Australian Geographic — May-June 2017

After the first rains in early May,

bioluminescent ghost fungi

(Omphalotus nidiformis) begin

fruiting. The species occurs

across southern Australia,

but a good place to find it is

Springbrook National Park, in

the Gold Coast hinterland. The

fan-like fungi resemble oyster

mushrooms – but don’t eat

these glow-in-the-dark mush-

rooms! They’re highly toxic.

More info: Call Queensland

National Parks on 13 74 68 or

visit http://www.explorespringbrook.com

HUGE FISH WITH

BIG PROBLEMS

KUTJERA HARVEST,

CENTRAL DESERT

DONATE Visit http://www.australiangeographic.

com.au/society or post a cheque to: AGS Admin-

istrator, Level 9, 54 Park St, Sydney NSW 2000.

NT

QLD

Each May–June, thousands of giant spider crabs

(Leptomithrax gaimardii) congregate in Port Phillip Bay.

The chaotic blanket of crustaceans is easily viewed with a

snorkel from Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula. The

gathering occurs when the spider crabs moult – shedding

their hard exoskeletons in order to grow larger. The crabs

amass in vast numbers to reduce their chances of being

eaten during this vulnerable time.

More info: Call the Mornington Peninsula Visitor Informa-

tion Centre on 03 5950 1579 or visit http://www.visitmornington

peninsula.org

SPIDER CRAB SWARM,

PORT PHILLIP BAY

VIC

GHOST FUNGUS,

SPRINGBROOK

NATIONAL PARK

PHOTO CREDITS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY / ALAMY; GRAPHIC SCIENCE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; TIMOTHY BONHAM / A

LAMY; BRAD

NORMAN / ECOCEAN. SCIENTIFIC NAMES, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:

Leptomithrax gaimardii

; Omphalotus nidiformis

; Solanum centrale; Rhincodon typus

THE WHALE Shark (Rhincodon typus)

is the world’s largest fish species,

reaching up to 20m in length and

an average weight of more than

20 tonnes. Sadly, the global population

of whale sharks has been falling and

last year the species’ conservation

status was upgraded from Vulnerable

to Endangered on the IUCN Red List

of Threatened Species. The AG Society

is supporting efforts to rescue the

species by raising funds for ECOCEAN,

Australia’s only not-for-profit research

organisation dedicated to conserving

the whale shark. For more details

about the ECOCEAN project and how

schools can be involved in the Whale

Shark Race Around the World, see

page 21.

36 Australian Geographic

Kutjera (Solanum centrale) –

also called bush tomatoes or

desert raisins – are harvested in

late autumn/early winter after

sundrying on the plants. Cherry

tomato-sized, they shrivel and

turn golden when ready to eat.

But if eaten unripe, kutjera are

poisonous. They grow wild across

the outback and are cultivated

at farms such as Desert Garden

Produce, south of Alice Springs.

More info: Call Alice Springs

Visitor Information Centre on

1800 645 199 or visit http://www.

discovercentralaustralia.com