and New Zealand to the exclusion of species from Western Australia, New Caledonia and Lord Howe Island. The molecular data favour these two geographic groupings as clades, whereas inclusion of morphology resolves New Caledonia, Lord Howe Island, southwest Western Australia and Queensland as successive sisters to southeastern Australia and New Zealand. The basal position of the Lord Howe Island species in the phylogeny favours a diversification of Australasian Henicops since the late Miocene unless the Lord Howe species originated in a biota that pre-dates the island. The molecular and combined data resolve the widespread morphospecies H. maculatus as paraphyletic, with its populations contributing to the geographic groupings New South Wales + New Zealand and Tasmania + Victoria.

The genealogy of geebungs: phylogenetic analysis of Persoonia (Proteaceae) and related genera in subfamily Persoonioideae

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 166
Author(s):  
Gareth D. Holmes ◽  
Peter H. Weston ◽  
Daniel J. Murphy ◽  
Carolyn Connelly ◽  
David J. Cantrill
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
New Caledonia ◽  
Plastid Dna ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Morphological Data ◽  
Rdna Its ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Group Relationships ◽  
Informal Groups

Proteaceae subfamily Persoonioideae, as presently circumscribed, consists of the monogeneric tribe Placospermeae (Placospermum) and the tribe Persoonieae. The latter comprises the diverse genus Persoonia and monospecific genera found in New Zealand (Toronia), New Caledonia (Garnieria) and south-western Western Australia (Acidonia). Persoonia has 101 species distributed across Australia and has been classified into 11 informal groups. Using data derived from plastid DNA (trnL–trnF region), nuclear rDNA (ITS) and morphological characters, we constructed a phylogeny of Persoonioideae and compared the results to the existing classification. Bayesian and parsimony analyses indicated that Persoonia, as currently defined, is non-monophyletic. The molecular data and combined molecular and morphological data place Toronia in a moderately well supported clade with the monophyletic Rufiflora group of Persoonia from Western Australia. This clade is sister to Acidonia, Garnieria and the remaining Persoonia species. Of the other informal groups in Persoonia, the Teretifolia, Quinquenervis, Laurina, Arborea, Graminea and Chapmaniana groups are supported as monophyletic. The Lanceolata group can be re-circumscribed to be monophyletic by the addition of P. elliptica R.Br. (Longifolia group) and the Dillwynioides group. Relationships within this large, geographically widespread clade are largely unresolved and low DNA-sequence variation within it suggests a recent radiation followed by isolation in south-western and eastern Australia. All endemic Tasmanian Persoonia (Gunnii group taxa) are unresolved at the second-most basal node of the Persoonieae. Our results suggest that the Rufiflora group should be treated as a new genus and that the infrageneric taxonomy of Persoonia requires minor amendment.

Brushtail possum, Trichosurus vulpecula, populations in south-western Australia: demography, diet and conservation status

2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. How ◽  
S. J. Hillcox
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Population Studies ◽  
Marked Effect ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Brushtail Possum ◽  
Trichosurus Vulpecula ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Present Distribution ◽  
Dietary Study ◽  
The Common

The common brushtail possum, Trichosurus vulpecula, has suffered a marked reduction in its geographic range from the arid areas of Western Australia and now is abundant only in the more mesic forests and woodlands of the south-west. A mark–recapture and dietary study of a population in the tuart/peppermint forests near Busselton found that the species occurred at a density of 2–3 individuals per hectare, fed principally on peppermint, Agonis flexuosa, but occurred in all treed habitats in the area, including Pinus radiata plantations. Females matured in their third year and produced a single young annually between April and September that was weaned about seven months later. Comparisons between the demographic parameters of this population and that of a study from semiarid south-western Australia showed marked differences, which were comparable to variation shown by population studies of T. vulpecula in eastern Australia and New Zealand. Predation and habitat alteration have probably had a marked effect on determining the present distribution and abundance of the species in south-western Australia.

Morphological evaluation of the Drosera peltata complex (Droseraceae)

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Gibson ◽  
Barry J. Conn ◽  
Jeremy J. Bruhl
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Morphological Evaluation ◽  
Granite Outcrops ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
South Eastern Australia

A phenetic study of morphological characters of the Drosera peltata complex (Droseraceae) supports the recognition of the following taxa: D. peltata from wetlands of south-eastern Australia; D. auriculata from south-eastern Australia and New Zealand; the morphologically variable D. hookeri from south-eastern Australia and northern New Zealand; the widespread D. lunata from southern and South-East Asia, as well as northern and north-eastern Australia; and the new species D. yilgarnensis R.P.Gibson & B.J.Conn is here described, from around granite outcrops of south-western Australia. D. bicolor from south-western Australia is recognised as a distinct species outside of the D. peltata complex. D. insolita, considered until recently as a distinct species, is reduced to synonymy of D. lunata. Phenotypic plasticity, vegetative similarity and fleetingly produced diagnostic floral and seed characters within the complex pose significant challenges in understanding the taxonomy of these taxa.

scholarly journals Platycephalus orbitalis, a new species of flathead (Teleostei: Platycephalidae) collected from western Australia

Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2271 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
HISASHI IMAMURA ◽  
LESLIE W. KNAPP
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Posterior Margin ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
A New Species

A new plataycephalid, Platycephalus orbitalis, is described on the basis of specimens collected in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Western Australia at depths of 50–144 m. The new species had been mistakenly identified as P. marmoratus, which is now known to be restricted to eastern Australia. Several morphological characters (e.g, 65–68 pored scales in lateral line, snout and interorbit naked, and caudal fin blackish with white posterior margin) can separate Platycephalus orbitalis sp. nov. and P. marmoratus from the other 14 congeners. In addition, Platycephalus orbitalis sp. nov. differs from P. marmoratus in having the margin of the interopercle scalloped, skinny sensory tubes on the infraorbitals, the preopercle well developed and mostly covering the cheek region, and the body and head lacking distinct large spots and bands dorsally.

The life history of Pseudocheirus occidentalis (Pseudocheiridae) in the jarrah forest of south-western Australia

2005 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 325 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. F. Wayne ◽  
J. F. Rooney ◽  
C. G. Ward ◽  
C. V. Vellios ◽  
D. B. Lindenmayer
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Jarrah Forest ◽  
Eucalyptus Marginata ◽  
Introduced Predators ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ringtail Possum

Life-history attributes are described for the threatened ngwayir or western ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus occidentalis) in inland jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest east of Manjimup, south-western Australia. Data on 81 individuals were collected over 18 months. There was no sexual dimorphism and body size was similar to that found in other P. occidentalis populations, but larger than the closely related P. peregrinus in eastern Australia. Breeding at Chariup was more strongly seasonal than that of coastal populations, with 77% of births in May–June and the remainder in October–November. All neonates were singletons except for one instance of non-viable twins. No females bred twice in the same year. The growth rate of the head length of pouch young (<5 months of age) was 0.245–0.362 mm day–1 and curvilinear toward an asymptote thereafter. Temporal variations in body condition, coat condition and ectoparasites were significant. Mortality was highly seasonal (84% of deaths were April–September) and predominantly caused by predation, mainly by fox (Vulpes vulpes) and cat (Felis catus). More effective and strategic control of introduced predators prior to and during autumn/winter, could therefore improve the viability of jarrah forest populations. Nutrition appears to influence many of the life-history traits of P. occidentalis. Nutrition also may partly explain the differences in size, life history and conservation status between P. occidentalis and P. peregrinus.

A new species of Pseudophryne (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from the central Australian ranges

Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 3476 (1) ◽  
pp. 69 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. DONNELLAN ◽  
M. J. MAHONY ◽  
T. BERTOZZI
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Color Pattern ◽  
Nominal Species ◽  
Separate Species ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Western Half ◽  
North Western

The myobatrachid frog genus Pseudophryne is highly variable in color pattern in eastern Australia where many species are distinguished by distinctive dorsal patterns. In contrast Pseudophryne from the western half of the continent are morphologically conservative. Two nominal species are widespread in south-western Australia and north-western South Australia, with one, P. occidentalis, being found in semi-arid and arid regions. Using mitochondrial DNA and morphological characters we establish that populations in the ranges of north-western South Australia assigned to P. occidentalis are a separate species. The new species comprises one of four major lineages of Pseudophryne while P. occidentalis falls within another lineage confined to south-western Australia.

scholarly journals On the diagnostic characters of the genus Stygonitocrella (Copepoda, Harpacticoida), with descriptions of seven new species from Australian subterranean waters

Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2324 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
TOMISLAV KARANOVIC ◽  
PETER HANCOCK
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Type Species ◽  
First Record ◽  
The United States ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Generic Diagnosis ◽  
The North ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Eastern Australia

Seven new freshwater ameirids were discovered in the Australian subterranean habitats, six of which would fit into the present unsatisfactory diagnosis of the genus Stygonitocrella Reid, Hunt & Stanley, 2003. Two of them were discovered in Pioneer Valley, Queensland, representing the first record of this genus in eastern Australia. Four other species were collected from the Pilbara region in Western Australia, the same region in Australia where the first three representatives of this genus were reported. An additional new species was collected in the Kimberley region in Western Australia and could not be assigned to the revised genus Stygonitocrella, but has some remarkable similarities with species that were in the past considered to be members of this genus. In order to assess the most natural allocation of these ameirid taxa, a revision of the genus Stygonitocrella was made, based on a cladistic approach by using 57 phylogenetically informative morphological characters. The phylogenetic analysis revealed the presence of six monophyletic groups, giving ground for the establishment of six new genera, three of them created to accommodate a single new Australian species: Kimberleynitocrella billhumphreysi gen. et sp. nov. from several bores in the Argyle Diamond Mine and Ord River in the Kimberley region in Western Australia, Gordanitocrella trajani gen. et sp. nov. from three different localities in the Pilbara region in Western Australia, and Lucionitocrella yalleenensis gen. et sp. nov. from a single bore on the Yalleen Station, also in the Pilbara region in Western Australia. All three new Australian genera have a basal position on the phylogenetic tree, because they share several plesiomorphic characters; nevertheless they are well defined by the combination of apomorphic and plesiomorphic features. The generic diagnosis of Stygonitocrella is emended and the genus redefined to include only four species: S. montana (Noodt, 1965) from Argentina (the type species), S. dubia (Chappuis, 1937) and S. guadalfensis Rouch, 1985 from Spain and S. sequoyahi Reid, Hunt & Stanley, 2003 from the United States. The Cuban S. orghidani (Petkovski, 1973) was left as incertae sedis in this genus. The subgenus Fiersiella Huys, 2009 is established as a junior subjective synonym of Stygonitocrella. Generic diagnoses are emended for the monospecific Australian genus Inermipes Lee & Huys, 2002, the monospecific Japanese genus Neonitocrella Lee & Huys, 2002 and the North American genus Psammonitocrella Huys, 2009, that contains two species. The genus Reidnitocrella gen. nov. is erected to accommodate three closely related central Asian species: R. tianschanica (Borutzky, 1972) comb. nov., R. pseudotianschanica (Sterba, 1973) comb. nov., and R. djirgalanica (Borutzky, 1978) comb. nov. Also, after carefully examining the available published information on R. tianschanica another new species is recognized in this genus: R. borutzkyi sp. nov. The genus Eduardonitocrella gen. nov. is erected for the Mexican E. mexicana (Suárez-Morales & Iliffe, 2005) comb. nov. The newly established genus Megastygonitocrella gen. nov. is the largest one in this group of freshwater ameirids, containing the following 11 species: M. trispinosa (Karanovic, 2006) comb. nov. (type species), M. bispinosa (Karanovic, 2006) comb. nov., M. unispinosa (Karanovic, 2006) comb. nov., M. ecowisei sp. nov., M. dec sp. nov., M. pagusregalis sp. nov., M. kryptos sp. nov., M. karamani (Petkovski, 1959) comb. nov., M. petkovskii (Pesce, 1985) comb. nov., M. ljovuschkini (Borutzky, 1967) comb. nov. and M. colchica (Borutzky & Michailova-Neikova, 1970) comb. nov. The first five species are endemic to the Pilbara region in Western Australia, the next two are described from Queensland, M. karamani is known from Slovenia, M. petkovskii from Greece, while the last two species are endemic to the Caucasus. A Tethyan origin for this genus is here hypothesized. New locality data is presented for the first three species, which revealed that M. trispinosa is the most common and widely distributed member of this group (although restricted to a single Australian region), while M. bispinosa and M. unispinosa are short range endemics. A key to species is provided for each polytypic genus, as well as a key to genera of Stygonitocrella s. l.

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