O
f the 49 new Australian species
published between 1 December
and early February, a new type of
gall fly sounds like a candidate for the “least
exciting” list – until you start to consider
context.
As Taxonomy Australia director Kevin
Thiele reports, Fergusonina nodulosa
is “pretty tiny”, and develops in galls
(abnormal growths) of only a few millimetres
diameter.
“The interesting thing is that the
discovery of this one species involves a
whole host of relationships with other
species,” says Thiele. “For a start there’s
the iconic river red gum [Eucalyptus
camaldulensis] that the fly lays its eggs in
to form the galls. Then there’s an obligate
nematode that lives in the fly. Then there
are three species of moths that lay their eggs
in the galls produced by the fly. Then there
are 13 species of wasps that parasitise either
the gall fly larva or the larvae of the moths.”
The 49 newcomers include three
arachnids, two crustaceans, a flatworm, two
fungi, 21 insects, 12 new plants and eight
new vertebrates.
Alongside F. nodulosa, Thiele pointed
to five new types of earless dragon
(Tympanocryptis spp) in South Australia,
and the rare guinea-flower Hibbertia
tuberculate, which was first collected more
than 30 years ago in the West Australian
goldfields.
Thiele says that it’s important to
recognise new species in areas disturbed
by such things as mining or land clearing to
ensure that endemic species are adequately
conserved.
“The guinea-flower wasn’t recognised
as distinct or named until this year, when
more specimens were collected for surveys
of potential new lithium mines,” he says.
“Now that the species has a name... its
conservation will need to be taken into
account when new mines are planned and
approved.”
O
n the other hand,acts of nature- particularly bushfires – have
produced less thrilling outcomes
for native species.
In early February, the Federal
Department of Environment released
a provisional list of 113 animal species
identified “for urgent management
intervention” in the wake of the 2019/
Australian bushfires. The list includes
13 bird, 19 mammal, 20 reptile, 17 frog, five
invertebrate, 22 crayfish and 17 fish species.
Included are species not currently
listed as threatened under theEnvironment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act
1999 or by the IUCN – but which mostly
have more than 30% of their range within the
burnt areas. The new analysis incorporates
each species’ potential vulnerability to fire.
A worldwide eucalypt speciesassessment in
the latest IUCN Red List update reveals that
almost 25% are threatened with extinction.
More than 800 w the world’s 826 known
eucalypts – comprising the Eucalyptus,
Corymbia and Angophora groups – occur
only in Australia. Species identified in the
assessment include the koala food tree (E.
moluccana), the striking rose mallee (E.
rhodantha), and the critically endangered
Bandalup silver mallet (E. purpurata), which
is threatened by mining in its restricted range.An ancient spider species found only on
Kangaroo Island, SA, could be extinct as a
result of recent fires. The assassin spider
Zephyrarchaea austiniis only known to occur
in KI’s Western River Wilderness Protection
Area. Queensland Museum’s Mike Rix, who
first described the spider, told the ABC that
the area was “significantly impacted” by fire
and thatZ. austini“may have been gravely
impacted if not wiped out”.It’s feared other
species may have been burnt to extinction
in the massive fires, but much remains
unknown: site assessments and analysis will
stretch over months. – IAN CONNELLANBIRTH, DEATHS & MARRIAGES
:) :(
AUSCAPEDIGEST
18 – COSMOS Issue 86