Vol, 98, No. 1 
January/February 
1981 


Special Issue: Introduced Animals and 


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Pubuched by the FIELD NATURALISTS CLUB OF VICTORIA 
in which Is incorporated the Microscopical Society of Victoria $ { f5 


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FNCV DIARY OF COMING EVENTS 
GENERAL MEETINGS 


At the National Herbarium, the Domain, South Yarra. 


Monday, 9 February, 8.00 p.m. 


The Conservation Council of Victoria and its activities, 


Speaker: G. Westcott, Director, C.C.V. 


Monday, 16 March, 8.00 p.m. 
Victorian opisthobranch molluscs. 


Speaker: Mr R. Burn, National Museum of Victoria. 


Monday, 13 April, 8.00 p.m. 


Otway study night, There will be several keynote speakers, 
and all groups are asked to prepare a short address. 


New Members — January/February meetings. 


Ordinary 
J. Bagles, 25 Hodgson St., Lower Templestowe. 
Miss Georgie Hodges, 1/11 Union Rd., Surrey Hills. 


Mrs. K. Hoogeduere, 4/6A Erclidoune Ave., Hawthorn. 
Bertram Lobert, 29 Aubrey Grove, Boronia. 

Merryl Martindale, 2 Sellwyn St., Canterbury. 

Joan Miller, 29 Rochester Rd., Canterbury, 

Ann Payne, 3/1 Lawson Grove, South Yarra. 

Nicolette Robson, 30A Dixon St., Malvern, 


Joint 
E, & J, Moorhouse, P.O. Box 379, Deniliquin. 


Mr and Mrs John Stuwe, Botany Dept., Latrobe University. 


M. Vanderzee & J. Phillips, 136 Macpherson St., North Carlton, 


Counry 


Michael Dexter, “‘Springhill"’, Yarra Glen Rd., Coldstream. 


Peter Matthews, P.O, Box 249, Mornington 
Ron Walsh, $4 Murray Anderson Rd., Rosebud. 


FNCV EXCURSIONS 


Saturday, 7 — Monday, 9 March, Castlemaine. 
This is the weekend of the annual meeting and get- 
together of the Victorian Field Naturalists Clubs 
Association, which will be hosted by the Castle- 
maine FNC, This year members of the Western Vic- 
torian Field Naturalist Clubs will attend. There will 
be a selection of half-day trips leaving the car park 
in Downes St., next to the Botanic Gardens at 9,30 
a.m. and 1.30 p.m, on Saturday, Sunday and Mon- 
day. Saturday evening programme: 6,30 p.m. 
Business meeting W.V.F.N.C.A., 8.00 p.m. Laun- 
ching of Cliff Beauglehole'’s ‘Distribution and con- 
servation of vascular plants of the alpine area, Vic- 
toria’’. 8.15 p.m. Propagating native plants; birds 
of the north-central area. Sunday evening pro- 
gramme: 6.30 p.m. Annual meeting V.F.N.C.A. 
8.00 p.m, the Castlemaine district, by C.F.N.C. 
members. Both meetings at the Uniting Church 
Hall, corner Baker and Campbell Sts. A coach has 
been chartered for the weekend and motel ac- 
commodation booked, B&B, at the cost of $60.00 
per person for a limited number. Many will be cam- 
ping. The coach will leave Flinders St. at the Gas 
and Fuel at 8.30 a.m, Bring a picnic lunch. A 
deposit of $10.00 should be paid to the Excursion 
Secretary when booking by those who require motel 
accommodation, 


Sunday, 5 April. Organ Pipes National Park. The 
coach will leave Batman Avenue at 9.30 a.m.; fare 
$5.50. Bring a picnic lunch. A great amount of work 
has been done on this Park and it is worth a visit if 
you have not been there recently. 


Sunday, 3 May. Pirianda Gardens, The coach will 
leave Batman Avenue at 9.30 a.m.; fare $6.00, 
Bring a picnic lunch. 


Preliminary notices: 

Saturday, 17 October — Friday, 6 November. 
New Zealand, North Island. This is dependent of 
sufficient members being interested, but many 
places on this itinerary are not included in most of 
the regular tours. Tentative programme is: Oct. 17 
fly to Auckland; Oct. 18 Auckland/Coromandel/- 
Whitianga; Oct. 19 Whitianga/Tauranga; Oct. 20 
Tauranga/Rotorua; Oct. 21 Rotorua/Whakatane; 
Oct, 22 Whakatane/Hicks Bay; Oct. 23 Hicks Bay/- 
Gisborne; Oct. 24 Gisborne/Wairoa; Oct. 25 
Wairoa/Napier, visiting Urewera National Park; 
Oct. 26 Cape Kidnappers/Napier; Oct. 27 Napier/- 
New Plymouth; Oct. 28 New Plymouth; Oct. 29 
New Plymouth/Tongariro National Park; Oct, 30 
National Park; Oct. 31 National Park/Auckland; 
Nov. | Auckland/Kaitaia; Nov. 2 Cape Reinga/- 
Kaitaia; Nov. 3 Kaitaia/Bay of Islands; Nov. 4 Bay 
of Islands; Nov. 5 Bay of Islands/Auckland; Nov. 6 
Auckland/Melbourne. Cost would vary according 
to numbers going and possibly rise but it is expected 
to be approximately $1250. Please let Excursion 
Secretary know if you are interested. 


Special study trips: 

Contact Wendy Clark for details (AH 859 8091) 

Saturday, 21 — Sunday, 22 February. 
Bat-catching expedition to Daylesford region. Bring 
all camping gear and food. 

Sunday, 22 March. Fossil excursion to limestone 
quarry at Geelong, 


The Victorian 
Naturalist 


Vol. 98, No. 1 January/February, 1981 


ISSN 0042-5184 


Editor: Robert L. Wallis 
Assistant editor: F. Dane Panetta 
Editorial Committee: H. Cohn, R. Kent, B. Smith 


Introduced Mammals in Victoria by H. Brunner, P.L. Stevens and 


GIR MSAGKIPOLelmnas.8ig teed At. 6 leet Aer). Sond saety feta lene by: oe eben aes 5) 
Trout Introduced into South-Eastern Australia: Their Interaction 
wath Native fisnes Dy Py Ds Jackson ..::2...4. creates ethes ned cas da 18 
Introduced Non-marine Molluscs in Australia by B.J. Smith..... 24 
The Effects of Introduced Aquatic Plants in Australia by H.I. 
PAE RUCMNS S752, "cto rae oe Se eee OE ern Ce pe eh av 
Boneseed in the Bushland of Victoria by D. Lane............... 28 
The Rehabilitation of Weed Dominated Communities by F.D. 
PATS BEA eas eerste eA Br A eee, ec ieee Las Oot seees och leat date witeleyed 31 
Some Notes on Feral Pigs and Their Distribution in Victoria by 
SSM O Wi SEM etre ote ats eno eres Airs Secrest ey: Grae eo daed tal 37 
Bush-peas of Victoria — Genus Pultenaea 15 by M.G. Corrick ... 42 
ENGV-— Reports of @lub Activities. (juss pees peg see ner 45 


Cover illustration: An unusual malformed shell (cornucopiae) variant of the common introduced garden 
snail, Helix (Cryptomphalus) aspersa. Specimen found at Lakes Entrance. 


Club Awarded Victorian Conservation Prize for 1980 


The Victorian Conservation Prize for 1980, awarded annually by the 
Conservation Council of Victoria for outstanding contributions in the field of 
conservation, was awarded to the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria. The prize, a 
large oil painting by the conservation artist Mr Neil Douglas, was presented to the 
President of the Club by The Honorable Rupert Hamer, M.P., Premier of Victoria 
in the Melbourne Room, Treasury Place on Monday, 8 December 1980. The 
presentation was made in the presence of a large gathering of specially invited guests 
from conservation bodies and research institutions from throughout Victoria. 


The citation with this year’s prize reads as follows:— 

“The Victorian Conservation Prize (Neil Douglas Award) for 1980 has been 

awarded to the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria. 

Since its inception in May 1880 the Club has been in the forefront of 

organisations devoted to the study and preservation of Victoria’s heritage of 

plant and animal life. 

The diversity and specialisation of the Club’s activities may be seen in the 

work of its various sub-groups of Mammal Survey, Botany, Geology, 

Microscopy, Marine Biology and Entomology. 

Publication of the bi-monthly journal, ‘‘The Victorian Naturalist’, and an 

impressive list of standard reference texts has provided Victoria, and indeed 

the world, with a wealth of scientific data. 

Together with such other societies as the Victorian National Parks 

Association, the Native Plants Preservation Society, the Mammal Survey 

Group and the Society for Growing Australian Plants which all grew from the 

F.N.C.V., the Club continues to make lasting and valuable contributions to 

Victoria’s natural history.”’ 

The receiving of this prize rounded off a very successful Centenary Year for the 
Club. I would like to thank the Council and members of the Club for their 
magnificent support during the Club’s centenary year. 


Brian J. Smith 
President 


Symposium on the Effects of Introduced Animals 
and Plants in Australia 


This one-day symposium, on the effects of introduced animals and plants in 
Australia, was held on Sunday 27 July at the State College of Victoria — Rusden. 
Jointly sponsored by the F.N.C.V. and the State College, the symposium was 
organised by the Senior Lecturer in Environmental Studies at the College, Mr Rob 
Wallis. The symposium was attended by over 80 students and club members and 
members of various natural resources research bodies. Following the opening 
address by Senior Lecturer in Zoology at Latrobe University, Mr Peter Rawlinson, 
12 papers were presented on all aspects of the topic and lively discussions were 
generated by these papers. Six of the papers, covering the field are reproduced in the 
issue of this Naturalist. The texts of all the papers presented will be published as a 
separate publication by Rusden State College. 


4 Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Introduced Mammals in Victoria 


By 


HANS BRUNNER¢ P, L. STEVENS and J, R. BACKHOLER+ 


Introduction 

Since the advent of white man in 
Australia, many species of mammals 
have been introduced into this country. 
Some of these species were brought in as 
domestic livestock for the supply and 
production of meat and wool, while 
other species were introduced for sport 
and recreation, as pets, and for the 
misguided endeavours of the Victorian 
Acclimatization Society. A few species 
such as rats and mice were introduced 
accidentally, presumably with infested 
ships cargo, Unfortunately, many of 
these species have been able to escape 
into our wilderness, farming and urban 
areas, and have successfully managed to 
breed and establish colonies in a wide 
range of habitats. In Victoria, about 
twenty species of introduced mammals 
are living in the wild, some of course 
more successfully than others (Table 1). 
Most of these have since been declared 
as pest or vermin animals. 

Surprisingly, the release of exotic 
mammal species is still continuing. Two 


species of deer, the hog deer (Axis 
porcinus) and the fallow deer (Dama 
dama) have recently been released into 
Victorian forests and bushland for 
future sport. Unconfirmed reports to 
the Victorian Deer Advisory Council 
Suggest the presence of yet another 
species, Japanese sika (Cervus nippon) 
in the Mallacoota area (Anderson 1978), 
At least four species of deer: hog, 
sambar, red and fallow are now roaming 
wild in large numbers in the Eastern 
Highlands where they may _ exert 
pressure on the already oppressed native 
fauna and flora by competing for food 
and shelter. In New South Wales’ Royal 
National Park, culling of rusa has been 
necessary because of their high numbers 
(Anderson 1978). Because of damage 
done to vegetable crops by sambar deer 
in the Upper Yarra area, they were 
declared vermin in three Shires from 
1951-61. Deer are also a potential host 
for various viral and bacterial diseases 
and can harbour helminth parasites and 
roundworms which are found in sheep 


Table 1. Mammals introduced into Victoria, which are capable of living in the wild 


Rattus rattus 
R. norvegicus 
Mus musculus 


eee errs 


Black rat, Ship rat 
Brown rat, Norway rat 
House mouse 


Oryctolagus cuniculus Rabbit 
Lepus capensis Hare 
Canis familiaris Domestic dog 
Vulpes vulpes Fox 
Mustela putorius Ferret 
Felis catus Cat 
Equus caballus Horse 
* Sus scrofa Pig 
+ Dama dama Fallow deer 
+ Axis porcinus Hog deer 
+ Cervus unicolor Sambar 
+ C. elaphus Red deer 
+ C. timorensis Rusa 
+ Axis axis Chital 
Bos taurus European cattle 
Capra hircus Goat 
Ovis aries Sheep 


- = control is legislated under Health Act 1958 


*= control is legislated under Vermin and Noxious Weeds Act 1958 


+ = protected under Wildlife Act 1976. 


7 Department of Crown Lands and Survey, Keith 
Turnbull Research Institute, Frankston, Victoria, 


3199. 


January/February 


and cattle (Anderson 1978). Military- 
like hunting operations with four-wheel 
drive vehicles and packs of dogs are 
often even more destructive than the 
deer themselves. Whilst considerable 
effort is spent on the management and 
protection of deer for the benefit of only 
a smal section of the community, it is 
ironical that the native wombat 
(Vombatus ursinus), doing relatively 
little harm other than to rabbit fences, is 
still declared vermin. It has been 
suggested that goats may be used to 
control blackberry in timber crops. Will 
Australia eventually become an open 
zoo? 

A number of the species in Table | are 
considered to be important in terms of 
economics, disease and _ wildlife 
conservation, Thus, feral dogs and cats, 
foxes, pigs and rabbits are treated 
separately and aspects of their 
distribution, breeding, diet and control 
are discussed below. However, mice, 
particularly in plague years, and rats in 
urban and farm areas, are also of 
economic and public health significance. 

Any detailed studies on the effects of 
introduced species in wilderness areas 
would be extremely complex. In most 
situations, scientists are asked to ‘‘focus 
in’’ on one species at a time, and so 
wider interpretations of their specific 
findings can often be expressed only in 
general terms. It is important to realize 
that when attempts are made to assess 
the impact these exotic intruders make 
on our native fauna and flora, we give 
consideration to all factors that may 
affect the latter. This should include all 
introduced animals, plants and, of 
course, man. The disappearance or 
reduction in numbers of indigenous 
predators such as the  thylacine 
(Thylacinus cynocephalus), the tiger 
quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) and the 
eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) have 
only added to our speculation regarding 
the impact that introduced predators 
may have exerted on them. 


FOXES 
General 

The first introductions of the 
European red fox ( Vulpes vulpes L.) to 
Australia took place in the 1860s and 


6 


1870s with most releases being near 
Melbourne (Rolls 1969), The main 
purpose of the releases was to provide 
sport for ‘Colonial Gentlemen’’ and 
there was generally little thought as to 
the possible harmful effects of fox 
introduction. The subsequent spread of 
the species was rapid. Foxes are able to 
survive and indeed flourish in a large 
variety of habitats ranging from rain 
forest to semi-desert but it would seem 
that they prefer to live in areas disturbed 
by man. Studies in America and Europe 
indicate that a family of foxes 
establishes a home range of about 5-7 
square kilometres. The territorial 
boundaries are generally well established 
and often conform to natural physical 
boundaries such as roads, streams and 
lake shores. 


Distribution 

Foxes range over some two-thirds of 
the continent, their northern limit being 
within 100 miles of the Gulf of 
Carpentaria. In Victoria, the density of 
foxes appears to be greater in closely 
settled agricultural areas and this is 
undoubtedly linked to food supply. 
Even large towns and cities support a 
resident fox population. 


Breeding 

Vixen are mono-estrus and are 
receptive to the male fox for only a few 
weeks of the year. In Australia adult 
males are probably infertile from 
September to March of the following 
year. Both vixen and male foxes are 
sexually mature at ten months of age 
and according to overseas work, nearly 
all healthy vixen produce a litter every 
year. In Australia, only few adult vixen 
are barren. This, combined with an 
average litter size of 4-5 viable young, 
accounts for the very high rate of 
reproduction amongst foxes in the field. 
According to overseas studies, the 
gestation period is usually 51-52 days. 

The young are born and reared in a 
den, which is usually an enlarged rabbit 
burrow. However stone heaps, hollow 
logs and natural caverns are frequently 
utilized as breeding sites. The vixen 
establishes the den site and may scratch 
out several dens. The young often utilize 
two or three dens in a confined area. 


Vic, Nat. Vol. 98 


Weaning takes place after the first 
month or so and the young may 
frequent the natal den (or neighbouring 
dens) for several months thereafter. 
Dispersion usually takes place in late 
summer or early autumn. The sex ratio 
in Victoria and New South Wales shows 
a preponderance of males over females 
(Coman 1973a; Croft and Hone 1978). 


Diet 

Extensive investigations on the diet of 
foxes in Victoria indicate that the fox is 
an opportunist predator and scavenger, 
consuming an extremely wide variety of 
foods, The importance of any particular 
food item in the diet is heavily 
dependent on the relative availability of 
that food. Hence, there are marked 
differences in the diet of foxes from 
various habitat types and _ seasonal 
changes in diet are quite evident. In 
areas of agricultural or pastoral land, 
rabbits, house mice and sheep are the 
most important mammalian foods 
eaten. However, in heavy forest areas, 
largely undisturbed by man, native 
mammals are consumed in _ large 
quantities and they appear to compen- 
sate for the lack of rabbit, sheep and 
house mice in these situations (Coman 
1973a; Brunner et al. 1975, 1976, 1977). 

The seasonal variation in incidence of 
various food items is marked. During 
summer, large numbers of insects and 
fruits (particularly blackberries) are 
eaten. At times, insects or wild fruits 
account for the bulk of the fox’s dietary 
intake. Nevertheless, the fox is primarily 
a carnivore preying on smaller mammals 
and feeding on carcasses of larger ones. 


Disease 

In Australia, we are fortunate that 
our fox population is probably not 
involved in the spread or persistence of 
any disease which has a major economic 
or public health significance. 
Nevertheless, foxes harbour a wide 
range of viral, bacterial, protozoan, 
helminth and arthropod organisms 
which may or may not exert some 
pathogenic affect upon their host. 

Distemper, hepatitis and mange 
appear to be the major disease 
conditions in Australian foxes, although 
there is no documented evidence of the 


January/February 


effects of these diseases on the fox 
population. Disease outbreaks appear to 
be sporadic and follow no definite 
pattern. However, there is some 
presumptive evidence that serious 
disease outbreaks amongst foxes occur 
only when the fox population in a 
particular area is high. The helminth 
parasites of foxes in Australia have been 
investigated in detail and at least four 
species of tapeworms and six species of 
roundworms are known to parasitize the 
animals (Coman 1973b). 

We are fortunate that the fox in 
Australia does not act as a carrier for the 
hydatid tapeworm, Echinococcus 
granulosus. In some other parts of the 
world, foxes are important hosts for this 
parasite. 

Foxes harbour a number of external 
parasites, the most important of which 
are the mange mites. Species of fleas, 
lice and possibly ticks also occur on 
foxes. The viral and bacterial diseases of 
foxes have been poorly studied, but 
leptospirosis and toxoplasmosis are 
known to occur in foxes. 


Economic damage 

Although foxes have often been 
considered responsible for heavy losses 
in lambs, there is little evidence to 
support this. Investigations indicate 
that, although large amounts of sheep 
material may be eaten, most of this is in 
the form of carrion. Lamb mortality 
studies suggest that the fox has probably 
been over-rated as a predator of viable 
lambs (McFarlane 1964). Despite this, 
one cannot deny that individual farmers 
sometimes suffer heavy lamb losses 
because of the activities of individual 
“rogue’’ foxes. 

A bounty payment system which was 
introduced in Victoria in 1949 has now 
been revoked. The payment per scalp 
was 75c and in 1977 a peak annual 
return of over 100,000 scalps was 
achieved. The current value of fox skins 
compensates hunters well for their 
efforts. 


Environmental aspects 

The Victorian studies on fox diet 
indicate that substantial predation upon 
indigenous fauna occurs in areas of 
heavy forest or scrub. It is commonly 


7 


believed that this poses a serious threat 
to the existence of many of our smaller 
indigenous fauna species. However, as 
foxes have become dependent on small 
native mammals in these areas as their 
staple food, it should be remembered 
that, after more than a century of this 
predator-prey relationship, there ap- 
pears to be still an abundance of most of 
the small indigenous fauna _ species 
throughout these areas. The disap- 
pearance of certain prey species in more 
vulnerable areas such as small and 
isolated reserves or in desert lands, is 
possibly the result of additional pressure 
on those species by cats, dogs and by 
man. Nevertheless, the wisest policy is to 
take the view that fox predation on in- 
digenous fauna is undesirable and 
should be minimized. 


Foxes with mange could spread this 
disease to wombats and if rabies came to 
Australia, foxes would most likely be 
the principal agent in the spread of this 
disease to mammals, including man. In 
late summer foxes eat large quantities of 
blackberries. The seeds in the droppings 
germinate readily and so the fox assists 
in the spread of this weed (Brunner et al. 
1976). 


Control 


A variety of means have been used to 
control foxes in Victoria. These include 
poisoning, daylight drives, fumigation 
of dens and night spotlighting. The most 
efficient technique is probably that of 
poisoning, as foxes are extremely 
susceptible to 1080 poison. Fumigation 
of dens with chloropicrin or similar 
products is a useful control measure in 
summer, when juveniles and vixen are 
still in the dens. It is probably unwise to 
destroy established dens by digging or 
explosives, since the foxes will then 
establish new den sites in other areas. It 
is better to have the animals using the 
same known dens year after year and to 
fumigate these every breeding season 
when signs of activity are obvious. 


Night spotlighting is often employed 
in fox control, particularly during 
lambing time, when control of 
individual ‘‘killer’’ foxes is desired. 


DINGOES AND FERAL DOGS 


General 

The dingo (Canis familiaris dingo 
Blumenbach, 1780) is generally 
considered to be a native mammal, 
although it may have been in the country 
for only some 10,000 years or so. The 
origin is unknown but it is thought to be 
in the ancestral line from primitive dog 
to present domestic dog. Indeed, it is 
very difficult to separate dingoes from 
ordinary domestic dogs on the basis of 
blood tests, skull measurements etc. 
Many people use the coat colour of the 
animal as a means of discrimination, but 
black and tan as well as yellow dingoes 
may be recognized. 

Feral domestic dogs (Canis familiaris 
familiaris) or hybrid animals resulting 
from inter-breeding with dingoes are a 
more recent addition to our bushland, 
They undoubtedly originated from 
straying farm dogs in the early days of 
settlement. Domestic dogs and dingoes 
inter-breed freely so that we now have 
dingoes, cross-breeds and feral domestic 
dogs roaming the bush. 


Distribution 

Dingoes and feral dogs are in all 
States except Tasmania but are of most 
concern in the more arid pastoral zones 
of Western Australia, South Australia, 
Northern Territory and Queensland as 
well as the heavily forested Eastern 
Ranges of New South Wales and 
Victoria. They are usually in areas 
remote from human habitation and are 
by nature rather shy animals. In Victoria 
they are found throughout the Great 
Divide from the New South Wales 
border to the area about Healesville and 
Marysville. They are also in extensive 
areas of the more rugged country in the 
north-east of the State. Dingoes may 
still be present in the north-west of the 
State (Little Desert — Big Desert) and 
an animal assumed to be a dingo was 
killed near Natimuk recently. However, 
ene from the north-west region are 
ew. 

Dingoes are not found in the wild 
outside Australia but recently dog 
fanciers in other countries have shown 
great interest in breeding the dingo as a 
“‘show"’ dog. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Breeding 

Dingoes differ from feral dogs in that 
they breed only once a year. Domestic 
dogs can breed at least three times in two 
years. 

Dingoes mate between April and June 
and have their young between June and 
August. Like domestic dogs, the 
gestation period is about 63 days. Not 
all bitches breed in their first year and 
this is often taken to indicate social 
subordination of these younger animals 
by older animals. Males have an annual 
sexual cycle and very few sperm are 
produced in summer. 

The dingo bitch produces an average 
of five pups usually in places such as 
large hollow logs, natural caverns etc. 
According to some recent research 
work, there is evidence to suggest that 
not only parents, but also non-breeding 
young animals (first year) help rear the 
young (Newsome et al. 1973). 


Diet 

Dingoes and feral dogs eat a great 
variety of food, ranging from large 
native mammals through to insects, 
fruits and herbs. The introduction of 
livestock and rabbits to Australia has 
extended their range of food items. The 
results of a dietary study of Victorian 
dingoes and feral dogs are shown in 
Table 2. On a volume basis, wallabies 
and wombats are the major food items. 
It can be seen from the Table that sheep 
and cattle form only a small part of the 
diet. Nevertheless, it must be 
remembered that individual dogs can 


cause heavy stock losses from time to 
time (Coman 1972a). In Western 
Australia the most common food for 
dingoes was found to be the red 
kangaroo (Macropus rufus) and the 
common wallaroo (M._ robustus) 
(Whitehouse 1977). In Central Australia 
the major items in their diet are the 
rabbit, the long-haired rat (Rattus 
villosissimus), the house mouse (Mus 
musculus), the spinifex hopping-mouse 
(Notomys alexis) as well as lizards and 
birds (Newsome et al. 1973). 


Parasites and diseases 

The most important parasite of 
dingoes and feral dogs in south-east 
Australia is, undoubtedly, the hydatid 
tapeworm. This worm is probably pre- 
sent in 80-90% of these dogs, but is very 
rare in domestic farm dogs in the same 
areas. The hydatid worm is important 
because its intermediate stage (hydatid 
cyst) is found in man, domestic animals 
and native animals. The disease in man 
can be fatal and it may well kill some 
native mammals. Recent Victorian 
research has shown that the high in- 
cidence of hydatid worms in dingoes and 
feral dogs is probably due to the fact 
that dogs eat large numbers’ of infected 
wallabies (i.e. wallabies with hydatid 
cysts) (Coman 1972b), This is a self- 
perpetuating cycle, the wallabies picking 
up hydatid eggs from grass and herbage 
around dog faeces. Man can become in- 
fected by handling dingoes or feral dogs 
and strict hygiene should be practised. 
In addition to hydatid tapeworms, 


Table 2. Food items in stomach contents of 166 dingces and feral dogs in Victoria (Coman 1972) 


Food items Percentage occurrence in diet 
MAMMALS 
Wallaby ( Wallabia bicolor) 23 
Wombat ( Vombatus ursinus) 20 
Eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) 7 
Possum (chiefly Trichosurus vulpecula) 7 
Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) 6 
Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) 6 
Sheep (Ovis aries) 4 
Cattle (Bos taurus) 3 
BIRDS 5 
REPTILES 6 
INSECTS 33 
HERBAGE 85 


January/February 


dingoes and feral dogs harbour a 
number of other helminth parasites such 
as the sheep and cattle bladderworm (a 
tapeworm of dogs of which the in- 
termediate stage is seen as large watery 
bladders attached to the gut of sheep 
and cattle) and also roundworms and 
hookworms (Coman 1972a). 

Dogs can also become infected with 
mange, distemper, hepatitis and a varie- 
ty of other diseases, and if rabies came 
to Australia, dogs could be important 
carriers. Generally the animals seem to 
have little influence in the spread of im- 
portant livestock diseases. The possible 
exception to this could be hydatid 
disease. 


Economic importance 


Despite a huge amount of folklore 
and over 150 years of control work, we 
still have little idea of the real damage 
caused by dingoes and feral dogs. There 
can be no doubt that severe losses of 
livestock occur from time to time. A re- 
cent survey shows that livestock preda- 
tion in Victoria is confined almost 
entirely to sheep flocks (Stevens and 
Coman unpublished data). 

Control of dogs itself is a fairly expen- 
sive operation. Each year the Victorian 
Department of Crown Lands and 
Survey alone spends some $300,000 on 
dog control, 

Aerial poisoning of dogs has not been 
carried out in Victoria for a number of 
years as it is considered to be relatively 
non-specific, Also the success of such 
poisoning is difficult to measure. It is 
unlikely that aerial poisoning of dogs 
will be considered in the future. 

Ground poisoning of dogs, using 
carefully prepared poison doses and well 
placed baits appears to be more promis- 
ing. Dogs are extremely susceptible to 
1080 poison and, using this fact, it may 


be possible to produce a bait which is ef-: 


fective on dogs but less dangerous to 
desired wildlife species (Rathore 1980). 
Combining this selectivity with carefully 
placed baits could very well result in the 
control of many dogs with a minimum 
tisk to other animals. However, it ap- 
pears that not all dogs will take baits 
and, therefore, poisoning cannot com- 
pletely replace trapping, 


10 


FERAL CATS 
General 


A feral cat is best defined as a cat 
(Felis catus L.) which obtains its own 
food by hunting and scavenging. Feral 
cats may live in close proximity to 
human habitation or may be completely 
isolated in the bush. Since cats kept as 
pets also roam and hunt, a_ precise 
distinction between feral and straying 
animals can sometimes prove difficult. 

The cat was first domesticated in 
Egypt about 3,500 years ago and now 
has a world-wide distribution. It is pro- 
bably true that most countries having 
domesticated cats also have a feral 
population. 

Despite a pronounced coat colour 
polymorphism, cats show little variation 
in size and average females weigh 2.3 — 
3.0 kg and average males 3.5 — 6.0 kg. 
There is no sound evidence to Suggest 
that the average feral cat is larger than 
the average cat kept as a pet. They are 
both the same species (Scott 1972; Jones 
and Coman personal communication). 


Distribution 


Feral cats occur in all habitats in 
Australia (Anon. 1977; Bolton and Latz 
1978; Marshall 1966). They are found in 
the Gibson Desert, the Kimberleys and 
Cape York Peninsula and even on sub- 
antarctic Macquarie Island. In the more 
densely settled areas feral cats appear to 
be concentrated about garbage dumps, 
picnic sites and camping grounds. The 
density of cats in various parts of 
Australia is unknown but at Macquarie 
Island densities may reach up to seven 
cats per square kilometre (Jones 1977). 


Breeding 


Female cats may have from | to 8 kit- 
tens per litter, but the usual litter size is 
from 3-5, Gestation lasts for 65 days and 
kittens are born between spring and late 
summer, Each breeding cycle takes a 
minimum of 444 months and one female 
may produce two litters per year. Kittens 
weigh an average of 100g at birth and 
are weaned after six weeks. Preliminary 
observations suggest that litters are born 
and raised in rabbit burrows, rock piles 
and, possibly, hollow logs. In all other 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


respects, breeding of feral cats is likely 
to be the same as breeding in domestic 
cats. 


Diet 

Research in Victoria suggests that 
feral cats will eat a wide variety of food 
and their prey at any time of the year 
consists largely of those species which 
are most abundant and easily caught 
(Coman and Brunner 1972). Mammals 
(particularly rodents and lagomorphs), 
birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects, 
carrion, human garbage and plant 
material are all eaten. In areas of high 
rabbit density, rabbits are by far the 
most important food item. Similar 
results have been obtained in a more re- 
cent dietary study on feral cats (Jones 
and Coman personal communication). 
Usually cats hunt at night and peak ac- 
tivity is thought to be at evening or early 
morning. The diet of feral cats in Vic- 
toria varies markedly depending on the 


habitat. The results of a dietary survey 
carried out in 1969-70 in agricultural 
and forest areas are summarized in 
Table 3 (Coman and Brunner 1972). 

The greater reliance on native mam- 
mals in heavy forest is, no doubt, linked 
to the fact that such animals are usually 
more common in bush areas whilst mice 
and rabbits are less common. 


Disease 

Probably the most important disease 
transmitted to man and to domestic and 
free living animals by cats is tox- 
oplasmosis (Toxoplasma gondii). It can 
lead to serious foetal damage (rare in 
humans) if the mother is infected during 
pregnancy. It is also a fairly serious 
disease of livestock especially sheep in 
New Zealand and Tasmania and it must 
be assumed that feral cats play some 
part in its transmission. 

A wide range of native animals have 
been found to be infected with toxo- 


Table 3. Food items of 80 feral cats in Victoria expressed both as percentage by volume and as percentage 


occurrence 


Food item Agricultrual and Heavy forest 
pastoral land 2 
Volume Occurrence Volume Occurrence 

MAMMALS 91.5 81.5 85.7 60.6 
Introduced spp. 

Oryctolagus cuniculus 62.0 29.6 20.5 11.3 

Mus musculus 27.0 40.7 11.8 TESS 

Ovis aries 1,5 3.7 0.0 0.0 
Native spp. 

Pseudocheirus peregrinus 0.0 0.0 11.4 Lap 

Esha vulpecula and ) 0.0 0.0 6.6 1.6 

Tichosurus caninus ) 

Rattus fuscipes 0.0 0.0 6.6 8.7 

Rattus lutreolus 0.0 0.0 6.8 4.6 

Macropus spp. 0.0 0.0 9.7 1.9 

Schoinobates volans 0.0 0.0 4.0 1.9 

Antechinus spp. 0.0 0.0 0.8 1.9 

Sminthopsis spp. 0.0 0.0 0.3 1.9 

Perameles nasuta 0.0 0.0 T 1.9 
Unidentified 3.0 14.8 vi: Sa 
VEGETABLE MATTER F 25.9 28 52.8 
INSECTS rT 14.8 0.8 15.1 
BIRDS a TY 5.8 5.7 
LIZARDS T 3.7 ih 1.9 
FROGS 1.0 7.4 0.0 0.0 
OTHER ITEMS 6.0 29.6 3.5 26.4 
CAT FUR 3.0 14.8 0.2 20.7 
HOUSEHOLD SCRAPS 0.0 0.0 Ys be 
T = trace 
January/February "1 


plasmosis. The original spread of this 
disease is commonly linked with the 
presence of feral cats. The sexual stage 
of T. gondii can only mature in 
members of the cat family and the infec- 
tive oocysts are shed in their faeces 
(Butler 1979). Subsequently, these 
oocysts are picked up by grazing 
animals. This disease, found in sheep 
and other domestic animals, has also 
been found in several species of 
macropods, rodents, bandicoots, 
possums, dasyurids and in wombats, 
rabbits and birds (Attwood et al. 1975; 
Gibb et al. 1966; Munday 1972, 1978). 

The disease can kill infected animals 
when they are under stress, such as when 
food is in short supply (Arundel 
personal communication). 

Sparganosis is a disease caused by the 
larval stage of a tapeworm which is 
commonly found in feral cats. The 
intermediate stage of the parasite, called 
the sparganum, is very common in wild 
pigs and is also frequently encountered 
in smaller native animals. Man can get 
this disease but it is uncommon. 

If rabies ever came to Australia, the 
feral cat could act as a carrier but dog 
and fox would probably be more 
important in this regard. 


Economic damage 

Besides the transmission of various 
diseases, feral cats appear to cause little 
or no economic damage in the 
agricultural situation. 


Environmental aspects 

It is generally known that feral cats 
prey heavily on small indigenous 
mammals and birds in wildlife habitats. 
It is possible that feral cats may exert a 
detrimental effect on other small 
carnivores such as the tiger quoll, 
eastern quoll and the  brush-tailed 
phascogale (Phascogale tapoataga) by 
direct competition for food. Certainly, 
the range and number of some of our 
smaller indigenous carnivores has 
decreased markedly since the advent of 
white man. The impact of predation by 
cats is difficult to assess, particularly in 
complex wilderness areas where foxes 
and feral dogs pose a similar threat. Ina 
relatively simple ecological system on 
Macquarie Island, cats caused the local 


12 


extinction of a ground nesting parakeet 
and it has been computed that the 
Macquarie Island cat population eats in 
excess of 50,000 birds per annum (Jones 
1977). In areas containing endangered 
mammal or bird species every effort 
should be made to eradicate feral cats or 
limit their numbers. 


Control 

Although feral cats are not declared 
vermin under the Vermin and Noxious 
Weeds Act 1958, they are widely 
regarded as a pest animal and in some 
situations such as National Parks and 
Wildlife Reserves, active control has 
been attempted. Usually cage trapping 
has been used, but little research has 
been done on the effectiveness of this 
technique. At the moment various trap 
types and trapping methods are being 
evaluated. 

Cats may be poisoned using 1080 
meat baits, but there are probably some 
hazards to other carnivores. In dense 
bush areas some success has been 
achieved by suspending small baits some 
500 mm above the ground where 
raptores and small carnivores have less 
access. 

Like foxes, cats may be killed by 
shooting in conjunction with night 
spotlighting. The eyes shine very 
brightly at night and since the animals 
are mainly nocturnal in habit this 
technique can be used with some 
success. 


THE EUROPEAN RABBIT 


General 

Attempts were made to establish 
rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.) in 
Australia right from the commencement 
of European settlement. Five domestic 
rabbits were listed amongst the livestock 
brought by the First Fleet in 1788 (Stead 
1935), Rabbits were mentioned in early 
reports from Fawkner’s settlement on 
the Yarra River at Port Phillip (Rolls 
1969). Rabbits were also released on 
several islands around the Victorian 
coastline to provide food for 
shipwrecked sailors (Stokes 1846). The 
Henty family brought rabbits from 
Tasmania to Portland, in western 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Victoria (Bassett 1954), long before the 
more well-known episode which 
followed. 

In 1859 about twenty-four wild and 
domestic rabbits were brought to 
Melbourne from England and 
established at ‘‘Barwon Park’’, the 
property of Thomas Austin, near 
Winchelsea. Although the details are 
uncertain, it is clear that these rabbits 
became established very well indeed. 

Of all our introduced mammals, the 
rabbit has probably had the greatest 
ecological impact in Australia. 


Distribution 

Rabbits are found virtually 
throughout the Australian mainland 
south of the tropic of Capricorn, in 
Tasmania and on numerous coastal 
islands. 

Isolated colonies of unknown status 
occur further north in Western 
Australia, the Northern Territory and 
Queensland. Rabbits are found in a wide 
range of environments including arid 
stony deserts, sub-alpine valleys, sub- 
tropical grasslands, wet coastal plains 
and a wide variety of Mediterranean- 
type habitats, In Victoria, they occur in 
habitats associated with nearly all types 
of land use including areas reserved for 
conservation purposes. 


Breeding 

The gestation period is about 28-30 
days and mating can occur immediately 
after parturition. 

The kittens are born blind, without 
fur and in a nest which the doe prepares 
in a burrow. Young kittens first emerge 
at an age of about 15-20 days. 

Females become sexually mature at 
about four months of age and males at 
about five months. 

The following generalizations 
concerning rabbit reproduction are 
drawn from data collected by the 
C.S.1.R.O. Division of Wildlife 
Research from five environments 
(Myers 1970). 

The shortest and most sharply defined 
breeding season occurs in the sub-alpine 
region where reproduction is limited to 
the late spring and early summer 
months. In Mediterranean-type 
climates, however, reproduction occurs 


January/February 


in most months of the year with a 
prominent peak in spring. 

The average productivity of young per 
female per year ranged from 13.1 (sub- 
alpine N.S.W.) to 29.4 (Mediterranean 
N.S.W.) and the mean numbers per 
litter (in embyro stage) ranged from 4.49 
(arid N.S.W.) to 5.65 (Mediterranean 
N.S.W.). 

In summary, the population in the 
Mediterranean habitat exhibited a 
markedly higher capacity for increase — 
almost twice that of the next highest site 
(sub-tropical Queensland) and 
approximately eighteen times that of the 
lowest site (sub-alpine N.S.W.). 


Food and feeding 

Rabbits are more selective than sheep 
in their grazing habits (Myers and Poole 
1963; Farrington and Mitchell 1971). 
Their natural choice is for soft, green 
grass but when this becomes unavailable 
they choose food which is easily eaten 
and masticated, avoiding plants with 
disagreeable aromatic odours and tastes. 
In most instances such feeding coincides 
with a high protein intake. In drought 
conditions their diet becomes protein 
and energy deficient and this imposes a 
considerable stress on the animals. 


Diseases 

Diseases in wild rabbits are no direct 
threat to humans. Dogs, however, can 
become infected with the helminth 
parasites Taenia pisiformis and Taenia 
serialis by eating infected rabbits 
(Coman 1972a). The cysts of the latter 
parasite in rabbits are often mistakenly 
identified as hydatid cysts (Davies and 
Nicholas 1977). Hydatids has not been 
reliably recorded in rabbits in Australia. 

Occasionally ectoparasites of rabbits 
are capable of transmitting microbial 
pathogens to man. The associated 
diseases include mange, scabies, 
dermatitis and plague (Yunker 1964; 
Pegg 1970). 

The most famous disease associated 
with rabbits is the viral disease 
myxomatosis. Beginning from an 
experimental site near Corowa in 1950, a 
spectacular epizootic decimated rabbit 
populations and for the first time 
brought rabbits under control (Ratcliffe 
et al. 1952; Brereton 1953). It is expected 


13 


that myxomatosis will continue as a 
moderately severe disease of rabbits for 
some time to come (Edmonds 1972), 


Economic damage 

Although generally acknowledged, 
the economic damage caused by rabbits 
has not been well documented. 
However, the real extent of earlier losses 
was clearly revealed by the enormous 
increase in wool and meat production 
which followed the suppression of 
rabbits by myxomatosis (Reid 1953). 

Even though the rabbit problem has 
been greatly reduced, the resources still 
required for control demonstrate the 
continuing economic impact of this 
species. 

Some commercial benefit is derived 
from the sale of carcasses and skins of 
wild rabbits, but the commercial 
production of domestic rabbits is still 
not permitted in Victoria. 


Environmental damage 

The impact of rabbits on the 
Australian environment could well be 
described as disastrous. 

Rabbits have significantly altered the 
botanical composition of extensive areas 
of natural habitat. This is mainly 
because they feed on certain species of 
plants at critical stages of development 
such as seeding and _ seedling 
establishment (Myers and Poole 1963). 
These findings have been supported and 
extended by subsequent studies 
(Cochrane and McDonald 1966; 
Churchill 1972). 

Because of these ecological changes 
associated with high population 
numbers, rabbits have been blamed for 
the disappearance of the greater bilby, 
Macrotis lagotis, and the pig-footed 
bandicoot, Chaeropus ecaudatus, and 
for putting many other species under 
stress. Studies have shown that rabbits 
have had a drastic effect on the ecology 
of islands and that significant 
regeneration of the original vegetation 
can occur after the removal of rabbits 
(Norman 1967, 1970). 

A further concern is the severe soil 
erosion which has occurred due largely 
to the grazing and burrowing activities 
of rabbits. 


14 


The control of rabbits in natural areas 
without undue disturbance of native 
flora and fauna presents a major 
challenge to those who manage land for 
conservation purposes. 


Control 

It was not long after the initial rapid 
spread of rabbits that their threat as a 
pest species became obvious. By 1869 it 
had been suggested that rabbit control 
be made compulsory in Victoria, and in 
1880 the Rabbit Suppression Act was 
drawn up (Rolls 1969). 

Today, the main methods of rabbit 
control are poisoning, fumigation, 
warren-ripping, harbour destruction, 
night shooting and exclusion fencing. 
Biological control through myxomatosis 
continues to be of great assistance 
(Edmonds 1972; Tighe ef al, 1977; 
Shepherd et a/. 1978). In recent years the 
European rabbit flea (Spilopsyllus 
cuniculi Dale) has been introduced as 
an additional vector of the myxoma 
virus (Shepherd and Edmonds 1976, 
1979). 

Advice on the most suitable methods 
of control in particular situations is 
readily available from local Inspectors 
of Lands throughout Victoria and from 
the Keith Turnbull Research Institute at 
Frankston. 


FERAL PIGS 


General 

Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in Australia are 
derived from domestic stock and they 
have established populations of high 
density in a wide range of habitats, 
chiefly in New South Wales, Queensland 
and the Northern Territory. Some feral 
pig colonies were established prior to 
1870 but most are more recent in origin. 

Feral pigs are a declared pest species 
in Victoria, New South Wales, Western 
Australia and Queensland. Elsewhere in 
Australia there is no legislation on feral 
pigs. 


Distribution 

Although feral pigs can be found in 
all States, they are of major significance 
only in New South Wales, Queensland 
and the Northern Territory. In New 
South Wales the greatest density of pigs 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


is located on the north-western river 
systems, flood plains and marshes. 
Populations of up to eighty pigs per 
square kilometer have been recorded 
(O’Grady and Hone personal 
communication). 

High population densities also occur 
in large areas of Queensland but there is 
no detailed information on distribution. 

In the Northern Territory, feral pigs 
are found only in the north of the State. 
There, the distribution of pigs is mainly 
restricted to the river systems. 

In Victoria, two main population 
groupings can be recognized. The 
majority of animals are found in flood 
country adjacent to the Murray River in 
northern Victoria. The other main 
habitat is in the Eastern Ranges. Smaller 
colonies are also found is confined 
situations throughout the remainder of 
the State. 


Breeding 


The breeding season of feral pigs in 
Australia is generally unrestricted. 

Sows begins breeding between 6 and & 
months of age if their live-weight 
exceeds 30 kg. The mean number per 
litter at birth is 6.5 and the mean 
number weaned varies from 0 — 4,5 
depending on seasonal conditions. Two 
litters can be weaned in 12-14 months. 

Populations of pigs studied in New 
South Wales have a potential rate of 
increase of about 300% per annum if 
resources are not severely limiting. This 


figure allows for normal hunting 
pressures. 

Food and Feeding 

Feral pigs have definite food 


preferences. Succulent green vegetation 
forms the bulk of the diet but if this 
becomes unavailable they become 
increasingly dependent on plant roots 
and animal material. Grain crops are 
particularly attractive even when there is 
an abundance of green vegetation. The 
animal tends to be nocturnal 
particularly during hot weather or when 
the population is disturbed. 

Like domestic pigs, the feral pig has a 
poor tolerance of high temperature and 
when temperatures exceed 30°C it must 
drink water daily. 


January/February 


Disease 


The major importance of feral pigs is 
their potential as a reservoir of exotic 
diseases particularly foot and mouth 
disease, swine fever, rinderpest, and 
trichinosis. This importance is 
compounded when the distribution of 
feral pigs is considered, particularly in 
northern Australia near possible points 
of entry of diseases from Asia. 


Economic damage 


Feral pigs cause losses in the pastoral 
industry and in grain and sugar 
production. In the pastoral industry the 
main pig problem occurs during the 
lambing season particularly in north- 
western New South Wales. Moule (1954) 
and Plant et al. (1978) have attributed 
fairly heavy lamb losses in particular 
flocks in Queensland and New South 
Wales to feral pig predation. In the 
investigation by Plant et al. (1977), it 
was estimated that in one season a total 
of over 600 lambs was killed by feral 
pigs from 1,422 lambing ewes. Pigs also 
ruin pastures by grazing and rooting, 
they break down fences and cause 
damage to water installations and bore 
drains. 

Pigs have a significant effect on grain 
production in New South Wales and 
Queensland. In Victoria crop damage 
occurs to a lesser extent. Individual 
farmers may suffer heavy losses from 
time to time. Losses result not only from 
consumption of grain and foliage but 
also because areas of crops are 
destroyed by trampling. Losses in sugar 
production are mainly reported from 
northern Queensland. 


Environmental aspects 


There is little information available 
on the effects of feral pigs on the natural 
environment. Pigs living in forests and 
swamps can cause considerable damage 
rooting and wallowing and by spoiling 
water. There may be a significant effeci 
on ground nesting birds because of 
damage to nesting sites and habitat. 
Although studies of pig food habits have 
not yet indicated predation on wildfowl 
or eggs, such damage may occur (Giles 
personal communication). In the high 
plains of Kosciusko, pigs feed 


15 


extensively on tuberous plants and this 
may cause damage to individual species 
and plant communities. Furthermore, 
these disturbances are usually followed 
by an invasion of weedy exotic plants 
(Wimbush personal communication). 
Pigs preying on lambs are likely to prey 
also on native animals for food. Tufts of 
hair of possum, koala and kangaroo 
have been found in droppings of pigs. It 
is likely that pigs pose a_ serious 
ecological problem in many areas and 
there is a definite need to investigate this 
possibility. 


Control 


Useful methods of control are 
trapping, poisoning and shooting. 

Traps are simply small yards 
constructed of weld-mesh supported by 
steel fencing posts. Bait is used to attract 
the pigs into the traps and various 
devices are used to prevent the pigs from 
escaping. 

For poisoning, pellets or grain are us- 
ed as bait material. Meat bait injected 
with poison is also effective. 

Shooting is best applied where small 
populations are restricted to certain 
watering points or as an ancillary to 
trapping and poisoning. 


Acknowledgements 


The authors wish to thank colleagues 
Dr. B. Coman and Messrs. J. Edmonds, 


E. Jones and I. Nolan for their 
assistance with contributions of in- 
formation, helpful discussions and 


critical reading of the manuscript. 


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Plant, J.W., Rees, D., Marchant, R.S. and Mit- 
chell, T.D. (1977). Feral pigs, predators of 
lambs. Agric. Gaz. N.S. W. 88 (5): 11-13. 

Ratcliffe, F.N., Myers, K., Fennessy, B.V. and 
Calaby, J.H. (1952). Myxomatosis in 
Australia. A step towards the biological control 
of the rabbit, Nature 170: 7. 


Rathore, A.K. (1980). Assessment of an improved 
method of delivery system of Compound 1080 
for wild canid pest control. Aust. Mammal 
Soc. Bull. 6 (2):58. 

Reid, P.A. (1953). Some economic results of myx- 
omatosis. Quart. Rev. Agric. Econ. 6:93. 

Rolls, Eric C, (1969). They AJ] Ran Wild. Angus 
and Robertson, Sydney. 

Scott, P.P. (1972), The cat. Chapter 33 In The 
UFAW Handbook on the Care and Mange- 
ment of Laboratory Animals. Fourth edition. 
bri Livingstone: Edinburgh and Lon- 

ion. 

Shepherd, Rosamond C.H. and Edmonds, J.W. 
(1976). The establishment and spread of 
Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale) and its location on 
the host, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.), in the 
Mallee Region of Victoria, Aust. Wildl. Res. 3: 
29-44, 

Shepherd, Rosamond C.H., Edmonds, J.W., 
Nolan, I.F. and Gocs, A. (1978). Myxomatosis 
in the Mallee region of Victoria, Australia. J. 
Hyg, Camb. 81: 239-243. 

Shepherd, Rosamond C.H. and Edmonds, J.W. 
(1979). Myxomatosis: the release and spread of 
the European rabbit flea Spi/opsyllus cuniculi 
(Dale) in the Central District of Victoria, J. 
Hyg. Camb, 83: 285-294. 

Stead, D.G, (1935), The Rabbit in Australia. Winn 
and Co., Sydney. 

Stokes, J.L. (1846). Discoveries in Australia. Vol. 
Il, London. 

Tighe, F.G., Edmonds, J.W., Nolan, I.F., 
Shepherd, Rosamond, C.H. and Gocs, A. 
(1977). Myxomatosis on the Western Plains of 
Victoria. J. Hyg, Camb. 79: 209-217. 

Whitehouse, S.J.O. (1977). The diet of the dingo in 


Western Australia. Aust. Wildl. Res. 4: 
145-150. 
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animals potentially dangerous to man: ec- 
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465. 


LT 


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17 


Trout Introduced into South-eastern Australia: 
Their Interaction with Native Fishes 


By P.D, JACKSON* 


Introduction 

The practice of introducing non- 
indigenous animals into North America 
and Australasia was particularly 
characteristic of the 19th Century when 
people migrated from Europe in huge 
numbers (McDowall 1968). Fishes were 
selected by these settlers for those spor- 
ting or food qualities thought to be lack- 
ing in fishes of the new lands and with 
no thought to the possible effects of in- 
troduced fishes on the native species of 
fish. Indeed only recently have some 
biologists questioned the wisdom of in- 
troducing exotic species of fish and 
begun to provide data on the relation- 
ships between native and introduced 
fishes (e.g. McDowall 1968). 

In the present paper, the introduc- 
tions of brown trout Salmo trutta and 
rainbow trout S. gairdneri from the 
Northern Hemisphere into Australia are 
documented, and the effects of these in- 
troduced species on the native fish 
populations are reviewed. 


History of Trout Introductions 

Five species of salmonid have been in- 
troduced into Australia: the brown 
trout; rainbow trout; brook 
trout (Salvelinus fontinalis); Atlantic 
salmon (Salmo salar); and quinnat 
salmon (Oncorhynchus — tshawytscha). 
Although populations of all these 
species still exist in Australian hat- 
cheries, only brown trout and rainbow 
trout have established self-reproducing 
populations in the wild. 

The introduction of brown trout to 
Australia is the earliest known introduc- 
tion of the species beyond its native 
range in Europe (MacCrimmon and 
Marshall 1968). Trout ova were first 
successfully shipped to Tasmania in 
1864 after four attempts between 184] 


* Sport Fisheries Section, Fisheries and Wildlife 
Division, Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental 
Research, 123 Brown Street, Heidelberg, Vic, 3084, 


18 


and 1862 (Roughley 1951). Three hun- 
dred brown trout were hatched from 
about 1000 ova and 38 were liberated in 
the Plenty River. The remainder were re- 
tained in the hatchery pond, and their 
progeny have been used to stock the 
rivers of Tasmania and mainland 
Australia, 

Rainbow trout were first introduced 
in 1894 (Roughley 1951) when fertilized 
ova were transferred from New Zealand 
to New South Wales. The species had 
been introduced to New Zealand from 
their native range on the Pacific coast of 
North America in 1883. 


Biology and Present Distribution of 
Trout in South-eastern Australia. 

Brown trout is a_ thick-bodied, 
streamlined species known to reach at 
least 900 mm in length and 14 kg in 
weight in Australia (McDowall 1980). It 
occurs most commonly in cool (upper 
lethal temperatures occur between 22.5 
and 25.3°C according to Frost and 
Brown 1967) and well oxygenated waters 
of both rivers and lakes. However it re- 
quires clear, flowing water and a gravel 
substrate for reproduction. Eggs are 
deposited in depressions in the gravel in 
late autumn to winter (May to August). 
Recently hatched young initially form 
shoals in shallow fast-flowing sections 
of river but soon become solitary and 
strongly territorial. Brown trout are car- 
nivorous, feeding on a variety of in- 
vertebrates and small fishes. 

Rainbow trout is similar in shape to 
brown trout and reaches about 775 mm 
in length and 8 kg in weight in Australia 
(McDowall 1980). Its biology is essen- 
tially similar to brown trout. Rainbow 
trout may spawn a little later and tend to 
be more successful in lakes than rivers. 
Where the two species occur together 
brown trout dominates. 

As the biology of brown and rainbow 
trout is essentially similar, previous 
Australian authors (e.g. Weatherley and 
Lake 1967, Tilzey 1977) have grouped 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


them together under the single heading 
‘trout’. The same convention is followed 
here except where specific examples are 
given. 

Trout were first introduced into rivers 
and lakes by acclimatisation societies. 
To quote Tilzey (1977), ‘‘Such was the 
zeal of early acclimatisationists that 
trout were introduced into most suitable 
river catchments before 1900’’. Later, 
and with equal fervour, the State 
fisheries departments continued stock- 
ing streams, lakes and reservoirs with 
trout. Trout are still reared in govern- 
ment hatcheries and many waters are 
still stocked regularly. The success of 
such stockings is debatable. The survival 
rate of trout in streams already contain- 
ing wild trout is very low. Nicholls 
(1958) showed that in a Tasmanian 
stream only about 2% of hatchery- 
released fish reached the age of 3 years. 
Lake (1957) found the situation to be 
similar in New South Wales waters. 
Recently, Cadwallader and Tilzey (1980) 
have questioned the wisdom of stocking 
many of the reservoirs in Victoria and 
New South Wales, particularly those 
below 900 m in altitude, where mortality 
rates are often high and returns to 
anglers low. 


Due to the spawning requirements 
and temperature tolerances of trout, 
self-reproducing populations now occur 
mainly in streams of the south-eastern 
highlands of mainland Australia, at 
altitudes above about 600 m and in most 
highland streams in Tasmania (Fig. 1). 
Sound arguments for the success of 
trout in the Australian environment are 
reviewed by Weatherley (1974) and 
Tilzey (1977). Briefly, the main reasons 
according to Tilzey (1977) are: the 
physicochemical and _ biological 
similarities between certain Australian 
waters and the trout’s ancestral waters, 
the availability of food, the virtual 
absence of parasites and diseases, and 
minimal competition from native fishes 
(see below). 

The distribution of trout is still expan- 
ding because weirs and impoundments 
provide cool waters which enable trout 
to survive in streams where summer 
water temperatures would normally be 
lethal to them. Water released from 


January/February 


WA Trout distribution 


Fig. 1. Distribution of trout in South-eastern 
Australia. 


deep impoundments during summer can 
be as much as 11°C colder than ambient 
water temperature, which it may not re- 
join for up to 100 km (Buckmaster et al 
1979). It may be noted here that such 
alterations of temperature and flow 
regimes have markedly depleted native 
fish stocks (Cadwallader 1978). 


Interaction with Native Fishes 

Whilst a decline in numbers and 
distribution of native fishes is widely 
acknowledged (Frankenberg 1966, Lake 
1971) opinions are divided as to the 
reasons. Some (e.g. Weatherley and 
Lake 1967, Lake 1971) have contended 
that man-made changes to the environ- 
ment, for example, alterations to the 
hydrological regimes of rivers, clearing 
of snags, pollution and so on have been 
the main factors. Others (e.g. 
Frankenberg 1966, Jackson 1975, Tilzey 
1976), whilst acknowledging that man’s 
modifications of the environment have 
had a deleterious effect on native fishes, 
have maintained that the effects of fish 
introductions have also been con- 
siderable. In the present paper the 
detrimental effect of environmental 


19 


modifications other than the introduc- 
tion of trout is accepted, and the discus- 
sion is limited to a review of the evidence 
of interactions between trout and native 
fishes. 

Table | lists the most common native 
species recorded from tableland waters 
above 600 m on the mainland and from 
what are now considered the trout 
waters of Tasmania. Of these, only river 
blackfish, Macquarie perch and galax- 
iids have been reported to spawn in such 
waters. Murray cod, tupong, Australian 
and Tasmanian smelt and pigmy perch 
inhabit these waters only occasionally, 
generally occurring further downstream. 

Thus of the native species that attain a 
moderate size, only five are found in 
what are now trout waters; short-finned 
eel, long-finned eel, river blackfish, 
Australian grayling and trout cod, Both 
species of eel are piscivorous (Beumer 
1979). Butcher (1945) found river 
blackfish to be mainly insectivorous and 
Jackson (1978a) concluded that fish did 
not form a significant part of the river 
blackfish’s diet. The Australian grayling 
is probably omnivorous, feeding on in- 
sects (Jackson 1976) and on algae 
(Bishop and Bell 1978). Consequently 
introduced trout were probably preyed 
on by few indigenous fishes other than 
eels. Murray cod and tupong have been 
reported to eat fish (Lake 1971, Nicholls 


1958) and may have preyed on trout in 
waters at lower altitudes (Tilzey 1977). 

This comparative lack of indigenous 
piscivorous fishes has probably led to 
several species being highly susceptible 
to predation, through not having evolv- 
ed or retained predator escape 
mechanisms (Tilzey 1977). When trout 
were introduced into rivers, native fishes 
were freely available to them as prey and 
trout had little competition from larger 
native fishes. 

Frankenberg (1966) was the first to 
comment on the fragmented distribution 
of galaxiids and to suggest that this was 
due to trout. Specifically he cited the 
headwaters of the Kiewa river where 
trout occupied the main body of the 
stream and galaxiids occupied places in- 
accessible to trout, such as above water- 
falls. However, there are very few data 
on the relationships between trout and 
galaxiids in general. Evidence is strong 
for only one species, the mountain 
galaxias (Galaxias olidus). 

The mountain galaxias is a small 
species, reaching only about 10-13cm in 
length (McDowall 1980), with a 
widespread, if fragmented distribution 
in highland streams. It is most common- 
ly found in small headwater tributaries 
where it occurs in loose shoals in pool 
areas or solitarily amongst rocks in more 
shallow areas. It is largely insectivorous 


Table |. Native Fishes occurring in Trout Waters in Australia 


Common name Scientific name 


+ Maximum recorded 


: i. length (mm) 
*River blackfish Gadopsis marmoratus Richardson 625 
*Short-finned eel Anguilla australis Richardson 900 
*Long-finned eel Anguilla reinhardtii Steindachner 1500 
Macquarie perch Macquaria australasica Cuvier and Valenciennes 370 
Trout cod Maccullochella macquariensis (Cuvier and Valenciennes) 685 
Murray cod Maccullochella peeli (Mitchell) 1800 
*Australian grayling Prototroctes maraena Gunther 300 
*Tupong Pseudaphrites urvilli (Cuvier and Valenciennes) 300 
Silver perch Bidyanus bidyanus (Mitchell) 400 
*Galaxias spp. 

e.g. Mountain galaxias Galaxias olidus Gunther 130 
Climbing galaxias G. brevipinnis (Gunther) 278 
Spotted mountain G, truttaceus Valenciennes 200 
galaxias 

Australian smelt Retropinna semoni Weber 100 

*Tasmanian smelt Retropinna tasmanica McCulloch 67 

*Pigmy perch Nannoperca australis Gunther 82 


+ Measurements taken from McDowall (1980) 
* Occurring in Tasmanian trout waters 


(All species apart from R. tasmanica occur on the mainland) 


20 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


feeding on both aquatic and terrestrial 
insects and appears to spend its entire 
life cycle in freshwater (Fletcher 1979). 

Jackson and Williams (1980), in a 
study of the distribution of brown trout 
and native species in the upper reaches 
of the Yarra River, showed that moun- 
tain galaxias were present only in those 
tributaries where brown trout were ab- 
sent. Furthermore, in many _ small 
tributaries trout were the only fish pre- 
sent, suggesting the elimination by this 
species of all native fishes. There is no 
evidence to suggest that such habitats 
cannot support native fishes. 

Other authors (e.g. Tilzey 1976, Cad- 
wallader 1979, Fletcher 1979) have also 
documented the mutually exclusive 
distributions of trout and mountain 
galaxias in highland streams on 
mainland Australia. Tilzey (1976) was 
able to document the invasion by rain- 
bow trout of a small stream flowing into 
Lake Eucumbene, New South Wales. In 
1971 the stream contained only moun- 
tain galaxias upstream and downstream 
of a waterfall. By 1974 rainbow trout 
had invaded the section downstream of 
the waterfall and were the only fish pre- 
sent. The mountain galaxias population 
upstream of the falls was similar to that 
present in 1971 suggesting that the 
presence of rainbow trout was the sole 
environmental factor causing the disap- 
pearance of mountain galaxias. 

Fletcher (1979) has attempted to fur- 
ther investigate the interactions between 
trout and mountain galaxias by ex- 
perimentally introducing brown trout 
into an enclosed section of Watchbox 
Creek, Strathbogie Ranges. Both the ex- 
perimental and a control section con- 
tained only mountain galaxias of similar 
numbers and size range at the com- 
mencement of the experiment. After 
four months, the galaxias population in 
the experimental section was con- 
siderably depressed, both in terms of 
numbers and weight, in comparison 
with the control section. 

There is thus growing evidence to sug- 
gest that trout is incompatible with 
mountain galaxias. The mechanisms of 
this negative interaction are not clear. 
Certainly, the two species show con- 
siderable overlap in diet (Fletcher 1979) 


January/February 


and competition for food must occur. 
Furthermore, mountain galaxias feeds 
on the bottom and in the water column 
in a similar manner to trout and direct 
competition, where there is direct con- 
tact between individuals of the two 
species, may occur. Trout may therefore 
inhibit the mountain galaxias from 
feeding. Mountain galaxias also occurs 
in the diet of trout (Bishop and Tilzey 
1978, Fletcher 1979) and direct preda- 
tion may be an important factor. Flet- 
cher (1979) has suggested that the moun- 
tain galaxias lacks any predator 
avoidance mechanisms but more work is 
needed to determine this fully. 


The relationships between trout and 
other galaxiid species are much less 
clear. There is some evidence to suggest 
that the distribution of the climbing 
galaxias (G. brevipinnis) has been af- 
fected by trout (Andrews 1976, Jackson 
and Williams 1980). The only known 
locality of the Swan galaxias (G. 
fontanus), a recently described species 
from Tasmania, is above a waterfall 
barrier which separate the population 
from brown trout (Fulton 1978). 

Data are few on the relationships be- 
tween trout and native fishes other than 
galaxiids. Jackson (1978a) has discussed 
the relationship between brown trout 
and river blackfish, a species that ap- 
pears able to co-exist with trout, 
(Frankenberg 1974, Jackson and 
Williams 1980). Although the diets of 
the two species are very similar they may 
avoid direction competition because the 
two species occupy somewhat different 
habitats, river blackfish preferring the 
slower-flowing stretches of river. The 
decline of river blackfish in recent years 
may, at least in part, be explained by the 
de-snagging of rivers because the species 
spawns in submerged hollow logs 
(Jackson 1978b). 

The short-finned eel also appears able 
to co-exist with trout (Jackson and 
Williams 1980). Although there are no 
data on the relationship between trout 
and eels in the Australian environment, 
considerable research done in New 
Zealand, where short-finned eels also 
occur (e.g. Burnet 1968, 1969, Hopkins 
1970, Skrzynski 1974) has shown that 
the relationship is complex and varies 


21 


from river to river. However, there was 
no evidence to suggest that the introduc- 
tion of trout had been detrimental to eel 
stocks; in fact some evidence was 
presented to show that the removal of 
eels from a section of river may lead to 
an increase in the number of trout. 
Studies of feeding habits (Burnet 1968) 
showed that larger eels did include trout 
in their diet. 

The relationships between trout and 
any of the other native species, Mac- 
quarie perch, Australian grayling and 
trout cod, are difficult to ascertain 
because all three are now rare and few 
biological studies were made when these 
fishes were much more abundant. 

Macquarie perch were once common 
in the upper reaches of the Murray- 
Darling System but their distribution 
and abundance is now greatly reduced 
(Cadwallader 1977, 1978), Macquarie 
perch and trout have similar diets 
(McKeown 1934, Butcher 1945). Adult 
Macquarie perch in aquaria obtain food 
by a sucking action and normally at- 
tempt to take only items within their im- 
mediate vicinity (Cadwallader and Eden 
1979). Examination of the stomach con- 
tents of Macquarie perch collected 
from the wild indicated that they are 
basically bottom feeders which obtain 
only a small portion of their food at the 
water surface. As such they are less ag- 
gressive feeders than trout which seize 
their prey and feed in the water col- 
umn as well as on the bottom (Frost and 
Brown 1967). Therefore Macquarie 
perch may not have been able to com- 
pete successfully with trout for food. 
Furthermore trout eat small Macquarie 
perch (Butcher 1967). 

Australian grayling were once com- 
mon (Tunbridge 1972) and often taken 
by anglers, but even early this century 
the species was rare in New South Wales 
and although once exceedingly plentiful 
in the Yarra River, Victoria, had 
become very scarce (Stead 1903). Since 
that time their numbers have continued 
to decline. Recent surveys undertaken 
by the fisheries departments of New 
South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania 
have located several previously 
unrecorded populations but the species 
must still be regarded as rare. The 


22 


reasons for its decline are unknown, but 
its disappearance corresponds closely 
with the introduction of trout and with 
man’s concurrent modifications to the 
stream habitat. In particular, the damm- 
ing of rivers must be detrimental to the 
Australian grayling which is probably 
anadromous (spends part of its life cycle 
at sea and migrates to freshwater to 
spawn) and needs an_ unrestricted 
passage up and down the river systems it 
inhabits. 

Trout cod were formerly found in 
many waters throughout the Murray- 
Darling River system (Berra 1974), but 
are now collected consistently in only 
one stream, Seven Creeks, a small 
tributary of the Goulburn River near 
Euroa, Victoria. Although little is 
known of the biology of the species, 
Cadwallader (Fisheries and Wildlife 
Division, pers. comm.) believes that the 
introduced trout have had a detrimental 
effect on trout cod, particularly in 
north-eastern Victoria where trout now 
dominate streams previously the domain 
of trout cod. Cadwallader’s (1978) 
observations of young (1-6 months old) 
trout cod in aquaria indicate that the 
species establish territories in a similar 
manner to trout, and field observations 
indicate that both species have similar 
habitat requirements. What little data 
are available on the food of trout cod in- 
dicates an overlap with the diet of trout. 


Conclusions 

With few exceptions, information on 
the relationships between trout and 
native fishes is fragmentary and in- 
conclusive. So little is known about the 
biology and previous distribution of 
native fishes that it is difficult to say ex- 
actly what the effects of trout have been. 
Perhaps one of the most obvious 
detrimental effects is that until recently, 
the resources of State fisheries depart- 
ments were channelled only in one direc- 
tion and at the expense of research of 
native fishes. Consequently little work 
was done on native species when they 
were still abundant. 

Although information on the relation- 
ships between trout and native species is 
scarce, clearly the mountain galaxias is 
particularly susceptible to displacement 
by trout. Galaxiids appear to be suscep- 


Vic, Nat. Vol. 98 


tible to displacement by predatory game 
fish throughout their natural range. 
McDowall (1968) concluded that trout 
were incompatible with several New 
Zealand galaxiids, and Jubb (1965) 
reported that populations of South 
African species of galaxiids had been 
detrimentally affected by the introduc- 
tion of predatory game fish. No data are 
available from South Ameria where 
trout have been introduced into waters 
where galaxiids occur. 


Acknowledgements 

I would like to thank Drs D. Evans 
and J. Beumer (Fisheries and Wildlife 
Division, Victoria) for their comments 
on the manuscript. Alicia McShane 
prepared the figure. 


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J. Mar. Freshwater Res. 9: 319-350, 

Roughley, T. C. (1951). Fish and Fisheries of 
Australia. (Angus and Robertson: Sydney). 


23 


Skrzynski, W. (1974). Review of biological 
knowledge of New Zealand freshwater 
eels (Anguilla spp.). Fish. Tech. Rep. N.Z. 
No. 9. 


Stead, D. G. (1903). The Australian grayling 
— Prototroctes maraena Gunther. Rep. Dep. 
Fish. N.S. W. 1902: 34-35. 

Tilzey, R. D. J. (1976). Observations on interac- 
tions between indigenous Galaxiidae and in- 
troduced Salmonidae in the Lake Eucumbene 
catchment, New South Wales. Aust. J. Mar. 
Freshwater Res. 27: 551-564. 


Tilzey, R. D. J. (1977). The key factors in the 


establishment and success of trout in 
Australia. Proc. Ecol. Soc. Aust, 10: 97-105, 

Tunbridge, B. R. (1972). The elusive 
grayling. Freshwater Fisheries Newsletter, No. 
2: 20-21. 

Weatherley, A. H. and Lake, J. S. (1967). Introduc- 
ed fish in Australian inland waters. 
In: Australian Inland Waters and their Fauna. 
Ed. A. H. Weatherley. (A.N.U. Press: 
Canberra). 

Weatherley, A. H. (1974). Introduced freshwater 
fish. In Biogeography and Ecology in 
Tasmania. Ed. W. D. Williams (Junk: The 
Hague). 


Introduced Non-marine Molluscs in Australia 


B 
BRIAN J. 


Terrestrial molluscs are probably the 
best known invertebrate animals in- 
troduced into Australia. The majority of 
snails and slugs with which most people 
are familiar in southern Australia are 
species introduced into Australia, main- 
ly from Europe. These were almost all 
accidental introductions on tools and 
machinery or on plants being brought 
over by the early European settlers. 
Several of the species are now very 
widespread throughout most of 
temperate southern Australia,  in- 
habiting mainly the man-modified en- 
vironments dominated by introduced 
vegetation. A few species appear still to 
be actively spreading largely as a result 
of changing patterns of agriculture and 
transportation. 

Lists of introduced molluscs in 
Australia have been given by Musson 
(1890), Gabriel (1930), Cotton (1954) 
and Smith and Kershaw (1979), Thirty- 
five species are here recognised (see Ap- 
pendix) as having been introduced into 
Australia by European man. Several 
others may be well established here but 
remain unrecognised while others are 
about to be introduced and distributed. 
This is particularly likely with respect to 
tropical species. 

Most introduced species of non- 
marine molluse can be considered nox- 
ious animals being either pests of 


+Senior Curator (Zoology), 
National Museum of Victoria 


24 


y 
SMITH Tf 


gardens, crops or pasture, or vectors for 
stock disease. Thus far no snail-borne 
human diseases have been found being 
infective in Australia, except reports of 
schistosomiasis in northern Australia 
during World War II, but the possibility 
remains with each fresh introduction. 
Many of the species have proved to be 
highly successful world travellers having 
colonized most temperate regions of the 
world in the last two or three centuries. 


Fresh Water Snails 

Four species of freshwater snails 
belonging to three families are con- 
sidered established introductions. These 
were probably brought in on aquatic 
plants with importations of live fish. 
Several other species, mainly tropical, 
are confined to aquaria with no reports 
of ‘‘wild’’ populations. Only one 
species, Physa acuta, appears to be at all 
widespread. The species has only recent- 
ly been recognized as a common 
freshwater faunal element in southern 
Australia, it being confused in the past 
with native species of Physastra and 
Isidorella, \t appears to prefer still to 
slow flowing freshwater with plenty of 
aquatic vegetation and is tolerant of tur- 
bid and moderately eutrophic condi- 
tions. 

An important recently recorded in- 
troduction (Ponder, 1975), is the lym- 
naeid Pseudosuccinea columella. This is 
reported to be a more potent vector of 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


the economically important sheep liver 
fluke, Fasciola hepatica, than the native 
lymnaeid Austropeplea tomentosa. It 
has been recorded from aquaria in 
Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and some 
regional centres and seems to be 
established in the wild in isolated 
pockets in these centres. Orginally a 
native of North America, it may have 
been introduced into Australia from 
New Zealand. 


Land Snails 

Twenty-one species of land snails 
belonging to eight families are listed as 
introductions into Australia. Several re- 
main very localized and insignificant in 
the environment of long established 
suburban gardens. Two or three species 
of the genus Oxychilus, the glass snails, 
can even be described as beneficial as 
they feed on non-green vegetable matter 
or on small animals such as insect larvae 
or pest species of molluscs. However 
one family, the Helicidae, contains 
several species which are common, 
widespread pests of gardens and crops, 
often occurring in very large population 
densities. 

Helix (Cryptomphalus) aspersa, the 
common Garden Snail, and Cochlicella 
ventrosa, the Small Conical Snail, have 
a very widespread distribution 
throughout the moister areas of 
southern Australia. Helix is mainly a 
garden and orchard pest feeding on 
leaves and fruit of ornamental and crop 
species. Cochlicella is found in these 
areas and is also important as a pest of 
pasture grasses in certain areas. The 
Sand-Dune Snail, Theba pisana occurs 
in very high population densities along 
many sections of the coastal areas with 
some centres being established inland, 
such as along the River Murray. This is 
also spreading to become a garden pest 
in some areas. A snail similar in ap- 
pearance, the White Snail, Cernuella 
(Cernuella) virgata occurs in large 
populations in South Australia and 
Western and Central Victoria where it 
has become an important wheat con- 
taminant pest. 

Most of the helicids appear to be 
adversely affected by higher mean yearly 
temperature conditions, the effect pro- 
bably being most marked on the 


January/February 


reproductive biology. Untested observa- 
tions suggest that these snails require 
cool wet conditions for breeding and 
subsequent survival of the juvenile 
snails. If the main wet season occurs in 
conditions of high temperatures, this 
combination may not be as favourable 
for successful breeding. Garden helicids 
appear to be being replaced in Northern 
New South Wales by a bradybaenid, 
Bradybaena similaris from Asia. 

A potentially very important pest in- 
troduction, Achatina fulica the Giant 
African Snail, has been threatening to 
establish a firm foot-hold in Australia 
for some time. Isolated populations 
were reported in the Cairns area of 
North Queensland a few years ago 
(Colman, 1977) and many live 
specimens are intercepted by quarantine 
officers at ports of entry every year. 
There seems no valid reason why 
Achatina should not eventually become 
established in the wetter tropical and 
subtropical areas of Australia in the 
future. 


Slugs 

The most widespread and most severe 
pest species of introduced non-marine 
molluscs are to be found in the slug 
family Limacidae. Three of the five 
species in this family, Deroceras 
reticulatum, D. caruanae and 
Lehmannia (Lehmannia) nyctelia are the 
most common and widespread living- 
plant feeders in the Australian terrestrial 
mollusc fauna. The other two limacid 
species, though not nearly as common, 
are conspicuous members of the fauna 
because of their large size (Altena and 
Smith 1975). The pest species Milax 
gagates and the marginal to non-pest 
species Arion intermedia are also very 
widespread in southern Australia with 
Arion intermedia probably penetrating 
farther into unmodified native bush 
areas than any other species of introduc- 
ed mollusc, The beneficial carnivorous 
slug Testacella is very rare with only a 
few specimens having been recorded. 

Slugs, because of their lack of shell 
and ability to enter and lie hidden in 
very small spaces, are particularly dif- 
ficult to exclude from machinery and 
packaging, thus facilitating their rapid 
infestation of remote areas. 


25 


Discussion 

Over the two hundred years or so of 
European settlement of Australia non- 
marine molluscs must have been ac- 
cidentally introduced into various areas 
many thousands of times. These in- 
troductions occurred from widely 
geographically separated gene pools 
resulting in complex character recom- 
binations within one species. This has 
made the identification of introduced 
species in Australia an almost impossi- 
ble process in many cases as the 
‘‘parent’’? species to which these in- 
troductions should be referred are 
themselves incompletely known  tax- 
onomically. Many of the characters used 
to separate closely related species in 
Europe are linked in identification keys 
to geographical features. These keying 
characters are of little value when con- 
sidering an introduced species. 

Of the many species that have un- 
doubtedly been brought into the country 
only certain ones have survived to breed 
and become established. The large com- 
mon garden slug of Britain, Arion ater, 
has been recorded as an introduction 
many times. However no established 
populations are known to the writer 
anywhere in Australia. Other species 
possess in their genetic make-up, the 
flexibility to make of themselves suc- 
cessful world travellers capable of 
establishing vigorous populations in 
most temperate regions of the world. 

Very few tropical or subtropical 
species are included on the list of in- 
troductions, This is mainly due to the 
lack of knowledge of the native tropical 
non-marine molluse fauna of Australia, 
making it almost impossible to decide 
which species are here as part of their 
natural widespread geographical 
distributon and which are here as a 
result of the activities of man within the 
region. The only documented introduc- 
ed tropical snail is Achatina fulica, 
whose progress across the world has 
been comprehensively reported (Mead, 
1961). 

Most introduced species have a 
distribution across native faunal region 
boundaries (Smith and Kershaw, 1979). 
In highly man-modified regions, such as 
many parts of south eastern Australia, 


26 


they are the dominant group of non- 
marine molluscs. In most cases there is 
strong evidence that their distribution is 
continuing to increase with species being 
currently recorded as pest species in 
localities where only a few years ago 
they were entirely absent. This trend is 
being accelerated by the increased land 
clearing for crop monoculture coupled 
with the rapid transport of products of 
that process across great distances. This 
same facility of rapid transport is also 
increasing the risk of new introductions 
into Australia. Some of these introduc- 
tions are accidental such as the inadver- 
tent introduction of aquatic snails such 
as Pseudosuccinea columella on plants 
imported with live fish for aquarists. 
Others are deliberate, such as the smug- 
gling of live edible Roman snails Helix 
pomatia to set up illicit culture projects 
for sale to fashionable restaurants. 


Acknowledgements 

I would like to thank Ms. Rhyllis 
Plant, technical assistant at the National 
Museum for her assistance in the 
preparation of material for this paper 
and Mrs Lyn Anderson for typing the 
manuscript. 


REFERENCES 


Altena, C.O. van R. and B, J, Smith, 1975. Notes 
on introduced slugs of the families Limacidae 
and Milacidae in Australia, with two new 
records. J, malac. Soc. Aust. 3(2): 63-80. 

Colman, P. H., 1977. Full alert for the giant 
African land sail. N. Qd. Nat. 44(170):8. 

Cotton, B, C., 1954. A catalogue of introduced 
snails and slugs in Australia, Rec. S. Aust. 
Mus, 11(2): 177-187, 

Gabriel, C. J., 1930. Catalogue of the land shells of 
Victoria. Proc. R. Soc. Vict. 43(1):62-88. 

Mead, A. R., 1961. The Giant African Snail. 
Chicago, 

Musson, C. T., 1890. On the naturalised forms of 
land and fresh-water Mollusca in Australia. 
Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. W. (2)5:883-896. 

Ponder, W, F., 1975. The occurrence of Lymnaea 
(Pseudosuccinea) columella, an intermediate 
host of Fasciola hepatica, in Australia. Aust. 
ver, J, 51:494-495. 

Smith, B, J. and R. C. Kershaw, 1979. Field guide 
to the non-marine molluscs of south eastern 
Australia, Canberra. 


Appendix 


_ List of species of non-marine molluses introduced 
into Australia by man during the last two hundred 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


years. Species of actual or potential major economic 
importance are marked with an asterisk (*), 
Family Lymnaeidae 
Lymnaea stagnalis (Linnaeus, 1758) 
*Pseudosuccinea columella (Say, 1817) 
Family Planorbidae 
Planorbarius corneus (Linnaeus, 1758) 
Family Physidae 
Physa acuta Draparnaud, 1805 
Family Cionellidae 
Cionella lubrica (Muller, 1774) 
Family Valloniidae 
Vallonia pulchella (Muller, 1774) 
Family Ferussactidae 
Ferussacia folliculus (Gmelin, 1790) 
Family Achatinidae 
* Achatina fulica (Ferussac, 1821) 
Family Arionidae 
Arion intermedius Normand, 1852 
Arion hortensis Ferussac, 1819 
Arion ater Linnaeus, 1758 
Family Zonitidae 
Oxychilus cellarius (Muller, 1774) 
Oxychilus draparnaldi (Beck, 1837) 
Oxychilus alliarius (Miller, 1822) 
Vitrea contracta (Westerlund, 1873) 
Vitrea crystallina (Muller, 1774) 
Zonitoides arboreus (Say, 1816) 


Family Limacidae 
*Deroceras reticulatum (Muller, 1774) 
*Deroceras caruanae (Pollonera, 1891) 
*Lehmannia (Lehmannia) nyctelia 
{Bourguignat, 1861) 
*Lehmannia (Limacus) flava (Linnaeus, 1758) 
Limax maximus Linnaeus, 1758 
Family Milacidae 
*Milax gagaies (Draparnaud, 1801) 
Family Euconulidae 
Euconulus fulva (Muller, 1774) 
Family Testacellidae 
Testacella haliotidea Draparnaud, 1801 


Family Bradybaenidae 
Bradybaena similaris (Ferussac, 1831) 
Family Helicidae 
Cochlicella acuta (Muller, 1774) 
*Cochlicella ventrosa (Ferrussac, 1821) 
* Helix (Cryptomphalus) aspersa (Muller, 1774) 
* Theba pisana (Muller, 1774) 
Eobania vermiculata (Muller, 1774) 
*Cernuella (Cernuella) virgata (da Costa, 1778) 
Cernuella (Xerocincta) neglecta (Draparnaud, 
1805) 
Cernuella (Microxeromagna) vestita (Rambur, 
1868) 
Candidula intersecta (Pioret, 1801) 


The Effects of Introduced Aquatic Plants in Australia 
By HELEN I. ASTONT 


Of approximately 200 aquatic fern 
and flowering plant species growing in 
the wild in Australia about 20, i.e., 
about 10% are naturalized introduc- 
tions. Although the number of introduc- 
ed aquatics is small their impact on the 
Australian scene is considerable. They 
have no beneficial qualities which are 
not supplied equally as well by native 
species, yet several have proved ex- 
cessively detrimental, becoming major 
weeds with severe environmental, social 
and economic effects. Weed species 
have displaced native aquatics, become 
aesthetically displeasing, reduced water 
purity by deoxygenation and 
eutrophication, altered evapotranspira- 
tion rates, reduced water flow in irriga- 
tion channels and rivers by up to 70%, 
reduced the carrying and storage capaci- 
ty of water bodies, blocked engineering 
works such as locks and floodgates, 

revented swimming and _ boating, 
ouled pasture after floods, caused loss 


+ Senior Botanist, oan 
National Herbarium of Victoria 


January/February 


of agricultural production particularly 
in irrigation areas with crops such as 
rice, harbored the vectors of disease or 
nuisance insects such as mosquitoes, 
forced authorities into the extensive use 
of herbicides, and absorbed large quan- 
tities of public finance in control pro- 
grammes. In 1978 the estimated cost of 
aquatic weed control in Australia was 
2% - 3 million dollars. 

In view of the proven detrimental ef- 
fects of a number of naturalized in- 
troductions (particularly Fichornia 
crassipes, Water Hyacinth; Salvinia 
molesta Salvinia; Elodea canadensis 
Canadian Pondweed, Elodea; Sagittaria 
graminea Sagittaria; Alternanthera 
philoxeroides Alligator Weed and 
Myriophyllum aquaticum, Parrot’s 
Feather) it is advisable to prevent the in- 
troduction of any further aquatic species 
into this country without due 
forethought as to their weed potential. It 
is also advisable to prevent any further 
extension of those introduced aquatics 
which are already in Australia into areas 
outside of aquaria and backyard ponds. 
Control and/or eradication of aquatic 


27 


weeds requires the development of 
uniform laws on noxious weeds and 
trade, education of field officers and the 
public to encourage discovery and 
reporting of new infestations, monitor- 
ing and assessment of control measures, 
and research into the total ecology of 
aquatic ecosystems including biological 
control of particular species. 


Suggested Reading 


Aston, H. 1., (1973 or reprint 1977), Aquatic Plants 
of Australia, (Melbourne University Press, 
Melbourne). . 

Gopal, B., and Sharma, K. P., (1979). Aquatic 
weed control versus utilisation. Economic 
Botany, 33; 340-346. 

Mitchell, D. S, (1978), Aquatic Weeds in Australian 
Inland Waters. (Australian Government 
Publishing Service, Canberra), 


Boneseed in the Bushland of Victoria 
By D. LANE+ 


Boneseed (Chrysanthemoides 
monilifera) was introduced into 
Australia from South Africa and was 
cultivated in most states as a garden 
shrub and on occasions, used to stabilise 
sand dunes. An ability to grow in 
bushland soon became evident and ex- 
amples of occurrences of escapes from 
cultivation are listed in Grey (1976). In 
Victoria, extensive infestations of 
boneseed occur in coastal areas on the 
Mornington Peninsula and between 
Geelong and Apollo Bay. In dry 
woodland extensive infestations occur at 
Arthurs Seat, the You Yang Mountains 
and on the eastern outskirts of 
Melbourne (Fig. 1), Scattered infesta- 
tions, usually in the vicinity of towns, 
occur throughout the state (Parsons, 
1973). 

Boneseed has not been alone in in- 
vading areas of Australian bushland. 
Many species e.g. blackberry (Rubus 
fruticosus agg.), Pines (Pinus spp.) 
Polygala (Polygala myrtifolia) Tutsan 
(Hypericum androsaemum), flat weeds 
(Hypochoeris spp.) and numerous 
grasses have been similarly invasive. Nor 
has the establishment of exotic species 
been all one way. Australian Acacia spp. 
and Hakea spp. have spread in South 
Africa and Eucalyptus species are 
becoming widespread in California. 


*Keith Turnbull Research Institute, Vermin and 
Noxious Weeds Destruction Board, Frankston, 
Victoria, 3199, 


28 


In this article, boneseed will be 
discussed as an example of an exotic 
which can invade native plant com- 
munities and an approach to the control 
of this species will be outlined. A suc- 
cessful invader, either a native or an ex- 
otic species, must produce seeds (or 
other reproductive parts) which can be 
readily disseminated and able to 
establish in new habitats. Boneseed, 
selected because of prolific flower pro- 
duction, sets a large number of seeds 
each year. These have a hard seed coat 
and a fleshy outer covering. When ripe, 
the fruits are eaten by some animals, 
e.g. foxes or birds, and this provides an 
effective means of spread into bushland. 
The seeds are large and the seedlings ex- 
hibit both a rapid initial growth and an 
ability to withstand shading, infertile 
soils and moisture stress. 


In South Africa, boneseed is a 
vigorous and successful species which 
has evolved into six sub species 
(Norlindh, 1943) that occupy habitats 
throughout the country. Hutchinson, 
(1946) refers to boneseed as ‘‘an amaz- 
ing species both as regards variation, 
choice of habitat and distribution . . . 
which grows in abundance from sea- 
level on the Cape Peninsula right around 
the cast coast to as far north as Usam- 
bara in Tanganyika Territory; it climbs 
to the top of the Khamiesberg and the 
Karee Bergen in the west, and well up 
the slopes of the Mont aux Sources on 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


the Drakensberg. . . The Species attains 
its fullest development on shale near the 
coast’’. 

This inherent vigour, combined 
possibly with an absence of natural 
pathogens in Australia, is doubtless the 
basis of the success of establishment of 
boneseed. While it is popular to believe 
that the Australian native species are 
best adapted to their environment and 
would therefore have a competitive ad- 
vantage Over exotic species, it appears 
that this may not be completely true. 
Evolution of native species has occurred 
in isolation, with low grazing pressures 
from native animals under climates 
which differed from today’s. As well, 
variability in the environment occurs 
from year to year and long lived species 
have had to adapt to survive the ex- 
tremes. Any community, also, is not 
composed of adult individuals fully ex- 
ploiting all available resources but is a 
balance between ageing plants and 
establishing replacements. In combina- 
tion, these three factors suggest that the 
native communities will have spaces in 
space and time that can be occupied by 
exotic species. In the case of boneseed, 
the available niche is a layer beneath the 
tree and tall shrub canopy and above the 
grasses and herbs. 


The Growth of Boneseed in Bushland 


Boneseed does not appear to have any 
specific requirements for germination 
once the seed coat has cracked. Seed- 
lings establish at any time of the year but 
particularly in autumn and spring or 
following clearing or fires. Seedling sur- 
vival is reduced in moist, shady situa- 
tions, etiolated plants being more 
susceptible to fungal attack. Seedlings 
do survive beneath mature boneseed 
plants so an established infestation is 
maintained and does not represent a 
temporary phase in community develop- 
ment. Mature boneseed forms a very 
dense canopy which excludes smaller 
plants, e.g. grasses and herbs, and the 
seedlings of trees and shrubs. This alters 
the composition and character of 
bushland and can threaten the existence 
of some native species. This density can 
be achieved because boneseed is free 
from competition from similarly sized 


January/February 


native species and has few parasites or 
pathogens. 


The Spread of Boneseed 


While areas such as Arthurs Seat and 
the You Yangs carry extensive infesta- 
tions, most boneseed is restricted to 
bushland in the vicinity of settled areas, 
This indicates that natural spread is slow 
since many areas of Victoria have 
similar soils, climate and vegetation to 
the affected sites. A major barrier to the 
spread of boneseed is agricultural land 
since seedlings do not survive grazing or 
cultivation. 


Control of Boneseed 


The control of a plant, such as 
boneseed, in bushland poses difficult 
and unique problems. Most weed con- 
trol is based on altering the environment 
in which the weed is growing to suppress 
re-establishment once the existing plants 
have been removed. In agriculture, 
cultivation or grazing programmes can 
be changed or competitive species 
established, with the use of fertilizers. 
Where the weed growth cannot be sup- 
pressed, repetitive control measures have 
to be resorted to. In bushland, the op- 
tions of changing the environment or in- 
troducing competitive species are not 
available and repetitive treatment is 
often beyond the scope of resources or 
damages the native species. Biological 
control can reduce dense infestations to 
scattered plants. However, effective 
pathogens which are specific to the weed 
species have to be available and such 
organisms have not been found for 
boneseed. For boneseed, a characteristic 
of the seed germination has been used to 
develop an effective method of control 
of dense infestations. Exposure to heat 
(100°C for 30 seconds) has been found 
to stimulate virtually complete germina- 
tion of all seed, provided the seed coat is 
cracked (Lane & Shaw, 1978). The seed 
coats develop three cracks while lying in 
the soil and all fruits which fall to the 
ground in January to February have 
cracked by September-October. Seeds 
within the cracked coats can germinate, 
however the rate is slow and only about 
4% will germinate within one month in 


29 


Fig. 1 


the laboratory. After heating, however, 
over 90% germination can occur in the 
same period. 


In the field, a slow, cool burn pro- 
vides suitable conditions to stimulate 
germination. Plots cleared after a 
bushfire at Arthurs Seat in 1973 and 
following experimental burns at the You 
Yangs have remained free of boneseed 
once seedlings which established im- 
mediately after the burn were destroyed. 
The seedlings can be removed by hand 
or by herbicides. One herbicide, 
bromoxynail, at a rate of 1:600 will kill 
boneseed seedlings but not harm grasses 
or Acacia species which also germinate 
after a burn. This herbicide has no 
residual effect in the soil so permits re- 
establishment of native species on 
treated areas. 


In developing control programmes for 
exotics such as boneseed, treatments 
must be sympathetic to the native flora. 
At the same time however, the existing 


30 


BONESEED DISTRIBUTION 1976 


SCATTERED PLANTS 


\\E 


PATCHES IN BUSHLAND 


MAIN INFESTATIONS 


and potential threat of the exotic species 
to the survival of the natives must be 
remembered. The removal of establish- 
ed exotics invariably requires work that 
will damage existing native plants. The 
benefit comes from ensuring that the 
native community is able to regenerate 
by reshooting and the establishment of 
seedlings. 


REFERENCES 


Gray, M. (1976) Miscellaneous notes on Australian 
Plants. 2. Chrysanthemoides (Compositae). 
Contrib. Herb. Aust. 16:1-2. 

Hutchinson, J. (1946) A Botanist in Southern 
Africa. P. R. Gawthorn Ltd., London. 

Lane D. & K. Shaw (1978) The role of fire in 
boneseed (Chrysanthemoides monilifera (L.) 
Norl.) Control in Bushland. 

Proc. Ist Conf. of C.A.W.S.S. Melb. pp 333-5. 

Norlindh, T. (1943) Studies in the Calendulae. 1. 
Monograph of the genera Dimorphotheca, 
Casalis, Osteospermum, Gibbaria and 
Chrysanthemoides. 

Parsons, W. T. (1973) Noxious Weeds of Victoria. 
Inkata, Press, Melbourne. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


The Rehabilitation of Weed Dominated 
Communities 


BY F. D. PANETTA* 


Introduction 

There are numerous instances in 
Australia where areas modified to a 
greater or lesser extent by man’s ac- 
tivities have been invaded and subse- 
quently dominated by exotic plant 
species. Two species which have been 
particularly successful in this regard 
in Victoria are blackberry (Rubus 
fruticosus agg.) and boneseed 
(Chrysanthemoides monilifera). Such 
species appear to be capable of preven- 
ting the regeneration of native shrub and 
tree species and may persist locally for 
an indefinite period of time. 

This paper seeks to examine issues 
related to the rehabilitation of weed 
dominated communities and attempts to 
highlight aspects which warrant further 
investigation. Three broadly interrelated 
areas will be dealt with, viz. rehabilita- 
tion aims, rehabilitation strategy and the 
selection of replacement species. 


Rehabilitation Objectives 

The aims of any rehabilitation effort 
should be clearly defined at the outset. It 
must be kept in mind, however, that the 
present understanding of vegetation 
processes and the degree of development 
of skills involved in the management of 
vegetation are sufficiently rudimentary 
to pose problems concerning the realiza- 
tion of such aims, 

A primary objective should be to 
determine the desired floristic and struc- 
tural attributes of the rehabilitated com- 
munity. The establishment of a 
monoculture of Pinus radiata is one 
method of displacing blackberry and 
other troublesome weeds, but may not 
find much support among the general 
public. The establishment of plantations 
of Eucalyptus spp. may be marginally 


*Department of Environmental Studies, Rusden 
State College, 662 Blackburn Road, Clayton, Vic. 
3168. 


January/February 


more acceptable. If the rehabilitated 
community is to be considered as a 
habitat for native fauna, an exotic 
monoculture may be _ undesirable 
(Barnett ef al., 1976, Disney and 
Stokes, 1976). Perhaps the rehabilitated 
community should resemble the 
aboriginal vegetation as closely as possi- 
ble. 

A useful guideline for decision mak- 
ing at this stage may be provided by pat- 
terns of present and projected land use. 
If the area under consideration is 
marginally productive agricultural land 
it may be acceptable to establish a Pinus 
or Eucalyptus monoculture. Alter- 
natively, if the weed dominated com- 
munities are presently found in areas 
which have importance as reserves or 
recreational facilities, the desired 
floristic and structural attributes of the 
rehabilitated community may closely 
resemble those of the native community 
prior to the invasion by exotic plant 
species. 

If the aim is to establish a native 
monoculture, one would simply require 
a species which could be expected to be 
successful under the prevailing en- 
vironmental conditions. The selection of 
such a species could follow from the ex- 
amination of either local remnant com- 
munities or historical records. 

If it is desirable to establish a more 
complex community, e.g. a mixture of 
two or more species, possible interac- 
tions between the species must be con- 
sidered, both in the initial establishment 
phase and as they relate to the per- 
sistence of the community through time. 
Noble and Slatyer (1977) have recently 
attempted to explain the vegetation 
dynamics of Australian plant com- 
munities on the basis of a few attributes 
of pairs of dominant species. 

The first attribute concerns the 
method of recovery of a species after 
disturbance. Such methods include 


31 


recovery by means of vegetative 
regrowth (V), a local seed pool (S), im- 
migration of highly dispersable seed (D) 
or no special mechanism for recovery 
(N). (It should be noted with regard to 
the first two methods of recovery, 
however, that not all species are purely 
V or S; many species display a mixture 
of both methods). 

The second attribute concerns the 
ability of a species to reproduce in the 
presence of competition from in- 
dividuals of either its own or another 
species. Species can thus be characteriz- 
ed as being either tolerant (T), partially 
tolerant (P) or intolerant (1) of such 
competition. 

These two vital attributes may be 
seen to be complementary to a certain 
extent. If a relatively high frequency of 
disturbance, e.g. fire, is a controlling 
factor in the development of a com- 
munity, then mechanisms of recovery 
from disturbance are likely to be impor- 
tant contributors to the persistence of 
species. Conversely, if the intervals be- 
tween disturbance events are long 


relative to the life span of individuals 
then an ability to reproduce in the face 
of competition is likely to be favoured. 

If a species mixture is to be stable, it is 
essential that one species does not 
replace the other(s) under disturbance 
regimes which the rehabilitated com- 
munity might be expected to experience. 
There are a number of possible com- 
binations of vital attributes which may 
ensure the stability of a species pair, just 
as there are a few combinations which 
are unlikely to persist. For example, VT- 
VT and VP-ST species pairs are likely to 
produce stable communities, whereas 
VT-NP and VP-NI species pairs are like- 
ly to be dominated eventually by the 
first member of the pair. Where one 
member of the rehabilitated community 
is an obligate seed reproducer, suc- 
cessive fires at intervals shorter than the 
time to reproductive maturity are likely 
to eliminate it (Fig. 1). A certain level of 
protection from fire may be necessary to 
ensure its persistence. 

It will be seen shortly that the vital at- 
tributes of potential weed competitors 


Figure 1. The effects of fire upon the development of a community comprised of two species. See text for 


explanation of symbols. 


Species Replacement 


VP-SP 


Sequences 


5G) GS 


2992“ caeeo 


ote thoes 
. . 


SI-ST 


So Cofote F900 0.0 ates 
° s o7 8 


3S 


fire 
——_—> 


ha OR 


2999 5% *,%,0 090 0 Hee 
hae ODT Cee 6 Ge a ere” 


ia oo * 


Vie Sh Sl ST 


32 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


are of great importance in the design of 
a rehabilitation strategy. Noble and 
Slatyer (1977) comment that VT and DT 
weed species may be the most difficult 
species to displace. 

Whatever the desired attributes of the 
rehabilitated community may be, a sub- 
sidiary aim will be to establish a 
reasonably uniform vegetative cover as 
quickly as possible in order that the 
availability of resources, i.e. light, 
moisture and nutrients, may be effec- 
tively lowered. It is essential that 
resources freed by the local elimination 
of the vegetative phase of the target 
species become utilized by desirable 
species. Otherwise, such resources may 
simply be usurped by regeneration aris- 
ing from the seed of either the target 
species or other weeds which invade 
subsequently or have been previously 
present but not abundant. 

The rate at which resource availability 
is lowered will be of varying degrees of 
importance, primarily depending upon 
the supply of propagules of weed 
species. For example, where there is a 
small or negligible soil store of pro- 
pagules and the nearest source of col- 
onizers is some distance away, the 
availability of resources may remain 
fairly high for some time without 
adversely affecting the success of the 
rehabilitation effort. Conversely, if 
weed propagules are readily available (S 
or D recovery mechanisms), the rate at 
which resource availability is lowered 
becomes critical. It must be kept in mind 
that in any rehabilitation effort we are 
dealing in the realm of probabilities; 
any condition which serves to reduce the 
probability of establishment of weed 
species relative to that of desirable 
species will benefit the programme. 

If seedlings of the target species are 
not capable of establishing in the 
presence of larger plants (I or P) the 
lowering of resource availability 
brought about by the growth of the 
replacement species will be more effec- 
tive in preventing weed regeneration 
than if the weed species can reproduce in 
the presence of competition (T). 


Rehabilitation Strategy 
Whilst rehabilitation strategy must be 
largely determined by the objectives of 


January/February 


the undertaking, it may vary con- 
siderably according to the scale of the 
operation. For example, over small 
areas it may be possible to establish 
cover rapidly by hand planting seedlings 
of selected species. This approach quick- 
ly becomes unrealistic as the size of the 
area to be rehabilitated increases. Over 
large areas, introduction of the seed of a 
species mixture may be the only feasible 
alternative. 


Where weed species have not attained 
complete dominance and individuals of 
native species are relatively abundant, a 
practicable strategy may be to remove 
the weeds over a period of time, doing 
so sufficiently slowly that regeneration 
from native species can keep pace with 
the increased availability of resources. 
Bradley (1971) has provided an excellent 
set of guidelines for clearing weeds, by 
which the rate of clearing is adjusted to 
the relative abundance of exotic and 
native species. The essence of this ap- 
proach is that it is ultimately beneficial 
to err on the side of under-clearing as 
opposed to over-clearing of undesirable 
species. Weed species, being particularly 
well-adapted to disturbance, are 
generally favoured by this phenomenon 
(Lewis, 1973, Harper, 1977). In- 
discriminate removal of individuals may 
simply represent a wastage of effort. 


Where weed dominance occurs over 
large areas and the potential propagule 
input from native species is minimal, 
e.g. agricultural land which has fallen 
into disuse, it becomes necessary to take 
a more active role. In order to establish 
native species it will generally be 
necessary to remove the vegetative phase 
of the weed population. This removal 
may be effected by a variety of means, 
e.g. mechanical, chemical, burning. If 
rehabilitation is to proceed by the in- 
troduction of seed, the removal of the 
vegetative phase must be virtually com- 
plete; establishing seedlings of native 
species will generally be unable to com- 
pete with regrowth. Should herbicides 
be employed, they should preferably be 
selective and of limited persistence. 

Assuming that the elimination of the 
vegetative phase is effective, the soil 
seed bank of the weed species becomes 
the next immediate factor with which 


33 


the rehabilitation strategy must deal. 
Thompson and Grime (1979), for the 
herbaceous flora of temperate regions, 
have recently grouped seed banks into 
four categories (Fig. 2). The first two 
categories both possess seed banks 
which are present for less than twelve 
months, differing only in whether max- 
imum numbers of seed are present dur- 
ing summer and complete germination is 
brought about by environmental condi- 
tions in autumn (Type I), or the com- 
plementary pattern exists, with full ger- 
mination taking place in spring (Type 
II). The remaining categories comprise 
species with persistent seed banks, dif- 
fering in whether the seed bank is small 
(Type III) or large (Type IV) relative to 
the annual production of seed. 

If a transient seed bank is present, it 
should suffice to prevent seed produc- 
tion prior to undertaking rehabilitation, 


or, this failing, to delay introducing the 
seed of replacement species until ger- 
mination is complete and the weed seed- 
lings are removed. An apparent difficul- 
ty with the latter approach, however, is 
that seasonal conditions suitable for the 
germination of weed seeds may coincide 
with the most suitable conditions for the 
germination and establishment of the 
replacement species. Where interactions 
between high densities of weed seedlings 
and the seedlings of replacement species 
are unavoidable, seedling growth 
characteristics may decide the outcome. 
Seedling growth may be viewed as being 
dependent upon both seed size and 
potential growth rate, and species vary 
markedly with respect to these attributes 
(Grime, 1979). A relatively large-seeded 
resident weed species whose seedlings 


Figure 2. Idealized representation of four types of seed bank. Shaded areas: dormant seed. Unshaded areas: 


non-dormant seed. See text for description of types. 


Seed Bank Types 


Spring 


Type 


Type 


Type 


Type IV 


34 


Summer 


Autumn Winter 


VU ee 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


are characterized by high growth rates 
could hinder rehabilitation efforts to a 
larger extent than a small-seeded, slow- 
growing species such as groundsel bush 
(Baccharis halimifolia) (Panetta, 1977). 
Amor and Piggin (1977) note that the 
outcome of competition between exotic 
and native species is often difficult to 
predict. 

Should the target species possess a 
persistent seed bank, the possible dif- 
ficulties encountered in establishing 
replacement species increase in 
magnitude. The germination 
characteristics of the seed of the target 
species now become critical. If dor- 
mancy is largely of the induced and/or 
enforced type (Harper, 1977), altered 
light quality in conjunction with increas- 
ed temperature fluctuations at the soil 
surface following the removal of vegeta- 
tion (Thompson et a/. 1977, Panetta, 
1979) should stimulate germination, and 
seedlings may be removed prior to in- 
troducing seed of the replacement 
species. Soil disturbance should be 
minimized in order to ensure that seeds 
remaining dormant due to deep burial 
are not brought to the surface. If seed 
dormancy is predominantly of the in- 
nate type, subsequent germination 
becomes unpredictable and is likely to 
occur intermittently over a long period 
(Salisbury, 1964, Harper, 1977). The 
best strategy in this case could be to in- 
troduce the seed of replacement species 
at fairly high densities, in order to en- 
sure that the ‘ecological vacuum’ 
created by clearing is filled by desirable 
species as quickly as possible. 

Examination of the seed banks under 
thickets of Rubus polyanthemos in- 
dicates that for at least one member of 
the blackberry species aggregate, viable 
seeds are present in low numbers (F. D. 
Panetta, unpublished data). This would 
appear to indicate that seedlings arising 
from the soil seed banks of the species 
should pose little threat to rehabilitation 
efforts. 


Selection of Replacement Species . 
The selection of replacement species 
will be dictated, with certain qualifica- 
tions, by the rehabilitation aims and 
strategy. Given the declared aims and 


January/February 


strategy, the ‘‘ideal’? replacement 
species should follow. (It has been 
remarked with regard to my current 
research regarding the rehabilitation of 
blackberry-infested sites at Lysterfield 
Lake Park, Victoria, that the criteria of 
high growth rate, production of a 
uniform cover and long term stability 
might be most readily fulfilled by 
blackberry itself!) 

The availability and ease of collection 
of seed are prime considerations in the 
selection of replacement species, as are 
their dormancy and germination 
characteristics. The degree of dormancy 
possessed by the seed should be suffi- 
ciently low that germination is rapid and 
uniform under field conditions. It may 
be possible to reduce dormancy levels by 
pretreatment, e.g. through stratification 
or scarification. If, as in many 
Australian communities, seed harvesting 
by ants is likely to reduce seed density 
substantially (Ashton, 1979), it may be 
necessary to treat seeds with feeding 
deterrents. 

Replacement species should possess 
sufficient ecological amplitude to grow 
successfully under a wide range of 
resource availability. Although a high 
potential growth rate would be ad- 
vantageous where resources are readily 
available, moderate to low potential 
growth rates are favoured under condi- 
tions of light, moisture and nutrient 
stress (Grime, 1979). Seedlings of 
replacement species arising from 
relatively large seeds may gain an ad- 
vantage over weed seedlings arising in 
situ from smaller seeds. 

A low degree of palatability should 
minimize growth reduction or mortality 
of seedlings due to grazing by rabbits 
and marsupials. Whilst it is possible to 
exclude grazing by fencing off 
rehabilitated areas, this represents addi- 
tional expenditure and may limit the size 
of area which can be rehabilitated. 


Conclusions 

It has been established for some time 
that the success of a weed control effort 
is dependent upon subsequent modifica- 
tion of the environment such that once a 
weed individual is eliminated it cannot 
be replaced by an individual of either the 
same or another weed species. The latter 


35 


FLOW DIAGRAM FOR REHABILITATION PROCEDURE 


Natural Community 


Seed Bank 


Dispersed Seed 


Seed Dormancy 
Germination Characteristics 


Seed Availability 


Fire Protection 


Grazing Protection 


36 


OBJECTIVES 


VITAL ATTRIBUTES 
OF WEED SPECIES 


t 


REHABILITATION 
STRATEGY 


SELECTION OF 
REPLACEMENT SPECIES 


Era 


ESTABLISHMENT OF 
REHABILITATION 
COMMUNITY 


MANAGEMENT 


Monoculture 


Vegetative Regeneration 


Tolerance 
of 


Competition 


Vital Attributes 


Ecological Amplitude 


Weed Control 


Replanting 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Figure 3. Rehabilitation procedure. 


possibility may be of increasing im- 
portance should biological control 
research lead to the reduced abundance 
of currently troublesome species. 


With a knowledge of the regeneration 
characteristics of particular weed species 
it should be possible to design a 
rehabilitation programme which will 
facilitate the establishment of a stable 
community comprised of desirable 
species (Fig. 3). If replacement species 
are chosen according to appropriate 
criteria it may be possible to minimize 
management, e.g. maintenance, effort 
following their establishment. 


Acknowledgments 

I am grateful to A. Thatcher, A. 
Hopkins, E. McClellan and D. Doley 
for comments on the manuscript. 


REFERENCES 


Amor, R, L. and Piggin, C. M. (1977), Factors 
influencing the establishment and success of 
exotic plants in Australia, Proc. Ecol. Soc. 
Aust. 10: 15-26. 


Ashton, D. H. (1979), Seed harvesting by ants in 
forests of Eucalyptus regnans F. Muell, in 
central Victoria., Aust. J. Ecol. 4: 265-77. 

Barnett, J. L., How, R. A. and Humphreys, W. F, 
(1976), Mammals of Clouds Creek, north- 
eastern New South Wales, and their distribu- 
tion in pine and native forests, Aust. Zool. 19: 
23-34, 

Bradley, J. (1971), Bush regeneration. Mosman 
Parklands and Ashton Park Association, 
Sydney. 

Disney, H. J.de S. and Stokes, A. (1976), Birds in 
pine and native forests, Emu 76: 133-8. 

Grime, J. P. (1979), Plant Strategies and Vegeta- 
tion Processes (Wiley: Chichester). 

Harper, J. L. (1977), Population Biology of Plants 
(Academic Press: London). 

Lewis, A. J, (1973), Ragweed control techniques: 
effect on old-field plant populations, Bull. 
Torrey Bot. Club 100: 333-8. 

Noble I. R. and Slatyer, R. O. (1977), The effect of 
disturbance on plant succession, Proc, Ecol. 
Soc. Aust, 10; 133-45, 

Panetta, F. D. (1977), The effects of shade upon 
seedling growth in groundsel bush (Baccharis 
halimifolia L.), Aust. J. Agric. Res. 28: 681- 
90 


Panetta, F. D. (1979). Germination and seed sur- 
vival in the woody weed, groundsel 
bush (Baccharis halimifolia 1.) Aust. J. 
Agric. Res. 30; 1067-77. 

Salisbury, E. J. (1964), Intermittent germination 
in Capsella, Nature (Lond.) 199: 1303-4. 

Thompson, K, and Grime, J. P. (1979), Seasonal 
variation in the seed banks of herbaceous 
species in ten contrasting habitats, J. Ecol. 67: 
893-921. 

Thompson, K., Grime, J. P. and Mason, G. (1977), 
Seed germination in response to diurnal fluc- 
tuations in temperature, Nature (Lond.) 267: 
147-9. 


Some Notes on Feral Pigs and Their Distribution in 
Victoria 


By SIMON E. TOWNSEND.* 


The feral pig is a large, conspicuous, 
generally abundant animal and today an 
economically important component of 
Australia’s vertebrate fauna. 

The main occurrence of the feral pig is 
across the better watered parts of the 
tropical north and eastern half of the 
continent. Large populations are spread 
across Queensland, New South Wales 
and the Northern Territory, wherever 
suitable cover, feed and water are to be 
found. Small and local populations exist 


* 5/4 Lambert Rd., Toorak, 3142. 


January/February 


in South Australia, Tasmania and 
Western Australia as well as in Victoria 
(Alison, 1969; Frith, 1973). 

As its name suggests, the feral pig is a 
domestic animal which has established 
free breeding populations. Without 
human management, natural selection 
has resulted in a phenotype with a super- 
ficial resemblance to the Eurasian wild 
pig Sus scrofa. This is the ‘‘wild boar’’ 
of the venery, or classical hunting, and 
the progenitor of the varieties of 
domestic pigs. However, this phenotype 
is variable owing to a continuing flow, 


37 


by accident or design, of domestic genes 
into the feral population. Some 
authorities claim that recognizable 
strains of domestic breeds are often 
found in the wild (Frith, 1973; Rolls, 
1969). 

In New Guinea the remains of pigs 
with an age of more than six thousand 
years have been reported, indicating an 
introduction at or before that date 
(Chowning, 1973; Hope, 1977). Since 
the Australian seas probably did not 
reach their present level till approx- 
imately five thousand years before the 
present (Loffler, 1977), New Guinea and 
Australia may not have been separated 
by any significant water barrier six thou- 
sand years ago. Theoretically, it is possi- 
ble that pigs might have entered 
Australia unaided at a date much earlier 
than is as yet substantiated. 

Existing Australian populations are 
presumed to have descended from 
escapes or deliberate releases of Euro- 
pean stock. It is possible that some 
could be of Asian origin. Their 
ancestors may have been brought to the 
north of the continent by Asian 
travellers or fishermen within historical 
times. Archaeological evidence is lack- 
ing to support this or the previous 
theory, therefore the feral pig cannot 
authoritatively be said to have a history 
in Australia any longer than that of 
European settlement. 

The feral pig has received scant atten- 
tion in the literature as an element of the 
Victorian mammal fauna. This is pro- 
bably because Victorian populations are 
small and local, though widespread. 
Perhaps more importantly, bodies con- 
cerned with recording faunal distribu- 
tion in the past have overlooked or 
ignored the species presence. 

The most recent, though still in- 
complete, references to feral pig 
distribution in Victoria are to be found 
inthe Study Reports of the Land Conser- 
vation Council of Victoria. All Study 
Reports available at the time of writing 
were consulted and the relevent 
references to feral pig distribution are 
included in Table 2. 


38 


One earlier but important reference to 
the distribution of the feral pig is to be 
found in Allison (1969). 

‘There are very few pigs to be found 
in Victoria, most of these being spillover 
animals on the border of New South 
Wales, in the swamps and scrubs adja- 
cent to the Murray River. One small col- 
ony exists around Benalla in the heavy 
forests, where they may be located the 
first day out — or the fifty-first.”’ 

The Australian distribution map in 
Frith (1973) indicates feral pig popula- 
tions stretching south to the Murray 
River, also in an area approximately 
north of Melbourne and in the most 
eastern extremity of the state. Un- 
fortunately he gives no references direct- 
ly related to the distribution of the feral 
pig in Victoria. 

Table 1 consists of a list of locations 
of feral pig populations in Victoria sup- 
plied by the Vermin and Noxious Weeds 
Destruction Board of the Crown Lands 
Department of Victoria. This can be 
considered the ‘‘official’’ distribution of 
Victorian feral pig populations. 


Table | Feral Pig Population Locations in Victoria. 
Supplied by the Vermin and Noxious Weeds 
Destruction Board at 28 December 1978, 


Bairnsdale Ballarat Benalla Boort 
Cohuna Corryong Gisborne Inglewood 
Kerang Kyabram Mansfield Meringur 
Morn- 

ington Moyhu Nathalia _Piangil 
Red Cliffs Robinvale Sale Seymour 


Werrimul Yea 


Table 2 is a series of locations of feral 
pig populations and their sources based 
on reports other than that of the Vermin 
and Noxious Weeds Destruction Board 
including first hand accounts of 
sightings by private individuals. The 
specific geographical features used to in- 
dicate the populations of Victorian feral 
pigs, such as towns, rivers or national 
parks are those closest to or encompass- 


ing them. 
Abbreviations used for some sources 
are, Forests Commission, Victoria, 


F.C.V. and National Park Services, 
N.P.S. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Table 2 Feral Pig Population Locations in Victoria 
and Thier Sources Collected by S.E. Townsend. 


Location Source 

Barmah F. Borelli, 1972; 
BC VS 979 A, 
Meakes, August 
1977; author, March 
1978. 

Boole Poole Peninsula M. Vague, April 
1979, 


Brisbane Ranges National 
Park 

Broadford 

Carrum (M.M.B.W. 
Sewerage Farm) 


Anonymous, 1979, 
F.C.V., 1979. 


M. Carter, 1977/78. 


Corryong F,C.V,, 1979. 

Delatite Valley E.V.C. Adamson, 
1978. 

Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park 
N.P.S., 1978. 

Granite Hills (near Yea) R. Dato, 1979. 

Gunbower Island FG24,,1979, 

Hattah Lakes National Park 
N.P.S., 1978; 
National Parks Ser- 
vice, Hattah, 1977; 
author, December 
1977. 

Healesville P.R. Brown, 1979; K. 
Pearce, 1979, 

Holey Plains State Park N:P-S.,° 1978: « D: 
Smith, 1978. 

Hogua Valley E.¥.C. Adamson, 
1978. 

Inglewood R. Fletcher, 1978; J. 
Malone, 1977; C. 
Neads, 1979; C.R. 
Townsend, 1978; 
author, December 
1979, 

Kinglake R. Dato, 1979; R. 
Zann, 1978. 

Kulkyne National Parks Ser- 
vice, Hattah, 1977; 
Land Conservation 
Council, (June 1974, 
p. 184); author, 
December 1977. 

Lindsay Island J, Seebeck, 1967. 


R. Dato, 1979; C. 
Tomisich, 1979. 


Mt. Marianne 


Mudgeegonga L. Cooper, 1976. 

Murmunjee L. Cooper, 1976. 

Nepean State Park N.P.S., 1978. 

Patterson River M. Carter, 1977/78. 

Pearcedale G.M. Pizzey (no 
date). 

Quail Island State Faunal 

Reserve E. Drake-Clark, 


1977; author, 1977. 


Robinvale F.C.V., 1979; author, 
September 1977. 
Rochester D. Clark, 1979. 


January/February 


Sale Common State Game 
Refuge 
Mt. Samaria National Park 


R. Johnson, 1979. 
NEPS., SISK TD: 
Smith, 1978. 
(near 
R. Dunn, 1972/73. 
G. McNeil, 1979. 
C.R. Townsend, 
January 1980; 
author, April 1980. 
F.C.V., 1979; Land 
Conservation Coun- 
cil, (October 1974, 
p.73); A. Fleming, 
1871; K. Holmes, 
1976; R. Stoner, 
1978. 
R. Dato, 1979. 
D. Marriot, 1979; K. 
Pearce, 1979. 
W.B. Emison et al 
(1978, p.357); 
F.C.V., 1979. 
W.B, Emison et al 
(1978, p.357). 


Silver Band Falls 
Halls Gap) 
Stockmans Reward 
Mt. Tallarook 


Tolmie 


Toobarac 
Toolangi 


Wannon River 


Wartook Valley 


Whitefield F.C.V., 19799. 

Wimmera River E.V.C. Adamson, 
1978. 

Wombat State Forest D. Clark, 1979; K. 


Pearce, 1979. 


Doubtless many of the populations in- 
dicated overlap or are in reality one in 
the same, especially those in the head- 
waters of the Broken and Goulbourn 
Rivers. However, they represent in- 
dependent sightings and illustrate how 
widespread is the species. 

The exact origin of most Victorian 
feral pig populations will never be 
precisely known. The author would ven- 
ture to suggest that at least some Murray 
River populations are directly descend- 
ed from those that were already well 
established in the Riverina by the 1880s 
(Rolls, 1969). 

While the likelihood of escape of a 
few domestic pigs occasionally con- 
tinues, the diverse and _ generally 
unrelated locations of most Victorian 
populations suggests that they are the 
result of deliberate liberations. Such 
liberations, of trapped feral phenotype 
pigs, have been and continue to be 
primarily perpetrated by irresponsible 
hunters wanting to increase the variety 
of available game in the areas they hunt 


39 


over (K. Pearce, C.R. Townsend and M. 
Vague pers. comm.). 

The feral pig is credited with killing 
stock, spoiling crops, damaging fencing 
and fouling watering points (Frith, 
1973). For these reasons it was added to 
the list of declared vermin in Victoria in 
1973. 

Naturally enough the feral pig is less 
popular with agriculturalists than 
hunters. The latter find it a challenge at 
times. While the danger involved in hun- 
ting feral pigs is often overrated it does 
exist and a large pig bailed up or wound- 
ed can be a formidable opponent 
(Allison, 1969; Frith, 1973; Rolls, 1969). 

Like any uncontrolled stock, the feral 
pig is a real and potential harbour of 
disease transferable to stock and in some 
cases to humans. Already a danger to 
agricultural production, the threat pos- 
ed by the presence of the feral pig would 
reach disastrous proportions should 
foot and mouth disease enter Australia 
(Snowdon, no date). The feral pig 
population, well entrenched over much 
of the continent including Victoria, 
could become a significant vector for the 
spread of this contagious and virulent 
disease. 

The continued unsettled state of much 
of south east Asia, with resultant large 
and random movements of displaced 
peoples has particular and pointed 
relevance when one considers the vast 
and only sporadically guarded northern 
coastline of Australia. If diseased stock 
was landed, feral pigs along the north 
coast could quickly become infected and 
transfer foot and mouth disease through 
the continent via the medium of the 
widespread feral pig population and un- 
managed ungulates of all kinds. Once 
foot and mouth disease was endemic to 
this population it could become impossi- 
ble to eradicate. The effect on 
Australia’s meat industry and dairying 
could be disastrous, especially in respect 
of exports. 

Similarly, non agricultural ungulates 
in captivity, in particular the Zoological 


40 


collections in each State, would be en- 
dangered. These collections have been 
assiduously built up and preserved. Pre- 
sent quarantine requirements make fur- 
ther acquisitions of wild ungulates from 
overseas impossible. 

Not the least to suffer in such an even- 
tuality would be Victoria’s four species 
of wild deer. Unlike most introduced 
wildlife, the sambar, red, fallow and 
hog deer are protected under the 
Wildlife Act 1975 and are proclaimed 
game. 

The pressure on native wildlife by 
predation and competition from feral 
pigs is poorly understood but is presum- 
ed to be serious (Frith, 1973; Serventy, 
1966). Direct predation on reptiles, am- 
phibians and invertebrates is probably 
more extensive than of other animals 
due to their relative lack of mobility and 
the feral pig’s omnivorous diet. 

Habitat degradation is potentially a 
more devastating threat to native 
wildlife than direct predation. Areas 
particularly sensitive to damage by feral 
pigs are those which are favoured for 
feeding and wallowing — swamps and 
watercourses. These are very limited in 
extent in this driest of continents. 

The effect of feral pigs on forest en- 
vironments in Australia is largely 
unknown. The New Zealand experience 
has not shown exceptionally severe 
damage (Harris, 1970), at least not when 
compared to the devastating results of 
acclimatization of other species in that 
country. In central Victoria, the effects 
of rooting by feral pigs has been 
reported as “‘keeping the country open’’ 
in relation to regrowth of the understory 
in wet and dry eucalyptus forest (K. 
Pearce, pers. comm.). 

The wide range of habitats inhabited 
by feral pigs in Victoria include coastal 
tea-tree and paperbark scrubs, wet and 
dry eucalyptus forests, mallee scrubs 
and the more open types of forest such 
as river redgum forest. As this species 
can be found in areas with restricted 
waterpoints such as mallee country, then 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


it seems reasonable to suspect they will 
travel many miles when necessary, 
presumably under cover of darkness, to 
find them. 

The current, and the threatened, 
hazards to agriculture and the 
Australian environment presented by 
the continued existence of feral pig 
populations, far outweigh any possible 
benefits they might create. In Victoria, 
the most densely settled State with the 
most intensive agriculture, the situation 
is aggravated by further releases of cap- 
tured feral pigs in unpopulated areas by 
unthinking and selfish people, to im- 
prove the opportunities for hunting. The 
demand for hunting as recreation is high 
and opportunities relatively low so these 
releases are understandable to a degree 
but cannot be condoned (Allison, 1969; 
Frith, 1973; Rolls, 1969). The deliberate 
release of feral pigs is irresponsible, 
antisocial and illegal. 

If focus could be taken from the feral 
pig and redirected towards native species 
at present not utilized as game, the feral 
pig could possibly be contained and 
eradicated. This might be possible in 
Victoria where the feral pig is still only 
local in distribution and where a brief 
chance may still exist for grappling with 
the problem. 

Frith (1973) and Wharton (no date) 
have discussed at length the possibility 
of further native species being utilized as 
game. Mr J. Wharton, Director of the 
Fisheries and Wildlife Division of the 
Ministry for Conservation of Victoria 
(pers. comm.), feels that some wallabies 
and native pigeons in Victoria, show 
potential as additional game species. 

An attempt to wean attention away 
from feral pigs as desirable game and 
redirect it towards further native species 
might ensure that both receive needed 
conservation attention. It could lead to 
the eradication or containment of the 
former and the much needed and long 
overdue detailed study of the latter. 


Acknowledgements 
Help in this project was received from 


January/February 


the Australian Deer Association, the 
Victorian Field and Game Association, 
the Vermin and Noxious Weeds 
Destruction Board of the Victorian 
Crown Lands Department, the Forests 
Commission, Victoria, the National 
Parks Service, the Bird Observers Club 
and the Natural Resources Conservation 
League of Victoria. Private persons who 
provided information or gave assistance 
at other times include E.V.C. Adamson, 
F. Borelli, P.R. Brown, P.G. Brown, 
M. Carter, D. Clark, L. Cooper, R. 
Dato, E. Drake-Clark, R. Dunn, A. 
Fleming, R. Fletcher, M. Harrison, K. 
Holmes, R. Johnson, J. Malone, D. 
Marriot, G. McNeill, A. Meakes, C. 
Neades, K. Pearce, G.M. Pizzey, J. 
Seebeck, D. Smith, ‘*Zooey’’le Soeuf, 
P.L. Stevens, R. Stoner, C. Tomisich, 
C.R. Townsend, M. Vague and R. 
Zann. 

The friendly and helpful criticisms of 
the manuscript by Roy Dunn, Peter 
Rawlinson, John Seebeck, Frank Town- 
send and Graham Pizzey were much ap- 
preciated as was the latters newspaper 
appeal for information on the authors 
behalf. 


REFERENCES 


Allison, C, (1969). The Australian Hunter. Cassell, 
Australia. 

Chowning, A. (1977). An Introduction to the 
Peoples and Cultures of Melanesia. Cummings 
Pub. Co. Inc., Menlo Park, Calif. 

Emison, W.B,, Porter, J.W., Norris, K.C. and 
App, G.J. (1978). Survey of the Vertebrate Fauna 
in the Grampians-Edenhope Area of South 
Western Victoria, Mem. Nat. Mus. Vic. 39; 281- 


363. 

Frith, H.J. (1973). Wildlife Conservation, Angus 
and Robertson, Sydney. 

Harris, L.H. (1970), Wild Pigs in Wild Animals in 
New Zealand. Eds. A.L. Poole and J.-H. Johns, 
A.H. and A.W. Reed, Wellington. 

Hope, J. (1977). The Effects of Prehistoric Man on 
the Fauna of New Guinea in The Melanesian 
Environment. Ed, J. Winslow, A.N.U.P., 
Canberra. pp.21-7. 

Land Conservation Council (August 1973). Report 
on the North Eastern Study Area, District 2. 
Melbourne: Government Printer. 

(June 1974). Report on the Mallee Study Area. 
Melbourne: Government Printer. 

(October 1974), Report on the North Eastern 
Study Area, Districts 3, 4, and 5. Melbourne: 
Government Printer. 


44 


Loffler, E. (1977). The Effects of Traditional Man 
on Landforms in Papua New Guinea in The 
Melanesian Environment, Ed. J. Winslow, 
A.N.U.P., Canberra, pp.3-10. 

Rolls, E.C. (1969). They All Ran Wild, Angus and 
Robertson, Sydney, 

Serventy, V. (1966). A Continent in Danger. Reynal 
and Co,, London. 


Snowdon, W.A. (no date). Foot-and-Mouth 
Disease in Wildlife Management Australia (a 
series of undated seminar papers presented at La 
Trobe University, Melbourne). pp.231-36. 

Wharton, J.C. (no date). Hunting in Wildlife 
Management Australia (a series of undated 
seminar papers presented at La Trobe University, 
Melbourne). pp. 198-203. 


Bush-peas of Victoria — Genus Pultenaea — 15 
By M.G. Corrickt 


Pultenaea fasciculata Benth. in Ann. 
Wien. Mus. Naturg. 2:82 (1840). 

Pultenaea fasciculata is a subalpine to 
alpine species of the Eastern Highlands 
of Victoria and is also found in New 
South Wales and Tasmania. 

It is a small erect, somewhat procum- 
bent shrub 15-30 cm _ high, but 
sometimes trailing if growing in thick 
vegetation. The stems are terete with a 
silvery pubescence on young growth. 

The alternate, terete leaves are 3- 
10 mm long, grooved on the upper sur- 
face and with a slender, fragile, 
mucronate tip. The upper leaf surface is 
not visible, but the lower surface is 
slightly scabrid with silvery appressed 
hairs mainly on the young growth. 

The slender, dark brown stipules are 
1-2 mm long with recurved tips. 

The orange flowers are solitary in the 
leaf axils towards the ends of the bran- 
ches, but the tips grow on before the 
flowers die. The standard is 8-9 mm 
long and 8-9 mm wide and is tinged with 
purple brown, as also are the keel petals. 

The calyx is silky pubescent, 4-5 mm 
long with a pedicel 1-2 mm long. The 
upper calyx lobes are broader and less 
deeply divided than the lower. The dark 
brown bracteoles have ciliate margins 
and a few pale scattered hairs on the 
back. They are attached at the base of 


+7 Glenluss Street, Balwyn, Victoria. 


the calyx tube but vary considerably in 
shape and length, from 1.5 mm long 
and | mm wide on Lake Mt. collections 
to 3-4mm long and | mm wide on 
specimens from Mt. Cobberas and 
vicinity. 

Each flower is subtended by a single 
reduced leaf with enlarged stipule. 

The ovary and base of the style are 
pubescent with white silky hairs and the 
plump pod is also silky pubescent and 
does not extend beyond the tips of the 
calyx lobes. 


SPECIMENS EXAMINED included: 

Bogong High Plains, 28.i. 1966, A.C. 
Beauglehole 15747 (MEL _ 1517572); 
Native Cat Plain, 29. i. 1971, A.C. 
Beauglehole 36616 (MEL 1517575); 
Nunniong Plateau, 5.i. 1949 NA. 
Wakefield (MEL 1507294); Lake Mt., 
25.1.1948, JH. Willis (MEL 1517580). 


Pultenaea graveolens R. Tate in Trans. 
Roy.Soc.S. Aust. 7:68 (1885) 

This species is scattered in isolated 
auriferous areas of Western Victoria 
and is in a few localities in South 
Australia, but is apparently nowhere 
common. 

Pultenaea graveolens is a resinous, 
highly aromatic and often hairy shrub 1- 
1.5 m high with rather drooping bran- 
ches. The rounded stems are hirsute and 
light brown when young. 


Fig. 20. a — h, Pultenaea graveolens. a, habit; b, calyx and bracteoles, one bracteole drawn a little larger, 
from MEL 1517538; c, style and ovary from MEL 1517589; d, leaves and stipules; e, stipule from MEL 
1517583; f, larger, more hairy leaf form from the Grampians, MEL 1517589; g, pod; h, seed, from MEL 


1517575. 


i—4q, Pultenaea fasciculata. i, habit; j, calyx and bracteoles, one bracteole drawn a little larger, k, style and 
ovary; |, leaf and stipule; m, stipule; n, enlarged stipule with reduced leaf, all from MEL 1517572: 0, calyx 
and bracteoles of specimen from Lake Mountain showing very short bracteoles, MEL 1517580; p, pod; q, 


seed from MEL 1517581. 


42 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


January/February 


43 


The alternate leaves are ovate-linear 
2-15 mm long and 0.5-3 mm wide, with 
an acute tip and tightly inrolled margins. 
The lower leaf surface is usually scabrid 
and hirsute, the upper surface is paler 
with short curled hairs. 

The brown, viscid stipules are 1 mm 
long and stand well out from the stem. 

The pale orange flowers are solitary in 
the leaf axils of short lateral branches. 
The standard is 7-9 mm wide and 7- 
9mm high with purple-brown mark- 
ings; the wings and keel petals are also 
tinged with purple-brown. 

The viscid, usually slightly hairy calyx 
is 5-6 mm long with a pedicel of 3- 
4mm. The two upper calyx lobes are 
broader and less deeply divided than the 
slender acuminate lower lobes. The 
bracteoles are 1-3 mm long and 1.5- 
2mm broad; they are attached at the 
base of the calyx tube and extend to the 
base of the lobes. 

The ovary is densely villous with white 
silky hairs which extend along almost 
the whole length of the style. The pod is 
plump and villous and well exserted 
from the calyx. Flowering time is late 
October. 


There is considerable variation in 
plants from the different populations of 
this species in Victoria. Grampians 
specimens have the largest leaves and 
very bright coloured, large flowers and 
all parts of the plant are hairy. 
Specimens from Castlemaine area are 
almost glabrous and have the smallest 
leaves, while the Stieglitz population is 
intermediate between the two. The 
viscid, distinctive, strongly aromatic ex- 
udation is common to all populations; it 
is most noticeable at the time the first 
flowers open and has been variously 
described as like ‘‘Spirit contaminated 
with animal matter’, curry or cream 
cheese. 


SPECIMENS EXAMINED included: 
Trooper’s Creek, 30.i.1969, M.G. Cor- 
rick 1941 (MEL 1517589) Rushworth 
Forest, 6.iv.1980, M.G. Corrick 6538 
(MEL 1517069) Baillieston, x.1929, C.J. 


Mason (MEL _ 1517583); Porcupine 
Ridge, x.1963, B. Strange, (MEL 
151587); Stieglitz, 30. x. 1943, J.H. 


Willis (MEL 1517584). 


Fig. 20b. Known distribution of Pultenaea graveolens and P. fasciculata. 


G 
© Poltenaea greveclens 
© Prltenasa fasciculata 


H 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY MEDALLION FUND 


Amount on hand July 1980 $1493.50 
Mr Fred Barton 50.00 
Total December 31, 1980 $1543.50 


Treasurer: Mr David Dunn, 3 Allfrey St, East Brighton 3187 (578 5753) 


NEW BOOK 


**Scientific and Common Names of Insects and Allied Forms 
Occurring in Australia.’’ 

95 pages Index of Scientific Names. Index of Common Names 
Systematic List of Phylum. Arthropoda. Price $4.00 Postage Paid. 
Order from CSIRO Editorial & Publications Service, 

9 Queens Road, Melbourne, Vic. 3004 


Field Naturalists Club of Victoria 
Reports of recent Club activities 


General Excursion to Anglesea 
Sunday 7 December 

Leaders Mary D.White and Joan Forster 
had thoroughly covered the area previously 
and led us to exciting things. There were more 
than a dozen different orchids including both 
the Large and the Small Duck-orchid — 
Caleana major and C.minor. And there was a 
broad patch of Red-beaks Lyperanthus 
nigricans, unfortunately now all with dead 
heads, but Mary White had discovered the 
red patch in October and we imagined them 
as they were then. 

Among many other botanical interests 
were the two fringe-lilies — Common 
Fringe-lily Thysanotus tuberosus and Bran- 
ching Fringe-lily T.dichotomus. Anglesea is 
one of the few places where the latter can be 
found. 

We were surrounded by bird song and 
those observed included the Dusky 
Woodswallow, Blue-wing Parrot and Striated 
Pardalotes. The pardalotes were the highlight 
of the day. They had burrows in a low bank 
and several of them were darting in and out 
— quite regardless of the crowd of field 
naturalists only a few yards away. Everbody 
had an excellent view. 

We had hoped to see Rainbow-birds which 
had been observed last week but they did not 
reveal themselves today. 

Thanks go to our leaders for a superbly 
organised and enriching trip. 


January/February 


General Meeting 
Monday 8 December 

President Dr Brian Smith opened with two 
important announcements. 

Conservation Award to FNCV. Each year 
the CCV (Conservation Council of Victoria) 
honours an organisation that has made a 
significant contribution to conservation. The 
1980 Award went to this Club and was 
presented to our President by the Premier at 
government offices earlier this evening. The 
visible prize is a large oil painting by the en- 
vironment artist Neil Douglas. 

New FNCV Treasurer. Mr David Dunn has 
accepted the position of treasurer to this Club 
and we wish him well in his arduous under- 
taking. He follows Mr Dan McInnes who has 
been treasurer for about twelve years. Actual- 
ly, the Club has been without a treasurer 
since the last Annual Meeting but Mr MclIn- 
nes (being Mr McInnes) has continued to see 
us through although officially he was merely 
a ‘‘bookeeper’’, He has done a terrific job for 
FNCV, nurturing our finances and always 
planning what is best for the Club. All 
members will join in thanking Dan McInnes 
for his great contribution over a very lengthy 
period. 

Hawthorn Juniors. The President said that 
it seems appropriate that the last meeting in 
our Centenary year should be provided by 
those who will see the Club through some of 
its second centenary. He then introduced the 


45 


President of Hawthorn Junior FNC, Mr 
Malcolm Turner. 

Mr Turner spoke briefly of the Hawthorn 
Club and emphasised that, for some years 
now, the Club has been run entirely by the 
juniors themselves — those under 25 years, 
He introduced each speaker in turn. 


On the Seashore. Barbara Thompson, aged 
about 10, spoke of things found on the shore 
— sponges, crabs, sea stars, shells. Barbara 
gave some information about each and show- 
ed specimens. 


Blue-tongue Lizards. Brian Glassenbury, 
about 13, talked of five young blue-tongues 
he owned, how quickly they grew, what he 
fed them on, the different disposition of in- 
dividuals. 


Flies are insects with only two wings not 
four, as explained by Nick Bastow, age about 
15. He said there are 6300 Australian species 
in a world total of 8000, that the house-fly 
makes 200 wing beats per second, the mos- 
quito 600, and the blowfly travels 260 body- 
lengths in a second. Nick concluded with 
comments on the effect of DDT on mos- 
quitoes in India. 


Cape Barren Geese. Damien Cummins, 
about 15, stated that only about 5000 of these 
geese still survive on Bass Strait islands; they 
breed from June to September with average 
of 4.7 eggs per clutch, and grow to 22”? tall. 
he maintained that conservation regulations 
are not strict enough but reported the recent 
establishment of the Patriarch sanctuary on 
Flinders Island where crops are planted so the 
geese won’t move on to the farms. 


Glennies Islands. Malcolm Turner showed 
slides of the Glennies — four islands off the 
west coast of Wilsons Promontory. They are 
the same granite formation as the Prom, 
large areas are bare rock and there is no sur- 
face water. Bush Rats (darker, more docile 
and more plentiful than on mainland) and 
Swamp Antechinus were trapped. There was 
evidence of White Skinks and Water Skinks, 
many burrows of Fairy Penguins and Mut- 
tonbirds (Short-tailed Sheerwater), bones of 
the Fur Seal, and Dolphins off shore. Ar- 
cheologists are studying the middens. 

The President thanked Hawthorn Club for 
the varied and interesting programme. 


Exhibits centred on activities of Hawthorn 
Juniors. The previous day they had been ona 
water plant excursion led by Helen Aston and 
there was a large display of such plants. 


46 


Publications produced by Hawthorn Juniors 
were for sale. 


More trees on farms. A letter was read to 
the meeting asking this Club to support the 
writer’s plea for tax rebates to farmers who 
plant more trees. He had written to the Prime 
Minister and the Treasurer about the matter 
and asked FNCV members to do the same. 


South Gippsland. Members listened to the 
FNCV submission to the LCC (Land Conser- 
vation Council) concerning extensions to na- 
tional parks in Gippsland. The meeting en- 
dorsed the submission. 


General Meeting 
Monday 12 January 

Land Planarians. After an absence of six 
years, Mr Leigh Winsor was the first speaker 
in this Members Night. He lives at Townsville 
where he is working on land planarians. He 
had expected flatworms in the tropics to be 
more pentiful, larger and more colourful 
than in the south, but his expectations were 
wholly faulty. However, other wildlife 
around (almost within) Townsville is abun- 
dant and he had listed 80 bird species in his 
garden. 

Referring to a visit to Britain, Mr Winsor 
said how astonished he was that all cryptosoic 
life forms are known; here in Australia there 
is yet much to be discovered and studied. 

Eucalypts. Mr Alan Morrison showed slides 
of eucalypt trees — flowers, fruits and trunks 
of several species. 

Repitle, bird and mammal slides were 
shown by Mr Lloyd Thomas. 

Insects were included in the slides shown by 
Miss Wendy Clark, 

Marine egg capsules. Dr Brian Smith show- 
ed slides of egg capsules of molluscs (shells, 
squid, etc) in astonishing variety of size and 
shape. 

Pond Life. Mr McInnes spoke of Albert 
Park Lake where water weed, which 
previously hampered boats, has been com- 
pletely removed yet there is still as many 
microscopic creatures as before. Under 
microscopics he exhibited specimens taken 
there of water mites, water boatmen, back 
swimmers, copepods and the only plant life 
— 1/8” spots of algae growing on a sheet of 
plastic. 

Exhibits, as well as the pond life, included 
a scorpion from Toolangi Forest, nest of a 
silver-eye, rat-tail maggots from a water bin, 
and an album of photos of the Nature Show. 


Vic, Nat, Vol, 98 


GROUP MEETINGS 


All FNVC members are invited to attend any Group 
meeting; no extra charge. 
At the National Herbarium, the Domain, South 
Yarra, at 8.00 p.m. 
First Tuesday — Mamal Survey Group. 
Tuesday, 3 February. Members night. 
Tuesday, 3 March. Outback Australia. 


Third Wednesday — Microscopy Group. 

Half hour members exhibits and observations. 
Wednesday, 11 February. Gadget Night. Leader: 
Mr D. Wentworth. Note change from third 
Wednesday for this month only. 

Wednesday, 18 March. Green Algae. Speaker; 
Mr D. McInnes. 


First Wednesday — Geology Group. 
Wednesday, 4 February. Members night. 
Wednesday, 4 March. Earthquakes and their 
prediction. Speaker: Dr M. Etheridge, Monash 
University. 


Second Thursday — Botany Group. 

Thursday, 12 February. North America; the 
beauty of wild flowers. Speakers: Mr Thiess and Ms 
Doery. 

Thursday, 12 March. From here and there; 
travels round Australia. Speakers: Mr and Mrs O. 
Brewster. 


At the Conference Room, the Museum, Melbourne, 
at 8.00 p.m. Good parking — enter from Latrobe 
St. 


First Monday — Marine Biology and Entomology 
Group. 

Monday, 2 February. Holiday observations and 
members exhibits, slides. 

Monday, 2 March. Molluscs of Port Phillip Bay, 
Speaker: Dr Brian Smith. 

Monday, 6 April. Pond life with a movie camera. 
Speaker: P. Genery. 


GROUP EXCURSIONS 


Botany Group — last Saturday. 
Saturday, 28 February. Mt Donna Buang. 


Saturday, 28 March. Pt Wilson, Port Phillip Bay. 


Geology Group — second Sunday. 


Sunday, 8 March. Mt Robinson and Kinglake. 


Mammal Survey Group. 


Saturday, 14 — Sunday, 15 February. Camp at Mt Worth. 
Saturday, 7 — Monday, 9 March. Camp at Mt Bullfight. 


Day Group — third Thursday. 


Thursday, 19 March. Train outing to Fern Tree Gully National Park. Train to Upper Fern 
Tree Gully from Flinders St. at 10.15 a.m. Leader: I. Gillespie 578 1879, 


There will be no April outing. 


January/February 


47 


Field Naturalists Club of Victoria 


Established 1880 


OBJECTS: To stimulate interest in natural history and to preserve 
and protect Australian fauna and flora. 
Members include beginners as well as experienced naturalists. 


Patron: 
His Excellency the Honorable SIR HENRY WINNEKE, KCMG, KCVO, OBE, KStJ, QC. 


Key Office-Bearers 1980-1981 


President: 
Dr. BRIAN SMITH, 8 Hunsford Avenue, North Clayton, 3168 (560 8358) 

Secretary: Miss WENDY CLARK, 27 Rangeview Grove, North Balwyn, 3104 (859 8091) 
Correspondence to: FNCV, National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141 
Treasurer: Mr. D. DUNN, 3 Allfrey Street, East Brighton, 3187 (578 5753) 
Subscription Secretary: F.N.C.V. C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141 
Editor: Mr. R. WALLIS, C/- State College of Victoria—Rusden, Blackburn Road, North 

Clayton, 3168, 544 8544. 
Librarian: Mr. P. KELLY, C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141. 
Assistant Librarian: Miss M. J. LESTER, 4/210 Domain Road, South Yarra, 3141 (26 1967) 
Excursion Secretary; Miss M. ALLENDER, 19 Hawthorn Avenue, Caulfield, 3161 

(527 2749) 
Book Sales Officer: Mr. D. E. McINNES, 129 Waverley Road, East Malvern, 3145 (211 2427) 


Group Secretaries 


Botany: Mr. MICHAEL McBAIN, 19 Foster St, St Kilda, 3182 (534 2293) 

Day Group: C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141. 

Geology: Mr. T. SAULT, C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141 

Mammal Survey: Mr. RAY GIBSON, 26 McCulloch Street, Nunawading, 3131 (874 4408) 

Microscopical: Mr. M. H. MEYER, 36 Milroy Street, East Brighton (596 3268) 

Entomology and Marine Biology: Mr. D. E. McINNES, 129 Waverley Road, East Malvern, 
3145 (211 2427) 

FNCV Kinglake Nature Reserve: McMahons Road, Kinglake. 

Bookings and keys: Mr. |. F. MORRISON, 788 Elgar Road, Doncaster (848 1194) 


MEMBERSHIP 


_ Membership of the F.N.C.V. is open to any person interested in natural history. The 
Victorian Naturalist is distributed free to all members, the club’s reference and lending library 
is available and other activities are indicated in reports set out in the several preceding pages of 
this magazine. 

Subscription rates for 1980 

PAGICODOMRAN 1. aie Weta = aA ab ret Seo. hole ca cos endo hboce hus che PARE Fa clt ecg laretito-h) athe 4 

Joint Metropolitan .............2.00202.0,, y an eB 
Country Members and Retired Persons 
POD CCUM Ana MILAetred iam sms sedis sey eimgh totdidil Widen ban cn, phd tee 
oS Bee 
Subscription to Victorian Naturalist....... 
Overseas Subscription to Victorian Naturali = 
MRL COUIAISER ee NR eu eyelid. 


All subscriptions should be made payable to the Field Naturalist Club of Victoria and posted to the Subscription Secretary. 


G3. JENKIN BUXTON PRINTERS PTY. LTD., WEST MELBOURNE 


Vol. 98, No. 2 
March/April 
1984 


Published by the FIELD NATURALISTS CLUB OF VICTORIA 
in which is incorporated the Microscopical Society of Victoria $ { 75 


Renistered for nosting as a publication — Cateaory ‘'B"’ 


FNCV DAIRY OF COMING EVENTS 
GENERAL MEETINGS 


At the National Herbarium, the Domain, South Yarra. 


Monday, 13 April, 8.00 p.m. 
Otway study night. Keynote speakers will be arranged and all 
Groups are asked to prepare a short address. 

Monday, 11 May. 
Annual General Meeting. Presidential address by Dr Brian 
Smith — zoological research at the Museum, 


Monday, 15 June. 
Film night — South-west Tasmania. 


New Members — March/April General Meetings. 


Ordinary 
Ray Carter, Clematis Rd, Clematis. 
Mavis Condon, 6 Evandale Rd, Malvern. 
Beverley Cross, 14 Simpson’s Rd, The Basin. 
L. Gerke, 12/546 Toorak Rd, Toorak. 
Andrew Isles, 103 Noone St, Clifton Hill. 
Fiona Johnson, 51 Mason St, Hawthorn. 
Joan Locke, 139 Mary St, Richmond. 
Ulla Pedersen, 1/8 Duff St, Sandringham. 
Julie Raines, 13 Fortune Ave, Lilydale. 
Libby Sandiford, 241 Royal Pde, Parkville. 
Bruce Straw, 26 Panorama Ave, Lower Plenty. 
Mary Todd, | Glenroy Rd, Hawthorn. 


Country 
Grant Baverstock, 13 Helena St, Highton. 


Fred de Munk, Wesley Camp, Old Chum Creek Rd, 


Healesville. 


Peter Dostine, 371 Princes Highway, Sylvania Heights, 


New South Wales. 
A. Piesse, 17 Warwillah Ave, Wangaratta. 
B. Wiecek, 2 Milburn St, St. Mary’s. 


Joint 


Adrian and Philip Daniell, 24 Ruskin Ave, Croydon. 


Christine Drum and Lindsay Delzoppo, C/O 5 Emo Rd, 


East Malvern. 


Keith and Dorothy Every, 16 Valley Rd, Mt. Waverley. 


Martin and Wendy Mebalds, 5 Mitchell St, St. Kilda. 


G.W. and L.L. Quick, 17 Penguin St, Melton. 
B. and H. Sterkenberg, 21 Watsons Rd, Moe. 


FNCV EXCURSIONS 


Sunday, 3 May. Pirianda Gardens. These 
Gardens are managed by the National Parks Service 
and only open at certain times of the year. Visits 
must be booked in advance and numbers are 
limited. The coach will leave Batman Ave at 9.30 
a.m. Fare $6.00. Bring a picnic lunch. 

Sunday, 7 June. Zoological Gardens. Meet at the 
main extrance at 11.00 a.m. Bring a picnic lunch. 

Preliminary notices: 

Saturday, 17 October — Friday, 6 November. 
New Zealand, North Island. A number of members 
have indicated in this excursion so arrangements 
will be proceeded with; however more bookings are 
required and all bookings should be confirmed with 
a $50.00 deposit. This excursion covers an area not 
usually included in tours. Cape Kidnappers is the 
only mainland gannet rookery in the world ac- 
cording to the brochures. The tentative programme 
is: Oct. 17 Auckland; Oct. 18 Auckland/ 
Coromandel/Whitianga; Oct. 19 Whitianga/ 


Tauranga; Oct. 20 Tauranga/Rotorua; Oct. 21 
Rotorua/Whakatane; Oct. 22 Whakatane/Hicks 
Bay; Oct. 23 Hicks Bay/Gisborne; Oct. 24 
Gisborne/ Wairoa; Oct. 25 Wairoa/Napier, visiting 
Urewera National Park; Oct. 26 Cape Kidnap- 
pers/Napier; Oct. 27 Napier/New Plymouth; Oct. 
28 New Plymouth; Oct. 29 New Ply- 
mouth/Tongariro National Park; Oct. 30 National 
Park; Oct. 31 National Park/Auckland; Nov. 1 
Auckland/Kaitaia; Nov. 2 Reinga/Kaitaia; Nov. 3 
Kaitaia/Bay of Islands; Nov. 4 Bay of Islands; Nov. 
5 Bay of Islands/Auckland; Nov. 6 Auck- 
land/Melbourne. The cost is expected to be approx- 
imately $1250. 


Special study strips: 
re ag Wendy Clark for details (A.H. 859 
1). 
Saturday, 16 — Sunday 17 May. Snails of Otways 
Forest. Leader: Dr Brian Smith. 


The Victorian 
Naturalist 


Volume 98, Number 2 March/April, 1981 


ISSN 0042-5184 


Editor: Robert L. Wallis 
Assistant editor: F. Dane Panetta 
Editorial Committee: H. Cohn, R. Kent, B. Smith 


A Blue Whale Baelonoptera musculus Stranded near Warrnam- 


DOOt ICON a DY AA os NSIES Foi 5 eon songs 46 toa, <p aeete soe wislenm edb eo 52 
Alterations and Additions to the Vascular Flora of Victoria by 
ta AOE MERE rei 019] i ta a 6 SO A ee eee Ger ae eS 53 
Acacia notabilis — First Records for Victoria by P. D. C. Cheal .. 58 
Inside the Burrow of the Common Wombat, Vombatus ursinus 
(Shaw 1800) by J. C. MclIroy, R. J. Cooper and E. J. Gifford .... 60 
A Key to some Gasteromycete Genera found in South-eastern 
PRUMieeeL IAs y sr ary COC TICHL OMS cin oc puis a ee ese gl pale Oa oh wats 64 
Enigmatic Organic Structures in the Grampians Group Sediments 
Dye Cobongidsand: Pek, WeEmMeys brs ark 5 ra ita shed ati sf 65 
A New Macropod Species for the Grampians by P. R. Bird...... 67 
A Short History of the Discovery and Naming of Banksias in 
Fastern Australia Part by Awl, Salkin-. oc 5 2. oc ce sie oh ble tiene 69 
Mammals and Birds in Part of The Cobaw State Forest, Victoria 
by M. W. Boyce, K. A. Boundy and D. D. Hanson .............. 72 
N. T. Burbidge Memorial Lecture: Seedlings and the Australian 
Pree OOF EOC yor) ists <ieios sieve loud Siero yc + ed ioral tike were Pere m5 
An Extra Plant Record for Tasmania by J.S. Whinray.......... 80 
The Origin of Generic Names of the Victorian Flora by J. A. 
ee ty Bice a a bacy co Pe en Ec AE or oC a eer 83 
F.N.C.V. — Report of Club Activities. ..........0.sseeeseeeee 90 


Cover illustration: Stranded Blue whale Baelonoptera musculus near Warrnambool 
Photo P. Martin 


A Blue Whale Baelonoptera musculus stranded near 
Warrnambool, Victoria. 


By A.C. ISLES* 


On 6 April 1976 an immature male 
Blue Whale Baelonoptera musculus was 
stranded at Levys Point (142°26’E 
38°23’S), 4 km west of Warr- 
nambool. It was first sighted, still alive, 
at about 1600 hours by Mr E. Barker of 
Warrnambool (Warrnambool Standard, 
7 April 1976). Diagnostic features were 
the all black baleen, blue body colour 
with paler mottled patches on the dorsal 
surface, white underside to the flippers 
(see Morzer Bruyns 1971; Wakefield 
1967) and distinctive, broad, ‘‘boat- 
shaped”’ skull (R.M. Warneke pers. 
comm.). 

At about 0930 hours next day the 
animal was apparently dead and by the 
afternoon its body colour had changed 
to dark grey. There were no noticeable 
lesions, barnacles or ectoparasites on the 
skin. 

The following measurements (see 
Baker 1972) were taken using a 100 foot 
cloth tape measure. 

Total length (tip of jaw to 


notch of tail flukes) 19.1m 
Tip of upper jaw to 

centre of eye 3.9m 
Tip of upper jaw to anterior 

insertion of flipper 3.7m 
Tip of upper jaw to tip of 

dorsal fin 14.6m 
Girth c4.5m 


(measurement taken directly behind flip- 
per; 7.5m from upper jaw to point of 
girth measurement). 


Maximum flipper width 0.71m 
Tip of one tail fluke to centre 
of tail notch 2.18m 


It was not possible to measure tail 
flukes from tip to tip; a reasonable 


*Fisheries and Wildlife Division, Arthur Rylah In- 
stitute for Environmental Research, 123 Brown 
Street, Heidelberg, Vic. 3084. 


§2 


estimate of this measure would therefore 
be 4.4m. 
Depth of notch between 


flukes 0.23m 
Height of dorsal fin (tip to 
base) 0.18m 


On the 10 April staff from Monash 
University Zoology Department and the 
National Museum of Victoria attempted 
to remove the skull, but could only 
remove the lower jaw (now in the NMV 
No. C23571) and one flipper (in the 
possession of the Zoology Department, 
Monash University; No. 5579). By the 
17 April very little of the whale was left 
on the beach except for some baleen, 
pieces of flesh, and skull fragments. 
Most of the carcass had been taken out 
to sea by a high tide and the remaining 
debris was probably a product of the 
field dissection. On the 20 June a few re- 
mains, including the tail flukes and part 
of the vertebral column, were found 
some 6 km from the original stranding 
point, 500 m east of the Cutting 
(142°23’E, 38°21’S) high up on the 
beach and buried in sand. 

Wakefield (1967) gives details of three 
other Blue Whales stranded in Victoria: 
at Jan Juk, outside Port Phillip Heads 


— 


Fig. 1. Blue whale stranded at Levys Pt. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


in the winter of 1865 or 1866; at 
Anglesea April 1955; and at the mouth 
of the Fitzroy River, Portland, 1957. 

Colour transparencies and 16mm film 
taken when the animal was still alive are 
in the possession of Fisheries and 
Wildlife Division, Victoria. 


Acknowledgements 

Joan Dixon, Curator of Vertebrates, 
NMV for providing literature when 
urgently needed and commenting on the 
paper; R.M. Warneke and P.W. 
Menkhorst for commenting on the 
paper and offering valuable suggestions. 

Also to W. Smith and R. Thompson 
for assistance in the measuring of the 
whale. 


REFERENCES 


Baker, A.N. 1972. New Zealand Whales and 
Dolphins. Biological Society, Victoria University 
of Wellington, N.Z. as Tuatara 20: 1-44, 

Morzer-Bruyns, Capt. W.F.J, 1971. Field Guide of 
Whales and Dolphins Zieseniskacle 14’’, Amster- 
dam. 

Wakefield, N.A. 1967. Whales and Dolphins 
Recorded for Victoria. Victorian Nat 84: 273-281. 


aa 
at We 


Fig. 2. View of the whale. 


Fig. 3. Viscera of the whale. 


Alterations and Additions to the Vascular Flora of 
Victoria 
By A. C. BEAUGLEHOLE* 


Introduction 
In earlier issues of the Victorian 
Naturalistt, I dealt with about 300 


alterations in nomenclature and 330 ad- 
ditional species to the vascular flora of 
Victoria. 

This paper deals with a further 100 
alterations and 60 additional species. 
This has been largely due to the splendid 
continued co-operation of my many 
helpers who have kept me posted with 
current revisions from scientific papers 
both within and outside Australia, plus 
my own observations and records. 

Recording on the Grid system of 
Churchill and de Corona (1972) has 


* 3 Beverley Street, Portland, Victoria. 3305. 


March/April 


been maintained by a number of 
workers, with the result about 1150 ad- 
ditions have been made since 1977 thus 
making a grand total of about 7300 ad- 
ditions since 1972. However, on the 
debit side, I, along with help from 
others have recognized about 518 gridst 
which have been considered erroneous 
or very doubtful. These should be taken 
into account when species totals are be- 
ing made for individual grids at some 
future date. 


t+ see Victorian Nat. 95: 67-74 and 198-203 (1978) 
tt see Victorian Nat. 97: Previous articles (1980) 


Acknowledgements 
I again wish to thank the Directors 


53 


and staff at Australian and overseas her- 
baria for continued assistance, in par- 
ticular the National Herbarium of Vic- 
toria for checking and housing voucher 
specimens of new records. 

My thanks again to Dr. R. F. Parsons 
for unstinted assistance in various ways. 

To the many others, too numerous to 
mention individually, who have supplied 
many new distribution records and 
vouchers, a special thank you. I trust 
that you will continue this splendid 
work. 


Alterations to the vascular flora of 
Victoria 

The following list is based on the alphabetical ar- 
rangement of Churchill & de Corona (1972). 


Symbols: 


C Change of name for various reasons. The se- 
cond name in each case to be used for Vic- 
torian records. Note that in some cases the 
replaced name is still valid but the species does 
not occur in Victoria. Superseded names are 
printed in italics. 

S Synonym. The first name is now regarded as a 
Synonym of the second name. 

+ Additional species now recognized and 
segregated. 

— Deletion e.g. species now thought to be 
hybrids, or no longer recognized as distinct at 
species level; no records of spontaneous oc- 
currence in Victoria etc. 

S Acacia ligulata A. Cunn, ex Benth.: A. 
bivenosa DC. ssp. wayi (Maiden) Pedley; see 
Pedley Austrobaileya | (1): 26-29 (1977). 

C ‘*Agropyron junceum (L.) Pal.: *A. 
junceiforme (A. & D. Love) A. & D. Love; see 
Hubbard, Grasses: 105 (1952). 

S ‘Agrostis semiverticillata (Forsk.) C.Chr.: *A. 
viridis Gouan; see Simon, Bot. Branch Tech. 
Bull. 3: 4 (1978) after examination of 
Kerguelen in Lejeunia 75:247 (1975). 

S ‘Agrostis tenuis Sibth.: *A. capillaris L.; see 2: 
172. 

+ *Amaranthus hybridus L.: plus *A. powellii S, 
Watson; A. Kanis pers. comm. (All records 
will need to be checked). 

S  *Antirrhinum orontium L,: *Misopates oron- 
tium (L.) Rafin.; see 9: 224. 

S  Aphanes pentamera Rothm.: A. australiana 
(Rothm.) Rothm.; see 5: 194. 

+  Apium prostratum Labill ex Vent: plus A. an- 
nuum P. S. Short; see Short J. Adelaide 
Botanic Gardens 1(4): 230-234 (1979). 

S$  Arthrocnemum arbuscula (R.Br.) Mog.: 
Sclerostegia arbuscula (R.Br.) P. G. Wilson; 
see Wilson Nuytsia 3: 20 (1980). 


Arthrocnemum halocnemoides Nees yar. 
pergranulatum J, M. Black: Halosarcia 
pergranulata (J. M. Black) P. G. Wilson; see 
Wilson ibid. 40. 

Arthrocnemum halocnemoides Nees var. 
pterygospermum J. M. Black: Halosarcia 
pterygosperma (J. M. Black) P. G. Wilson; see 
Wilson ibid. 48. 

Arthrocnemum Jeiostachyum (Benth.) 
Paulsen: Halosarcia indica (Willd.) P. G. 
Wilson subsp. leiostachya (Benth.) P. G. 
Wilson; see Wiison ibid. 66. 

Arthrocnemum lylei (Ewart & J. White) J. M. 
Black: Halosarcia lylei (Ewart & White) P. G. 
Wilson; see Wilson ibid. 49. 

Arthrocnemum pruinosum Paulsen: 
Halosarcia pruinosa (Paulsen) P. G. Wilson; 
see Wilson ibid. 54. 

Atriplex muelleri Benth.; Best omitted from 
Victorian flora; see 12:94. 

Atriplex prostrata R.Br.; P. G. Wilson pers. 
comm. informs that A. prostrata R.Br. 
(1810)—a later homonym of A. prostrata D.C, 
(1805) be replaced by A. pumilio R.Br. 

Bassia biflora (R.Br.) F. Muell.; Dissocarpus 
biflorus (R.Br.) F. Muell.; see Scott Dept. of 
Plant Biology, Univ. of Birmingham. 
Birmingham, Great Britain: 101-119 (1978). 
Bassia birchii (F. Muell.) F. Muell.: 
Sclerolaena birchii (F. Muell.) Domin; see 
Scott ibid. 

Bassia brachyptera (F. Muell,) R. H. Ander- 
son: Sclerolaena sp.; (no combination 
available) NSW per. comm.; In the author’s 
Victorian Vascular Plant Checklists (in the 
press) this plant is referred to as Sclerolaena 
sp. (A). 

Bassia caputcasuarii J. H. Willis: Sclerolaena 
caputcasuarii (Willis) A. J, Scott: see Scott 
Dept. of Plant Biology, Univ. of Birmingham, 
Birmingham, Great Britain: 101-1 19 (1978). 
Bassia convexula R. H. Anderson: Sclerolaena 
convexula (R. H. Anderson) A. J. Scott: see 
Scott ibid. 

Bassia diacantha (Nees) F. Muell.: Sclerolaena 
diacantha (Nees) Benth,; see Scott fbid. 

Bassia divaricata (R. Br.) F. Muell.: 
Sclerolaena divaricata (R.Br.) Domin; see 
Scott ibid. 

Bassia obliquicuspis R. WH. Anderson: 
Sclerolaena obliquicuspis (R. H. Anderson) 
Ulbrich; see Scott bid. 

Bassia paradoxa (R.Br.) F. Muell.: 
Dissocarpus paradoxa (R.Br.) F. Muell.; see 
Scott ibid. 

Bassia parviflora R. H, Anderson: Sclerolaena 
parviflora (R. H. Anderson) A. J. Scott; see 
Scott ibid. 

Bassia_ patenticuspis R. WH. Anderson: 
Sclerolaena patenticuspis (R. H. Anderson) 
Ulbrich; see Scott ibid. 

Bassia quinquecuspis (F. Muell.) F. Muell.: 


Vic. Nat, Vol. 98 


wn WA 


iv) 


Sclerolaena muricata (Moq.) Domin; see Scott 
ibid, 

Bassia ramsayae J. H. Willis: Sclerolaena ram- 
sayae (Willis) A. J. Scott; see Scott ibid. 

Bassia sclerolaenoides (F. Muell.) F. Muell.: 
Eriochiton sclerolaenoides (R. H. Anderson) 
A. J. Scott; see Scott ibid. 

Bassia_ stelligera (F. Muell.) F. Muell.: 
Sclerolaena sp.; (no combination available). 
NSW pers. comm.; In the author’s Victorian 
Vascular Plant Checklists (in the press) this 
species is referred to as Sclerolaena sp. (B). 
Bassia tricuspis (F. Muell,) R. H, Anderson: 
Sclerolaena tricuspis (F. Muell.) Ulbrich; see 
Scott Dept. of Plant Biology, Univ. of Birm- 
ingham, Birmingham, Great Britain; 101-119 
(1978). 

Bassia uniflora (R.Br.) F. Muell.: Sclerolaena 
uniflora R.Br.; see Scott ibid. 

Bursaria spinosa Cay.: plus B. lasiophylla E. 
M. Bennett; see Bennett, Nuytsia 2 (4): 192 
(1978), 

Caladenia reticulata R. D. Fitz G.: C. heugelii 
Reichb. f.; see 2: 396-397. 

Callitris verrucosa (A. Cunn. ex Endl.) F. 
Muell.: C. preissii Miq. ssp. verrucosa; see 
Garden, Contr. N.S. W. Herb. 2:375 (1956). 
Cardamine stylosa DC.: Rorippa gigantea 
(Hook.f.) Garnock-Jones, N.Z.J. Bot, 16: 119 
(1978). 

Casuarina glauca Sieber ex Spreng.; C.obesa 
Miq.; L. A. S. Johnson pers. comm. 

*Celsia cretica L.: *Verbascum creticum (L.) 
Cav.; see 9: 309. 

*Chrysanthemum lacustre Brot.: 
*Leucanthemum vulgare Lam.; see /0: 176. 
*Chrysanthemum Jleucanthemum L.: 
*Leucanthemum vulgare Lam.; see 10: 176. 
*Chrysanthemum parthenium (L.) Bernh.: 
*Tanacetum parthenium (L.) Schultz Bip.; see 
10: 171, 

*Chrysanthemum vulgare L. 
vulgare (L.) Bernh,; see /0: 170. 
*Cirsium syriacum (L.) J. Gaertn.: *Notobasis 
syriaca (L.) Cass,; see 10: 474. 

*Crepis taraxicifolia Thuill.: *C. vesicaria L.; 
see Sell, Bot, J. Linn. Soc. 71:254 (1976). 
Cyclosorus penniger (Forst.f.) Copeland: 
Pneumatopteris pennigera (Forst.f-) Holttum; 
see Holttum, Blumea 21: 305 (1973). 

Cyperus brevifolius (Rottb.) Hassk.: all Vic- 
torian records belong to C. sphaeroideus L. A. 
S. Johnson & O. D. Evans; NSW pers. comm. 
Cyperus rutilans (C. B. Clarke) Maiden & Bet- 
che: C. Ihotskyanus Boeck.; see Wilson, 
Telopea | (6): 464 (1980). 

Daviesia ulicifolia Andr.: plus D. arenaria M. 
D. Crisp; see Crisp, J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 2 
(2): 163-166 (1980). 

Daviesia virgata A. Cunn. ex Hook.: D. 
mimosoides R.Br.; M. D, Crisp pers. comm, 
Diplachne fusca (L.) Beauv. ex Stapf.: D. rep- 
tatrix (L.) Druce; see Kerguelen, Bull. Bot. Fr. 
124: 337-349 (1977). 


*Tanacetum 


March/April 


Epacris serpyllifolia R.Br.; apparently this 
species does not occur in Victoria — author’s 
observation. 

Epilobium tasmanicum Hausskn; apparently 
does not occur in Victoria; see Raven & Raven, 
N.Z. Dept. of Scientific & Industrial Res. Bull. 
216; 179-181 (1976). 

Eucalyptus stricta Sieber ex Spreng: apparently 
the Mt. Wellington record is erroneous; NSW 
pers. comm. 

*Fumaria officinalis L.; apparently does not 
occur in Victoria; see 12: 163. 

*Gnaphalium purpureum L.: *Gamochaeta 
purpurea (L.) Cabrera; see Cabrera, Bol. Soc. 
Argent. Bot. 9: 377 (1961). 

*Homeria breyniana (L.) G. J. Lewis: *H. 
flaccida Sweet; see Goldblatt, J. S. African 
Bot. 39: 133-140 (1973). 

*Hordeum /eporinum Link: The recent grass 
volume of Flora Europea treats this and *H. 
glaucum Steud. as subspecies of *H. murinum; 
B. K. Simon pers. comm. 

*Hypericum elatum Ait.; *H. inodorum 
Miller; see Miller, Gard. Dict: ed. 8, No. 6 
(1968). 

*Inula graveolens L.: *Dittrichia graveolens 
(L.) W. Greuter; see Greuter, Exsice, Genav. 
4: 71 (1973). 


Isoetes humilior F. Muell. ex A. Br.: L 
muelleri A.Br.: see Marsden, J. Adelaide Bot. 
Gard, 1(1) 37-54 (1976): plus another species 
under investigation; C.R. Marsden pers. 
comm, 

*Koeleria phleoides (Vill.) Pers.: *Lophochloa 
cristata (L.) Hylander; see Simon, A Key to 
Queensland Grasses, Technical Bulletin No. 4 
(1980). 

Leptospermum grandifolium Sm.: L. 
Ianigerum (Ait.) Sm.; The author and others 
do no regard the former as a good species. 
Luzula australasica Steud.: L. modesta 
Buchenau; see Jansen, Blumea 24: 527-532 
(1978). 

Luzula oldfieldii Hook.f.: L. 
Steud.; see Jansen ibid. 
Lycopodium varium R.Br.: L.myrtifolium; In 
the unpublished list (for Forests Commission 
of Victoria) of 507 species of indigenous Vic- 
torian plants, which are variously rare, very 
localized and/or endangered, J.H. Wills 
records the latter name for this species. 
*Lycopsis arvensis L.: *Anchusa arvensis (L.) 
Bieb.; see 9:108. 

Melothria micrantha (F.Muell.) F.Muell. ex 
Cogn.:Z ehneria micrantha; In the unpublish- 
ed list (for Forests Commission of Victoria) of 
507 species of indigenous Victorian plants, 
which are variously rare, very localized and/or 
endangered J.H. Willis records the latter name 
for this species. 

*Myosotis caespitosa C.F. Schultz.; *M. laxa; 
see 9:116, 

Notelaea ligustrina Vent.: Nestegis ligustrina 


australasica 


55. 


+9 


(Vent.) L. Johnson; NSW pers. comm.; see /2: 
518. 

Notelaea venosa Vent; plus N. longifolia 
Vent.; see /; 415. The latter occurring along 
lower Wingan River; P. Smith pers. comm. 
Ophioglossum coriaceum A. Cunn.: QO. 
lusitanicum L.; see 2; 47; plus O. petiloatum 
Hook. which also occurs in Victoria; M. 
Robinson pers. comm, 

Oxalis lactea Hook.: O. magellancia Forst. f.; 
see Veldkamp, FL. Males., ser. 1,7: 156-$57 
(1971). 

Pachycornia tenuis (Benth.) J. M. Black: 
Sclerostegia tenuis (Benth.) P. G. Wilson; see 
Wilson Nuytsia 3: 22 (1980). 

Paspalidium gracile (R.Br.) D, K. Hughes: all 
Victorian records belong to P. constrictum 
(Domin) C. E. Hubbard; NSW pers. comm. 
Pentatropis quinquepartita (F. Muell.) Benth.: 
Rhyncharrhena linearis (Decne.) K. L. Wilson; 
see Wilson Te/opea 2(1) (in press). 
Potamogeton lucens L.; Apparently some 
doubt about identity; NSW pers. comm. 
Prasophyllum gracile R. S. Rogers: P. fuscum 
R.Br.; see 2: 429-431. 

Prasophyllum odoratum R. S. Rogers: P. 
patens R.Br.; see 2: 434. 

Prasophyllum sp. (see Beauglehole, Vict. Nat. 
95; 72): P. rufum R.Br.; see 2: 435. 

*Romulea longifolia (Salisb.) Baker: *R. rosea 
(L.) Eckl.; see deVos, J. S. African Bot., 
Suppl. 9:254 (1972). 

Salicornia blackiana Ulbrich: Sarcocornia 
blackiana (Ulbrich) A. J. Scott; see Scott J. 
Linn. Soc. 75; 357-374 (1977). 

Salicornia quinqueflora Bunge ex Ungern- 
Sternberg: Sarcocornia quinqueflora Bunge ex 
Ung.-Sternb.) A. J. Scott; see Scott ibid. 
Senecio orarius J. M. Black: Hybrids among 
Senecio species have been witnessed and col- 
lected on numerous occasions. The author is 
convinced that S. orarius is such a case with S. 
lautus Forst.f. ex Willd. as one of the parents. 
M. Lawrence pers. comm. is of the same opi- 
nion. 

*Solanum oitidibaccatum Bitt: *S.  sar- 
rachoides Sendt.; see Edmonds Bor. J. Linn. 
Soc. 78; 213-233 (1979), 

Solanum nodiflorum N.J. Jacq.: S. 
americanum Mill.; see Edmonds J. Arnold 
Arb. 52: 634-635 (1971). 

*Solanum ottonis Hylander: *8, 
chenopodioides Lam.; see Edmonds Bor. J. 
Linn, Soc. 78: 213-233 (1979). 

Solenogyne bellioides Cass.: A recent review of 
the Genus Solenogyne has revealed that S. 
bellioides does not occur in Victoria, but in- 
stead S. dominii L. G. Adams and S. gunnii 
(Hook.f.) Cabrera; see: Adams, Brunonia 2: 
43-65 (1979). 

Sonchus hydrophilus Boulos: *8. asper (L.) 
Hill forma hydrophilus (Boulos) Koster; see 
Koster, Blumea 23: 165 (1976), 


S Stipa compacta D. K. Hughes: S. flavescens 
Labill.; see Townrow, Proc. R. Soc. Tasmania 
112: 227-287 (1978). 

S Stipa elatior (Benth.) D. K. Hughes: S. 
flayescens Labill.; see Townrow ibid. 

S Stipa pubescens R.Br.: S. pubinodis Trinius & 
Ruprecht; see Townrow Jbid, 

S Stipa teretifolia Steud: S. stipoides (Hooker. f.) 
Veldkamp; see Townrow ibid. 

+ Stylidium calcaratum R.Br.: plus S. ecorne (F, 

Muell. ex Erickson & Willis) Farrell & James; 

see Farrell and James, Aust. J. Bot. 27: 39-45 

(1979). 

Thelymitra megcalyptra R. D. FitzG. (see 

Beauglehole, Vict. Nat. 95: 73): T. longifolia 

Forst. & Forst.f; see 2; 459. 

S$ Thelymitra nuda R.Br.; T. longifolia Forst. & 
Forst.f.; see 2: 459. 

S  Thelymitra rubra FitzG.: T. carnea R.Br.: see 
2: 454, 455. 

S  Trymalium ramosissimum J. W. Audus: T. 

daltonii F. Muell.; The author now regards this 

as synonymous; see Beauglehole, Vict. Nat. 

95, No. 2: 73 (1978). 

Utricularia dichotoma Labill. (see: 

Beauglehole, Vict. Nat. 95: 73). The author’s 

observations show that the plant with usually 

several large royal purple flowers with about 
seven yellow stripes at base of ‘apron’ be at- 

tributed to U. dichotoma. The other with 1-3 

smaller blue-purple flowers with 3 yellow 

stripes be attributed to U. uniflora R.Br.; see 

4: 431. 

S  Wahlenbergia quadrifida (R.Br.) Alph.: W, 
gracilis (Forst.f.) Alph. DC. R. Carolin & P. 
Smith pers. comm. 

S  Wahlenbergia tadgellii N, Lothian: W. 
multicaulis Benth.; R. Carolin & P. Smith 
pers. comm. 

NOTE: The following Family name changes are 

also necessary. 

COMPOSITAE: ASTERACEAE 
CRUCIFERAE; BRASSICACEAE 
GRAMINEAE: POACEAE 
LABIATAE; LAMIACEAE 
PAPILIONACEAE: FABACEAE 
UMBELLIFERAE; APIACEAE 


S,Cc 


Additions to the vascular flora of 
Victoria 

New names listed are followed by 
their author and place of publication; 
new records of already known plants are 
followed wherever possible by a 
reference to a relevant text giving 
description of the plant. References to 
periodicals appear in the main text; 
references to books are cited by numbers 
in italics and full titles appear in 
bibliography. Distributions are shown 


Vic. Nat. Vol, 98 


according to the Victorian plant mapp- 
ing grid system (A to Z). 
* Species introduced into Victoria. 


Agrostis adamsonii Vickery in Contrib. N.S.W. 
Nat. Herb. | (3): 107 (1941); see also Simon, Bor. 
Branch Tech. Bull. 3: 4 (1978) and 11]: 148 N. 

Agrostis aequata Nees; see Simon ibid and I1: 143 
(as a slight variant of A. rudis Roem. & Schult.) 
EK. 

*Amaranthus powellii S. Watson; A. Kanis pers. 
comm. has identified several collections as this 
species ENUVWYZ. 

Ammobium alatum R.Br. ex Sims in Curtis’s Bor. 
Mag. t. 2459 (1824) V. 

Apium annum P. §S. Short in J. Adelaide Botanic 
Gardens | (4): 230-234 (1979) CEJKNP. 

Aristida browniana Henr.; see 2: 132 F. 

*Avena strigosa Schreb.; see Simon, Bor. Branch 
Tech, Bull. 3:17 (1978) and IJ: 125 JN. 

Bursaria lasiophylla E. M. Bennett in Nuytsia 2 (4): 
192 (1978) AHJVW. 

*Catapodium marinum (L.) C. E. Hubbard; R. F. 
Parsons pers. comm. informs that a collection 
checked by B. K. Simon is housed at MEL P. 

Cheiranthera alternifolia E. M. Bennett in Nuytsia 2 
(4): 197 (1978) ? B. 

*Conyza? floribunda Humb. et al., Nova Genera & 
Spec. P1.4: 73 (1820) CDEHJKMNRUV. 

NOTE: Since Todd, Muelleria 4(2): 182 (1979) MEL 
pers. comm. informs that there is some doubt 
regarding the name C. floribunda. 

Correa backhousiana Hook, in J. Bor. 1: 253 (1834) 
K. 

*Cyrtomium falcatum (L.f.) C. Presl. Tentamen 
Pterid. 86 (1836) R. 

Daviesia arenaria M. D. Crisp. in J. Adelaide Bot. 
Gard. 2(2): 163-166 (1980) ABCDFG. 

Digitaria hystrichoides Vickery in Contrib. N.S. W. 
Nat. Herb. 1(6): 324 (1951); see Simon, Bot. 
Branch Tech. Bull. 3: 41 (1978) and 17: 1979 A. 

Disearia nitida Tortosa in Hickenia 1: 109-111 
(1977) W. 

Elytrophorus spicatus (Willd.) Camus; see Simon, 
Bot. Branch Tech. Bull. 3:23 (1978) and II: 163 
Cc. 

Eragrostis benthamii Mattei; see Simon ibid 3: 27 
(1978) and 4:53 (1980) Grid unknown to present 
author. 

*Eschscholzia californica Cham.; see 12: 162 WZ. 

Gonocarpus montanus (Hook.f.) Orchard; see 8 
172-176 RSVWYZ. 

Goodenia bellidifolia Sm. in Trans. Linn. Soc. 
London 2:349 (1794) Z. 

*Hakea suaveolens R.Br. in Trans. Linn. Soc. Lon- 
don 10: 182 (1810) E. 

Haloragis eichleri Orchard; see 8: 88-90 E, 

*Hydrocleys nymphoides (H. & B. ex Willd.) Buch.; 
see Aston and Jacobs, Muelleria 4(3): 285-293 
(1980) W. 

“Juncus fontanesii Gay in Laharpe Monogr. Jonc.: 
130 (1827) K. ; 

Mirbelia rubiifolia (Andr.) G. Don; see /> 281 Z. 


March/April 


*Moraea aristata (Houtt.) Aschers. & Graebn.; see 
11; 343 4. 

Myriophyllum sp. (A): E, A. Orchard pers. comm. 
BM. 

Myriophyllum sp. (B); E. A. Orchard pers. comm. 
JK. 

*Najas marina L.: see Aston, Vict. Nat. 96: 67-69 
(1979) Z. 

Notelaea longifolia Vent.; see 1:415 Z. 

*Paspalum dasypleurum Kunze ex Desvaux; see 
Simon, Bot. Branch Tech. Bull 3: 42 (1978) N. 

*Paspalum urvillei Steud; see /// 199; the present 
author recently witnessed spreading colonies near 
Walwa in Grid USO (Collection ACB 68461, 16 
May 1980 — MEL and author’s private her- 
barium) U. 

*Petrorhagia nanteuillii (Burnat) Ball et Heywood: 
see 1: 170 R. 

Phyllanthus trachyspermus F, Muell.; see: 3; 510. 
A. 

*Plantago australis Lamk.; in Flora of N.S. W. 181: 
11 (1977) Briggs et al records this species as 
naturalized for Victoria KN. 

*Pontederia cordata L.; see Aston, Vict. Nat. 96: 
67-69 (1979) D. 

Prostanthera incana A. Cunn.; see: /: 515 W. 

Prostanthera sp. aff. decussata; J. Carrick pers. 
comm, N, 

*Salix alba L.; see 12: 24 DEJIKNPRVWZ. 

Sclerolaena intricata (R. H. Anderson) A. J, Scott; 
Syn. Bassia intricata R. H. Anderson; see Scott, 
Dept. of Plant Biology, Univ. of Birmingham, 
Birmingham, Great Britain: 101-119 (1978) A. 

Solanum adenophorum F. Muell. in Fragm. 
Phytogr. Austr. 2:162 (1860-61) H, 

Solanum coactiliferum J. M. Black in Trans. R. 
Soc, S, Aust. 33: 224 (1909) F. 

Solanum petrophilum F. Muell.; see 12: 554 H. 

Solenogyne dominii L. G. Adams in Brunonia 
2:43-65 (1979) CDEJKMNPS. 

Solenogyne gunnii (Hook.f.) Cabrera; see Adams 
ibid, EVWZ. 

*Soliva anthemifolia (Juss.) R.Br. ex DC.; MEL 
pers. comm. 3 July 1980, has supplied the follow- 
ing: ‘one of your recent collections, ACB 63962 
from near Murray River, Grid Q37, 4 June 1979, 
has been identified as Soliva anthemifolia (Juss.) 
R.Br. ex DC. This is yet another new record for 
Victoria’ U. 

*Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench; A collection, ACB 
63772, 24 Jan. 1979, from Stony Rises near Colac 
in Grid K14 was determined by B. K. Simon and 
now housed at MEL. BRI and the author’s 
private herbarium K. 

Stipa sp. (A); J. W. Vickery pers. comm. C. 

Stipa densiflora Hughes; see /; 53 MRSVWZ. 

Stipa falcata Hughes; see /: 53 ABCFGHMRYVW. 

Stipa sp. (B); J. W. Vickery pers. comm. C 

Stipa mundula J. M. Black; see 2: 108 C. 

Stipa nodosa S. T. Blake; see 2; 108 C. 

Stipa oligostachya Hughes; see Hughes, Kew Bull. 
Misc. Inf. 12 (1921) CD. 

Stipa scabra Lindl.; J. W. Vickery pers. comm. 


57 


determined several collections as this species 
BYWYZ. 

Stipa stuposa Hughes, see Townrow, Proc. R. Soc. 
Tasmania 112: 227-287 (1978) CDW. 

Stipa tenuighumis Hughes; see 2: 111 EK. 

Stuartina hamata W_R. Philipson; see 1; F. 

Stylidium ecorne (F. Muell. ex. Erickson & Willis) 
Farrell & James; see Farrell and James, Aust. J. 
Bot, 27: 39-45 (1979) CDIRS. 

Utricularia monanthos Hook.f.; see 7: 339; The 
present author has collected this dwarf species 
north of Mt. Cope in the Bogong High Plains in 
Grid V47 — ACB 15489, 26 Jan. 1966 (MEL and 
the author’s private herbarium) V. 

Zostera capriconi Aschers; see Jacobs & Williams, 
Telopea | (6): 451-455 (1980) Z. 


REFERENCES 

1, Beadle, N. C. W., Evans, O. D. and Carolin, R. 
C. (1972). Flora of the Sydney Region. (A. H. 
and A. W. Reed Pty. Ltd.: Sydney). 

2. Black, J. M. (1978). Flora of South Australia. 
3rd Edn. Part 1; Revised and Edit: J. P. Jessop 
(S.A. Government Printer: Adelaide). 

3. Black, J. M. (1948) Flora of South Australia 


2nd. Edn. Part 2. (S.A. Government Printer: 
Adelaide). 

4, Brown, Robert (1810) Prodromus florae Novae 
Hollandiae. (J. Johnson; London). 

5, Burbidge, N. T. & Gray, M., (1976). FI. of the 
Australian Capital Territory (Australian National 
Univ. Press: Canberra). 

6. Churchill, D. M. and Corona, A. de (1972). The 
Distribution of Victorian Plants. (The Dominion 
Press: North Blackburn). 

7. Galbraith, Jean (1977). Wild Flowers of South- 
East Australia (Collins: Sydney). 

8. Orchard, A. E. (1975). Auckland Institute and 
Museum Bulletin No. 10 (Auckland Institute and 
Museum: Auckland). 

9. Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burgess, N. A., 
Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M., 
Webb, D. A., (1972). Flora Europaea. Vol. 3. 
(Cambridge Univ. Press: Cambridge). 

10. Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burgess, N. A., 
Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M., 
Webb, D. A. (1976). Flora Europaea. Vol. 4. 
(Cambridge Univ. Press: Cambridge). 

11. Willis, J. H. (1970), A Handbook to Plants in 
Victoria. Vol. 1, 2nd ed. (Melbourne Univ. Press: 
Melbourne). 

12. Willis, J. H. (1972). A Handbook to Plants in 
Victoria. Vol. 2 (Melbourne Univ. Press: 
Melbourne). 


Acacia notabilis — First Records for Victoria 


Recent field work in the Mallee region of 
north-west Victoria (since published as ‘Fire 
in the National Parks of North-West 
Victoria’ by P. D, C-Cheal, J. C. Day and C. 
W. Meredith; National Parks Service, 1979) 
required the preparation of a vegetation 
classification based on floristic data collected 
on a quadrat basis. In two of the 10m x 10m 
quadrats for which full species lists were 
prepared a problematic Acacia sp. occurred. 
Specimens were taken and pressed for later 
identification. 

As some difficulty was experienced 
identifying the specimens, they were sent to 
the National Herbarium, Victoria (MEL) for 
identification. They were later returned 
unnamed, with the note ‘‘. . . doesn’t match 
anything in the Victorian reference set.”’ 
After further investigation, including 
comparison with the type held at MEL, I 
have concluded that the specimens are Acacia 
notabilis F, Muell. These are the first records 
of this species for Victoria. 


Locality 
The plants were found in two localities in 
the far west of the Sunset Country: — 

(a) 10 minute grid A38, at grid reference 
433714 on the 1:250000 map series, 
Mildura sheet SI 54-11. Collected 
25.10.1978. 

(b) 10 minute grid A39, at grid reference 


446713 on the 1:250 000 map series, 


Mildura sheet Sl 54-11. Collected 
13.10.1978. 

Habitat 

(a) Open shrubland, dominated by 


Eucalyptus gracilis/Eucalyptus socilis, 
to 3.5m tall and 40% canopy cover 
above an open shrub layer of Acacia 
notabilis, to 1.6m tall and 25% canopy 
cover, with a low open (15% canopy 
cover) shrub layer of predominantly 
Beyeria opaca. The red loamy clay of 
this broad interdune flat was stabilised 
by a more or less continuous crust of 
mosses and lichens, 

(b) Open shrubland, dominated by 
Eucalyptus calycogona, to 3m tall and 
30% canopy cover above an open shrub 
layer of Acacia notabilis, to 2m tall and 
15% canopy cover, with a low open 
(15% cover) field layer of a variety of 
small ephemeral herbs (notably Calotis 
hispidula, Crassula spp., and Plantago 
turrifera) and perennial Stipa spp., 
Bassia diacantha and Maireana 
pentagona, The brown clay loam (again 
a broad inter-dune flat) was stabilised 
by an almost continuous crust of lichens 


and mosses. 
Species common to both sites were Bassia 
diacantha, Beyeria opaca, Brachyscome 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Figure 1. 
Speciment of Acacia notabilis F. Muell. 


lineariloba, Calotis hispidula, Crassula 
colorata, Helipterum pygmaeum, Maireana 
pentagona and Stipa elegantissima. 

The habitat agrees closely with that 
described for the species in Whibley (1980), 
p.122 viz. *‘. . . open scrub vegetation. Soils; 
mainly brown or shallow calcareous, hard 
alkaline red duplex.’’ 


Description 

A. notabilis is readily distinguished from 
all other Acacia spp. recorded from north- 
western Victoria by the very broad (app. lcm) 
legumes containing transverse seeds, 
encircled by a very long funicle. In addition, 


it is readily separable from the only other tall, 
broad-foliaged Acacia spp. of the region (i.e. 
Acacia hakeoides and Acacia pycnantha) by 
the prominent thickened yellow margins to 
both the phyllodes and the legumes. 

Acacia notabilis F. Muell. is a tall glabrous 
shrub to 3m. tall. The branches are terete 
with a smooth reddish-brown bark. The 
oblong lanceolate to rhomboid, somewhat 
glaucous phyllodes are 5 to 15 cm long and 5 
to 25mm broad with a prominent mid-vein, 
numerous fine lateral veins and a 
prominently thickened yellow margin. The 
apex is more or less obtuse and there is a 
gland on the upper margin just above the 
short, wrinkled peduncle. Inflorescences are 
axillary racemes shorter than the phyllodes 
with 45 to 60 flowers per head, followed by 
narrowly oblong legumes 3 to 7 cm long and 
about | cm broad. The margins are thickened 
and the pods are raised over the transverse 
seeds, which are almost completely encircled 
by the long funicle. Flowering time of the 
Victorian plants is unknown but young 
legumes were present on specimens collected 
in late October. The species also occurs in 
New South Wales, South Australia and 
Western Australia. 


Acknowledgements: 

The Staff of the National Herbarium 
(Victoria) kindly provided access to various 
specimens kept in the collection there, 
including the type(s). 


REFERENCES: 


Whibley, D.J.E., (1980). Acacias of South 
Australia Pub. Govt. Printer, Adelaide. 


P.D. C-Cheal 

C/- National Parks Service 
(Victoria), 

240 Victoria Parade, 

East Melbourne, 3002. 


Preliminary Notice 
Ideas for Ornithological Research in the Eighties 
VORG Conference 
Melbourne, 24 — 26 July 1981 


The Victorian Ornithological Research 
Group will be holding a Conference in 
Melbourne over the weekend 24 — 26 
July 1981, on the theme of Ideas for Or- 
nithological Research in the Eighties. 

If the price of petrol continues to rise, the 
title may be Bird Study Close to Home — 
which would then be another way of express- 
ing the theme. 

All interested persons are invited to attend 
the Conference. It is hoped that further 


March/April 


details will appear in a later issue of this jour- 
nal; in any case they may be obtained from 
the address below. 


VORG Conference Secretariat 
P.O. Box 203 
South Melbourne, 3205 


Rosemary Balmford 
Secretary, VORG. 


59 


Inside the Burrow of the Common Wombat, 
Vombatus ursinus (Shaw 1800) 


By J.C. McILROY*, R. J. COOPER* ANDE. J. GIFFORD* 


Introduction 

The common wombat, Vombatus 
ursinus (Shaw 1800) is a large, her- 
bivorous marsupial which inhabits the 
forest-covered, mountainous areas of 
south and south-eastern Australia. One 
of its best-known habits is its excavation 
and use of burrows for diurnal shelter. 
To date, though, little is known or has 
been published about the burrows, in- 
cluding their internal structure. 

Nicholson (1963) whilst a schoolboy, 
crawled into several wombat burrows 
and sketched their layout. Mcllroy 
(1973) examined 197 wombat burrows 
and, based on their length, classified 
them into three types — minor, medium 
and major burrows. Each type differed 
considerably in their physical and en- 
vironmental characteristics, patterns of 
use and function. Mcllroy also crawled 
into each burrow but, because of his 
size, was not able to fully examine many 
of the burrows over their entire length. 

During July and August, 1979, we 
had the opportunity to examine the in- 
teriors of seven wombat burrows, As 
part of an extensive research programme 
on the effects of vertebrate pest control 
campaigns on non-target animals, we 
had radio-tracked 12 wombats which we 
had dosed with 1080 poison (sodium 
fluoroacetate). Eight of the wombats 
subsequently died, all within their bur- 
rows. Consequently, to recover the 
transmitters, we excavated seven of the 
burrows; excavation of the eighth bur- 
row, however, was not a practical pro- 
position. This paper describes our obser- 
vations on the internal structure of these 
seven burrows. 


*Division of Wildlife Research, CSIRO, P.O. Box 
84, Lyneham, A.C.T. 2602 


60 


Methods 

The study area was situated in the 
Bondo State Forest, near Tumut, New 
South Wales. Five burrows were in 4 
and 8 year old plantations of Pinus 
radiata established after the original 
native eucalypt forest had been clear- 
felled and the other two burrows were 
situated in adjacent retention areas of 
native forest. Six of the burrows were 
situated in red earth, the most common 
soil in the area. The seventh burrow was 
in astony, granitic soil. 

Initially we began removing all the 
soil above the burrow but this soon pro- 
ved impracticable so we simply dug 1-4 
shafts, up to 2.2 m deep, along the route 
of the burrow until we eventually 
located the wombat. Because of the 
physical effort involved no further 
shafts were dug after this, even though 
six of the burrows continued onwards. 
All burrows were examined by torch- 
light from the entrance and bottom of 
each shaft and the presence and dimen- 
sions of resting chambers were recorded, 
including their distance from the burrow 
entrance. Other measurements taken 
were the dimensions of the entrances 
and the tunnels at shaft sites, the depth 
of the tunnels below the ground at shaft 
sites and the length of each tunnel, as far 
as possible. In most cases the total 
length of the burrow could not be 
measured. The length and girth of each 
wombat was also obtained prior to its 
ingestion of poison. 


Results 

The seven burrows varied in length 
from over 7.0 m to over 17.9 m (Table 
1). Their single, inverted U-shaped en- 
trances ranged between 31-65 cm in 
height and 37-49 cm in width. Tunnel 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Table 1. The internal measurements of seven common wombat burrows. 


Entrances Tunnels (range) 
Length Height Width Area** Depth* Height Width Area** 
(m) (cm) (cm) (m) (m) (cm) (cm) (m’) 
7.2 31 47 0.19 0.3-0.4 20-26 39-43 0.10 
TD 32 41 0.17 0.3-0.9 27-29 35-36 0.12 
7.0 65 a7 0.32 0.3-0.9 25-32 27-28 0.09 
16.7 42 46 0.25 0.4-1.8 23-27 28-36 0.08 
17.9 40 47 0.25 0.4-1.3 24-28 32-35 0.10 
8.3 35 49 0.22 0.2-1.5 18-28 23-39 0.06 
10.1 44 47 0.27 0.8-2.2 = — _ 
Resting chambers 
.Distance 
from Depth* Height Width Length Area** 
entrance 
(m) (m) (cm) (cm) (cm) (m’) 
(a) 1.9 0.4 — — _ — 
(b) 4.0 = oan = — = 
(a) 4.5 <., 25 57 78 0.19 
(b) 6.8 = = - — _ 
(a) 4.8 0.9 31 49 65 0.20 
(a) 5.3 he 35 50 95 0.23 
(b) 19.3 1.8 4l 50 106 0.27 
(a) 2.6 0.8 34 56 100 0.25 
(b) 5.8 _— 35 55 108 0.25 
(a) 6.2 _— a - = = 
(a) 3.1 1.1 35 49 81 0.23 
(b) 8.8 2.2 36 59 130 0.28 


*Depth of soil above tunnel or resting chamber; 
(a) = anterior chamber, (b) = second chamber 


—= No data recorded. 


** Areas based on area of a parabolic segment = 2/3 (2a)h where 2a = width and h = height. 


heights ranged between 17.5-32 cm and 
widths between 23-43 cm. Two of the 
burrows divided into separate tunnels 
1.5 m and 4 m from the entrances, 
respectively. In the first burrow one tun- 
nel continued for more than 4.7 m while 
the other tunnel ended abruptly after a 
further 2.9 m. In the second burrow 
both tunnels extended on for at least 
another 5.5 m and 6.1 m, respectively. 
The slope of the ground the burrows 
were dug into and the direction they 
followed varied considerably. Five bur- 
rows, dug into relatively flat to 
moderately sloping ground continued 
directly onwards while another two, dug 


March/April 


into moderate slopes, turned shortly 
after the entrances and extended across 
the slopes. The slope of the tunnels also 
varied. Three tunnels were initially level 
but then either gradually sloped up- 
wards or downwards. Another three in- 
itially sloped downwards but then levell- 
ed off or rose and then descended again. 
One tunnel steadily rose from the en- 
trance onwards, parallel with the slope 
above it. 

Each burrow contained at least 1-2 
resting chambers. These were enlarged, 
scooped-out oval sections of the tunnels, 
varying considerably in size (height 25- 
41 cm, width 49-59 cm, length 65-130 


61 


cm). The most anterior chambers were 
located 1.9-6.2 m from the entrances, 
either in direct line or just after a gentle 
bend or fork. The next chambers were 
situated a further 1.5-5.0 m in (i.e. 4.0- 
10.3 m from the entrances), generally in 
the same stretch of tunnel as the anterior 
chamber. The one exception occurred 
just after the burrow abruptly changed 
direction. The depth of soil above the 
chambers and the deepest points of ex- 
cavation varied from 0.4-2.2 m. One 
anterior resting chamber contained a 
layer of eucalypt twigs and leaves, a 
common bedding material (Mcllroy 
1973), but the other 11 chambers ex- 
amined were unlined. Three of the dead 
wombats were found in the anterior 
chambers, two in the next chambers, 
one 11.8 m in, past two chambers and 
the seventh animal 16.7 m in, at the end 
of the burrow. Each wombat was found 
lying on its chest. 

Rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus, also 
sheltered in the burrows and, in two in- 
stances, had excavated smaller tunnels 
into the wall 0.2 m inside the entrance 
and 16.7 m in, at the end of the burrow. 
No other vertebrates were found in the 
burrows, although Mcliroy (1973) listed 
foxes, Vulpes vulpes, mountain 
possums, Trichosurus caninus, 
echidnas, Tachyglossus aculeatus, and 
bush rats, Rattus fuscipes, as other in- 
habitants of wombat burrows. 


Discussion 

Although there are larger animals in 
the world that dig or shelter in subterra- 
nean holes, such as the aardvark, 
Orycteropus afer, and warthog, 
Phacochoerus aethiopicus, the common 
wombat is still a remarkable animal in 
regard to its burrowing ability. The 
seven burrows we examined, for in- 
stance extended for more than 7-17.9 m, 
involving the excavation of approx- 
imately 0.6-1.8 m* of soil. Mcllroy 
(1973) recorded 197 burrows measuring 
between 0.3-19.5 m in length while 
Troughton (1957) mentions one burrow 


62 


29.5 m in length. The cross-sectional 
area of the entrances to the burrows 
were also quite large (0.17-0.32 m? for 
our 7 burrows, 0.12-0.26 m? for the 197 
measured by Mcllroy 1973). The actual 
tunnels, though, were much smaller 
(0.06-0.12 m?) and just large enough for 
a wombat to move along. (The cross- 
sectional area of an adult wombat, bas- 
ed on the area of a circle, is approx- 
imately 0.04-0.05 m?, excluding the 
legs). The resting chambers, in com- 
parison, were much larger in cross- 
sectional area (0.19-0.28 m?) than the 
tunnels. 

It is clear from the work of Wells 
(1978) that the resting chambers have an 
important role in the thermoregulation 
and activity rhythms of the hairy-nosed 
wombat, Lasjorhinus latifrons. Wells 
did not record air temperatures deep 
within the burrows in his semi-arid study 
area but soil temperatures, measured ap- 
proximately 1 m below the ground sur- 
face and 3 m in from the burrow en- 
trances, remained relatively constant 
throughout the year. In contrast, air 
temperatures within the antechambers 
and just outside the burrow entrances 
fluctuated widely throughout the year, 
with marked daily and seasonal gra- 
dients present. According to Wells, 
when a wombat returns to a burrow 
after a night’s activity, it retreats into 
the depths of the burrow. Later (e.g. the 
next afternoon) it moves up the burrow 
towards the entrance but if it encounters 
unsuitable (e.g. higher) air 
temperatures, it retreats again. If the air 
temperature is not markedly different 
from that in the depth of the burrow, 
such as during a dull day, it rests in a 
chamber within the ‘twilight’ zone, 
about 3 m in from the entrance. It then 
emerges when either light intensity (e.g. 
during winter) or air temperatures (e.g. 
during summer) are suitable for activity. 
This generally occurs after sunset but 
may occur during dull daylight. 

Less is known about the role of the 
resting chambers in the ecology of the 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


common wombat. G. Brown (pers. 
comm. 1980) has found that ambient 
temperatures just within their burrow 
entrances vary widely but after about 4 
m inside a burrow air temperature and 
soil temperature are almost equal. In 
contrast to the hairy-nosed wombat bur- 
rows, he found that soil temperatures 
approximately 1 m below the ground 
surface (and thus probably air 
temperatures deeper inside the burrow) 
varied throughout the year. At Bondo, 
such variation is likely to be from 8- 
20°C. 

Nicholson (1963) believed that the 
common wombat’s movements within 
burrows were directly related to light in- 
tensity. On bright, sunny days he found 
wombats deep down inside the burrows. 
On less bright days they were often 
found closer to the burrow entrance 
while on very dull days they were usually 
present in the half-light, just inside the 
burrows, or sometimes were active 
above ground. Mcllroy (1973) made 
similar observations but believed that air 
temperatures also governed activity 
rhythms. Possibly, as with the hairy- 
nosed wombat, both light intensity and 
air temperature are involved in deter- 
mining emergence and re-entry times for 
the common wombat and the ‘nests’ 
Nicholson (1963) found 1.8-4.9 m inside 
burrows, the 35 chambers Mcllroy 
(1973) located within the first 0.9-7.3 m 
of 33 burrows and the 12 chambers we 
located 1.9-10.3m from the entrances 
represent ‘sensing posts’ where a wom- 
bat can ‘lie-up’ and wait until conditions 
are suitable for above-ground activity. 

Some of the chambers, particularly 
the posterior ones, may also have other 
functions. Nicholson (1963), for exam- 
ple, relates how adult female wombats 
make simple nurseries of bracken fronds 
and bark at the end of tunnels. He also 
described how a wombat entering a 
deserted burrow or one containing a 
dead wombat would dig a new chamber 
about 2.7 m from the old chamber and 
line this with bracken fronds and bark. 


March/April 


Chambers used by females were ap- 
parently always slightly larger and better 
lined than those used by males. Of the 
chambers (or tunnels) examined by 
Nicholson (1963), Mellroy (1973), or 
those reported here, none appeared to 
have been used as ‘sanitary chambers’ 
for deposition of faeces, as occurs with 
some semi-fossorial mammals (e.g. 
rodents). 

Internal division of burrows does not 
appear to be common. Nicholson (1963) 
found one burrow that divided 2.1 m in 
from the entrance into two tunnels 4.4 m 
and 8.2 m long, respectively, while 
Mcllroy (1973) found 12 burrows that 
divided in a similar manner. The reason 
for such divisions is not clear. Nicholson 
(1963) remarked that if a wombat found 
a deserted burrow containing a dead 
wombat it may dig another tunnel. 
Young wombats, while learning to dig, 
also gradually excavate their own small 
tunnels inside their mothers’ burrow, It 
appears then that over many years some 
of these tunnels are excavated further, 
finally linking up with other tunnels, 
either within the same burrow or with 
tunnels from adjacent burrows, to form 
a complex network of inter-connecting 
tunnels and entrances. 

In conclusion, one must be impressed 
by the simplicity of construction but 
sophisticated function of a wombat bur- 
row. In essence it is simply a long tunnel 
dug into the ground that is sufficiently 
large enough for a wombat to move 
along and yet, with its series of resting 
chambers, it provides not only a secure 
haven from predators, bushfires and 
other perils above ground but also a 
means by which individuals can avoid 
problems with thermoregulation and 
emerge when climatic conditions are 
suitable. 


REFERENCES 
Mellroy, J. C. (1973). Aspects of the ecology of the 
common wombat, Vombatus ursinus (Shaw, 


1800). Ph.D, Thesis, Australian National Univer- 
sity. 


63 


Nicholson, P. J. (1963). Wombats. Timbertop Mag. 
8, 32-38. 

Troughton, E. Le G. (1957). ‘‘Furred Animals of 
Australia’’ 6th edit. Angus and Robertson, 
Sydney. 


Wells, R. T. (1978). Thermoregulation and activity 
rhythms in the hairy-nosed wombat, Lasiorhinus 
latifrons (Owen), (Vombatidae). Aust. J. Zool. 
26. 639-51. 


A Key To Some Gasteromycete Genera Commonly Found In 
South-eastern Australia 


Since the publication in 1944 of G. H. 
Cunningham’s Gasteromycetes of 
Australia and New Zealand much work 
has been carried out upon this class of 
the fungi; new genera have been erected 
and new combinations made. The Key 
To Families and Important Genera Of 
The Lycoperdales by D. M. Dring in 
The Fungi 1VB, published in 1973, in- 
corporates many of these modern tax- 
Lycoperdaceae. 


onomic concepts. The following key, 
coupled with the species descriptions in 
Cunningham’s work, should assist in 
the identification of the ‘puffballs’ 
most commonly found in this Botanic 
region. 

The key is confined to the Lycoper- 
daceae and certain monotypic genera 
not yet recorded for this region have 
been omitted. 


Fruit bodies mostly terrestrial, some on wood; exoperidium of one layer, often 
caducous; spore sac dehiscing by apical pore or by attrition from above; capillitium 
septate or not, typically branched, hyaline or tinted; spores mostly globose, brown, 
smooth, spiny or warted, occasionally reticulate. 


I, Exoperidiumfassands case 2 te. «coke peoeterirertes cocosere peers SHE ae aeretccieet > 
1° “Broperiditim: nota sand’ case. 2... > Prieta eek eek GPR bn eth BREA ae 3 
2(1) Spores strongly reticulate; exoperidium dehiscing by falling away from 
GDOVE Hs ee el oa PG dds be ee Py ae ee ee Abstoma 

2(1) Spores not reticulate; exoperidium caducous except for a small basal 
disc; endoperidium tough with definite apical stoma ........ Disciseda 
3¢1)Truecapilhitinmeab und antec e: cy. eateries eat clears nat eho aeineeeenttancee 4 
3(1) True capillitium absent; paracapillitium abundant .................... 9 
4(3) Sterile base absent or virtually so or fibrous ..................... = 
4(3) Sterilé- base: cellular, prominent sxe ee cette sons eae eee ee hia ee 7 
$(4) Apical storia absent 15. siete en oc0ig oa pecss cre aisle Poth oben he een ote eter eee 6 
5(4) Apical-stomeé. present). 17455). «5.0 eee aeean om eds cere eae Bovista 
6(5) Exoperidium and endoperidium falling away ......... Langermannia 

6(5) Endoperidium thick, tough, splitting stellately; capillitium strongly 
SPIO Saal, Behe ared ood ela ieg- gt eS ed in ON Ol Mycenastrum 

74) Stoma presenter Sins aibe eb tase lade att eta opens Pe enn en Re 


7(4) Stoma absent; dehiscence by falling away of upper part of peridium; 
sometimes a tough zone between gleba and sterile base, not a true 
PUA PHP ARIE 6c nci oe cuss gun, Sie bse tik etree ee eed ee ae Calvatia 
8(7) Capillitium free within peridium with well marked main stem, 
(bovistoid) much branched; pseudocolumella poorly 


UevEloped:. Aye sliiger cates doke <ka-sth ee uteetan) pee a eres aes Bovistella* 
8(7) Usually on ground, some on wood; capillitium simple or slightly 
branched; well marked pseudocolumella ............... Lycoperdon 


9(3) Diaphragm present. Peridium falling away from apex; true 
capillitium absent or peripheral only; spores smooth or minutely 
WEPLCG Aral paa ora ae each atta “cas sf ones bie Rt eee tate Vascellum 

9(3) Diaphragm absent. Gregarious on dead wood, highly coloured; true 
capillitium absent; endoperidium falls aways in patches; spores 
globose, -échintilate 2: 2-2 ,-- 2 Saar TB Re ae Morganella 

* Bovistella — not so far recorded in Victoria. 


64 Vic. Nat. Vol, 98 


Glossary 

Diaphragm: strong, smooth, parchment 
like surface to a sterile base 
separating it from the fertile 
gleba. Not to be confused with a 
toughened zone present in some 
specimens. 

Paracapillitium: mostly hyaline hyphae 
occurring in the gleba of some 
Lycoperdales and which readily 
takes up cottonblue from cold 
lactic acid solution, as defined.by 
Kreisel (1942). 


True capillitium: thick walled, 
pigmented, hollow, mostly 
branched hyphae which does not 
readily take up cotton blue from 


cold lactic acid solution. 


REFERENCES 

Cunningham, G, H. (1944) The Gasteromycetes Of 
Australia And New Zealand. 

Dring, D. M. (1973) The Fungi 1VB:463-4 68 

Kreisel, H. & Dring, D.M. (1967) An Emendation 
Of The Genus Morganella. Feddes 
Repertorium pp. 109-122 


G. A. Crichton 


Enigmatic Organic Structures in the Grampians Group 
Sediments 
By J.G. DOUGLAS AND P.R. KENLEY* 


A field inspection of unusual struc- 
tures in the sandstone of Mount 
William, Grampians Ranges was made 
by Dr D. Spencer-Jones, Dr J.G. 
Douglas (Geological Survey of Victoria) 
and Mr T.A. Darragh (National 
Museum of Victoria) in 1972. Later the 
site was revisited separately by the 
writers. This interesting occurrence was 
kindly brought to notice by Mr Peter 
Smith of Canberra. 

At the time of the first visit there was 
a near blizzard on the top of the moun- 
tain and the structures were difficult to 
locate (Fig 1). They proved to be 
siliceous bodies, up to 2 m in length and 
semi oval in cross section, varying in 
width up to 200 mm and depth 100 mm. 
They are straight or slightly curved, ly- 
ing on the bedding planes of gently dipp- 
ing cross bedded sandstone. Nineteen 
specimens whose orientation could be 
determined were found to be aligned in 
the sector NNE-SE. In many cases much 
of the body is exposed (Fig 2) and occa- 
sionally one extremity is completely free 
from the surrounding rock, forming a 
log-like projection. The bases are flat- 
tened and on some specimens there is a 


*Geological Survey of Victoria, 107 Russell Street, 


Melbourne, 3000. Published by permission of Mr 
J.L. Knight, Director of Geological Survey. 


March/April 


regular pattern, particularly evident on 
the upper surface, with thick crescentic, 
semi overlapping scales or tubercles, 1-2 
cm in length. A few show weakly 
developed longitudinal ribbing. 

The uneven and vegetated nature of 
the exposure makes assessment of 
numbers difficult but there are about 50 
specimens in various stages of preserva- 
tion over an area of 2-3 hectares. They 
are widely dispersed but tend to occur in 
clusters of 4-6, distributed through a 
narrow stratigraphic interval. 

Stratigraphically the structures are in 
the lowermost unit of the Red Man 
Bluff Sandstones. They have been com- 
pared with cylindrical concretions from 
several localities west of Apollo Bay in 
the Lower Cretaceous Otway Group 
(Medwell 1977). The Otway Group con- 
cretions have a more evident concre- 
tionary appearance, greater size range 
within the one locality, more consistent 
orientation, and perhaps more im- 
portantly, show no surface ornamenta- 
tion or basal flattening. It is largely 
because of these latter features that we 
regard the Grampians structures as 
fossils, not sedimentary concretions, 
and one of us (JGD) suggests affiliation 
with the Nematophytales, a group in- 
cluding emigmatic fossils many of which 


65 


Mount William Road— 4 
(blocked off) 


Nas 
wit 


Stunted Eucalyptus.” 
and Low Scrub ns, 


Escarpment 


XTowers 
x Cairns 


Structures 


* digorrow Pits 


\>z 


0 1 


| aie seneeieald 


Kilometres 


Fig.1 Mount William, Grampians 
are regarded as brown algae 
(Phaeophyta). Larger log-like bodies 


were described by Dawson (1859) from 
Lower Devonian beds on Gaspe Penin- 
sula, Canada, and called Prototaxites. 
Prototaxites consists of a system of 
tubes of two sizes, but numerous thin 
sections of the Grampians specimens 
failed to reveal a definite internal 
anatomy. 

There can be no question of identifica- 
tion with either present or past trees 
which might have yielded similar 
‘‘logs’’, as the Grampians sediments are 
of Late Silurian or earliest Devonian 
age, (Spencer-Jones 1976), and were laid 
down before the development of large 
land plants. In fact, the well-known 
Baragwanathia flora of central Victoria, 


66 


Fig. 2. Log-like structure, Mount William, Gram- 


pians. Photo: P.R. Kenley 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


containing some of the earliest land 


Medwell, G.J., 1977: Palaeocurrent directions in 
plants, was probably contemporaneous. 


Otway Group sediments, Otway Ranges, 
southwestern Australia. Proc. Roy.Soc. Vict, 89: 
pp 27-50. 

Spencer-Jones, D., 1976; Grampians Group of 


REFERENCES 


Dawson, J.W., 1859: Introductory geological notes. 
in Penhallow, D.P., On Nematophyton and allied 
forms. Trans. Roy.Soc. Canada 6: (4) pp 27-36. 


Western Victoria, in Geology of Victoria, J.G. 
Douglas & J.A. Ferguson, Eds, 
Geol. Soc, Aust.Spec. Pub. 5, 


A New Macropod Species of the Grampians 


By P.R. 


Five species of macropods have been 
listed by Wakefield (1974), Seebeck 
(1976) and Emison er a/. (1978) for the 
Grampians ranges. These are: 

Macropus giganteus (Eastern Grey 
kangaroo) 

M. fuliginosus (Western Grey or 
Mallee kangaroo) 

M. rufogriseus (Red-necked wallaby) 

Petrogale penicillata (Brush-tailed 
Rock Wallaby) 

Potorous tridactylus (Potoroo). 

The Western Grey is usually seen in 
open woodland or grassland flats, par- 
ticularly in the Black Range and Victoria 
Valley area. The dark brown fur usually 
serves to differentiate it from the 
Eastern Grey kangaroo, which may be 
seen with it in these locations. The 
Eastern Grey occurs more widely 
throughout the ranges and foothills, 
together with the Red-necked wallaby. 
The Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby colony 
in the Victoria Range was described by 
Wakefield (1971). The population of 
this wallaby is small and disturbance of 
its environment by visitors and an army 
cadet corps which used a nearby area for 
training, may have endangered it. The 
Potoroo too has a limited distribution 
— Pomonal area — and its status may 
also be uncertain since part of its known 
range is on free-hold land subject to 
alienation. 


*P.O. Box 180 
Hamilton, Vic. 


March/April 


BIRD* 


Sub-fossil evidence reveals that the 
following species were also once present 
in western Victoria (Wakefield 1974; 
LCC (1978) report): 

Bettongia gaimardi (Southern bet- 
tong) 

B. penicillata (Woylie) 

B. lesueur (Boodie) 

Macropus greyi* (Toolache wallaby) 

Lagorchestes leporoides* (Brown hare 
wallaby) 


Thylogale billardierii (Red-bellied 
wallaby) 

Aepyprymnus rufescens (Rufous rat 
kangaroo) 

Onychogalea unguifera (Northern 
nail-tailed wallaby) 

O. fraenata (Bridle nail-tailed 


wallaby) 

Megaleia rufa (Red kangaroo) 

Wallabia bicolor (Swamp or Black 
wallaby) 

(* believed to be extinct). 

The Southern bettong once occurred 
in the Grampians (Wakefield 1974) 
whilst the sub-fossils of this species and 
the others variously occurred in the 
Lower Glenelg, Tower Hill, Byaduk 
Caves and Mt. Hamilton deposits and at 
Koroit beach. Wakefield (1974) ac- 
counts for the presence of these species 
by association with changes in the 
climate. Wet-forest species such as the 
Swamp wallaby were prominent in 
Lower Glenelg deposits in Pleistocene 
sediments c. 15,000 years BP and again 
in the late Holocene epoch. Semi-desert 


67 


forms such as the Red Kangaroo, 
Boodie and Bridled wallaby appear in 
the early Holocene epoch c. 8,000 years 
BP, and more recently (2000 — 3000 
years BP) in Koroit beach aboriginal 
middens (LCC report). Did some or all 
of these species also occur in the Gram- 
pians? 

The Swamp Wallaby was present in 
the Lower Glenelg area at least into the 
early 1900’s, according to recollections 
of an early Portland farming family 
(A.C. Beauglehole, pers. comm.). The 
present most western occurrence given 
by Wakefield (1974) is the Otways, ex- 
tending to the Port Campbell National 
Park. There is no evidence that it still 
occurs in the Lower Glenelg National 
Park (A. Arnold, National Parks Ser- 
vice, pers. comm.). 


The presence of the Swamp Wallaby 
in the Grampians was established in 
March 1979. Mr Don Macarthur, a 
farmer whose property at Mirranatwa 
adjoins State Forest in the Serra Range, 
captured a small wallaby amidst 
tussocks. The distinctive grey, black and 
reddish brown pelage signified to Mr 
Macarthur that this was not the com- 
mon red-necked wallaby. He gave the 
animal to Mrs Susan McInnes of Vic- 
toria Valley but, despite treatment, it 
soon died. Subsequently the wallaby 
came into my possession and I lodged 
the specimen with the National Museum 
of Victoria. Confirmation of identity 
was obtained from the curator of mam- 


mals, Miss Joan Dixon. Other in- 
dividuals of the species have subsequent- 
ly been seen in the Mirranatwa Gap area 
on both east and west slopes of the Serra 
range. The extent of distribution of the 
species in the Grampians is unknown 
although there appear to be similar 
habitat areas (thickets of  tea-tree, 
melaleuca and heath) elsewhere on lower 
slopes of the ranges. 


Wakefield (1974) considered that of 
the sub-fossil species, only the Bettong 
was present in western Victoria at the 
time of European settlement. The 
Rufous rat kangaroo was regarded in 
the LCC report as having been present. 
Perhaps, in the light of the discovery of 
the Swamp Wallaby in the Grampians, 
one should not rule out the possibility of 
the survival of one of these smaller 
species too. 


REFERENCES 


Emison, W.B., Porter, J.W., Norris, K.C, and 
Apps, G.S. (1978). ‘‘Survey of the vertebrate 
fauna in the Grampians-Edenhope area of south 
western Victoria.’’. Mem. Nat. Mus. Vic. 39, 
281-363. 

Land Conservation Council of Victoria (1978). 
Report on south western area District 2, pp. 123- 
126. 

Seebeck, J.H. (1976). ‘‘Mammals of the Pomonal 
area, the Grampians’’. Victorian Nat. 93, 
138-147. 

Wakefield, N.A. (1971). ‘‘The Brush-tailed Rock 
Wallaby (Petrogale penicillata) in western Vic- 
toria’’. Victorian Nat. 88, 92-102. 

Wakefield, N.A. (1974). ‘‘Mammals of western Vic- 
toria’’. p.35 in: Proc. Symp. the Natural History 
of Western Victoria (eds. M.H. Douglas and L. 
O’Brien — Aust. Inst. Agric. Sci.). 


Australian Natural History Medallion Fund 


Amount on hand 
Mr Graeme Love 


Total 


December 1980 
(Third Donation) 


February 1981 


$1543.50 
10.00 


$1553.50 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


A Short History of the Discovery and Naming of 
Banksias in Eastern Australia 
Part I Banks & Solander 


By A.I. SALKIN* 


It is now nearly 300 years since Euro- 
peans first collected plants in Australia. 
During that long period, collectors from 
practically all European countries col- 
lected and named material and stored it 
in public and private herbariums. One 
of the problems created for Australian 
taxonomists was the diversity of the 
botanists who named plants and the 
location of material used as type 
specimens. This series of articles at- 
tempts to give some sort of perspective 
to this problem. It does this by looking 
at one genus Banksia and traces the slow 
collection of species in eastern Australia 
and tries to make some sense of what is 
still a confused picture. 

The landing of Captain James Cook 
on the eastern seaboard of New Holland 
marks what most observers regard as the 
beginning of scientific botany in 
Australia. It also marks the beginning of 
study into an unusual and attractive 
genus in the family Proteaceae, the 
genus Banksia. 

Cook and in particular the ‘‘scientific 
gentlemen’’ Banks and Solander were, 
however, not the first men to make 
scientific collections in Australia; 
seventy-one years earlier in 1699 
William Dampier had made two small 
but important collections in the vicinity 
of Shark Bay (Mueller, 1883; Osborne & 
Gardner, 1939; George, 1971) and a 
Dutch navigator possibly Willem de 
Vlaming (Brown, 1814) had collected in 
the region of the Swan River in 1697, 
two years before Dampier. 

Whilst no Banksia species are known 
to have been collected on these early 


*Science Departinent, 
Brentwood High School, 
Heath St. Glen Waverley, 3150. 


March/April 


visits, the occasions are worth recalling 
because they epitomise aspects of early 
botanical collections that create pro- 
blems for later botanists. In the case of 
Dampier the collection as far as we 
know was not described even though it 
was the first known authentic collection, 
and as the localities and dates of collec- 
tion are not given it is difficult even to 
speculate at which of his landing points 
the collections were made. 

The second known collection has even 
more problems associated with it than 
the first. In the herbarium of the Geneva 
Botanic Gardens are two specimens that 
could only have come from Western 
Australia. They bear the locality Java 
and were described by the Dutch 
botanist Burmann in 1768 as ferns but 
are the leaves and stems of Acacia trun- 
cata (Burm.f.) Hort. ex Hoffmsg, and 
Synaphea petiolaris (Burm.f.) Merrill. 
Robert Brown in his report on the 
botany of New Holland, (Brown, 1814) 
was aware of this discrepancy and com- 
mented: 

“The genus Synaphea seems to be 
confined to the south west coast of New 
Holland for it is more likely that 
Polypodium spinulosum of Burmannus 
(flor. ind. 233 t 67.f.1.) which I have 
formerly referred to this genus as well as 
Adiantum truncatum of the same author 
long since determined to be a species of 
Acacia by Mr Dryander were brought 
from that coast to Batavia by one of the 
Dutch navigators, perhaps Vlaming, 
than that they are really natives of Java, 
from which Burmannus received them.”’ 

The scientific collections of Banks 
and Solander were of an entirely dif- 
ferent order than the two known earlier 
collections; they are not only much more 
extensive but they also established the 


69 


methodology for collecting, drying and 
labelling specimens. Whilst fault may be 
found with the zoological specimens 
(Whitehead, 1969) the meticulous order 
of the botanical specimens enables later 
work to be done with confidence. Whilst 
only locations are given on specimen 
slips, these in conjunction with the jour- 
nals kept by Cook, Banks and Solander 
(Beauglehole, 1955, 1963; Solander, 
1770), as well as the ship’s log enable us 
to give fairly accurate locations and 
dates for any of the 600 species collected 
in Australia, and more important, it 
allows us to correct species determina- 
tion if a species is known not to grow at 
a particular locality. 

On April the 30th, 1770, Cook landed 
on the Australian continent for the first 
time at a place he first called Stingray 
Harbour (then Botanists Bay, and final- 
ly Botany Bay) (Wharton, 1893, 
Beauglehole, 1955). The scientific 
gentlemen collected one hundred and 
sixty one species of plants and there is 
evidence from manuscripts that they 
may also have collected a further eleven 
species. A recent vegetation survey 
(McKern, 1965) of the landing area lists 
only twelve species not collected or men- 
tioned by Banks and Solander. Many 
duplicates of each species were col- 
lected. In the case of Banksia in- 
tegrifolia for instance there are fifty five 
known duplicates (McGillivray personal 
communication). It is little wonder then 
that Cook remarked in his log: 

“The great quantity of plants Mr 
Banks and Dr Solander found in this 
place occasioned my giving it the name 
of Botany Bay." 

At this site, four Banksia species were 
collected. These were what we now 
know as B. serrata, (the lectotype for the 
genus), B. integrifolia, B. ericifolia, and 
B. robur, A further species was collected 
when the ship was careened in the 
Endeavour River after being holed on 
the Great Barrier Reef; this was the only 
tropical species, B. dentata. Solander in 
his manuscript (Solander, 1770) regard- 


70 


ed this as the same broad leaved species 
collected at Botany Bay which we now 
know could only have been B. robur. 
The National Herbarium of Victoria has 
many of the duplicates of the Banks and 
Solander collection and among these is 
one labelled B. dentata, the collection 
site is given as Stingray Bay, the 
previous name for Botany Bay. If the 
collection site label is correct, the 
specimen cannot be B. dentata and can 
only be B, robur. It is somewhat dif- 
ficult from the material and from its 
condition to distinguish it from B. den- 
tata and as the phytoglyphs xx of the 
two species are similar, this is also no 
help even if material could be obtained 
for analysis. There is, however, the 
suspicion that this is the species collected 
at Botany Bay that Solander assumed 
was the same as the species collected at 
the Endeavour River. 

The ship reached England in July 
1771 and the ambitious plans for what at 
that time was one of the greatest scien- 
tific collections did not come to fruition, 
There are many reasons for this. There 
is the involvement of Banks in other ac- 
tivities but the most plausible reason is 
that most botanists were daunted by the 
magnitude of even giving names to the 
vast quantity of material brought back. 
Sir Edward James Smith in his “A 
Specimen of the Botany of New 
Holland”’ (1793) gives some insight of 
the task facing botanists of his day. 

“When a botanist enters on the in- 
vestigation of so remote a country as 
New Holland, he finds himself as it were 
in a new world. He can scarcely meet 
with any certain fixed points from 
whence to draw his analogies; and even 
those that appear most promising, are 
frequently in danger of misleading, in- 
stead of informing him. Whole tribes of 
plants, which at first sight seem familiar 
to his acquaintance as occupying links in 
Nature’s chain, on which he has been ac- 
customed to depend prove on nearer ex- 
amination, total stranger, with other 
configurations, economy, and qualities. 


Vic, Nat. Vol. 98 


Not only are all the species that present 
themselves new, but most of the genera, 
and even natural orders.’’ 

The collection came to be known as 
Banks cabinet, (Stafleau, 1966) and was 
added to by collectors whom Banks 
employed. It was on Cook’s third and 
fatal voyage of exploration that a fur- 
ther Banksia species was added to the 
collection. This was collected by David 
Nelson at Adventure Bay, South Bruny 
Island, Tasmania in 1776 and is the 
species we now know as B, marginata. 

It was not until 1781 that any of the 
six Banksia spp. so far collected were 
described and then only four of the six 
in Banks’ herbarium were described. 
The description was published in a sup- 
plement to Linnaeus’s ‘‘Genera Plan- 
tarum’’ in 1781, not by Linnaeus who 
had died in 1778, but by his son Carl von 
Linne. The Spanish botanist Antonia 
Jose Cavanilles in the ‘‘Anales de 
Historia Natural’’, (Cavanilles, 1800) 
relates how initially the German botanist 
Forster, who was Banks’ collector on 
Cook’s second voyage, named a number 
of species from New Zealand, Banksia, 
after Banks. Carl von Linne thought 
these were not a new genera but 
members of the genus Passerina. He 
therefore used the name Banksia for the 
four species from Australia. The species 
from New Zealand were however 
members of a new genus and their re- 
discoverer, Gaertner, in order to avoid 
confusion, named them Pimelia. 


xx phytoglyphs are preparations made from leaf 


cuticle and are often specific for a Linnean species 
and sometimes even show variation at the sub 
species level. 


REFERENCES 


Beauglehole, J.C. (ed.) 1955-69. The Journals of 
Captain James Cook on his Voyages of 
Discovery. Hakluyt Society, Cambridge. 

Beauglehole, J.C. (ed.) 1963, The Endeavour Jour- 
nal of Joseph Banks. Vol.2. Angus and Robert- 
son. Cambridge 

Brown, R. 1814. Botany of Terra Australis. In M. 
Flinders. Voyage to Terra Australis Vol, 2 Nicol. 
London, 

Cavanilles, A.J. 1800, Observations on the Soil, 
natives and plants of Port Jackson and Botany 
Bay. Anales De Hist. Nat. 3. 181-245. Trans. R.J. 
Dorr. 

George, A.S. 1971. The plants seen and collected in 
North-Western Australia by William Dampier 
W.Aust. Nat, 11,8. 173-8 

Linne, Carl von (Linnaeus Filius) 1781. Supplemen- 
tum Plantarum 

McKearn, J.G. 1965 Vegetation survey prepared for 
Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney. Distributed by 
N.S.W. Nat. Parks and Wildlife Service. 

Mueller, F. 1883. The Plants Indigenous Around 
Shark Bay and its Vicinity. Parlt. Paper No. 26 
Government Printer: Perth. 

Osborne, T. G. B,, and Gardner, C. A. 1939 Dam- 
pier’s Australian Plants. Proc, Linn. Soc. Lon- 
don session 151, Pr 2: 44-50 

Smith, J. E. 1793-5 A specimen of The Botany New 
Holland. Sowerby: London. 

Solander, D. C. 1770. Unpublished notes and 
descriptions, now in The Department of Botany 
British Museum (Natural History), London, 

Stafleau, F.A. 1966, Introduction to the facsimile 
edition of Novae Hollandiae plantarum specimen 
(la Billardiere 1804 Historia Naturalis Classica, 
Weinberg. 

Wharton, W. J. L. (ed.) 1893 Captain Cook’s Jour- 
nal During his First Voyable Round the World 
Made in H.M. Bark Endeavour 1768-71. Elliot 
Stock: London. 

Whitehead, P.W.P. 1969. Zoological Specimens 
from Captain Cook’s Voyages. J. Soc. Biblphy. 
Nat. Hist. 5:3, 161-201. 


New Book 
**Flowers and Plants of Victoria and Tasmania’’ 
G. R. Cochrane, B, A. Fehrer, E. R. Rotherham 
John and Marion Simmons, J. H. Willis 
176 pages, 653 Color Plates, Index for Victoria. Index for Tasmania 
Price $23.95 (Discount to members) Postage $1.00 50km, $1.40 Vic. 
Order from Sales Officer F.N.C.V. 


March/April 


71 


Mammals and Birds in Part 
of the Cobaw State Forest, Victoria 


By M.W. Boyce*, K.A. BOUNDY* and D.D. HANSON* 


Study area 

The Cobaw State Forest (See Figure 1) 
is 2,440 ha of open forest II (sensu 
Specht 1970) situated in the Cobaw 
Range which forms part of the huge 
granitic outcrop known as the Cobaw 
batholith extending from Kyneton to 
Pyalong. Soil is friable red gradational. 

The study area, approximately 13 km 
from Lancefield and at an altitude of 
675 m, comprises 2.5 ha in the northern 
section of the Forest. The area was last 
burned by the Forests Commission in 
1970. Much of the area is littered with 
fallen trees, a legacy of logging and 
storm damage. Granite boulders and 
outcrops are scattered throughout the 
area and these, together with the fallen 
trees, provide potential cover for small 
ground dwelling mammals. Average an- 
nual rainfall is 750 mm. The area was 
chosen as it represents the vegetation 
type of the Forest. 

The canopy is comprised of Messmate 
(Eucalyptus obliqua) and Manna Gum 
(£. viminalis). Selective felling of 
mature trees occurred up to 1972. The 
burned out remains of some large 
Messmates exist, two of which have a 
circumference of 8 m at breast height in- 
dicating that the area once had some 
very large trees, although now the oldest 
trees are mainly 15 m high. 

The understorey is sparse consisting 
almost entirely of Silver Wattle (Acacia 
dealbata), the majority of which are thin 
and straggly with only a small number 
reaching a height of 2.5 m. 

The ground layer ranges from sparse 
to areas where there is a dense mixture 
of grasses and sedges or dense patches of 
* Toorak State College, 


P.O. Box 224, 
Malvern Vic, 3144 


72 


COBAW STATE PYALON 
Pee A “ 
: ‘ \ 
KYNETON a) \ 
\ [LANCERIELD 
i \ 
| ] 
\ ] 
| | 
\ 
© \@MELBOURNE 
a 
ny \ 
a aN j 
me f / 
w 
3 N 
—ee 
5 Sy. =. ete 
r ae one 
i. ~ — 
- Wwe 


Fig. 1. Location of Cobaw State Forest 


Austral Bracken (Pteridium 
esculentum). Common species among 
the ground layer include Greenhood or- 
chids (Pterostylis spp), Pink fingers 
(Calendenia carnea), Common. bird- 
orchid (Chiloglottis gunni), Clematis 
(Clematis aristata), Bidgee-widgee 
(Acaena_ anserinifolia), Ivy  flat-pea 
(Platylobium  triangulare), Cut-leaf 
cranesbill (Geranium solanderi), Ivy- 
leaf violet (Viola hederacea), Purple 
violet (V. betonicifolia), Prickly 
woodruff (Asperula scoparia), and 
Austral bears-ear (Cymbanotus 
preissianus). 


Methods 

Field work took place during a six 
week period of October and November 
1980. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Trapping, spotlighting, observation 
by day and interpretation of skeletal 
materials, tracks, scratchings and faeces 
were the methods by which animal 
presence was noted. However, only 
species actually captured or positively 
sighted are included in the results sec- 
tion. 

One hundred trap sites were establish- 
ed on a 500 x 500 m grid using a 50 m 
grid interval. Trapping took place on 
three consecutive nights for each of 
three consecutive weeks (900 trap 
nights). Wire cage traps (36cm x 20cm x 
16cm), baited with a mixture of honey, 
rolled oats and peanut butter, were set 
out each afternoon and checked early 
the next morning. 

Spotlighting was undertaken between 
dusk and 2230 hours using a 12 volt seal- 
ed beam spotlight and battery. Mam- 
mals sighted were recorded together 
with location and, in the case of ar- 
boreal animals, the species of tree in 
which they were observed. Although it 
was not possible to cover the whole area 
by spotlighting, enough residual timber 
tracks and animal pads existed to allow 
a significant proportion of the area to be 
surveyed. Rain and heavy winds limited 
spotlighting to five hours. 

Whilst working in the study area birds 
were observed with the aid of Pentax 8 x 
40 binoculars. Calls were used to deter- 
mine presence of some species but only 
those actually sighted in, or flying 
above, the study area were recorded. 


Results 

Ten species of mammals were record- 
ed and are listed in Table 1. Table 2 lists 
the birds observed with those most com- 
monly recorded asterisked. Bats were 
seen by spotlight but none were captured 
or positively identified. 


Discussion 

The diversity of the mammal com- 
munity found was low but might have 
been higher if the area had been sampled 
over a longer period of time. Other 


March/April 


species that have been recorded in the 
Forest are the Feathertail Glider 
(Acrobates pygmaeus) and the Tuan 
(Phascogale tapoatafa), (Mammal 
Survey Group of Victoria, pers. 
comm.). Scratchings and faecal evidence 
strongly suggest the presence of Echidna 
(Tachyglossus aculeatus) or Bandicoots. 

There was little blossom available for 
birds during the period of the survey. 
However, there was an abundance of in- 
sect life which probably explains why 
most birds observed were insectivorous. 


TABLE 1 
Mammals recorded in the study area 


Species 
Number 
Recorded 


Rate per * 
100 trap nights 
100 spotlight hours 


A. Trapped 
Trichosurus vulpecula 4 
Pseudocheirus perigrinus i 
Antechinus stuartii 48 
Rattus rattus 9 
Felis catus I 


CS 
-Hourk 


B. Spotlighted 
Macropus giganteus 
Pseudocheirus perigrinus 
Petaurus breviceps 
Phascolarctos cinereus 


s 


C. Sighted 
Macropus giganteus 
Wallabia bicolor 
Phascolarctos cinereus 
Oryctolagus cuniculus 


—-NwWS 


* 900 Trap Nights 
5 Spotlight Hours 


TABLE 2 
List of birds seen in the study area 
Brown goshawk 

Accipiter fasciatus (Vig. and Horsf.) 
Wedge-tailed eagle Aquila audax (Latham) 
Sulpher-crested cockatoo Cacatua galerita (Latham) 
Crimson rosella Platycereus elegans (Gmelin) 
Golden bronze cuckoo 

Chrysococcyx lucidus (Gmelin) 

Boobook owl Nivox novae-seelandiae (Gmelin) 
Kookaburra Dacelo gigas (Boddaert) 
Sacred kingfisher Halcyon sancta (Vig. and Horsf.) 
Superb blue wren Malurus cyaneus (Latham) 


73 


White-browed scrub wren 
Sericornis frontalis (Vig. and Horsf.) 
Brown thornbill* Acanthiza pusilla (White) 
Yellow-tailed thornbill 
Acanthiza chrysorrhoa (Quoy and Gaim) 
Grey fantail* Rhipidura fuliginosa (Sparrman) 
Eastern yellow robin* Eopsaltria australis (White) 
Scarlet robin* Petroica multicolor (Gmelin) 
Rufous whistler Pachycephala rufiventris (Latham) 
Golden whistler* Pachycephala pectoralis (Latham) 
Grey shrike-thrush * 
Colluricincla harmonica (Latham) 
White-throated treecreeper* 
Climacteris leucophaea (Latham) 
Red-browed treecreeper 
Climacteris erythrops (Gould) 
Spotted pardalote* 
Pardalotus punctatus (Shaw and Nodder) 
Yellow-faced honeyeater 
Meliphaga chrysops (Latham) 
White-eared honeyeater 
Meliphaga leucotis (Latham) 
White-throated honeyeater 
Melithreptus albogularis (Gould) 
White-naped honeyeater* 
Melithreptus lunatus (Vieillot) 
Australian magpie 
Gymnorhina tibicen hypoleuca (Latham) 


Grey currawong Strepera versicolor (Latham) 


Australian raven 
Corous coronoides (Vig. and Horsf.) 
Little raven 
Corous mellori (Mathews) 


Acknowledgements 

This report is based on part of a study 
carried out with support from a research 
grant from Toorak State College. 

The assistance of Mr Ivan Franklin 
from the Forests Commission of Vic- 
toria, Macedon Office is gratefully 
acknowledged. 

Protected species of mammals were 
handled under the provision of a permit 
issued by the Fisheries and Wildlife 
Division, Ministry for Conservation. 


REFERENCE 


Specht, R. L. (1970) Vegetation. In Leeper, G. W. 
(ed.), The Australian Environment. C.S.1.R.O., 
Melbourne. 


A Note to Prospective Authors 


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74 


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Reviews of books may also be sent to the 
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Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


N.T. Burbidge Memorial Lecture 


The Burbidge Memorial Lecture was instituted by the Australian Systematic 
Botany Association in honour of Nancy Tyson Burbidge, for many years curator 
Herbarium Australiense and at the time of her death Director Flora of Australia 
project. Throughout her long and distinguished career she promoted an interest in 
Natural History and published non-technical books on eucalypts, wattles and 
grasses. Amongst her technical writings was a note on Ixodia published in the 
Victorian Naturalist (75: 95-6, 1958). 

The following address was the second to be delivered and was presented at a 
meeting of the Australian Systematic Botany Association held in conjunction with 
ANZAAS in May 1980. 


Seedlings and the Australian Flora 
By H.T. CLIFFORD* 


It is a high honour to be invited to dicotyledons largely because they 


deliver this memorial address and it is 
with a sense of humility that I do so for 
we have met to honour the memory of a 
distinguished and versatile colleague. 
Nancy Burbidge was a botanist in the 
widest sense and published important 
papers in plant ecology, geography and 
taxonomy. In addition, she produced 
several basic bibliographic treatises and 
wrote or contributed to a number of ex- 
pository floras and handbooks. 

This evening’s address is concerned 
with seedlings. For those of you who 
may think them dull I can only say that I 
share the opinion of Topp (1890) who 
claimed in his Presidential address to the 
Victorian Naturalists, they were ‘‘a most 
interesting and suggestive subject’’. In 
discussing the seedlings of Australian 
plants I believe I am touching upon a 
relatively neglected area of study, 
though one with a long history. 
However, since seedlings can usually be 
studied with relatively little equipment 
or funds they may well prove to be more 
popular in the immediate future than in 
the past. The discussion will be 
restricted to the seedlings of 
*Department of Botany 


University of Queensland 
St Lucia, Qld. 4067 


March/April 


display a bewildering array of diversity 
as compared with those of the mono- 
cotyledons. 

The raising of seedlings can be a 
pleasurable occupation but is at times 
frustrating for so many species require 
somewhat specialized conditions to ger- 
minate successfully. In addition there 
are innumerable hazards to which the 
seeds and seedlings may fall victim. 
These have been admirably summarized 
as follows, with reference to seedling 
Eucalypts. 

*‘One reason why these records are in- 
complete is that during a generation 
seedlings have disappeared at various 
stages through accident, climatic 
changes, attacks by insects and animals, 
and the various happenings of a 
nursery’ (Maiden, 1933). 

A problem I failed to anticipate was 
that of seedlings being crushed by cane- 
toads squatting in pots! 

Of the many aspects of plant science 
to which a knowledge of seedlings may 
contribute, only five will be considered. 
The choice is quite idiosyncratic and 
reflects my own interests in the subject 
over the past 30 or so years. 

Where references are cited they are 
generally the oldest of which I am aware 


75 


in order to stress the works of earlier 
botanists in this, a Memorial Lecture. 


(a) Taxonomy 

One of the earliest applications of 
seedling data to the classification of 
Australian plants was apparently due to 
De Candolle (1828) who divided the 
genus Eucalyptus into two sections on 
the basis of their possession or otherwise 
of alternate leaves. In reaching this deci- 
sion he was probably influenced by the 
descriptions of new species which at that 
time were often based upon immature 
specimens grown in pots (Maiden, 
1902). 

Though in this instance the role of 
seedling characters may have been 
misinterpreted their value in con- 
tributing to the taxonomy of Eucalyptus 
was later re-affirmed by Mueller who in 
his account of E&. cornuta in the 
Eucalyptographica wrote, ‘‘The study 
of Eucalypts in their earliest stages of 
growth for aiding in their specific 
discrimination is important, as shown in 
the text and lithograms of several species 
in the present work’’, (Mueller, 1883). 

In a like vein Bailey supported the 
raising of seedlings for the elucidation 
of relationships amongst taxonomically 
difficult groups. Thus in discussing 
Smilax australis R.Br. he said, ‘‘There 
are doubtless several forms or species 
amongst the specimens generally regard- 
ed as S. australis R.Br., but these cannot 
be described until they are brought 
under cultivation and the plants studied 
at all stages of their development’’, 
(Bailey, 1902). 

Yet another plea for the incorporation 
of seedling data into taxonomic studies 
is found in a revision of some 
Angophora species where it is stated, 
“‘An investigation of the seedlings, not 
merely increases our knowledge of 
plants, but it puts in our hands frequent- 
ly a means of differentiating species and 
varieties that is likely to be of very great 
value. This is affected both by the in- 
formation gained from the form of 


76 


cotyledon leaves, and also that of the 
primary or juvenile leaves, which so fre- 
quently differ from those of the mature 
plant”’ (Hall, 1913), 

Notwithstanding the usefulness of 
their advice these earlier writers have 
been largely ignored and relatively few 
modern taxonomic revisions make any 
reference to seedlings. 

The taxonomic significance of the 
seedling derives principally from its 
morphology and all its parts contribute 
information. Readily observable 
characters are the numbers, size and 
shape of the cotyledons as well as the 
form of the earliest leaves. With respect 
to the cotyledon number it was early 
reported that the seedlings of Nuytsia 
possessed several cotyledons (Drum- 
mond, 1839) and it is probable that 
Brown (1810) even earlier observed a 
plurality of cotyledons in Persoonia 
seedlings. Later records of genera with 
mainly polycotyledonous seedlings in- 
clude Pittosporum (Galbraith, 1947) 
and /diospermum (Blake, 1972). 

Whilst tricotyledonous individuals oc- 
cur infrequently amongst the seedlings 
of most species of dicotyledons they oc- 
cur with relatively high frequencies 
amongst the progeny of Melaleuca quin- 
quenervia (3-4%) and Aegiceras cor- 
niculatus (5-10%). 

Amongst the dicotyledons cotyledon 
shape and size is quite diverse. In some 
families such as the Bignoniaceae the 
cotyledons of the different species are 
remarkably similar, in other families in- 
cluding the Proteaceae the cotyledons of 
the different species assume a wide 
range of shapes and sizes. The tax- 
onomic significance of the cotyledons 
varies from group to group but clearly 
cannot be ignored. 


(b) Genetics 

Segregation amongst the seedlings 
raised from individual plants is often ac- 
cepted as an indication that they are of 
hybrid origin. The segregation may be 
extensive as has often been shown for 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


suspected Eucalyptus hybrids 
(McAulay, 1938; Brett, 1938), or it may 
involve the production of only two 
seedling types. 

An example of the latter situation was 
reported by Hall (1910) for the genus 
Acacia. Here seed was collected from a 
cultivated tree of A. baileyana which 
was growing near to A. decurrens. Both 
trees had been in flower at the same 
season. On raising seedlings it was 
found that about 20% were hybrids, as 
judged from their morphology, the re- 
mainder resembling those of the seed 
parent. 

In a like manner the progeny of wild 

plants of Banksia oblongifolia growing 
in south-east Queensland are often of 
two kinds. In some years, up to 6% of 
the seedlings raised differ from those 
typical of the species and grow into 
plants intermediate in morphology be- 
tween B. oblongifolia and B. robur. 
Such intermediate morphology suggests 
the aberrant plants are Fi hybrids and 
their frequencies provide an estimate of 
the amount of pollen transfer between 
the parent species. 
In contrast to segregation amongst sibl- 
ings extreme uniformity of seedlings 
from a single plant is suggestive of 
apomictic reproduction. Another in- 
dication of apomixis is the occurrence of 
polyembryony, a phenomenon which is 
readily detected when the number of 
seedlings to emerge is in excess of the 
number of seeds sown. Apomixis is 
widespread in the Australian flora and 
polyembryony has been reported to oc- 
cur in several genera including Cassia 
(Symon, 1956) and Casuarina (Barlow, 
1958). 


(c) Morphology 

The evolutionary and hence tax- 
onomic significance of the morphology 
of juvenile foliage as a reflector of 
phylogenetic relationships is widely ac- 
cepted. In support of this viewpoint the 
seedlings of phyllode bearing Acacia 
spp. are generally, cited for their initial 


March/April 


leaves are pinnate or bipinnate. Similar- 
ly the entire-leaved species of Dodonaea 
have seedlings with deeply dissected 


leaves such as are commonly en- 
countered amongst members of the 
Sapindaceae. 


As both Acacia and Dodonaea are 
widely distributed genera with many 
species growing in dry to semi-arid en- 
vironments their joint possession of a 
seedling type whose first leaves are 
dissected and later leaves are entire is an 
interesting example of evolutionary con- 
vergence. 

The widespread occurrence of 
heteroblasty in the Australian flora sug- 
gests the subject is of ecological and tax- 
onomic significance. This viewpoint was 
appreciated by Diels (1906) who drew 
heavily on Australian examples to il- 
lustrate his book on juvenility and floral 
maturity in the plant kingdom. 

Furthermore, the experimental mor- 
phologists have long used phyllodineous 
Acacia spp. to investigate the influence 
of the environment on the transition 
from normal leaves to phyllodes. Thus 
Goebel (1905) wrote ‘‘It is easy to see the 
formation of phyllodes is no longer 
under the direct influence of outer con- 
ditions for the seedling plants of Acacia 
which I examined formed phyllodes 
even though they were cultivated in a 
very moist chamber.’’ As this quote is 
from an English edition of an earlier 
published German text the experiments 
must have taken place before the turn of 
the century. 


(d) Germination 

Amongst the dicotyledons there are 
two basic types of seedling development. 
With one, the cotyledons remain within 
(cryptocotylar) and with the other the 
cotyledons are withdrawn 
(phanerocotylar) from the testa. As a 
rule cryptocotylous seedlings exhibit 
hypogeal germination and 
phanerocotylous seedlings epigeal but 
there are exceptions in that some species 
e.g. Alyxia ruscifolia have seedlings in 


7 


which the cotyledons are raised above 
the ground and are hence epigeal but 
none-the-less remain enclosed in the 
testa and so are cryptocotylar. 

It is generally agreed that epigeal 
(mostly phanerocotylar) germination is 
primitive in dicotyledons (Eames, 1961) 
and that the hypogeal (mostly cryp- 
tocotylar) condition is advanced. The 
basis of this opinion is rarely argued and 
presumably rests on the widespread oc- 
currence of phanerocotyly amongst 
dicotyledons. Examination of a sample 
of several hundred species belonging 
about two hundred Australian genera 
has shown that germination behaviour is 
far from randomly distributed within 
the docotyledons. 

If the genera are grouped into the 
superorders of Dahlgren (1975) only 12 
of the 22 for which data are available 
have cryptocotylar seedlings. Amongst 
these the condition is relatively common 
only in the Magnolianae, Nym- 
phaeanae, Theanae and 
Hamamelidanae taxa. And so, on the 
basis of its taxonomic distribution cryp- 
tocotyly would appear to be a primitive 


rather than an advanced trait in 
dicotyledons. 
In addition to its phylogenetic 


significance the mode of germination 
may also be of taxonomic importance. 
For example, in the genus Drosera both 
phanerocotylar and cryptocotylar 
species occur. From the few Australian 
species studied it would appear the two 
sections of the genus are characterized 
by different germination patterns. 
Members of the sect. Rorella (D. binata) 
have phanerocotylar and members of 
the sect. Ergaleium (D. peltata and D. 
auriculata) have cryptocotylar germina- 
tion (Vickery, 1933). 


(e) Ecology 

For the ecologist, seedlings are often a 
source of embarrassment in that though 
they are often present in study areas 
their identities are usually unknown. 
With current ecological interests turning 


78 


more and more to vegetation dynamics 
it is probable that special keys to seedl- 
ings will be required. Fortunately, there 
are a multitude of characters available 
and such keys are not difficult to con- 
struct. 

The ecological significance of the 
cotyledons was appreciated long ago for 
Acacia seedlings by Cambage (1915) 
who noted, ‘‘The cotyledons of A. 
stenophylla, Bidwilli and Farnesiana are 
fairly fleshy while those of A. pendula 
and A. aneura are slightly less so. The 
significance of the geographical 
distribution of the fleshy cotyledons will 
be discussed in a later paper after more 
evidence becomes available, but this 
form appears to be one which is able to 
exist in areas where the climate is 
subarid, or where the rainfall is confined 
mainly to one season of the year.’’ Un- 
fortunately, the promised paper was ap- 
parently never published. 

As distinct from its morphological im- 
portance, germination pattern is also of 
ecological significance as has been 
shown by Jackson (1974) in his study of 
regeneration in African savannahs. He 
postulated that cryptogeal (plumule car- 
ried below ground by elongating petioles 
of cotyledons) germination was an adap- 
tation to fire. About Brisbane no cryp- 
togeal species have been encountered 
but dicotyledonous species with cryp- 
tocotylar germination occur in much 
greater proportion in rainforest than in 
Eucalyptus-forest communities so pro- 
tection of the plumule is in this instance 
not against fire. 

The selection force favouring cryp- 
tocotylar germination in rainforests is 
apparently grazing and for all species 
tested with cryptocotylar germination 
the experimental removal of the primary 
axis has lead to the production of new 
shoots from the axillary buds of the 
cotyledons. 

In view of the correlation between the 
taxonomic position of species and their 
germination patterns it is probable that 
species with cryptocotylar or cryptogeal 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


germination are pre-adapted to the 
savannah environment in that they were 
derived from taxa already possessing 
that character. As yet no example of 
species with cryptogeal germination ap- 
pears to have been recorded for 
Australia. 

It is appropriate in concluding these 
remarks on the ecological importance of 
seedlings to draw attention to two 
papers by Nancy on the germination of 
Australian Chenopodiaceae (Burbidge 
1945, 1946). In these works she made it 
clear that a knowledge of seedling 
behaviour in the field is a prerequisite to 
an understanding of the regeneration of 
plant communities. 

From the foregoing it is clear that the 
seedlings of Australian Magnoliatae 
have contributed much to our 
knowledge of several aspects of botany 
and that they are indeed, ‘‘an interesting 
and suggestive subject’. The long 
record of publications on Australian 
seedlings and their diversity bring them I 
believe within the range of interests of 
Nancy Tyson Burbidge who not only 
had a deep appreciation of plants but 
also of history. 


REFERENCES 


Bailey, F.M. 1902. Flora of Queensland. Vol. 5. 
Brisbane Govt. Printer. 

Barlow, B.A. 1958. Heteroploid twins and apomixis 
in Casuarina nana Sieb, Aust, J. Bot., 6, 204-219. 

Blake, S.T. 1972. Idiospermum (Idiospermaceae), a 
new genus and family for Ca/ycanthus australien- 
sis. Cont. Qld Herb, 12, 1-37. 

Brett, R.G. 1938. A Survey of Eucalyptus species in 
Tasmania. Pap. and Proc. Roy. Soc. Tas. 1937, 
75-109, 2 plates. 

Brouwer, Y.M. 1979, Domatia in Seedlings. Flora 
Malesiana Bull. 32, 3239-46. 

Brown, R. 1810. Prodromus florae Novae Hollan- 
diae et Insulae van-Diemen. London. 

Burbidge, N.T. 1945, Germination studies of 
Australian Chenopodiaceae with special reference 
to the conditions necessary for regeneration. I. 
Atriplex vesicarium Heward. Trans. Roy. Soc. S. 
Aust, 69, 73-85. 


March/April 


, 1946. Germination studies of Australian 
Chenopodiaceae with special reference to the con- 
ditions necessary for regeneration, II. (a) Kochia 
sedifolia F, vy M., K. pyramidata Benth., (c) K. 
georgei Diels. Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Aust. 70, 
110-120, 

Cambage, R.H. 1915, Acacia seedlings, Pt, 1. Jour, 
and Proc. Roy Soc. N.S.W. 49, 81-121, 12 plates. 

Candolle, A.P. de Prodromus systematis naturalis 
regni vegetabilis. Vol. 3 pp. 216-222 (Eucalyptus) 
Paris. Treuttel & Wurtz. 

Dahlgren, R. 1975, A system of classification of the 
Angiosperms to be used to demonstrate the 
Distribution of Characters, Bot. Notiser 128, 
119-147. 

Diels, L. 1906. Jugendformen and Blutenreife im 
Pflanzenreich, Berlin. Borntraeger. 

Drummond, J. 1839 cited in Fletcher, J.J. 1909. Il- 
lustrations of Polycotyledony in Persoonia, with 
some reference to Nuytsia (N.OO. Proteaceae 
and Loranthaceae). Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 33, 
867-882, plates 34 and 35, 

Eames, A.J. 1961. Morphology of the 
Angiosperms. New York, McGraw-Hill, 

Galbraith, J. 1947 Seedling habit of Pittosporum 
bicolor. Vic. Nat, 63, 228. 

Goebel, K. 1905 Organography of Plants, Pt II. 
(trans. 1.A. Balfour), Oxford. Clarendon Press. 
Hall, C. 1910 Notes and Exhibits. Proc. Linn. Soc. 

N.S.W. 35, 310. 

1913 The Seedlings of Angophoras with descrip- 
tion of a new species. J. and Proc. Roy. Soc. 
N.S.W. 47, 98-105, 3 plates. 

Jackson, G, 1974 Cryptogeal germination and other 
seedling adaptions to the burning of vegetation in 
savanna regions: The origin of the pyrophytic 
habit. New Phytol. 73, 771-780. 

McAuley, A.L. 1938 Evidence for the Existence of a 
Natural Hybrid between Eucalyptus globulus and 
Eucalyptus ornata. Pap. and Proc. Roy. Soc. 
Tas. 1938, 45-46, | plate. 

Maiden, J.H. 1902 Is Eucalyptus variable? Jour. 
and Proc. Roy. Soc. N.S.W. 36, 315-40, 

1935 A Critical Revision of the Genus Eucalyptus 
8, 123, Sydney. Govt. Printer. 

Mueller, F.M, 1883 Eucalyptographia, A Descrip- 
tive Atlas of the Eucalypts of Australia, Decade 
9. Melbourne Govt. Printer, 

Sporne, K.R. 1969 The Ovule as an Indicator of 
Evolutionary Status in Angiosperms. New 
Phytol. 68, 555-566. 

Smith, J. 1841 Cited in Heslop-Harrison, J. 1955, 
New Concepts in Flowering-Plant Taxonomy. 
London, William Heinemann. 

Symon, D.E. 1956 Polyembryony 
Nature, Lond. 177, 190. 

Topp, C.A. 1890 Presidential Address. Vic. Nat. 7, 
1-8, 

Vickery, J.W. 1933 Vegetative reproduction in 
Drosera peltata and D. auriculata. Proc. Linn. 
Soc, N.S.W. 58, 245-269. 


in Cassia. 


79 


An Extra Plant Record for Tasmania 
By JOHNS. WHINRAY* 


Some plants that occur on the 
Australian mainland are found in 
Tasmania only on Bass Strait islands 
(Curtis, 1956; 1963; 1967). On some 
eastern Tasmanian Bass Strait islands I 
have found previously thirteen more 
plants which, in the Australian region, 
were not known to occur south of Vic- 
toria (Whinray, 1973). 

This note records the extension of the 
range of the bogrush Schoenus carsei 
Cheesem. to Cape Barren and Clarkes 
Islands in south-eastern Bass Strait. The 
species was thought to be confined to 
South Australia, Victoria and New 
Zealand (Black, 1960; Eichler, 1965; 
Willis, 1973), until my specimens were 
determined. 

Cape Barren, of about 44 000 hec- 
tacres in area, is the second largest 
island of the Furneaux Group and 
Clarkes, of about 9 000 hectares, is its 
third largest island. 


Cape Barren Island Records. 

My first record of Schoenus carsei 
was made at Prickly Bottom Flat in the 
north-west of the island on 9 January 
1970 (MEL, HO).** Next I collected it 
by the north coast on Chimney Hill Flat 
near Victualling Office Bay on 8 June 
1970 (MEL). 

Since then I have obtained specimens 
from one more Prickly Bottom Flat 
locality (MEL, AD, CANB), and from 
two localities at Kents Bay in the south- 
eastern part of the island (MEL, AD, 
CANB). I have also recorded it at five 
other Prickly Bottom Flat sites and in 
six more places in the south-eastern part 
of the island. Two of the latter records 
were made at Kents Bay. 

Schoenus carsei occurs in permanent- 


*Flinders Island, Tasmania, 7255, 

**Specimens lodged in Australian herbaria are in- 
dicated by the standard abbreviations for those in- 
stitutions, 


80 


ly damp or wet places such as springs, 
bogs, stream margins, bottoms and peaty 
flats. The associated plant species vary 
from place to place. Two very different 
sites will now be described briefly. 

One very wet Prickly Bottom Flat site 
was the edge of Bull Scrub Creek, about 
one kilometre south-east of its mouth. 
At this spot the shrubs were short, hay- 
ing regrown since a fire of about four 
years before (c. 1972). They were 
Manuka Leptospermum _ scoparium, 
Bushpea Pultenaea dentata, Slender 
Honey-myrtle Melaleuca gibbosa, 
Swamp paperbark Melaleuca ericifolia, 
Scented Paperbark M. squarrosa, and 
Bluntleaf Heath Epacris obtusifolia. 

The six rushes growing in this associa- 
tion included Sea Rush Juncus krausii, 
Schoenus carsei, and Slender Twigrush 
Baumea gunnil. The other herbs includ- 
ed Angled Lobelia Lobelia alata, Mossy 
Pennywort Hydrocotyle muscosa, and 
Tufted Centrolepis Centrolepis 
fascicularis. 

The driest site on Prickly Bottom Flat 
was a small bottom on its western side, 
about one kilometre south-south-west of 
the mouth of Hammonds Creek. The 
dominant species there was Pithy 
Swordsedge Lepidosperma 
longitudinale growing to one metre 
high. Associated with it were a few 
clumps of Coast Sawsedge Gahnia 
trifida to 1.2 metres high. 

As the area had been fired about three 
years previously (c. 1973), all the shrubs 
were lower than the swordsedge. They 
were Manuka Leptospermum 
scoparium, Slender Honey-myrtle 
Melaleuca gibbosa, Heath Honey- 
myrtle M. squamea, Bushpea Pultenaea 
dentata, Dagger Hakea Hakea 
teretifolia and a Guineaflower Hibbertia 
sp. 
Some of the herbs of this site were 
Everlasting Helichrysum dealbatum, the 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


exotic White Cudweed Gnaphalium 
candidissimum, Spreading Roperush 
Calorophus laterifolius, and Schoenus 
carsel. 


Clarkes Island Record. 

The one occurrence of Schoenus 
carsei on this island was found on 25 
September 1976 in a small depression 
about 300 metres south-west of the 
southernmost part of Sandy Lagoon. 
The site is at the southern edge of the 
many old consolidated dunes of the San- 
dy Lagoon area and receives seepage 
from them. The vegetation was fired in 
about December 1974. 

The lowest part of the depression con- 
tained shallow water and had a domi- 
nant layer of much Pithy Swordsedge 
Lepidosperma longitudinale and occa- 
sional clumps of Coast Sawsedge 
Gahnia trifida. 

Lower herbs grew between the nor- 
thern edge of the tall sedges and the 
bank. The species included Schoenus 
carsei, Longleaf Wallabygrass 
Danthonia longifolia, which is rare in 
Tasmania (CANB), and Centella 
Centella cordifolia. 

Schoenus carsei was collected just 
above the water level on the damp nor- 
thern bank of the depression (MEL, 
CANB). The low shrubs with it were 
Pink Swampheath Sprengelia incarnata, 
Slender Honey-myrtle Melaleuca 
gibbosa, Scented Paperbark Melaleuca 
squarrosa and Swamp Boronia Boronia 
parviflora. The herbs there were Pale 
Twigrush Baumea acuta, Everlasting 
Helichrysm dealbatum and Grassy Rush 
Juncus caespiticius. 


Comment 

Most of the central and eastern Cape 
Barren Island has been recommended as 
a potential Wilderness Reserve 
(Whinray, 1977; Russell, et al/., 1979). 
This extra record for Tasmania increases 
the number of unusual plants known to 
occur in the potential reserve and adds 
to its interest. 


Acknowledgements 

Miss M.H. Christie provided con- 
siderable assistance with many Cape 
Barren Island trips. Mr G.W.G. Goode 
generously lent his boat on several occa- 
sions. Dr J.P. Jessop, of the State Her- 
barium, Adelaide, first determined one 
of my collections as Schoenus carsei. Dr 
J.H. Willis soon afterwards determined 
further material. Mr R.B. Filson made 
helpful comments on two late drafts of 
this note. 


REFERENCES 

Black, J.M., 1960 Flora of South Australia, 1. 
Government Printer, Adelaide. 

Curtis, W.M., 1956. The Student’s Flora of 
Tasmania, 1. Government Printer, Hobart. 

A Aston , 1963. The Student's Flora of Tasmania, 
2. Government Printer, Hobart. 

dit OF ,1967. The Student's Flora of Tasmania, 
3. Government Printer, Hobart. 

Eichler, H., 1965. Supplement to J.M. Black’s 
Flora of South Australia, Government Printer, 
Adelaide. 

Russell, J.A., Matthews, J.H., & Jones, R. 1979. 
Wilderness in Tasmania. University of Tasmania, 
Hobart. 

Whinray, J.S., 1973. Some New Plant Records for 
Tasmania. Launceston Naturalist, 6(3): 5-6, 

a ea , 1977. Some Plant Records for the Cape 
Barren Island Wilderness Area. Tasmanian 
Naturalist, 51: 9-13. 

Willis, J.H., 1973. A Handbook to Plants in Vic- 
toria, I. Second edition. Melbourne University 
Press, Melbourne. 


New Book 
‘*Life on the Rocky Shores of S.E. Australia’. 
G. Wescott, R. Synnot, H. Powell 
Pocket Guide 88 pages. Covers 70 species found along the sea-shore. 
Photographs and Line Drawings. Price $2.00, postage 50 cents. 
Order from Sales Officer F.N.C.V. 


March/April 


81 


Book Review 


Life on the Rocky Shores of S.E. Australia — an illustrated field 
guide. 


By G.C. Wescott, R.N. Synnot and H.K. Powell 


Available from ‘‘Rocky Shores’’, P.O. Box 
154, Yarraville, Victoria, 3013. Price. $2.00 
(plus 50¢ postage). 


This small book is intended as an inexpen- 
sive introduction to the life of the rocky shore 
for the untrained person. Its 84 pages cover 
over 70 species of the commonest plants and 
animals found on Victorian rock platforms, 
giving a brief description and notes on range, 
habitat and ecological relationships. Each 
species is illustrated either by a drawing or a 
photograph and the authors have confined 
themselves to the commonest, most readily 
encountered organisms. 


It is a pity that this book apparently had to 
be produced on a shoe-string. A reduction 
technique for this type, some professional 
help with design and more time and care 
taken with the illustrations could have 
resulted in a far deeper coverage for the same 
sized publication and a much more profes- 
sional looking production. Yet despite these 
considerable shortcomings the contents are 
basically sound and as a first introduction for 
the beginner in sea shore observation the 
book is well worth the very low purchase 
price. 


Brian J. Smith 


‘Tasmanian Echinoderms’ 
By Alan Dartnall 


(‘Fauna of Tasmania’ handbook no.3, 
University of Tasmania, June 1980. 21 x 14.5 
cm., 84 pp., stapled, soft cover. Available 
from ‘Fauna of Tasmania’ Office, University 
of Tasmania, Box 252C, G.P.O., Hobart, 
Tasmania, Australia. 7001. Price $3.75 
(including postage and packing). Cheques 
and money orders to be made payable to the 
‘University of Tasmania’.) 


In the absence of any book 
devoted to the echinoderm fauna of 
south-eastern Australia this hand- 
book is a welcome arrival. The 
University of Tasmania has com- 
menced the production of a series of 
handbooks and posters on the 
‘Fauna of Tasmania’ with a view to 
collating the information now 
available and to stimulate interest in 
the Tasmanian fauna and flora. The 
intention of the Committee is to 
devote each handbook to a defined 
taxon, and to include a checklist, il- 
lustrated keys for identification, 


82 


distribution maps, a description of 
basic morphology, and an explana- 
tion of methods of collecting and 
preserving and examining 
specimens. 

Thanks to Alan Dartnall this has 
now been accomplished for the 
echinoderm fauna. Alan has worked 
on the taxonomy and biology of 
these animals for ten years, and 
wrote this handbook while he was 
working in the Zoology Department 
of the University of Tasmania. 


Half of the handbook is devoted 
to keys, which are not intended to 
have phylogenetic or extra- 
Tasmanian value. However, all but 
very few of the Victorian shallow 
water echinoderms are in_ the 
Tasmanian checklist and keys. Un- 
fortunately, there are too few of the 
very good line diagrams in the keys, 
and there is no glossary for the 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


handbook. I suspect that the keys 
will pose problems for the 
uninitiated. 

The only photographs which are 
reproduced in the booklet are the 
few which are included to illustrate 
‘body form’. They give no indica- 
tion of the size of the respective 
animals, and they lack important 
taxonomic detail. However, they are 
useful for confirming identity in 
association with the keys and it is 
disappointing that so few are includ- 
ed. 

A quarter of the handbook is 
made up of a series of distribution 
maps for all of the species. Coded 
information on depth range and 
substrate is included with the maps. 
This is a most useful presentation of 
current knowledge about Tasma- 
nian echinoderms, and is an obvious 
stimulus and guide for field- 
workers. This aspect of the booklet 
is naturally of limited value for 
those interested only in Victorian 
marine fauna. 

The section of the handbook on 


collection, preservation, and ex- 
amination of specimens is disap- 
pointing. There is no indication of 
suitable concentrations for the nar- 
cotising agents. There is no indica- 
tion of how the neutral for- 
maldehyde solution for fixing can 
be made up. The suggestion that a 
low power dissecting microscope is 
suitable for examining the spicules 
of holothurians is quite misleading. 

A bibliography is included with 
the intention of complementing the 
major work on Australian 
echinoderms by H. L. Clark and in- 
troducing the reader to recent work. 

This handbook does _ bring 
together for the first time a great 
amount of information on the 
echinoderms of south-eastern 
Australia. Much of the information 
is relevant to the Victorian fauna, 
and the booklet is recommended for 
those who are professionally in- 
terested in the Victorian marine 
fauna. 


Mark O’Loughlin 


The Origin of Generic Names of the 
Victorian Flora 


Part 3 — Latin, Greek and Miscellaneous 
(Continued from page 225, Vol. 97, No. 5.) 


By James A. BAINES 


*Verbascum. The Lat. name for 
mullein, used by Pliny. Gaius Plinius 
Secundus, known in English as Pliny the 
Elder (born 23 A.D., died in the erup- 
tion of Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii 
and Herculaneum in 79 A.D.), wrote 
‘Historia Naturalis’ in 37 books, 
reprinted in Latin with English transla- 
tion in 10 volumes in Loeb Classical 
Library — a fascinating mixture of 
science and superstition. The word 


March/April 


mullein comes from Fr moulaine 
(probably from mol, soft), though Skeat 
suggests an Anglo-Saxon origin. Our 
species include *V. thapsus, Great 
Mullein, Blanket Weed, Flannel Leaf or 
Aaron’s Rod, and the other 2 species are 
also known as kinds of mullein. The 
genus is in family Scrophulariaceae. 
Thapsus is a superseded generic 
synonym of Aaron’s Rod (from Isle of 
Thapsos, thapsinos, yellow). 


83 


Verbena. Lat. verbenaca, name of the 
plant Vervain (which is an English form 
of verbena), from verbenae, boughs of 
olive, laurel, myrtle, cypress and 
tamarisk, carried in sacred ceremonies 
by the Fetiales (in Livy), and by certain 


Europe, but it is also native here. Our 
other 3 species are introduced, known as 
different kinds of verbena, although *V. 
bonariensis (— ‘from Buenos Aires’), 
Purple-top or Cluster-flower Verbena, is 
often called Squareweed, from its 4- 


priests (in Cicero). V. officinalis, Ver- sided stems, square in section. The 
vain, was given the specific epithet genus gives its name to family 
because it was used in herbal remedies in Verbenaceae. 

Omission Vol. 98 (1) 


The following text was mistakenly omitted from the article ‘Introduced Mam- 
mals in Victoria’ by H. Brunner, P. L. Stevens and J. R. Backholer which appeared 
in the last issue of The Victorian Naturalist. It is to be inserted on page 12, after line 


33 (‘some $300,000 on dog control’’), 


Environmental aspects 


The disappearance of the Tasmanian 
tiger has left dingoes and feral dogs as 
the only large mammalian predators in 
Australia. Presumably their numbers 
are mainly determined by the availabili- 
ty of food and space. More factual in- 
formation is needed on the effect these 
predators may have had in the past on 
our wildlife and what effect they are 
having at the present time. 


Results of recent studies carried out in 
many parts of Australia suggest that 
well established native prey species are 
not endangered because of these 
predators. This is particularly true for 
the large areas of forest and desert not 
inhabited by man. In the cases of rare 
species, there is obviously reason for 
concern that dingoes, dogs and other 
predators may speed up the disap- 
pearance of these animals. 


Privately owned dogs which are often 
allowed to roam in packs through 
wildlife reserves, isolated bush blocks, 
forest parks and fringe areas of forests 
are undoubtedly a great menace to 
wildlife species in those areas. 
Wallabies, kangaroos and lyrebirds are 
often harassed and killed in some con- 
servation areas close to urban develop- 
ment. Attention, however, is mainly 
drawn to the bitter complaints of 
farmers who suffer frequent losses of 
livestock because of these killer dogs 
(M.M.B.W., Aberdeen et a/. 1977). 


84 


Another important aspect is the con- 
cern expressed by the dingo conserva- 
tionists who fear for the future of the 
pure dingo. They feel that this breed 
may eventually disappear because of 
continuing cross-breeding with domestic 
dogs. However, data for this contention 
are lacking. 


Control 

Few advances have been made in feral 
dog control and we are still using the 
traditional means of steel jaw traps and 
poison. Because of the elusive nature of 
dogs, other methods such as shooting or 
organized drives have generally proved 
unsuccessful. 

In Victoria approximately twenty 
dogmen are employed by the Depart- 
ment of Crown Lands and Survey in 
dingo and feral dog control. Most of 
these operators rely heavily on steel jaw 
traps, but some poisoning is used. Traps 
are set along forest tracks near places 
where dogs might defaecate or urinate. 
These traps are usually left in the one 
area for many weeks and visited at 
regular intervals. In many cases, dog 
faeces are used to lure the dogs into the 
traps. 

Unfortunately, trapping is a relatively 
non-specific technique and numbers of 
other animals (wallabies, wombats etc.) 
are often caught. For this reason, we are 
currently investigating more selective 
and also more humane types of traps 
and snares. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


FIELD NATURALISTS CLUB OF VICTORIA 


Report by Executive Council 


The members of the Executive Council submit 
herewith balance sheet as at 31 December 1980 and 
income and expenditure account for the year ended 
on that date, and report as follows:- 


The Net Surplus of the Club for the year ended 
31 December 1980 was $60 which, added to the 
Surplus brought forward at | January 1980 of 
$10,240, together with a transfer of $833 from 
Club Improvement Account, resulted in an Ac- 
cumulated Surplus to be carried forward to next 
year of $11,133. 


. The members of the Executive Council took 


reasonable steps to ascertain, before the income 
and expenditure account and balance sheet were 
made out, that all known bad debts were written 
off and adequate provision was made for 
doubtful debts. 


. The members of the Executive Council took 


reasonable steps, before the income and expen- 
diture account and balance sheet were made 
out, to ascertain that the current assets, other 
than debtors, were shown in the accounting 
records of the company at a value equal to or 
below the value that would be expected to be 
realised in the ordinary course of business. 


. At the date of this report, the members of the 


Executive Council are not aware of any cir- 
cumstances which would render the values at- 
tributable to the current assets in the accounts 
misleading. 


. No charge on the assets has arisen, since the end 


of the financial year to the date of this report, to 
secure the liabilities of another person. No con- 
tingent liability has arisen since the end of the 
financial year to the date of this report. 


. No contingent or other liability has become en- 


forceable or is likely to become enforceable 
within the period of twelve months after the end 
of the financial year which in the opinion of the 
members of the Executive Council will or may 
affect the ability of the Club to meet its obliga- 
tions as and when they fall due. 


. At the date of this report the members of the 


Executive Council are not aware of any cir- 
cumstances not otherwise dealt with in the 


March/April 


report or accounts which would render any 
amount stated in the accounts misleading. 

8. The results of the Club’s operations during the 
financial year, in the opinion of the members of 
the Executive Council, were not affected by any 
item transaction or event of a material and 
unusual nature. 

9. Since 31 December 1980, and to the date of this 
report, in the opinion of the members of the Ex- 
ecutive Council, no item transaction or event of 
a material and unusual nature has occurred, 
which would affect substantially the results of 
the Club’s operations for the next succeeding 
financial year. 

10. No member of the Executive Council, since the 
end of the previous financial year, has received 
or become entitled to receive a benefit by reason 
of acontract made by the Club with the member 
or with a firm of which he is a member or with a 
company in which he has a substantial financial 
interest. 

11. The principal activities and objects of the Club 
are to stimulate interest in natural history and to 
preserve and protect Australian Fauna and 
Flora. No significant change in the nature of 
those activities occurred during that period. 

12. The names of the members of the Executive 
Council in office at the date of this report are as 
follows:- 

Dr B. Smith 

Miss M. Allender 
Miss W. Clark 
Mr D. Dunn 

Mr M. Howes 
Mr D. Jinks 
Miss L. Lumsden 
Miss M. Lester 
Mr J, Martindale 
Mr A. Thies 

Mrs H. Weatherhead 

This report is made in accordance with a resolution 

of the Executive Council dated 31st day of March 

1981. 


B. Smith President 
D. Dunn Treasurer 


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Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


FIELD NATURALISTS CLUB OF VICTORIA 
BUILDING FUND 


Amount OF Pune at sh DeCeMOEr ISTO he ol dav pal La edas tA pase hs been tWrasderenas ed $5,486 
[viterest on Investments. and Bank Account. ........cccccecesacsuctmaspenpaenaavacegens 514 
NOU OF INEL AC Aad LOCO SSO sar sau FU cb be ise LCS LUE rtp ecereannsretnesreses $6,000 
PUBLICATIONS FUND 
AEM aet MG thet SRE IOCENALOET LO Lae rcce stats ahi a c'nld c 64rd Kia abe g'a.c -4co10ey elela Cato doond.owdL ae yiy $27,479 
Interest Gn Investments and Bank Account. 4... 40. ii dese ee eet acbyesuecevaneees 2,337 
Surplus (Loss) for the year from — 
Pemnsof VictOria QnG A asinaniden: speeds teens 54s esuerde bes chabbactiara $1,960 
Wild Flowers of Wilson’s Promontory National Park ............0. 50000005 25 
SIPC COTUTM EE PRTABTIOLEES tiara rotate w Ess ly ceiera nat y Asda bee ow Ueto 6-4 ALK Ba te § (1) 1,984 
PROT TIE Cte SL EMIAEE PW VE CRETE OEP ASO. cura co .clsPosata-s vicjs carne nulg-eeepaciea clea ale'gce's sin ou pus ric 7 : $31,800 
CLUB IMPROVEMENT ACCOUNT 
PICKIN COL A COOUNBAL Sa LIGCOMDCL URI. ss Nits wend Ud entreanin bas bee hashes ne Ones $5,281 
aN SERN ROAM EEN MY, Mi en Yo Cees dc pclivsis ria yin doy oc Niaitd welts welds wipaiie a up's legit enced 956 
6,237 
Less — 
Purchase Library Books & Equipment 
RTISPErPOU LC SUrt MIS -PRCGO IN Le zh 1 ciise.ad Biareihe + od Uvbhves S/CbI-# A)y, WOES Atty Pa bls Ftp 449-4 833 
Amount of Account at 31 December 1980. 0... ccc crea e vec tesccensvacnenneevases $5,404 
EXCURSION FUND 
Amount.ofiFund at 31 December 1979 .. cc cecces cence rss tuesserecserrgorertenteeeane $4,323 
Add — 
Interest received on Investment «1... sess enc c cess eee sen de nde cde e es ege een esenenene 861 
$5,184 
Less — 
OSES ERMTS Ty Sta educa cilas bcs eccsoay been v ENTE Heese beet a teen +44 27 
PEC ISS RATE pina tect a] Wibecrels eM ns ke 3 at UA bing Sin a'v ies one cis CHS AMS PS 556 5 32 


Amount of Fund at31 December 1980... .. cei sce cac eee nsec tener eereeererenense $5,152 


Field Naturalists Club of Victoria 

Statement by the Members of the Executive Council 

In the opinion of the members of the Executive Council of the FIELD NATURALISTS CLUB OF 

VICTORIA, the accompanying Balance Sheet is drawn up so as to give a true and fair view of the state of 

affairs of the Club as at 31 December 1980, and the accompanying Statement of Income and Expenditure is 

drawn up so as to give a true and fair view of the financial results of the Club for the year ended 31 

December 1980. 

Signed in accordance with a resolution of the Executive Council on 31st March 1981. B. Smith President 
D. Dunn Treasurer 

Statement by the Principal Accounting Officer 

1, Daniel E. McInnes, being the officer in charge of the preparation of the accompanying accounts of the 

FIELD NATURALISTS CLUB OF VICTORIA for the year ended 31 December 1980 state that, to the best 

of my knowledge and belief, such accounts give a true and fair view of the matters required by Section 162 of 

the Companies Act 1961, to be dealt with in the accounts. 


Signed at Melbourne on the 31st day of March 1981. D. E. MelInnes 

Auditors’ Report to the Members of 

Field Naturalists Club of Victoria 

In our opinion — 

(a) The attached balance sheet and income and expenditure account are properly drawn up in accordance 
with the provisions of the Companies Act, 1961 of Victoria as amended and so as to give a true and fair 
view of:- 

(i) the state of affairs of the Club at 31 December 1980 and of the results of the Club for the year ended 
on that date; 
and 

(ii) the other matters required by Section 162 of that Act to be dealt with in the accounts. 

(b) The accounting records and other records, and the registers required by that Act to be kept by the Club 
have been properly kept in accordance with the provisions of that Act. 

DANBY BLAND PROVAN & CO, 

Chartered Accountants 

Richmond R. M, Bland 
31 March 1981 Partner 


Field Naturalists Club of Victoria 
Reports of recent activities 


General Excursion to Flinders 
Sunday 1 February 

A full coach and several car-loads ar- 
rived at Flinders to visit the intertidal 
zone to study marine life. Led by Presi- 
dent Brian Smith, we were told about 
zonation and the effects of wave action 
and exposure on plant and animal life in 
the intertidal zone. And after an early 
lunch we followed the tide out on the 
rock platform. 

The variety and profusion of life in 
rock pools is amazing; every rock turned 
over (and turned back again before leav- 
ing) reveals different creatures. There 
were gastropods like the large black 
elephant shell Scutus antipodes, the two 
commercial abalone shells — the Black- 
lip Haliotis ruber and the Green-lip H. 
laevigata, numbers of chitons, sea stars, 
sea urchins, to tube worms and a 
bewildering variety of encrustung 
sponges and bryozoa. Specimens were 
put into buckets, examined and explain- 
ed, then returned to the sea. 

Particularly interesting finds were a 
live Southern Brown Cowrie Cypraea 
(Notocypraea) comptoni and two 
specimens and of an unusual pyc- 
nogonid (sea-spider) with eggs. 

Dr Smith pointed out some predatoc- 
prey relationships including the carn- 
varous gastropod Lepsiella_ vinosa 
feeding on the encrusting tube-worm 
Galeolaria. 

The February excursion for intertidal 
marine life is becoming an annual event, 
and we thank Dr Brian Smith for 
another stimulating, informative and 
very enjoyable day. 


General Meeting 
Monday 9 February 

The speaker was Dr Carroll, President 
of the Conservation Council of Victoria. 
Dr Carroll outlined the Council’s work 
by reading the minutes of the last 
meeting showing positive planning and 
action on major issues. Such topics as 
Harold Holt Marine Park, pine planta- 
tions in north-east Victoria, Australian 
Newsprint Mills policy, Combined 
Energy Network and World Environ- 
ment Day were among those dealt with. 

Questions showed much interest in 
conservation but accurate information is 
necessary. Dr Carroll mentioned the 
heavy work-load of a limited staff, and 
intimated that the knowledge which ex- 
ists among FNCV members would great- 
ly help in the preparation of submis- 
sions. 

(Perhaps some FNCV members may 
not know what the CCV is. It is nota 
government body but an association of 
various conservation organisations and 
individuals which aims to co-ordinate 
and to act as their mouth piece in 
presenting a common viewpoint to 
government public authorities, etc. The 
CCV examines proposed legislation con- 
cerning the Victorian environment and 
has representatives on the Land Conser- 
vation Council.) 

Swifts. Flocks of some 200 swifts were 
observed flying low over the eastern 
suburbs. Large numbers were also 
sighted at Inverloch. 


March/April 


GROUP MEETINGS 


All FNCV members are invited to attend any 
Group meetings, no extra charge. 
At the National Herbarium, the Domain, 
South Yarra, at 8.00 p.m. 
First Tuesday — Mammal Suryey Group 
Tuesday, 7 April. Planigales. Speaker: 
Debbie Andrews. 
Tuesday, 5 May. Marine mammals. 
Speaker; Martin Schulz. 
Tuesday, 2 June. Identification of rodents. 
Third Wednesday — Microscopy Group. 
Wednesday, 15 April. History of the 
microscope. Speaker: J. Dawes. 
Wednesday, 20 May. General illumination 
for the microscope. Speaker: Dr Hammond. 
Wednesday, 17 June. Rotifers. Speaker: P. 
Genery. 


Second Thursday — Botany Group. 

Thursday, 9 April. Common seaweeds. 
Speaker: M. T. Sault. 

Thursday, 14 May. Lichens. Speaker: Mr 
Rex Filson. 

Thursday, 11 June. Philippines fungi. 
Speaker: Mr M. McBain. 


At the Conference Room, the Museum, 
Melbourne, at 8.00 p.m. 
Good parking — enter from Latrobe St. 


First Monday — Marine biology and Ento- 
mology Group. 

Monday, 4 May. Sea urchins. Speaker: Mr 
H. Bishop. 

Monday, I June. Insects: some interesting 
life histories. Speaker: Mr P. Kelly. 


GROUP EXCURSIONS 


All FNCV members are invited to attend Group excursions. 


Botany Group — last Saturday. 


Saturday, 25 April. Mornington Peninsula — seaweeds. 


Saturday, 30 May. Lichens. 
Mammal Survey Group 


Friday, 17 — Monday, 20 April. Easter camp. Children State Forest. 
Saturday, 9 — Sunday, 10 May. Toponga River, Eildon area. 
Saturday, 6 — Monday, 8 June. Queen’s Birthday weekend. Mt. Worth. 


Day Group — third Thursday. 


Thursday, 21 May. Albert Park. Meet at 11.30 a.m. at Main Gate, South Melbourne Cricket 
Ground. Train to Albert Park Station, or St. Kilda Beach tram (No. 10 or 12 in Collins St) to 
corner Clarendon St and Albert Rd. Leader: K. Gill (836 8016). 

Thursday, 18 June. National Art Gallery, St. Kilda Rd. Meet near floral clock, Queen Vic- 
toria Gardens at 11.30 a.m. (if weather suitable) or OUTSIDE Gallery at 1.30 p.m. (special 


group rates). Leader: B. Gillespie (578 1879). 


FIELD NATURALISTS CLUB OF VICTORIA 
CALENDAR OF EVENTS 


Wed I. Geology Group: Kimberlite and the origin of Diamonds in N.W. Australia. lan Hawkins Melb. 


APRIL 


State College. 


5. General Excursion to Organ Pipes National Park. 7 ; 
Ron 6. Marine Biology & Entomology Group — Pond Life with a movie camera. Mr P. Genery. 
Tue 7. Mammal Survey Group, Planigales by Debbie Andrews. 


4 Botany Group. Common Seaweeds. Mr T. Sault. 
“tng ss General Meeting. Otway Study Night. Keynote speakers to be arranged. Groups asked to 


prepare short addresses. 


Wed 15. Microscopical Group. History of the microscope. Mr J. Dawes. 
EASTER 17-20. Mammal Survey Group — Chiltern State Forest. 
Sat 25. Botany Group Excursion. Mornington Peninsula — Seaweeds. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE PHONE THE RELEVANT NUMBER 
FNCV Secretary 859 8091 Geology (Bus.) 697 6596 
Gen Excursions 527 2749 Mammal Survey 874 4408 
Spec Sty Trips 859 8091 Marine Bio & Ento 211 2427 
Botany Groups 557 6045 Micro Group 211 2427 
Day Group 578 1879 


Field Naturalists Club of Victoria 


Established 1880 


OBJECTS: To stimulate interest in natural history and to preserve 
and protect Australian fauna and flora. 
Members include beginners as well as experienced naturalists. 


Patron: 
His Excellency the Honorable SIR HENRY WINNEKE, KCMG, KCVO, OBE, KStJ, QC. 


Key Office-Bearers 1980-1981 


President: 
Dr. BRIAN SMITH, 8 Hunsford Avenue, North Clayton, 3168 (560 8358) 

Secretary: Miss WENDY CLARK, 27 Rangeview Grove, North Balwyn, 3104 (859 8091) 
Correspondence to: FNCV, National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141 
Treasurer: Mr. D. DUNN, 3 Allfrey Street, East Brighton, 3187 (578 5753) 
Subscription Secretary: F.N.C.V. C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141 
Editor: Mr. R. WALLIS, C/- State College of Victoria—Rusden, Blackburn Road, North 

Clayton, 3168, 544 8544. 
Librarian: Mr. P. KELLY, C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141. 
Assistant Librarian: Miss M. J. LESTER, 4/210 Domain Road, South Yarra, 3141 (26 1967) 
Excursion Secretary: Miss M. ALLENDER, 19 Hawthorn Avenue, Caulfield, 3161 

(527 2749) 
Book Sales Officer: Mr. D. E. McINNES, 129 Waverley Road, East Malvern, 3145 (211 2427) 


Group Secretaries 


Botany: Mr. MICHAEL McBAIN, 19 Foster St, St Kilda, 3182 (534 2293) 

Day Group: C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141. 

Geology: Mr. T. SAULT, C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141 

Mammal Survey: Mr. RAY GIBSON, 26 McCulloch Street, Nunawading, 3131 (874 4408) 

Microscopical: Mr. M. H. MEYER, 36 Milroy Street, East Brighton (596 3268) 

Entomology and Marine Biology: Mr. D. E. McINNES, 129 Waverley Road, East Malvern, 
3145 (211 2427) 

FNCV Kinglake Nature Reserve: McMahons Road, Kinglake. 

Bookings and keys: Mr. 1. F. MORRISON, 788 Elgar Road, Doncaster (848 1194) 


MEMBERSHIP 


Membership of the F.N.C.V. is open to any person interested in natural history. The 
Victorian Naturalist is distributed free to all members, the club’s reference and lending library 
is available and other activities are indicated in reports set out in the several preceding pages of 
this magazine. 

Subscription rates for 1981 


(bce S Ti 9 lft 3 Pa SA Se ee en ee sy ea) eee 
SUE ins CPST Chee 8 a8 9r.s 23 coh Fis! 9.8 Feil airs ale CR Ap tdci tis a's bhepid lel fil elsipe: clkbtrta 

Country Members and Retired Persons.....,......,.... 

Joint Country and Joint Retired .............. cas eel ees £44 
CUM uhay A ews Ole ee eae SEW EU boost ic ie tlele sabe cule 

PIDCTIONION LO WICLOLIAUE SATUTAIISE, ome p24 cos 00 aya be bine sie on ciehien beads vaults Kai 
Overseas Subscription to Victorian Naturalist... 
Individual Journals 


All subscriptions should be made payable to the Field Naturalist Club of Victoria and posted to the Subscription Secretary. 


@) JENKIN BUXTON PRINTERS PTY. LTD., WEST MELBOURNE 


lan 
t 


IS 


The Victor 
Natural 


FNCV DIARY OF COMING EVENTS 
GENERAL MEETINGS 


At the National Herbarium, the Domain, South Yarra. 


Monday, 15 June, 8.00 p.m. 


Film night — a film on the Terrania Creek rain forest made by the Native Forests Action 


Council will be shown. 
Monday, 13 July, 8.00 p.m. 


Mr J. Ros Garnet will be presented with his Honorary Membership and will speak on 


“Reminiscences of the FNCV’’. 
Monday, 10 August, 8.00 p.m. 

Life history of squids. Speaker: Dr C. C, Lu. 
New Members — May/June General Meetings. 


Ordinary 
Jane Calder, 146 Waiora Rd, Rosanna. 
Neale Carr, 129 North Rd, Reservoir, 
David Clark, 4 St Edmunds Gve, Glen Iris. 
John Eichler, 3/217 Beach Rd, Black Rock. 
Alda Heap, 8 Nathan Gve, Caulfield South. 
Eve Mitchell, 7/146 Rupert St, West Footscray. 


Harold Revell, Zoology Department, University of Melbourne. 


Christine Shankley, 50 Glyndon Rd, Camberwell. 


Joint 
Mr and Mrs N, Bacon, 22 Rae Ave, Edithvale. 
Philip and Trisha Maher, 94 Hunter St, Deniliquin. 
Mr and Mrs W. Rocke, 55 Rowen St, Burwood. 


Country 


Trevor Hawkeswood, Botany Department, James Cook University. 


Gwenda Newman, Health Care Centre, Warburton. 
D. Wilbraham, 15 Kenwood St, Boolarra. 


FNCV EXCURSIONS 


Sunday, 7 June. Zoological Gardens. Meet at the 
main entrance at 11.00 a.m. Bring a picnic lunch. 

Sunday, 5 July, Toorourrong Reservoir. A coach 
will leave Batman Ave at 9.30 a.m. Fare $5.50. Br- 
ing a picnic lunch, 

Sunday, 2 August. Coolart. A coach will leave 
Batman Ave at 9.30 a.m, Fare $6.00. Bring a picnic 
lunch, 

Sunday, 9 August. Studley Park. This year the 
Gardens Club is again organising a boneseed 
eradication day. We will join this united effort in- 
stead of having a day of our own and trust as many 
members as possible will attend. We have removed 
many 1000's of plants in the past and the improve- 
ment is quite noticeable, So keep up the good work, 
Meet at Kanes Bridge at 10.00 a.m. Bring gloves and 
a picnic lunch. Make a list of native plants seen 
while working as the Botany Group is updating the 


old plant list. 
Preliminary notices: 
Saturday, 19 — Sunday, 20 September, 


Alexandra, The VFNCA is holding a springtime get- 


together hosted by the Alexandra/Yea FNC. Satur- 
day afternoon excursion to Cathedral State Park. 
Depart from the Alexandra High School at 1.00 
p.m. There will be an evening meeting at the High 
School at 8.00 p.m. and Sunday excursion to the 
McKenzie Flora Reserve. Meet at the same place at 
9.00 a.m. A coach will be chartered and motel ac- 
commodation on DDB basis, at a cost of $45.00 per 
person. Riversdale Caravan Park is next to the 
school with on-site vans. Members camping or hir- 
ing vans should make their own arrangements. 

Friday, 16 October — Friday, 6 November. New 
Zealand. Please note change in day of departure; 
the party will now leave on Friday, 16 October. The 
extra day will be spent at Hicks Bay, and other 
slight changes have been made to the itinerary. 
More bookings are desired for this excursion and 
should be made with the Excursion Secretary ac- 
companied by a $50.00 deposit. 


Special study trips: 
The next special study trip will be in September. 


The Victorian 
Naturalist 


Volume 98, Number 3 May/June, 1981 


ISSN 0042-5184 
Editor: Robert L. Wallis 
Assistant Editor: F. Dane Panetta 
Editorial Committee: H. Cohn, R. Kent, B. Smith 
Early Introductions of Birds to Victoria by R. Balmford......... 96 


A Short History of the Discovery and Naming of Banksias in 
Bastemn Australia Part lbby-Acl. Salkin c.5 0s oes cad eens coi 106 


Mammals of the Wallaby Creek Catchment by B. A. Callanan.... 109 


Insect Pollination of Angophora woodsiana F. M. Bail. (Myr- 
taceae) at Burbank, South-east Queensland by T. J. Hawkeswood 120 


Selection of a Neotype for the Southern Short-nosed (Brown) Ban- 
dicoot, Isoodon obesulus (Shaw & Nodder, 1797) by J. M. Dixon . 130 


F.N.C.V. — Reports of recent Club activities...........--.+0-- 138 


Cover illustration: Southern Short-nosed (Brown) bandicoot, Jsoodon obesulus (Shaw and Nodder, 1797). 
Photo: Dr. J. Owen. 


Early Introductions of Birds to Victoria* t 


By ROSEMARY BALMFORD, t 


Two streams of thought can be seen to 
have led to the introduction of animals 
and plants from other countries to the 
young colony of Victoria in the 1850’s 
and 60’s. 

The better documented stream joined 
Victoria, even then, to an international 
movement for the acclimatisation of 
animals and plants, formally initiated by 
the establishment in Paris in 1854 of La 
Société Impeériale d’Acclimatation 
(Buckland, 1861). 

The other stream, with the still waters 
which run deeper, stemmed from the 
desire of the homesick settler to recreate 
in a new and unfamiliar landscape some 
of the familiar sights and sounds of 
home, a powerful incentive to in- 
dividuals to take great trouble to bring 
about the introduction of birds, and 
especially of singing birds. 

Beauty was associated with the 
familiar, and its familiarity enhanced its 
beauty. Men and women struggling to 
establish themselves in a harsh environ- 
ment are not to be blamed for failing to 
respond to its beauties as their descen- 
dants could; it was in 1870 that Adam 
Lindsay Gordon, who had arrived in 
this country in 1853 at the age of twenty, 
wrote of ‘‘songless bright birds’’. Brian 
Elliott (1976) suggests that the absence 
of the birds traditionally referred to in 
literature was resented — the 
nightingales, thrushes, skylarks and 
‘‘usual poetical birds of the European 
repertoire’ were missing and the local 
birds did not replace them. 

A Committee of the Legislative 
Assembly was appointed in 1857, during 


* Common names are those used in sources. 


+ This article first appeared in The Australian Bird 
Watcher in 1978. Permission to reprint it was kindly 
granted by the Bird Observers Club. 


+ 459 The Boulevard, East Ivanhoe, 3079 Victoria. 


the first session of the Victorian Parlia- 
ment, to consider the importation of live 
stock. After giving due consideration to 
the means of improving the breed of 
sheep in the colony, it found itself repor- 
ting that ‘‘your committee think that the 
bush solitudes of Victoria should be in- 
vaded by some of the myriads of 
feathered fowl which gather in clouds in 
other, but not fairer, lands, and that the 
vast nations of indigenous quadrupeds 
which throng over distant and less 
civilised scenes, should add their quota 
to give voice and life, activity and food, 
to where now, scarcely disturbed but by 
the cry of the laughing jackass, the 
almost unbroken repose of ages holds its 
sway over the lovely inland districts of 
Australia Felix’’. 

This appreciation of the beauty of the 
new country was unusual; and was com- 
bined with a feeling that it was in- 
complete without the familiar birds and 
animals of the old. 

The Old Bushman, H.W. 
Wheelwright, a sensitive observer of the 
native birds and animals, speaks for all 
in the colony when he says ‘‘ . . . larks 
have been imported from England and 
turned out wild. It will be a cheering 
sound in the ear of that man who has 
but lately left his English home, the clear 
shrill note of the Skylark in this land, 
where no single bird has any one long- 
continued song. Nowhere are British 
cagebirds more prized than in Australia, 
and the simple carol of one of our com- 
monest home songsters, when heard ina 
foreign land, cannot fail to raise 
pleasurable emotions even in the rudest 
and most untutored mind, for it speaks 
a language of youth and home familiar 
to all’’ (Wheelwright, 1861). 

The generally acknowledged founder 
and consistent inspirer of the formal ac- 


Vic. Nat: Vol. 98 


climatisation movement in Victoria was 
Edward Wilson of The Argus 
newspaper. Both streams can be seen ex- 
erting their influence through Wilson. In 
a paper read before the Philosophical 
Institute of Victoria in July 1857 
(Wilson, 1858) he argued for the in- 
troduction of song birds into Victoria, 
and suggested that first efforts should be 
concentrated on the skylark and the 
nightingale. 

“It may appear to some”’ he said, ‘‘a 
trivial thing to be devoting our efforts in 
such a direction, while so much has to be 
done for the colony in matters of essen- 
tial importance. But I confess that I am 
inclined to attach great consequence to 
the diffusion of these minor delights, 
and to estimate very highly their 
beneficial effects upon a people. There 
is a peculiar charm about the song of the 
skylark on a fine spring morning or that 
of the nightingale during one of its own 
calm summer nights. . . There may bea 
great deal doubtless, in the associations 
by which they are surrounded. But it is 
the peculiar characteristic of these in- 
teresting creatures to so surround 
themselves.”’ 

The other stream, however, appears 
when Wilson, on a visit to England in 
1860 wrote a letter to The Times draw- 
ing the attention of the public to the im- 
portance of acclimatisation, and the 
need for governments to give financial 
support to the cause as the Victorian 
Government had done. It had been sug- 
gested to him that a great want in 
England was ‘‘a domestic animal not 
too large when killed to be consumed by 
a middle class family and the flesh of 
which should be meaty rather than 
poultry like’, and that this need could 
be supplied by the wombat. 

This unexpected suggestion shows the 
nature of the international acclimatisa- 
tion movement; concerned to 
disseminate animals and plants 
throughout the world, and to establish 
them in countries other than those in 
which they were naturally found, but 


May/June 


where it was felt they had a useful part 
to play. 

Wilson was present at the first 
meeting, held in London in 1860, of the 
Society for the Acclimatisation of 
Animals (Buckland, 1861). When he 
returned to Victoria the Acclimatisation 
Society of Victoria (after 1872 the 
Zoological and Acclimatisation Society) 
was established at a meeting held on 
February 25, 1861 and presided over by 
the Governor, Sir Henry Barkly. Its ob- 
jects were almost identical with those of 
the London Society, the only changes 
being necessary alterations of place. 

So the Victorian Society was 
established for:- 

*‘The introduction, acclimatisation 
and domestication of all innoxious 
animals, birds, fishes, insects and 
vegetables, whether useful or ornamen- 
tal; the spread of indigenous 
animals etc. from parts of the colonies 
where they are already known to other 
localities where they are known; the pro- 
curing, whether by purchase, gifts or ex- 
change of animals etc. from Great Bri- 
tain, the British colonies, and foreign 
countries; the transmission of animals 
etc. from the colony to England and 
foreign parts, in exchange for others 
sent thence to the Society. . .”’ (and so 
on). 

Despite Wilson’s enthusiasm for song 
birds, the minutes show an emphasis on 
the useful; in 1862, for example, on 
receipt of a letter from a Mr Duffield of- 
fering to import birds, the reply stressed 
that ‘‘useful and edible birds would be 
preferred to those of merely ornamental 
character’’. 

To mark the first year of the Society’s 
operations, a lecture was given by Pro- 
fessor McCoy, Professor of Natural 
Science in the University of Melbourne, 
at the Annual Meeting in November 
1862. He led the imaginations of his 
hearers to dwell upon ‘‘the great task 
which has been reserved for us — the 
stocking of our new country with all the 
more important, useful and ornamental 


97 


kinds of animals, whether quadrupeds, 
birds or fishes, which are to be found in 
other parts of the world in similar 
climates, but of which the vast continent 
of Australia has been left by nature most 
singularly and exceptionally destitute’’. 


The international character of the ac- 
climatisation movement is illustrated by 
a list of ‘‘enquiries’’ (which would today 
be called a questionnaire) put to the 
Society by the Governor in 1864 ‘‘at the 
instance of the Secretary of State for the 
Colonies’’. It is clear that the enquiries 
had been sent to all the British colonies 
and dependencies on the initiative of the 
Acclimatisation Society of Great Bri- 
tain. The essential enquiries for present 
purposes were: ‘‘Is there any bird, in- 
digenous or introduced to the country in 
which you reside which merits attention 
with a view to its acclimatisation in 
Great Britain or any of its dependen- 
cies?’’ and: ‘‘Do you know any bird ex- 
isting elsewhere the introduction of 
which to the country in which you reside 
would be likely to be beneficial?” 


The birds recommended by the Vic- 
torian Society, in answer to the first 
question, as appropriate for acclimatisa- 
tion elsewhere, were the Emu, the 
Native Turkey or Bustard, the Wonga- 
Wonga Pigeon, the Mallee Hen, ‘‘quail 
of several species’’, the ‘‘so-called 
Magpies’’, Laughing Jackass, Black 
Swan, Cape Barren Goose and “‘other 
geese and ducks for instance Anseranas 
leucogaster, Anas superciliosa, Bernicla 
jubata, Casarca tadornoides, 
Malacorynchus membranaceus’’, The 
second of these mentioned, “‘breeds now 
readily in company with the European 
Wild Duck, which it meets in the wild 
state, as introduced by the Acclimatisa- 
tion Society of Victoria’’. The society’s 
pride in the achievement in _ inter- 
breeding seems strange today; Frith 
(1967), for this very reason, recom- 
mends that Mallard be shot on sight. 
Mallard and Mallard hybrids are 
classified as ‘‘noxious wildlife’’ and un- 


protected under the Victorian Wildlife 
Act 1975. 

With the aid of a substantial grant 
from the Victorian Parliament, as well 
as subscriptions and donations, the 
Society established at Royal Park what 
is now the Melbourne Zoo. Initially the 
establishment was intended as a holding 
place for birds and animals acquired by 
the Society in order that they might be 
put in good condition and where 
necessary their numbers increased by 
breeding with a view to liberation for ac- 
climatisation. Only in later years did 
Royal Park acquire its character as a 
general zoological gardens for visiting 
by the public, with exhibits not intended 
for ultimate release. 

The Appendix gives details of birds 
which had been liberated by the Society 
in the first twelve years of its existence, 
taken from the Annual Report for 1873. 
It should be remembered that con- 
siderable efforts were also being devoted 
to other species, notably alpaca and 
cashmere goats, camels and salmon, and 
thought was being given to other 
desirable imports such as silkworms, 
glow worms, Secretary Birds (which 
were reputed to eat snakes) crabs, 
lobsters and oysters. In the list of birds 
the two approaches are apparent again: 
the song birds and swans for delight; the 
game birds for sport and good eating. 
Had all the introductions succeeded, the 
character of the avifauna of Victoria 
would be markedly different today. 

Wheeler (1967) lists the following in- 
troduced species as at that date 
established in Victoria: Feral Pigeon, 
Spotted Turtle-Dove, Mallard, 
Blackbird, Song Thrush, Red-whiskered 
Bulbul, Skylark, House Sparrow, Tree 
Sparrow, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Starl- 
ing and Indian Mynah. The Ring-necked 
Pheasant, Spice Finch and Mute Swan 
have subsequently been added to this list 
(Wheeler, 1977), but these can be 
presumed to derive from more recent in- 
troductions. Thus it can be seen that the 
efforts of the Society largely failed. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. $6 


Difficulties there were in plenty. The 
game birds were sent to the properties of 
interested members for breeding up — 
to Mr Austin of Barwon Park, famous 
in Australian history for the acclimatisa- 
tion of the rabbit, to Edward Henty of 
Portland and to others. But it was hard 
to protect them from the uncontrolled 
depredations of shooters: in May 1862, 
Mr McHaffie of Phillip Island com- 
plained of the visits of trespassers with 
dogs and guns, and notices were to be 
posted on Phillip Island reading ‘‘All 
persons are hereby cautioned not to 
shoot or disturb the birds” (note: not 
‘the introduced birds’’) on this Island, 
they being preserved for the Ac- 
climatisation Society of Victoria.”’ 

Native hawks wrought havoc among 
the song birds, and the Society was anx- 
ious for their destruction; the purchase 
of a gun and ammunition for this pur- 
pose, was authorised in June 1862; but 
Wilson is recorded in the minutes of 
September of the same year as writing 
that ‘‘as those vermin did not exter- 
minate the native birds, there was no 
reason to suppose they would the im- 
ported ones when once they were 
established’’. 

There were frequent complaints of the 
activities of small boys with shanghais. 
In July 1862 the Society sent a circular 
to all Victorian municipal councils ad- 
vising them of the coming into operation 
of the Act for the Preservation of Native 
Game and asking them to bring in “‘a 
bylaw for the protection of all (sic) 
native birds (excepting hawks) within 
the bounds of the municipality’’ (the 
protection of the Act being given only to 
certain listed species classified as 
‘game’) and ‘‘giving power to the Police 
in all cases to prevent the use of the 
catapult (or shanghai) by the means of 
which instrument not only are the native 
birds rapidly disappearing from the 
vicinity of our towns but the English 
birds imported at so much care and ex- 
pense are frequently destroyed. Were 
such a bylaw vigorously enforced for a 


May/June 


few months this fast growing nuisance 
would be abated and the birds instead of 
becoming scarcer would quickly increase 
and multiply around us.”’ 

The interest of the Society in native 
birds was in fact manifested chiefly by 
the collection of live specimens for ex- 
change with kindred bodies overseas in 
return for species it was hoped to ac- 
climatise in Australia. 

The records show a flourishing active 
society; enjoying the support of many 
members; consistently under Vice-regal 
patronage; encouraging the formation 
of similar bodies in the other colonies; 
triumphantly recording in its annual 
reports the establishment in the wild of 
still more species; and ever warmly con- 
scious of the value of the task it had 
undertaken. 

Space does not permit a full history of 
the Society and of its gradual change to 
a body conducting a zoological gardens 
instead of a programme of acclimatisa- 
tion. But the material exists for such a 
study, and an outline has recently been 
published (Jenkins, 1977). What is 
harder, perhaps impossible, to discover, 
is the extent of private introduction of 
birds; to which I now turn. 

Some clues appear from the records 
of the Society. The Council minutes 
from time to time record exotic birds as 
presented to or bought by the Society; 
these are to be presumed to have been 
privately imported; they had clearly not 
been imported by the Society. 

In September 1862 letters were sent to 
people in different parts of the colony 
suggesting the formation of local bran- 
ches of the Society to assist in the work 
of acclimatisation. At the Council 
meeting held on September 30, 1862, 
replies were produced from Echuca, 
Portland, Creswick, Heyfield, 
Maryborough, Lake Hindmarsh, 
Castlemaine, Warrnambool, 
Beechworth and Walmer. 

“Nearly every gentleman asks for 
English song birds’’ remarked the Coun- 
cil in its minutes ‘‘and these frequently 


99 


arrive in ships from England”’ (italics 
added) ‘‘and are sold into captivity, 
whereas if they were purchased’’ (by 
local branches) ‘‘and set free they would 
speedily become plentiful throughout 
the colony’’. Again, these birds were 
private importations. 


There was sufficient interest in the 
subject for A.P. Bartlett, Superinten- 
dent of the Zoological Society’s Gardens 
at Regent’s Park, London, to publish in 
the J/bis of 1862 several pages of 
“Remarks on the Mode of Preparing 
and Keeping live Thrushes and other 
Birds intended for Shipment to 
Australia’’. 


But introductions were well under 
way before the formation of the Ac- 
climatisation Society. In March 1853 
The Argus reported that four white 
swans had arrived in Melbourne on the 
“Medway”’ and been presented to the 
Botanical Gardens. 


The files of that newspaper for 1854 
and later years tell the story of a ship- 
ment of songbirds brought from 
England by one Robert Morrice ‘‘a set- 
tler of many years standing’. A number 
of birds died on the voyage, but seven 
Skylarks survived to be liberated on the 
Barrabool Hills, near Geelong. They 
were reported singing months later by a 
traveller from the diggings, sixty miles 
away near Kyneton. The anonymous 
contributor to The Argus on October 
26, 1854 (most likely Edward Wilson, at 
that time editor) wrote that R.H. Horne 
(the poet, who had arrived in Melbourne 
in 1852) had suggested that Australian 
birds did not lack the ability to sing, but 
that they needed teaching. Wilson, if it 
be he, was prepared to agree that with 
the introduction of song birds ‘‘the 
powers of our indigenous songsters 
might be improved. They have voices, 
but have never been taught to use 
them’’. Skylarks, according to The 
Argus, were recorded in Flemington 
Road in October 1855, near Geelong in 
October 1857, near Kilmore in 


100 


December 1857 and on the Barrabool 
Hills in November 1858. 

In January 1856, a dealer imported 
for sale 800 canary birds, bullfinches, 
larks and other singing birds. In April 
the same year one Brender, who had 
brought to Sydney a large number of 
birds including thrushes, linnets, 
skylarks, chaffinches and starlings, was 
proposing to send some of them to 
Melbourne for sale. In January 1857 
The Argus followed these two reports by 
recording the arrival of ‘ta German 
gentleman with a large number of 
canaries, thrushes, blackbirds, robins, 
goldfinches, linnets, larks and starlings’’ 
and five nightingales; and called for 
donations to enable the nightingales to 
be purchased for liberation. Java spar- 
rows (presumably, from the context, 
free-flying) were recorded in the 
Botanical Gardens in November and 
December 1856 (The Argus July 14, 
1857). 

And The Argus continued to chroni- 
cle the arrival of birds. Six dozen 
blackbirds and thrushes were shipped to 
Victoria on the ‘Severn’? in August 
1857. ‘‘Several pairs of sky and wood 
larks, goldfinches and linnets’’ arrived 
in November of that year in the 
““Sydenham’’. A dealer called Neymaler 
landed his third shipment of birds in 
Victoria in January 1858 — 
nightingales, canaries, larks, blackbirds, 
thrushes, starlings and gold and silver 
pheasants. A Mr Rushall in October 
1858 brought in the ‘‘Norfolk’’ seven 
partridges, ‘‘several pheasants of the 
silver, pied, white and common kinds’’ 
and blackbirds, thrushes, linnets, 
goldfinches and larks. The writer in The 
Argus of October 21 stated ‘‘pheasants 
are already breeding in the colony’’. In 
December Mr Neymaler’s fourth ship- 
ment arrived — nightingales, canaries, 
larks, thrushes, blackbirds and several 
golden pheasants. 

The ‘‘Goddess’’ landed 11 pheasants 
in February 1859, and in March, 28 
pheasants, two blackbirds and a thrush 


Vic, Nat. Vol. 98 


arrived at Geelong, consigned to Mr 
Austin. 

The Times of London, quoting The 
Australian and New Zealand Gazette, 
records on October 18, 1859 the arrival 
in Melbourne of four dozen thrushes, 
consigned by Wilson; and on August 10, 
1860, this time quoting The Argus, tells 
of the arrival in Melbourne by the 
“Norfolk’’ of three larks, nine thrushes 
and thirty-seven blackbirds, all sent by 
Wilson. 

On December 27, in the same year, 
again citing The Argus, it states that 
many English birds were breeding in the 
aviaries in the Melbourne Botantic 
Gardens, and the thrushes were breeding 
also in the open air; the starling and 
blackbirds which were brought out by 
the ‘Lincolnshire’ and the ‘‘Essex’’ 
were recovering from the voyage; and 
‘*a number of the pheasants, blackbirds, 
thrushes and larks received from 
England have been set free in the islands 
of Western Port and no doubt they are 
fairly established there’. 

On April 6, 1860 “‘The Times’’ own 
correspondent in Melbourne wrote: 

“Honour to Edward Wilson! The 
charming singing birds which he despat- 
ched by the ‘Great Britain’ have arrived 
safely with few casualties. Out of the 
forty-two thrushes and fifty-five larks 
shipped, no less than thirty-seven of the 
former and forty-three of the latter have 
been successfully established in the 
Botanical Gardens. Of twelve pairs of 
pheasants, only seven cocks and four 
hens remain alive’’. 

Whatever the intended fate of the 
birds brought out by dealers and no 
doubt sold as cage birds, anything im- 
ported by Wilson was clearly destined 
for liberation with a view to acclimatisa- 
tion. 

The Old Bushman, who returned to 
England in 1859 (or perhaps in 1856: 
(Chisolm, 1976) ) and in any event 
before the establishment of the Ac- 
climatisation Society, records that 
skylarks had been liberated; he once saw 


May/June 


a white swan flying in the wild and knew 
of a tame pair kept in the Cremorne 
Gardens, Melbourne. Pheasants he 
knew of as having been imported, but so 
far, he believed, confined to aviaries; 
although he knew of a cock-pheasant 
having been shot a few years before ina 
patch of tea-tree a few miles from 


Melbourne, no doubt having been 
deliberately released (Wheelwright, 
1861). 


Thus, independently of the activities 
of the Society, birds were being in- 
troduced. Some, no doubt, escaped, and 
many were being released in the wild 
with a view to acclimatisation. This be- 
ing so, various confident statements in 
the literature as to the date of first in- 
troduction of sundry species should be 
read with caution. It is unlikely that the 
first date of introduction of any species 
will ever be known; and many unrecord- 
ed introductions must have taken place. 
Attempts have been made to ascertain 
the precise origin of introduced species 
(Sage, 1956 & 1957; Le Souef, 1958 & 
1964; Keve, 1976) in order to determine 
what subspecies produced the 
Australian stock. Le Souef worked from 
the minutes of the Acclimatisation 
Society. 

Sage relies on Ryan (1906) who gives 
particulars of date and place of first 
liberations and number of individuals 
liberated for twenty-three species; and 
similar details for a number of later 
liberations of the same species. Colonel 
Ryan was closely involved with the ac- 
tivities of the Acclimatisation Society, 
having been President in 1878 and 1899; 
he was to be President again in 1912-16. 
Thus it might have been assumed that he 
is speaking of liberations by the Society 
and obtained his information, which is 
detailed and specific, from the Society’s 
records. 

However, he mentions the Society 
only once, as having liberated some 
pheasants, and it is not possible to infer 
from the article that the other libera- 
tions to which he refers were in fact car- 


101 


ried out by the Society, or by any other 
specific person or organisation. No 
names are given. 

Further, his information is inconsis- 
tent with the published records of the 
Society. For example, he gives 1863 as 
the date of the first liberation of Starl- 
ings, Thrushes, Californian Quail and 
Skylarks, and 1864 for the Blackbird, all 
of which are listed by McCoy in his Jec- 
ture as having been liberated by the 
Society before June 1862. The Report of 
the Provisional Committee to the 
members of the Society on August 7, 
1862 states that ‘‘The Thrush, Skylark, 
Blackbird and probably the Starling, 
may now be considered permanently 
established amongst us, the three former 
being heard in all directions’’. 

The Skylark was, as shown above, 
present in 1854; whether these in- 
dividuals survived and produced descen- 
dants cannot now be known; but 1863, 
the date of first introduction as given by 
Ryan, is clearly incorrect in this case; 
and his dates are likely to be incorrect in 
other cases. Wheeler (1967) also gives 
dates of first liberation which appear to 
be derived from the published reports of 
the Society. 

It is easy to envisage the settler, retur- 
ning to England on a visit, acquiring a 
cage of birds and nursing them through 
the long voyage back to Australia to 
relieve what was to him a dreary 
wilderness; or buying the birds brought 
out to Melbourne by dealers; and 
liberating them optimistically in the 
hope that they would establish 
themselves. Today we regret his efforts; 
but we should not judge him too har- 
shly. It is only in the last ten to fiteen 
years that most of us have considered 
native plants to be suitable for our 
gardens; the botanical importations of 
our homesick ancestors have seemed to 
us until lately the only plants worthy of 
domestication. 

Our attitude to the introduced birds 
has for a long time been different. Part- 
ly this change arose from an early revul- 


102 


sion against the fruit eating propensities 
of some of the exotic species. Com- 
plaints against Sparrows and Mynahs on 
this ground were voiced at the sixth an- 
nual meeting of the Society in 1868. And 
at a Council Meeting of the Society as 
early as June 3, 1862 ‘‘the Starling was 
specially objected to, as being reported 
to destroy the eggs of other birds’’. 

Private introductions and liberations 
continued, however, John Ritchie of 
Blythevale, near Streatham, some 160 
km west of Melbourne, had Turtle 
Doves in his garden in November 1869, 
and a large cage of canaries, ‘‘but all the 
blackbirds and thrushes died which he 
turned out some time ago’’. (Lewis, 
1869). Dr George Nicholson is reported 
as liberating Thrushes, Blackbirds and 
Skylarks near Ballarat in 1876, and as 
having imported (and presumably 
liberated) other birds in 1867 and 1870 
or 1871. All his birds came from 
Ireland, mostly from County Cork (Bar- 
rett, 1926). 

Changing attitudes in later years are 
demonstrated by the treatment of the in- 
troduced birds in the standard bird 
books and other lists. Keartland con- 
tributing to The Handbook of 
Melbourne for the use of members of 
the Australasian Association for the Ad- 
vancement of Science, which met at the 
University of Melbourne in 1900, pro- 
duced an otherwise comprehensive list 
entitled ‘Birds of the Melbourne 
District’’ which made no mention at all 
of any introduced species. Robert Hall 
(1899) and (1900), listing Australian 
birds and insectivorous birds of Victoria 
respectively likewise ignored them. In 
1907 he at least dealt with the introduced 
birds, although in a separate chapter, as 
did Lucas and Le Souef (1911). Leach in 
his first edition (1911) was ahead of his 
time in realistically including them in 
systematic order. The first edition of 
Cayley (1931) included no illustrations 
of introduced birds, although some were 
described, and in the 1958 edition a 
separate plate depicting introduced 


Vic. Nat. Vol, 98 


species was added. Mack (1935) listed 
them separately at the end of his account 
of the birds of Victoria. 

Whittell (1954) in his entry on Le 
Souef (1890), felt constrained to add 
“includes information on introduced 
birds’’ almost apologetically, as though 
such a reference was hardly appropriate 
in a work entitled ‘‘The Literature of 
Australian Birds.’’ Wheeler (1967) lists 
the introduced species in systematic 
order as they come, recognising them as 
an integral part of the avifauna, as do 
Slater (1970 and 1974), the Victorian 
Year Book for 1966 (Anon, 1966), and 
Macdonald (1973). 

The 1926 Checklist (RAOU, 1926) ig- 
nored the introduced species; the 1975 
Checklist (Condon, 1975) and Interim 
List (Shodde, 1975) included them. 

In 1969 the Gould League produced 
what must be the first Australian bird 
book with a starling on the cover; Birds 
of Victoria: Urban Areas; accepting 
reality and recognising the place of the 
exotics in the region with which the 
book was concerned. Over 70% of the 
people of Victoria live in Melbourne 
(Anon, 1977) and for them, the com- 
mon, obvious birds are the introduced 
birds. 

The introductions of exotic birds to 
Victoria and the other Australian col- 
onies (Jenkins, 1977) formed part, but 
only part, of the activities of the official, 
organised acclimatisation movement 
and of the private individuals desirous 
of recreating in a strange land the 
familiar sights and sounds of home. 

I am indebted to Allan McEvey for 
pointing out that both groups were 
assuming man’s dominion over the 
animal kingdom; it was for man to ar- 
range the creatures wherever in the 
world he wished to do so. The eigh- 
teenth century neo-classical love of 
order, seen also in the landscape gardens 
of the period, imposed itself upon the 
natural world; and the nineteenth cen- 
tury acclimatisers moved in that tradi- 
tion, exemplified by McCoy’s perora- 


May/June 


tion quoted above. Among the Victorian 
colonists it seems that there was as yet 
no place for the romantics, prepared to 
accept, to marvel at, and later to study, 
nature in its primeval state. 

There is not space here to examine to- 
day’s ambivalent attitudes to the 
established introduced species. 

Let the last word be with C. J. Den- 
nis’ Starling, chattering in 1935: 

“Men rave and count us enemies 

And many strive to work us ill. 

Yet pray remember, if you please, 

That we are here not at our will. 

Some homesick exile brought us hence 

To be a solace for his grief 

So, spite of all our grave offence, 

Can’t you forgive a cheery thief?”’ 


Acknowledgements 

For assistance towards the prepara- 
tion of this article | am indebted to Ellen 
McCulloch, Tess Kloot, Helen Aston 
and Peter Balmford; to the latter also 
for access to his useful working library 
of Victorian history. For arousing my 
interest in the history of ornithology and 
of Victorian ornithology in particular I 
owe a debt to Allan McEvey, who kindly 
read and commented on a draft of this 
paper. To all of them my thanks. 


APPENDIX 
BIRDS LIBERATED IN VICTORIA 
BY THE 
ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY OF 
VICTORIA TO 1873 
At the Botanical Gardens 
18 Canaries 
18 Blackbirds 
14 Thrushes 
6 California quail 
80 English wild ducks 
35 Java sparrows 
4 English robins 
8 Turtle doves 
50 Mainas 


At Phillip Island 
4 Chinese partridges 
70 Chinese quail 
23 Tasmanian quail 
6 Starlings 
10 Algerine sand grouse 
6 Wild ducks 


103 


5 Pheasants 

6 Skylarks 

6 California quail 

4 Thrushes 

4 Blackbirds 

1 Pair white swans 
5 Cape pheasants 

8 English pheasants 
4 Indian pheasants 
8 Ceylon partridges 
5 Indian partridges 


At Sandstone and Churchill Islands 


4 Pheasants 
4 Skylarks 
4 Thrushes 


At Yarra Bend 
6 Thrushes 
4 Skylarks 


At the Royal Park 
2 Thrushes 
20 Greenfinches 
15 Yellowhammers 
200 Java sparrows 
6 Blackbirds 
20 Siskin finches 
6 Powi birds 
3 Partridges 
6 Pheasants 
10 English robins 
20 Mainas 
6 Starlings 
60 English sparrows 
40 Chaffinches 


At St. Kilda 
20 Chinese sparrows 


At Ballarat 
5 English sparrows 
20 Java sparrows 


At Cape Liptrap 
10 Pigeons 
4 Ceylon peafowls 
4 Guinea fowl 


At Plenty Ranges 
10 Pheasants 
4 Jungle fowls 
7 Guinea fowls 


Liberated in the Bush in 1870 


30 Pheasants 

25 Skylarks 

A number of doves 
20 Guinea fowl 

10 Pea fowl 


Liberated in the Bush in 1871 


150 Guinea fowl 
15 Pheasants 


104 


Liberated in the Bush in 1872 
50 Pheasants 
A number of Californian quail 
17 English robins 
20 Guinea fowl 


In addition to the above, 54 pheasants had been sold 
and distributed to members of the Society. 


REFERENCES: 


Anon, 1966. Victorian Year Book 1966, Com- 
monwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, 
Melbourne. 

Anon. 1977. Victorian Year Book 1977. Australian 
Bureau of Statistics, Melbourne. 

The Argus, 1853. 15 March, 

The Argus, 1854, 18 February, 19 August, 26 and 28 
October, 8 and 14 November. 

The Argus, 1855. 9 July, 7 September, 22 
October. 

The Argus, 1856. 23 January, 26 February, 2 April. 

The Argus, 1857. 1 January, 14 July, 23 and 31 Oc- 
tober, 3 November, 7 December. 

The Argus, 1858. 15 January, 21 October, 9 
November, 20 December. 

The Argus, 1859. 21 January, 17 February, 2 and 30 
March. 

(Barrett, Charles), B.C., 1926. Introduction of 
British Birds Victorian Naturalist 43, 190. 

Bartlett, A. D., 1862. Remarks on the mode of 
preparing and keeping alive Thrushes and other 
Birds intended for shipment to Australia. [bis 4 
(13). January, 13-18. 

Bennett, George, 1862. Acclimatisation: Its Emi- 
nent Adaptation to Australia. Republished by the 
Acclimatisation Society of Victoria, Melbourne. 

Blainey, Ann, 1968. The Farthing Poet: A 
Biography of Richard Hengist Horne, 1802-84. 
London, Longmans. 

Buckland, F., 1861. The Acclimatisation of 
Animals. A paper read before the Society of Arts, 
London. Republished by the Acclimatisation 
Society of Victoria, Melbourne. (Bound in Vic- 
torian Pamphlets no, 32, La Trobe Library, State 
Library of Victoria.) 

Cayley, Neville W., 1958. What Bird Is That? Se- 
cond Edition, revised and enlarged by A.H. 
Chisholm, K.A. Hindwood, and A.R. McGill, 
Sydney, Angus & Robertson. 

Chisholm, A.H., 1950. Birds introduced into 
Australia. Emu 50: 97, 

Chisholm, A.H., 1976. ‘‘Wheelwright, Horace 
William” in Australian Dictionary of Biography 
Vol. 6. ed. Nairn, Melbourne. M.U.P. 

Condon, H.T., 1975. Checklist of the Birds of 
Australia Part 1 Non-Passerines. Melbourne, 
RAOU. 

Dennis, C.J., 1935. The Singing Garden. Sydney. 
Angus & Robertson. 

Elliot, Brian, 1976, ‘‘Emblematic vision: or 
landscape in a concave mirror’, in Man and 
Landscape in Australia ed. Seddon and 
Davis, Canberra. Australian Government 
Publishing Service. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Fendley, G.C., 1974. ‘‘McCoy, Sir Frederick’? in 
Australian Dictionary of Biography Vol. § ed. 
Pike, Melbourne. M.U.P. 

Frith, H.J., 1967. Waterfowl! in Australia, Sydney. 
Angus & Robertson. 

Gordon, Adam Lindsary, 1870. Bush Ballads and 
Galloping Rhymes. Melbourne. Clarson, 
Massina. 

Gould League, Victoria, 1969. Birds of Victoria, 
Urban Areas. Melbourne. Victoria Gould 
League. 

Hall, Robert, 1899. A Key to the Birds of Australia. 
Melbourne, Walker, McKay & Co. 

Hall, Robert, 1900, The Insectivorous Birds of 
Victoria. Melbourne. Author. 

Hall, Robert, 1907. The Useful Birds of Southern 
Australia. Melbourne. T.C. Lothian. 

Jenkins, C.F.H., 1977. The Noah's Ark Syndrome. 
Perth Zoological Gardens Board. 

Keartland, G.A., 1900. Birds of the Melbourne 
District. In Handbook of Melbourne, Australa- 
sian Association for the Advancement of Science, 
Melbourne. 

Keve, A., 1976. Some remarks on the taxonomic 
position of the Tree Sparrow introduced into 
Australia. Emu 76: 152. 

Kiddle, Margaret, 1961. Men of Yesterday (pp. 318- 
320). Melbourne, M.U.P. 

Kramer, Leonie, 1972. ‘‘Gordon, Adam Lindsay”’ 
in Australian Dictionary of Biography Vol. 4 ed. 
Pike, Melbourne. M,U.P. 

Leach, J.A., 1911. An Australian Bird Book. 
Melbourne. Whitcombe and Tombs. 

Le Souef, J. Cecil, 1958. The Introduction of Spar- 
rows into Victoria. Emu 58: 264. 

Le Souef, J. C., 1964. Acclimatisation in Victoria. 
Victorian Historical Magazine 36: 8-29. 

Le Souef, W. H. D., 1890. ‘‘Acclimatisation in Vic- 
toria’. In Report of the second meeting of the 
Australasian Association for the Advancement of 
Science held at Melbourne Victoria in January 
1890. 476-482. 

Lewis, William, 1869, ‘Letters to George Russell’’ 
in VIl Clyde Company Papers ed. P.L. Brown, 
1971, London. O.U.P. (pp. 353-4). 

Lucas, A.H.S. & Le Souef, W. H. Dudley, 1911. 
The Birds of Australia. Melbourne. Whitcombe 
and Tombs. 

Macdonald, J.D., 1973. Birds of Australia, Sydney. 
A.H. & A.W. Reed. 

Mack, George, 1935. ‘‘The Birds of Victoria’’ in 
Victorian Year Book 1933-4. ed. Gawler, 
Melbourne. Government Printer. 

McCoy, F.S., 1862. Acclimatisation, its nature and 
applicability to Victoria. Anniversary address 
delivered to the first annual meeting of the Ac- 
climatisation Society of Victoria, Melbourne. 

McEvey, A.R., 1975. Bibliography to accompany 
Victorian Ornithology — A Chronology. 
Melbourne. National Museum of Victoria. 

Melbourne Zoo (n.d.) The Melbourne Zoological 


May/June 


Gardens, Past History and Present Trends. 
Special edition of Melbourne Zoo Newsletter, for 
110th birthday. 

RAOU, 1926, The Official Checklist 
Birds of Australia, Melbourne. RAOU., 

Ryan, C.S., 1906. On European and other Birds 
Liberated in Victoria, Emu 5; 110. 

Sage, Bryan, L.., 1956. Remarks on the Racial 
Status, History and Distribution of the Tree Spar- 
row introduced into Australia, Emu 56: 137. 

Sage, B.L., 1957, Remarks on the Taxonomy, 
History and Distribution of the House Sparrow 
introduced into Australia. Bmu 57; 349. 

Schodde, R., 1975. Interim List of Australian 
Songbirds. Passerines. Melbourne, RAOU, 

Serle, Geoffrey, 1976. ‘‘Wilson, Edward’ in 
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol. 6, ed. 
Nairn, Melbourne. M,U.P. 

Slater, Peter, 1970 & 1974. A Field Guide to 
Australian Birds. Adelaide. Rigby. 

Smith, James (ed.), 1903. The Cyclopedia of 
Victoria Vol. 1, pp. 283-286. Melbourne. The 
Cyclopedia Company. 

Tarr, H.E., 1950. The Distribution of Foreign Birds 
in Australia. Emu 49: 189. 

Tarr, H.E,, 1963. Early Note on Introduced Birds. 
Bird Observer. May 1963, 2. 

The Times, 1859. 18 October, London. 

The Times, 1860. 6 April, 10 August, 22 September, 
27 December, London. 

Victoria, Legislative Assembly 1857 Report from 
Select Committee on Live Stock Importation. 
Ordered to be Printed March 10, 1857. 

Wheeler, W.R., 1967. A Handlist of the Birds of 
Victoria, Melbourne. Victorian Ornithological 
Research Group. 

Wheeler, W.R., 1977. Additional Species added to 
“4 Handlist of the Birds of Victoria, 1967’’. 
(manuscript). 

(Wheelwright, H.W.) An Old Busman 1861. Bush 
Wanderings of a Naturalist. London. Routledge, 
Warne and Routledge. Reprinted, Oxford 
University Press, Melbourne, 1979. 

Whittell, H.M., 1954. The Literature of Australian 
Birds. Perth. Paterson Brokensha, 

Wilson, Edward, 1858. On the Introduction of the 
British Song Bird. Transactions of the 
Philosophical Institute of Victoria 2, 77-88. 

Wilson, Edward, 1860. Letter to the Times, 22 
September, 1860. 

(Zoological and) Acclimatisation Society of Vic- 
toria. 

1861-1951 Papers (mostly minutes and reports) 
Vols, I-13 (Xerox copies in library of Monash 
University, Clayton, Victoria). 

1861-7. Annual reports, Answers to enquiries, 
report of dinner, rules and objects, etc. (Bound in 
Victorian pamphlets, nos. 32, 36, 49, 60 and 129 
in La Trobe Library, State Library of Victoria. 

1872-8. Proceedings and reports of Annual 
Meetings, Vols. 1-5. 


of the 


105 


A Short History of the Discovery and Naming of 
Banksias in Eastern Australia 
Part II Sir James Edward Smith 


By A.I. SALKIN* 


The ‘‘First Fleet’? of convicts and 
soldiers landed at Botany Bay on 
January 18th, 1788. By a strange coin- 
cidence the ships of a French ‘‘scien- 
tific’? voyage of exploration anchored in 
the bay eight days later (Scott, 1916). 
This was the ill-fated expedition under 
the command of La Perouse which was 
to meet a tragic end at Vanikoro 
(Stafleu, 1966) in the Santa Cruz group 
of islands, in the Solomons. 

The motives for the settlement in New 
South Wales are the subject of much 
debate but one thing that is quite clear is 
that it provided an opportunity for 
scientific material to be sent from 
Australia to England. Thomas Keneally 
(1967) in his novel ‘‘Bring Larks and 
Heroes’’ gives something of the flavour 
of this period and how the convicts were 
used in this trade in exotics either as col- 
lectors or illustrators. There was of- 
ficially a monopoly on all material of 
scientific interest and this was under the 
direct control of Sir Joseph Banks. The 
botanical material was intended for the 
Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and only 
a few rarities were allowed to be 
distributed to the King’s favourites 
through the offices of Banks. Banks 
however did not employ a collector in 
New South Wales until 1791; he was 
David Burton, a superintendent of con- 
victs who applied to Banks directly for 
the position. Banks’ reply to Burton 
gives a clear picture of the importance 
attached to the monopoly. 

‘*T mean by offering you 20 pounds a 
year to engage you (to) collect for me 
seeds of Plants, Living Plants when you 
can and specimens of Plants and that 
you engage not to supply any other per- 
son directly or indirectly with any 
vegetable production the other two 


106 


kingdoms of nature are open to you.” 
(Banks, 1791 in Gilbert, 1962) 

In the meanwhile, Banks was supplied 
by Governor Philip with seeds and 
plants. 

The monopoly that Banks sought to 
establish merely made a clandestine 
trade in botanical and zoological 
curiosities more probable, and also 
more profitable. Not only were naval 
and military officers engaged in this 
‘trade’? but so also was anybody else 
who had or claimed knowledge pertain- 
ing to these matters. 

The trade in botanical curiosities was 
much older than the settlement of 
Australia. New plants suitable for both 
agriculture and horticulture were as im- 
portant, if not more so then, as they are 
now. Botanical collectors risked their 
lives in the jungles of South America 
and the mountains of India and China 
collecting for this trade. The King’s 
garden at Kew merely gave added status 
to this penchant for acquiring rarities. 
Magazines were published that describ- 
ed new species as they were brought into 
cultivation. The best of these were in 
many ways scientific works, their titles 
give some idea of the market to which 
the information was intended. The Cur- 
tis Botanical Magazine, one of the most 
influential of these publications, con- 
tinues to be published under a bequest 
from George Bentham and presumably 
fulfils a similar service to the original 
ones which were: 

“The Botanical Magazine: or Flower 
Garden Displayed; in which the most or- 
namental Foreign Plants, cultivated in 
the Open Ground, the Green House, 
* Science Department, 


Brentwood High School, 
Heath St. Glen Waverley, 3150. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


and the stove are accurately represented 
in their Natural Colors . . . A work in- 
tended for the use of such Ladies, 
Gentlemen, and Gardeners as wish to 
become scientifically acquainted with 
the plants they cultivate.’’ 

The first volume of the ‘‘Curtis 
Botanical Magazine’’ was published in 
1787. A very early volume, Volume 6 
Plate 738 deals with ‘‘Banksia 
ericaefolia’’ (sic). After a latin generic 
and species description together with 
synonyms and illustrations this descrip- 
tion follows — 

“‘The Banksia is a genus so named in 
honor of its first discoverer, the Presi- 
dent of the Royal Society, in a voyage 
round the world with Captain Cook, is 
very nearly allied to Protea, and like 
that appears to contain a great number 
of species of various forms and size. Our 
present plant forms a handsome shrub, 
thrives freely, and has flowered in 
several collections; our drawing was 
taken from that of E.J.A. Woodford, 
Esq. at Vauxhall in April 1802. 

The beauty of the flower consists very 
much in the length of the style; which 
from the stigma being long retained 
within the anthers, is fancifully bent into 
a loop: when the efflorescence is com- 
plete, the petals expand and let the 
stigma at liberty. The flower is con- 
sidered by some as monopetalous, but 
the petals, in Banksia ericaefolia (sic) at 
least, adhere so slightly at the base only, 
that they can hardly be kept from 
separating when removed from the 
receptacle. The germen (ovary) in this 
species is surrounded by brown hairs 
very like many of the Protea. We could 
not discover any other calyx than the 
squama (bracts) of the Amentum 
(spike), in no respect like that described 
by Gaertner. A native of New-Holland. 
By no means tender, and may be kept in 
a greenhouse with Proteas and other 
Cape shrubs. Propagated by seeds and 
cuttings.’’ 

“The Botanist’s Repository’? by 
Henry Andrews was not a magazine, but 


May/June 


was published in parts between 1797 to 
1815. The full title describes clearly the 
aims which were in the best traditions of 
natural history — 

“The Botanist’s Repository for New 
and Rare Plants containing coloured 
figures of such plants, as have not ap- 
peared in any similar publications with 
all their essential characters botanically 
arranged after the sexual system of the 
celebrated Linnaeus in English and 
Latin. To each description is added a 
short history of the plant as to its time of 
flowering, culture, native place of 
growth, when introduced and by 
whom.”’ 

In many cases: *“‘The Botanist’s 
Repository’’ achieved what it set out to 
do and a number of plant species were 
first described in the publication. 
Bauera rubioides is one of a number of 
descriptions that were published in this 
way. 

The most influential of these 
botanical publications and one that con- 
centrated entirely on the flora of 
Australia was ‘“‘A Specimen of the 
Botany of New Holland’’ (Smith, 1793). 
The author Sir James Edward Smith, 
founder of the Linnean Society, acted as 
the patron of Mr. John White who ac- 
companied Captain Phillip as Surgeon- 
General to the colony of New South 
Wales. White’s medical training made 
him a suitable observer and collector 
because medicine was largely concerned 
with obtaining drugs from plants, 
botany being part of medical training. 

Of the plants that White sent back, 27 
were described as new species in the 
‘‘Specimen”’, a further 37 were describ- 
ed in ‘‘Exotic Botany’’ (Smith, 1804), of 
these 64 new plants only one new 
Banksia species was described. It is im- 
portant to realise that so far none of the 
Banksia spp. at that time discovered had 
been described by the person who col- 
lected it and none of the material was re- 
tained in Australia. This poses many 
problems for anybody doing research in 
Australia and the reverse is true of 


107 


researchers in England. Smith never saw 
plants growing in the field in Australia. 
He no doubt saw plants growing in 
greenhouses but because of phenotypic 
plasticity this is a poor substitute for 
field work. Smith appears to have been 
aware of these problems because as well 
as the pressed specimens White sent him 
there were also sketches; these were pro- 
bably done by the convict artist Thomas 
Watling (Rientis, 1963). The seventh 
Banksia spp. at that time discovered had 
to be described was B. spinulosa. The 
pressed specimen is still in the Linnean 
Society’s herbarium and is in a 
remarkably good state of preservation; 
it consists of 3 sprays with 3 flowers in 
various stages of development. The 
“worked up’’ coloured illustration is by 
James Sowerby who was also the 
publisher. Whilst the illustration is a lit- 
tle mechanical in its treatment, there is 
no doubt as to which species this is. This 
is of importance as there are a number 
of variants in the B. spinulosa complex. 
The species description supports the il- 
lustration and it is given below to il- 
lustrate the nature of the botany of this 
period, the dual role that it served, and 
the mixture of science with the 
dissemination of popular gardening in- 
formation. 

‘*Banksia spinulosa 

Prickly-leaved Banksia 

Gen. Char. Receptaculum commune 
elongatum, squamosum. Cor. 
tetrapetala. Stamina limbo inserta. Cap- 
sula_ bivalvis, disperma_ interjecto 
seminibus dissep imento mibili Common 
receptacle elongated, scaly. Cor. of four 
petals Stamina inserted into the limb. 
Capsule with two valves, two seeds and 
a moveable partition between them. 


Spec. Char. B. foliis linearibus 
mucronulatis apicem versus denticulato- 
spinosis. 

Leaves linear, revolute, with a little 
sharp point, and with spinous denticula- 
tions towards the top. 

This hitherto non-descript (undescrib- 
ed) species of Banksia has a woody 


108 


branched stem, the branches commonly 
three or more together, curved upwards, 
leaves irregularly scattered, closely 
covering the branches, on very short 
footstalks (petioles), but little spreading, 
from an inch and half to two inches in 
length, linear, very narrow, revolute in 
the margin, green and smooth above, 
white and downy beneath, ending very 
abruptly, tipped with three little spines 
and having several of the same kind 
hooked upwards in the margin par- 
ticularly towards the top. The young 
leaves are very downy. Flowers thick set 
in a cylindrical erect spike arising from 
the divarications of the branches. Their 
common receptacle is cylindrical, rather 
obtuse covered with closely imbricated 
downy scales, some of the lowermost of 
which terminate in a long downy arista 
and from among the rest the flowers 
come out in pairs. The structure of the 
flower is well expressed in the annexed 
plate. We suspect the fruit figures in Mr 
White’s voyage page 225 fig 1. may 
belong to this species but we have no 
positive proof to assert it. 

Our Banksia spinulosa differs from B. 
ericaefolia (sic) of Linnaeus (Herb. 
Linn.) in having leaves at least four 
times as long, obtuse but with a small 
central sharp point on the mid rib bet- 
ween the other two terminal points as 
well as having a greater or lesser of small 
sharp-hooked lateral teeth towards the 
end of each leaf. The natives of New 
south Wales call it ‘Wattangre’.’’ 

The cone illustrated by White (1790) is 
probably not as suggested from the B. 
spinulosa described by Smith but, may 
be from another member of the complex 
or from one of the forms of B. 
ericifolia. 

There is evidence that White sent 
other Banksia specimens to Smith. The 
Linnean Society holds a number of 
specimens of B. integrifolia as well as 
one labelled B. cuneata which appears to 
be the juvenile foliage of B. integrifolia 
but may be one of the forms of the com- 
plex it forms with B. marginata. There is 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


also a specimen of 8B.  serratifolia 
Salisb., (B. aemula R. Br.) and another 
of B. asplentifolia Salisb., (B. 
oblongifolia Cav.) and it is the presence 
of these in the Linnean Society Her- 
barium which is an important clue to 
one of the bitterest controversies in 
banksia taxonomy. 


Other Anderson descriptions that are still valid are 
Callicoma serralifolia, Crowea saligna, Daviesia 
ulicifolia, Persoonia linearis, Styphelia tubiflora, S. 
viridis, Ziera Smithii. 


REFERENCES 


Andrews, H. C, 1797-1804. 
Repository 10 vols. London 
Curtis, W. 1797-1810 Curtis’s Botanical Magazine 

Vols 1-32. London. 

Gilbert, L. A. 1962. Botanical investigations of the 
eastern seaboard of Australia 1788-1810. Un- 
published. M.A. Thesis, University of New 
England. 

Keneally, T, 1967. 
Penguin. Australia. 

Rientis R. and T. 1963. Early Artists of Australia. 
Halstead Press. Sydney. 

Scott, E, 1916. A Short History of Australia. 
Oxford University Press, London. 

Smith, J. E. 1793-5. A Specimen of The Botany of 
New Holland. Sowerby. London. 

Smith, J. E. 1804-5. Exotic Botany. 2 Vols. 
Sowerby. London, 

Stafleu, F. A. 1966. Introduction to the facsimile 
edition of Novae hollandiae plantarum specimen 
(a Billardiere 1804) Historia Naturalis Classica, 
Weinberg. 

White, J. 1790. Journal of a Voyable to New South 
Wales. London. 


The Botanist’s 


Bring Larks and Heroes. 


Mammal Survey Group Contribution No.13 


Mammals of the Wallaby Creek Catchment 
By B. A. CALLANAN* 


Introduction 

From September 1974 to November 
1978 the mammal fauna of the Wallaby 
Creek Catchment of the Melbourne and 
Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) 
was examined by means of a series of 
sample surveys. A total of 1108 trap- 
nights and 42.4 spotlight hours resulted 
in nine native and five introduced mam- 
mal species being recorded. 

Wallaby Creek Catchment is situated 
on the Great Dividing Range approx- 
imately sixty kilometres north north-east 
of Melbourne. It adjoins the Broadford 
State Forest to the west and pine and 
hardwood forests, mixed farming, graz- 
ing and closer settlement to the east. 

The catchment forms part of 
Melbourne’s water supply system and 
public entry is prohibited. We are in- 


(*Mammal Survey Group, c/- Secretary 26 


McCulloch Street, Nunawading.) 


May/June 


debted to the MMBW for permitting 
controlled entry of our group for these 
distribution studies. Logging is not 
undertaken within the area — manage- 
ment being oriented towards protection 
from fire and water supply interests. 

The extent of the examination is 
resolved for this report into seven 
specific study areas distributed 
throughout five major vegetation 
associations, defined as Mature Moun- 
tain Ash, Regrowth Mountain Ash, 
Unstocked Ash Site, Northern Mixed 
Eucalypt Species and Southern Mixed 
Eucalypt Species. These are shown in 
Fig. 1. 


Methods 


Within each study locality live trapping and 
spotlighting were the basic survey methods used. 
Chance sightings and daylight observations of 
mammals during the survey were recorded. 

Survey work included an examination of the 


109 


FIG1 
WALLABY CREEK 
CATCHMENT 


(1 Mature Mountain Ash 
Co Regrowth Mountain. Ash 
Unstocked Ash Site 

[J Mixed Eucalypt Species 


110 Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


habitat of each study locality. The method 
developed by Specht (1970) was used as the basis of 
vegetation description in the field. Where necessary 
to complete the structural definition of the vegeta- 
tion type, descriptions of intermediate, shrub and 
ground cover layers of vegetation have been used. 


Description of Study Area 
Geology and Physiography 


A detailed description of the geological features 
of the area local to Wallaby Creek has been publish- 
ed (Land Conservation Council 1973). 

The higher parts, including the mature Mountain 
Ash areas, are based on a granite formation which 
reaches its highest elevation of 800 m at Mount 
Disappointment just on the south-west boundary. 
The main plateau level corresponds to the Kinglake 
Geological surface. 

The localities of sample surveys varied in eleva- 
tion between 400 m on the southern escarpment to 
750 m in the mature Mountain Ash area. 


Climate 


Table 1 gives rainfall and temperature figures for 
stations in the study area. They are from published 
data (Bureau of Meteorology 1966) and information 
supplied by the MMBW from the Disappointment 
Reference Area Management Plan, March 1979, 
MMBW. The Disappointment plateau is in a cool 
temperate zone with an average annual rainfall of 
approximately 1200 mm and a pronounced winter 
maximum. 

The plateau normally experiences wet winters and 
comparatively dry summers. Precipitation is 
generally in the form of rain with occasional hail 
and infrequent rapidly melting snow. 

Rainfall records have been kept since 1885 at the 
Wallaby Creek settlement on the north-eastern edge 
of the plateau. The table gives the monthly and an- 
nual long-term average rainfall at the settlement for 
the period 1885-1978, and for comparative pur- 
poses, Toorourrong which is south of the plateau 
and at a lower elevation, (1893-1978). 

Rainfall records taken on the plateau in mature 
Mountain Ash agree closely with the Wallaby Creek 
figures, 


Table 1. Climate. 


Temperature records for the plateau are not 
available. Estimates taken from mean isotherm 
charts (Director of Meteorology, 1968) are shown in 
Table 3. 

Temperature ranges are generally moderate, 
however frosts occur throughout the year and it 
could be expected that dew point is reached on most 
nights of the year. Summer temperatures can occa- 
sionally rise as high as 35°C or more. 


Streams 


The major streams draining the area form two 
groups, the first draining south into Toorourrong 
Reservoir, the remainder flowing north to where 
they are intercepted and channelled back across the 
Great Dividing Range into Toorourrong Reservoir. 
If not intercepted the south flowing streams would 
enter the Plenty River and the northerly streams 
would flow to the King Parrot Creek. 


Vegetation 


For the purpose of this report the habitats present 
in the Wallaby Creek catchment are divided into 
five types as follows: 

Mature Mountain Ash 

Regrowth Mountain Ash 

Unstocked Ash Site 

Northern Mixed Eucalypt Species (Northern 
Plateau) 

Southern Mixed Eucalypt Species (Foothills) 

Figure | outlines the distribution of the main 
habitat types. 

A general description of the vegetation of the area 
has been published (Land Conservation Council 
1973), 

A brief description of the vegetation at each 
survey locality is given below. Species names are 
drawn from Willis (1970, 1972). 


Mature Mountain Ash 

Centred on the high dividing range to the east of 
Mt Disappointment, the mature Mountain Ash at 
Wallaby Creek was not destroyed by the 1926 and 
1939 bushfires. The fire of 1926 burnt into part of 
this destroying some but leaving most, while the 
fires of 1939 did not approach near to the area. 


Rainfall (mm) — Monthly Means from all Records 


Jan Feb Mch Apr May Jne 


Wallaby Creek 
Settlement Oe OL A T2y SOF 


Toorourrong 54 56 S8 66 


116 133 127 131 119 117 97 86 


Jly Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year 


1223 


10m “G6 = GAS B86.) BZ FO 466 801 


Temperature (°C) — Estimates from Mean Isotherm Charts (Director of Meteorology 1968) 


Catchment 


Plateau 


May/June 


Oct 
16 
6 


The locations of specific survey efforts in this 
habitat type are shown in Fig. 1. 

The upper storey is a tall open forest of almost 
pure Mountain Ash standing 50 to 70 m high and 
having a canopy cover from 50 to 60 percent of total 
forest surface area. 

On the verge of the southern slopes Mountain 
Grey Gum Eucalyptus cypellocarpa merges pro- 
gressively with Mountain Ash as altitude decreases. 

The intermediate storey beneath the mature 
Mountain Ash varies from open to quite dense near 
the heads of gullies and streams. Species present in- 
clude Mountain Correa Correa lawrenciana, Silver 


Wattle Acacia dealbata, Blackwood Acacia 
melanoxylon, Hazel Pomaderris Pomaderris 
aspera, Musk Daisy Bush Olearia argophylla, 


Blanket-leaf Bedfordia salicina, taller Victorian 
Christmas Bush Prostanthera lasianthos, with occa- 


sional Southern Sassafras Atherosperma 
moschatum and Austral Mulberry Hedycaria 
angustifolia. 


Species present in the shrub and heath layer in- 
clude Silky Tree Fern Dioksonia antarctica, Rough 
Tree Fern Cyathea australis, Prickly Current Bush 
Coprosma quadrifida, Victorian Christmas Bush 
Prostanthera Jasianthos, Rough Coprosma 
Coprosma hirtella and Sweet Bursaria Bursaria 
spinosa. The density and variety of shrubs is 
greatest near streams and varies elsewhere with the 
amount of available light, 

At the heads of well lit south-east facing gullies 
tall shrubs are quite dense, including, with the 
above, Golden-tip Goodia lotifolia, Snowy Daisy- 
bush Olearia lirata, Common Dogwood Cassinia 
aculeata, Bootlace Bush Pimelea axiflora, Prickly 
Moses Acacia verticillata and Holly lomatia 
Lomatia ilicifolia. 

The ground cover beneath the Mountain Ash 
varies with the amount of light and moisture 
available. Leaf litter and fallen tree limbs are pre- 
sent throughout. 

Some areas are sparsely covered below the spindly 
stems and branches of Mountain Correa and hazel 
Pomaderris. In other relatively flat and more damp 
areas, ferns and sedges from knee to waist high 
form entanglements around fallen logs and hanging 
branches of tall shrubs. Ferns and creepers become 
more dense near streams when tree ferns do not 
completely block light penetration. 

Species present include the hard Water-fern 
Blechnum procerum, Fishbone Water-fern 8B. 
nudum, Mother Shield Fern Polystichum pro- 
liferum, Saw Sedge Gahnia sp, and Austral Bracken 
Pteridium escultenum. Grasses are present but 
sparse. 

In some more open areas the ground cover in- 
cludes Hop Goodenia Goodenia ovata, mat rushes 
and patches of non-stinging nettle. 


Regrowth Mountain Ash 


Two specific survey efforts in regrowth Mountain 
Ash were located centrally between Poley Creek and 


112 


Fig. 2. Mature Mountain Ash forest. 


the head of Stoney Creek, and to the northeast. 
(Ref. Fig. 1). 

The upper storey of this habitat type is a tall 
(‘poles’) open forest structure of almost pure young 
Mountain Ash approximately fifty years old and 
reaching forty five metres high. 

Amongst the closer trunks of the Mountain Ash 
regrowth the intermediate storey includes isolated 
Blackwood and Stinkwood Zieria anborescens but 
is much more sparse than in Mature Mountain Ash 
habitat. 

The shrub layer in this habitat type has the struc- 
ture of very sparse tall heath. Species present in- 
clude Tree Lomatia, Common Dogwood and Prick- 
ly Moses. 

Ground cover beneath the almost complete cover 
of young Mountain Ash is a light tangle of shrubs 
midst fallen forest debris. Species present include 
Austral Bracken, Clematis, Bootlace Bush and Hop 
Goodenia. 


Unstocked Ash Site 


Small isolated areas of the Wallaby Creek Catch- 
ment remain unstocked with the original Mountain 
Ash following its destruction by fire in 1926, 

The upper storey of the remaining tall scrub 
habitat includes species which are usually in- 
termediate beneath mature Mountain Ash habitat. 
The structure in some places particularly in the 
eastern area is a dense closed forest of Silver Wattle 
and Hazel Pomaderris groves. On more exposed 
positions in the central Unstocked Ash area the up- 
per storey gives way to open bracken. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


The shrub layer of this habitat is almost absent in 
places where light does not penetrate. In more open 
areas Austral Bracken predominates and Sweet Bur- 
saria and Common Dogwood are occasionally pre- 
sent. 

Beneath the dense hazel and wattle, ground cover 
is sparse with some sedges and Prickly Starwort 
Stellaria pungens. 

Specific work in the unstocked ash habitat type 
was located at two sites: an eastern site and a central 
site north of Poley Creek. 


Southern Mixed Eucalypt Species 

Five specific survey efforts in this habitat type, 
which is quite distinct from Northern Mixed Euc. 
Species habitat, were located as shown in Fig. 1. 


These included crossings of the Plenty River and 
Jacks Creek. 


May/June 


The dominant vegetation of the southern excarp- 
ment is an open forest of mixed eucalypt species in- 
cluding Messmate Eucalyptus obliqua, Narrow leaf- 
ed Peppermint E. radiata with some Mountain Grey 
Gum. Isolated Manna Gum £. viminalis occurs near 
streams. 

The understorey and tall shrub layer is only 
noticeably present in damp gullies and includes 
Musk Daisy, Hazel Pomaderris, Blanket leaf, Vic- 
torian Christmas Bush, Silver Wattle and Prickly 
Tea Tree Leptospermum juniperinum. The shrub 
layer in this foothill forest is generally open however 
near streams it occasionally tangles together about 2 
m from the ground. It includes Prickly Moses, 
Australian Clematis Clematis aristata, Silver 
Banksia Banksia marginata, Hop Goodenia 
Goodenia ovata, Narrow leafed Wattle Acacia 
mucronata, Bush Peas Pultenea sp. and Common 
Dogwood, 

Austral Bracken Fern dominates the forest floor. 
Occasional rushes and sedges are also present in the 
ground vegetation which is generally sparse varying 
from a fairly dense fern and low shrub community 
immediately by stream channels, through dense 
bracken patches to dry open cover of grasses thin 
leaf litter with some herbs including small rice 
flower Pimelea sp., violet Viola sp., and Pink-bells 
Tetratheca ciliata. 


Northern Mixed Eucalypt Species 

Four survey localities were situated in the nor- 
thern mixed eucalypt species habitat type including 
riparian habitat along Silver Creek. 


Pan 


Oy, 


113 


Spotlighting was carried out near the Wallaby 
Creek settlement in the east and also on the west 
side of the survey area. 

The upper stratum of this habitat type has a tall 
open forest structure at places closing to greater 
than 70% canopy cover. Species include Messmate, 
peppermint, Mountain Grey Gum with some Moun- 
tain Ash and Manna Gum. 

The intermediate storey is a tall shrubland struc- 
ture only really significant in cover and height near 
streams, Species include Silver Wattle, Prickly 
Moses and Hazel Pomaderris, 

In other areas a very open sapling understorey is 
occasionally present. 

The shrub layer forms an open heath structure of 
Austral Bracken, Hop Goodenia, Holly Lomatia 
Lomatia sp., Snowy Daisy Bush, Common 
Dogwood, Sweet Bursaria and Bush Pea. This 
merges with the ground cover which includes 
Kangaroo Fern Microsorium diversifolium and 
Common Ground Fern Culcita dubia. 


Results 

Table 2 lists all mammal species iden- 
tified in each specific study area with the 
corresponding extent of survey effort 
expressed in numbers of trapnights and 
spotlight hours. This table indicates 
whether the animals were recorded dur- 
ing trapping, while spotlighting, or by 
chance. Table 2 lists also the propor- 
tions of survey success per species in 


Cin 
iW 


‘Ln 


Fig. 6, Northern Mixed Eucalypt forest, 


114 


each locality. For trapped species the 
figures in parentheses are the numbers 
captured per 100 trapnights while for 
species detected by spotlight the figures 
in parentheses are the numbers seen per 
100 spotlight hours. These figures 
should only be used for comparison 
within each survey method for this 
report. In this table a dash means that 
the relevant survey method was not car- 
ried out whilst a zero indicates no 
positive results. 

Table 3 allocates the species recorded 
to specific minor grids numbered in ac- 
cordance with Brook (1976). Again 
recordings per 100 trapnights and 100 
spotlight hours are entered in paren- 
theses for each species in each grid 
where applicable. The study area is 
situated mainly in the three minor (Smin 
x 5min) grid localities 867,25.4, 867,26.1 
and 867,26.3 with a small part situated 
in minor grid locality 867,26.2. For the 
purposes of this report all species iden- 
tified are located within the three former 
grids. 


Notes on Species Recorded 

The specimen catalogue numbers 
refer to specimens lodged with either the 
Fisheries and Wildlife Division or the 
National Museum. 


ORDER MARSUPIALIA — Family 
Macropodidae 
1. Grey Kangaroo — Macropus 
giganteus Shaw 


Two specimens were located along the 
boundary of the central Unstocked Ash 
and Northern Regrowth Ash, A further 


two specimens were sighted in the 
Southern Mixed Eucalypt Species 
habitat. 


2. Black Wallaby — Wallabia bicolor 
(Desmarest) 

This species was recorded from five 
habitat types, two (12.5%) in Mature 
Mountain Ash, three (43%) in Central 
Ash Regrowth, one (chance) in Unstock- 
ed Ash Site, five (50%) in Northern 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Table 2. Mammals Recorded 


SURVEY LOCALITIES 
Mature Ash Regrowth Unstocked Ash Site Mixed Eucalyptus Total 
Mountain Species 
Ash Northern Central Central Eastern Northern 
. } 2 3 4 5 6 1 
Trap Nights 450 80 161 16 60 106 175 1108 
Spotlight Hours 16 - 1 - - 8 4 42.4 
Species Trapped (Numbered as in ‘Notes on Species’) 
8 Antechinus stuartii 23(5.1) 0 8 (5.0) 0 0 0 17 (9.7) 48 (4.3) 
9 Antechinus swainsonii 7(1.6) 0 2(1.2) 1 (1.3) 0 0 2(L.1) 12 (1.1) 
10 Rattus fuscipes 73 (16.2) 16 (20.0) 6 (3.7) 10 (13.2) 6 (10.0) 11 (10.4) 7(4.0) 129 (11.6) 
11 Rattus rattus 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 (0.6) 10.1) 
14 Mustela putorius 0 0 0 0 1 (1.6) 0 0 1(0.1) 
Species Identified During Spotlighting 
1 Macropus giganteus 0 - 1 (14.3) - - 0 0 1 (2.4) 
2 Wallabia bicolor 2(12.5) - 3.(42.9) - - 4(50) 0 9 (21.2) 
3 Trichosurus vulpecula 0 - 1 (14.3) - - 0 0 1 (2.4) 
4 Pseudocheirus peregrinus 12(75.0) - 1 (14.3) - - 2(25) 0 15 (35.4) 
§ Schoinobates volans 3 (18.8) - 0 - - 1 (13) 1 (8.8) 5 (11.8) 
7 Vombatus ursinus 3(18.8) - 1 (14.3) - - 3 (38) 0 7 (16.5) 
12 Oryctolagus cuniculus 0 - 0 - - 5 (63) 0 § (11.8) 
13 Vulpes vulpes 0 - 0 - . 1 (13) 0 1 (2.4) 
15 Cervus unicolor 0 - 0 - - 1 (13) 0 1 (2.4) 
Species Recorded by Chance During the Survey 
1 Macropus giganteus 1 2 2 
2 Wallabia bicolor 1 ! 3 5 
6 Acrobates pygmaeus 2 2 
7 Vombatus ursinus 1 I 2 
12 Oryctolagus cuniculus 3 3 
13 Vulpes vulpes 1 1 


Figures in parentheses are — for trapped species — numbers captured per 100 trap nights. 
— for species detected by spotlight — numbers seen per 100 spotlight hours. 


Table 3, Minor Grid Location of Species, 


Minor Specific Mammal Species (numbered as in ‘Notes on Species’) No of 
Grid Survey Specie 
Location Effort 1 ep. sae ee SNS OF 9 1S ell ise is ae Ss ingnd 


(Mg) (Wb) (Tv) (Pp) (Sv) (Ap) (Vu) (Ast) (ASw) (Rf) (Rr) (Oc) (Vv) (Mp) (Su) 
Trap Spotlight 


nights Hours 
867,25.4 60 - ee et em Toe lh 1 Oo fe 0 
- =- = = = = = (3) (17) 0 0 -—- = 0 
867,26.1 423 15 a a | 7 es ae eat Soe eee ae Sh Pg 


(6.7) (47) (6.7) (20) (6.7) 0 (27) (1.9) (0.7) (10) 0 (33) (6.7) 0 

867,26.3 625 21.4 aeaetiva <Qoeanig. rd “jam SAew she RC BOT lt te lS? ial 
0 (7.3) 0 (44) (15) 0 (IN) (5.6) (1.3) (14) (0.2) 0 0 (0.2) 

No of grids located in 1 v4 1 2 2 1 2 3 3 2 I I I 1 


* Figures include chance recordings but figures in parentheses do not. 


115 


May/June 


Mixed Eucalypt Species, and three 
(chance) in Southern Mixed Eucalypt 


Species. 
The Black Wallaby was the second 
most commonly spotlighted species 


following the Ring-tailed Possum. 


Family Phalangeridae 
3. Brush-tailed Possum — Trichosurus 
vulpecula (Kerr) 
Only one specimen was recorded from 
the Central Ash Regrowth site (14%). 


Family Petauridae 
4. Ring-tailed Possum — Pseudocheirus 
peregrinus (Boddaert) 

The Ring-tailed Possum was recorded 
from three habitat types. Twelve (75%) 
animals were sighted in Mature Moun- 
tain Ash, two (25%) were seen from 
Northern Mixed Eucalypt Species and 
one (14%) specimen was recorded from 
central Ash Regrowth. 


5. Greater Glider — Schojnobates 
volans (Kerr) 

The Greater Glider was recorded from 
three habitat types. Three (19%) 


animals were seen in Mature Mountain 
Ash, one (14%) in Northern Mixed 
Eucalypt Species and one (9%) in 
Southern Mixed Eucalypt habitat. No 
Greater Gliders were recorded from 
Regrowth Mountain Ash or Unstocked 
Ash Site. 


Family Burramyidae 
6. Feathertail Glider — Acrobates 
pygmaeus (Shaw) 

The Feathertail Glider was not seen 
during survey work, however two recor- 
dings of this animal were made (C. 
Curry pers comm.) during tree felling 
operations in the Northern Mixed 
Eucalypt habitat just outside the catch- 
ment during the survey period. 


Family Vombatidae 
7, Wombat — Vombatus ursinus (Shaw) 
The Wombat was recorded from four 
habitat types. Three (19%) specimens 


116 


were seen in Mature Mountain Ash, one 
(14%) in central Ash Regrowth, and 
three (38%) in Northern Mixed Eucalypt 
Species. Single animals of this species 
were also sighted by chance in Northern 
and Southern Mixed Eucalypt habitats. 

Wombats were sighted twice as often 
in Northern Mixed Eucalypt habitat 
than in Mature Mountain Ash where 
they appeared slightly more often than 
in central Ash Regrowth. 


Family Dasyuridae 
8. Brown Antechinus — Antechinus 
stuartii Macleay 

The Brown Antechinus was recorded 
from three types of habitat. Twenty 
three specimens (5.1%) were taken in 
Mature Mountain Ash, eight (5.0%) in 
central Ash Regrowth and _ seventeen 
(9.7%) in Southern Mixed Eucalypt 
Species. 

The Brown Antechinus was not 
recorded in Unstocked Ash habitat or 
Northern Eucalypt species. 

Following the Bush Rat it was the se- 
cond most commonly trapped species. It 
was consistently caught in Mature 
Mountain Ash and central Ash 
Regrowth. It was trapped in above 
average numbers for this survey in 
Southern Mixed Species while it was in 
apparently low numbers in Northern 
Mixed Species and Unstocked Ash 
habitat where no specimens were taken 
during the survey. 

Catalogue specimens: NMV — 
C 22186, 17677, 17675, 17676. 

Catalogue specimens: FWD 8611, 
8612, 8613. 


9. Dusky Antechinus — Antechinus 
swainsonii (Waterhouse) 

The Dusky Antechinus was recorded 
in four types of habitat. Seven 
specimens (1.6%) were trapped in 
Mature Mountain Ash, two (1.2%) in 
central Ash Regrowth, one (1.3%) in 
central Unstocked Ash Site, and two 
(1.1%) in Southern Mixed Eucalypt 
habitat. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


This species was more abundant in 
Mature Mountain Ash where 7 out of a 
total of 12 animals were taken. Recor- 
dings of this species in Mature Mountain 
Ash were approximately fifty per cent 
higher than in other areas in which it 
was trapped, The only recording of A. 
swainsonii in Unstocked Ash Site was a 
trapping made during the daylight hours 
on the second complete day in which the 
traps were in place. 


ORDER RODENTIA — 
Muridae 

10. Bush Rat — Rattus fuscipes 

(Waterhouse) 

The Bush Rat was caught in all 
habitat types and was the most com- 
monly recorded animal. Seventy-three 
specimens (16%) were taken in Mature 
Mountain Ash, sixteen (20%) in nor- 
thern Ash Regrowth, six (3.7%) in cen- 
tral Ash Regrowth, ten (13%) in central 
Unstocked Ash, six (10%) in eastern 
Unstocked Ash, eleven (10%) in Nor- 
thern Mixed Eucalypt Species and seven 
(4.0%) in Southern Mixed Eucalypt 
habitat. 

The results indicate a very large dif- 
ference in population size between the 
northern and central Ash Regrowth sites 

which was recorded five 
times more often in the former area. 

Catalogue specimen: NMV — C22185 


Family 


11. Black Rat — Rattus rattus (L) 

The introduced Black Rat was record- 
ed only from the Southern Mixed 
Species habitat where one (0.6%) 
specimen was taken. 


ORDER LAGOMORPHA — Family 
Leporidae 

12. Rabbit — Oryctolagus cuniculus 

(Lilljeborg) 

The introduced Rabbit was recorded 
from Northern Mixed Eucalypt Species 
where five animals (63%) were seen 
while spotlighting and from the central 
Unstocked Ash Site where three 
specimens were seen by chance. 


May/June 


ORDER CARNIVORA — 
Canidae 
13. Red Fox — Vulpes vulpes (L) 
The introduced fox was recorded 
from only the Northern and Southern 
Mixed Eucalypt species habitats. One 
specimen (13%) was recorded during 
spotlighting in the former and one 
animal was sighted by chance, in the 
latter. 


Family 


Family Mustelidae 
14, Ferret — Mustela putorius 
The introduced ferret was recorded 
only from the Eastern Unstocked Ash 
Site where one specimen (1.6%) was 
captured. 
The ferret captured was almost white 
in colour. 


Family Cervidae 

15. Sambar Deer — Cervus unicolor 

The introduced Sambar Deer was seen 
only in and near Northern Mixed 
Eucalypt Species habitat and in the open 
grazing areas near the Wallaby Creek 
Office and buildings. One specimen 
(13%) was recorded during spotlighting 
in the former area. 


Discussion 

The recordings of Eastern grey 
kangaroo were isolated incidents in open 
areas to the north and south of the taller 
Mountain Ash forests. This species is 
apparently in low numbers here. 

The Black Wallaby is apparently quite 
abundant on the open fire-break areas 
near the Manna Gum plantation and in 
the Northern Mixed Species area leading 
down to the Wallaby Creek Settlement. 

The Brush-tailed Possum does not ap- 
pear to be as abundant in this area as it 
does generally in the forested areas of 
Victoria. Graeme Ambrose (pers. 
comm.) indicates this species to be in 
low numbers in his nest box study area 
which was located in a combination of 
habitats including Unstocked Ash Site, 
Northern Mixed Eucalypt Species and 
Regrowth Mountain Ash. It would occa- 


117 


sionally use a nest box as a roost, but 
preferred natural hollows. It chewed the 
entrances of many nest boxes but came 
and went without using them. 

The Ring-tailed Possum is clearly 
more common in Mature Mountain Ash 


habitat where intermediate and _ tall 
shrub vegetation layers are well 
developed. 


Ambrose indicates that the Greater 
Glider was very uncommon and did not 
use nest boxes in his study area. 

The Feather-tail Glider very rarely 
used nest boxes but did make use of old 
Brown Antechinus globe nests which it 
relined and roosted in. 

The Brown Antechinus was apparent- 
ly low in numbers in Northern Mixed 
Species and Unstocked Ash Site where 
no specimens were taken during the 
survey. Ambrose however indicates that 
this was the most common species using 
his nest boxes and was also caught in 
trapping exercises in his study area and 
in Northern Mixed Eucalypt Species fur- 
ther north. Ambrose notes that this 
species nests in tree-holes and between 
rocks in outcrops. It builds a globe 
shaped nest of Eucalyptus leaves. Up to 
23 animals were recorded from one nest 
— usually a second year female and 
number of young. 

Where both Brown Antechinus and 
Dusky Antechinus were recorded in the 
same locality the number of the Dusky 
Antechinus was about 25% of the 
number of Brown Antechinus. 

Ambrose did not record A. swainsonii 
from within his study area. 

While the native Bush Rat was com- 
mon in all areas and in all habitat types 
the results indicate that the introduced 
Black Rat is in quite low to negligible 
numbers. 

Rabbit numbers in some northerly 
areas of the catchment appear com- 
parable with the most commonly sighted 
native animal — the Black Wallaby. 
Rabbit dropping are very common also 
in roadside clearings and Unstocked Ash 
Site habitat. 


118 


It is common (MMBW sstaff_ pers. 
comm.) to sight the Sambar Deer at 
dawn and dusk as it forages along road- 
sides on cool and overcast days. Hazel 
pomaderris trees within the Ambrose 
study area have large bald patches where 
the deer rub their antlers. 


Two species not recorded during the 
survey have been found by other 
workers. 

The Long-nosed Bandicoot Perameles 
nasuta was not trapped during this 
survey. However, Ambrose (1979) has 
recorded this species from study areas in 
Unstocked Ash Site surrounded by Nor- 
thern Mixed Eucalypt and Ash 
Regrowth near the junction of roads 
four and eleven. This species has also 
been recorded close to the Catchment at 
Mount Disappointment by the Mammal 
Survey Group of Victoria (Nicol 1978), 

The House Mouse Mus musculus 
recorded by Ambrose (1979) within the 
catchment and by Nicol (1978) from 
Diggers Gully to the north of the Catch- 
ment was not taken during this survey, 
and is apparently in low numbers here. 

Small insectivorus bats are numerous 
during the warmer months. None have 
been trapped and none identified from 
nest boxes despite one instance of a box 
being used by them. 

Comparing the results in Mature 
Mountain Ash habitat with those in 
Regrowth Mountain Ash, almost the 
same species were present in both. 
However, Ring-tail Possum and Greater 
Glider are more common in Mature 
Mountain Ash than in Regrowth Ash. 

The Unstocked Ash Site habitat does 
not appear to support as high a popula- 
tion of native mammals as do other 
areas. The Rabbit, however, is common 
in this habitat. 

The Northern Mixed Eucalypt Species 
habitat appeared to contain the most 
varied arboreal fauna, particularly in 
contrast with Southern Mixed Eucalypt 
Species which contained the least. In 
contrast the latter contained three native 


Vic. Nat. Vol, 98 


ground mammal species whilst only 
Bush Rat was recorded from the former. 

Overall the Mature Mountain Ash 
habitat, particularly where other vegeta- 
tion levels are present, contained the 
richest fauna. This was not however, as 
great as other similar areas in the state 


where the Sugar Glider Petaurus 
breviceps, Yellow bellied Glider 
Petaurus australis and Bobuck 


Trichosurus caninus are often found. 


Acknowledgements 

The data presented in this paper is the 
result of the work of the Mammal 
Survey Group of the Field Naturalists 
Club of Victoria. 

Survey work was carried out in co- 
operation with the Melbourne 
Metropolitan Board of Works staff. The 
MMBwW also supplied detailed maps of 
vegetation distribution and details of 
climate in the study area. 

Protected species of mammals were 
handled under the provisions of a permit 
issued by the Fisheries and Wildlife 
Division, Ministry for Conservation. 


Equipment used in the survey was ob- 
tained with the help of a grant from the 
M. A. Ingram Trust. J. M. Dixon and 
G. J. Ambrose provided much helpful 
criticism of the manuscript which was 
typed by Miss L. Lumsden. 


References 


Ambrose, G. J. (1979) Mammals and birds of the 
Wallaby Creek Catchment, Victoria, with special 
reference to species using tree-holes. Victorian 
Nat 96 : 8-10 

Brook, A. J. (1976) Biogeographic grid system for 
Australia, Search. 7: 191-195. 

Bureau of Meteorology (1966) Rainfall Statistics — 
Victoria, (Australian Government Printer, 
Canberra). 

Land Conservation Council of Victoria (1973). 
Report on the Melbourne Study Area (C. H. Rix- 
on, Government Printer, Melbourne.) 

Nicol, S. L. (1978) A Mammal Study of the 
Kinglake Area, Victoria, Aust. Wildl. Res. 5 : 
123-34. 

Ride, W. D. L. (1970) A Guide to the Native Mam- 
mals of Australia. Oxford University Press, 
Melbourne. 

Specht, R. L. (1970) Vegetation. In Leeper G. W. 
(Ed.) The Australian Environment 4th ed. 
C.S.1.R.O. and M.U.P., Melbourne. 

Willis, J. H. (1970, 1972) A Handbook to Plants in 
Victoria. Vols 1 and 2,M.U.P., Melbourne. 


Australian Natural History Medallion Fund 


Amount on hand February 1981 
Mrs Ellen Lyndon (Second Donation) 
Miss Helen Aston (Second Donation) 


Total May 1981 


May/June 


$1553.50 
10.00 
40.00 


$1603.50 


119 


Insect Pollination of Angophora woodsiana F. M. Bail. 
(Myrtaceae) at Burbank, South-east Queensland. 
By T. J. HAWKESWOOD.* 


Abstract 

Field observations on insect pollina- 
tion vectors of Angophora woodsiana F. 
M. Bail. (Myrtaceae), were made during 
the 12-15 December, 1980 at Burbank, 
south-east of Brisbane, Queensland (27° 
35° S, 153° 29’ E). Thirteen species of 
insects (including the honey-bee, Apis 
mellifera L.) were collected and their 
pollen loads examined and compared. 
Samples of fruiting branches of A. 
woodsiana indicated that a high percen- 
tage of seeds were produced. This is pro- 
bably due to efficient self- and cross- 
pollination by the insect vectors. 


Introduction 

Little has been recorded on the insect 
pollination of Angophora species, 
although it is generally known and 
recorded in entomology texts, (e.g. 
Froggatt, 1907; McKeown, 1945 and 
Britton, 1970) that native bees and other 
insects visit blossoms for nectar and 
pollen. Investigations by the author dur- 
ing the past several years in various 
areas of Australia have suggested that 
many Angophora and Eucalyptus 
species are insect pollinated (e.g. 
Hawkeswood, 1981). Further evidence is 
provided here for Angophora wood- 
siana from the Burbank area of south- 
east Queensland. 

Angophora is a small genus of trees in 
the Myrtaceae, comprising about eight 
species in eastern Australia. The genus is 
very closely related to Eucalyptus in 
floral morphology, pollen, seedling, 
leaves, bark and timber (Debenham, 
1961) and consequently, there have been 
moves to include Angophora as a sub- 
genus of Eucalyptus. 

Angophora woodsiana is a medium- 
sized tree to about 12m high, with flaky 


*Department of Botany, James Cook University, 
Townsville, 4811. 


120 


and rather brittle, light-brown bark and 
a large spreading crown. The adult 
leaves are opposite, shortly stalked, 
oblong to lanceolate, mostly 10-18 cm 
long, 1.2-3.6 cm wide, coriaceous, on 
relatively long petioles to 2.5 cm in 
length, dull green above, slightly paler 
below. The flowers, with numerous, 
free, cream stamens, are arranged in 
corymbose panicles at the ends of the 
branches, with usually 3-7 buds in each 
umbel. The ovary is inferior, 3- or 4- 
celled with numerous ovules attached to 
the axis. The flowers when fully open, 
measure about 1.5-1.8 cm in diameter. 
They produce copious quantities of nec- 
tar which collects in a depression bet- 
ween the ovary summit and the rim of 
the calyx-tube and often covers the 
whole ovary summit. The anthers are 
versatile and the parallel cells open 
longitudinally. The fruit is ovoid or 
cylindrical, mostly 1.2-1.8 cm long, 
often narrowed at the rim, with five 
main ribs and 3 or 4 enclosed valves. 

A. woodsiana is restricted to a few 
localities in southern Queensland and 
the north of New South Wales 
(Debenham, 1961), occurring in dry 
sclerophyll forest on sandstone or deep, 
sandy soils through its range. It is a 
mass-flowering species during 
November to December, although not 
all plants within a population flower 
each year. Numerous young trees, about 
3-6 m high flowered in the Burbank area 
of south-east Queensland during early to 
mid December, 1980 (as well as an occa- 
sional larger tree). The low flowering 
branches made easier observations on 
the insect pollination vectors than the 
high flowering crowns of older trees. 

Since surprisingly little is known 
about the pollination ecology of 
Australian Myrtaceae, and Angophora 
woodsiana offered excellent op- 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


portunities for such study, this project 
was undertaken in order to determine 
some of the pollination vectors, their 
behaviour on flowers and their pollen 
loads. 


Materials and Methods 


(a) Collection of vectors and pollen ex- 
amination 

Insects were collected from _ the 
flowers of A. woodsiana and carefully 
deposited in large plastic jars containing 
ethyl acetate. They were later examined 
for pollen loads at James Cook Univer- 
sity, Townsville, with the aid of a high- 
power dissecting microscope. Pollen 
grains were usually clearly visible as 
small to large clusters adhering to hairs 
and the general body surface. Pollen 
grains from a few selected beetles were 
compared with those from a preserved 
flower of A. woodsiana under a high- 
power (x400 — x1000) binocular 
microscope. The examination showed 
that the grains were identical and thus 
proved beyond doubt that the beetles 
were carrying A. woodsiana pollen. A 
list of the vectors and data showing 
places of pollen deposition are provided 
in Table 1. 

Voucher collections of most of the 
species examined are deposited in the 
Australian National Insect Collection 
(ANIC) in Canberra. Voucher collec- 
tions of A. woodsiana are deposited in 
the Queensland Herbarium, Brisbane. 


(b) Study areas 

Three study sites were chosen in the 
Burbank area off Kloske and Rochedale 
roads. Five flowering plants were ex- 
amined for vectors at Site 1, seven at 
Site 2, and six at Site 3. All sites were 
within 1km of each other. The vegeta- 
tion in these areas was dominated by A. 
woodsiana but few individuals were in 
flower. Other plants included species of 
Casuarina (Casuarinaceae), Tristania 


May/June 


(Myrtaceae), Xanthorrhoea 
(Xanthorrhoeaceae), Leucopogon 
(Epacridaceae), Acacia (Mimosaceae) 
and various grasses (Poaceae). A. wood- 
slana was the only species in flower at 
the time, although Xanthorrhoea sp. 
had just finished flowering. 


(c) Observation times 

Observations were made during 
1100hrs-1500 hrs (EST) each day from 
12-15 December, 1980. During this 
period, insects were most active. Each 
site was examined for about 1 hour in 
the order of Site 1, 2, 3. Most of the time 
was taken simply observing the 
behaviour of the pollination vectors on 
the flowers, interactions between insects 
and inter-plant movements. Some of 
these data are presented in Table 2. 


(d) Collection of seed material 

In order to gain some indication of 
pollination success, samples of young 
fruit with seeds were collected from two 
trees growing at Site 1 on the 16 
December, 1980. No seed had been pro- 
duced by any of the other trees at Sites 2 
or 3. The data obtained are presented in 
Table 3. 


Results 


(a) Observations on insects and their 
pollen loads 

In total, thirteen species of insects, all 
beetles (Coleoptera) except for Apis 
mellifera L. (Apidae: Hymenoptera) 
were collected from the flowers (Table 
1). Suprisingly, no native flies (Diptera) 
or wasps (Hymenoptera) were en- 
countered on the flowers. Other studies 
(Hawkeswood, 1975, unpublished data 
on Fucalyptus crebra F. Muell. and E. 
gummifera (Gaertn.) Hochr. in the Blue 
Mountains of New South Wales, and 
Ashton (1975) on E. regnans F. Muell. 
in Victoria), have shown that native 
flies, bees, wasps and butterflies also 
visit flowering eucalypts in association 
with beetles, and it could be assumed 


121 


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123 


May/June 


that Angophora also attracts a similar 
species of pollination vectors since the 
floral morphology and attractants such 
as the pollen and nectar are similar, if 
not identical, to Eucalyptus. 

The majority of pollination appears 
to be effected by the large scarab beetles 
Eupoecila australasiae (Donovan) (body 
length 1.5-1.8 cm) and Polystigma punc- 
tata (Donovan) (body length 1.3-1.5 cm) 
(Scarabaeidae) (Table 2). These are 
perhaps two of the most common and 
widespread beetles in eastern Australia 
and appear adapted to the pollination of 
numerous summer-flowering native 


Qualitative data on mo 


codsiana 


Species Body Length* 


(cm) 


4. Phyllotocus macleayi (Fischer) 0,7-0.8 


hology and behaviour of the twelve species of native pollinators of 
at Burbank, south-east Queensland. 


Activity 
Degree of + Feeding on 
pubescence one group of Mating i a, 
. movements 
flowers only 
3 Commonly Commonly Commonly 
observed observed observed 
2 " " " 
4 4 Not Occasionally 
observed observed 
1 " " " 


plants e.g. Bursaria spinosa Cav. (Pit- 
tosporaceae), Angophora bakeri C. Hall 
and Eucalyptus gummifera (Gaertn.) 
Hochr. (Myrtaceae) in New South Wales 
(Hawkeswood, 1975, unpublished data). 
In particular, P. punctata has moderate- 
ly pubescent undersurfaces and legs. 
(Table 2) which help facilitate the ad- 
sorption, transport and deposition of 
pollen grains. The majority of 
self-pollination of A. woodsiana is pro- 
bably effected by these two scarabs, as 
well as some cross-pollination since 
numerous inter-plant movements were 
abserved (Table 2). Pollen was carried 


Cerambycidae 


5. Aridaeus tho 


cicus (Xirby) 2,52. 

ii Laporte & Gory 1.5-1.8 
7. Clytus durvellei Laporte & Gory 1.6-2.0 
&, Eroschema noweri Pascoe 1.2=1.3 
%. Stenocentrus ostricilla (Newman) 1.8-2.0 


10. Trichomesia newmanii Pascoe 1.21.4 


Cleridae 


11. Scrobiger sp. 


a 


naridae 


12. Chauliognathus sp. 


From apex of head to tip of elytra. 
+= Degree of pubescence 


j= Extremely hairy under 


124 


ee eee _—eEeE———— 


face and legs 
irface and legs 


4= Few hairs present an body or mlabrous 


3 " " " 
Occasionally Commonly “ 
observed observed 
" " " 
uy w Not observed lot observed 
4 Commonly “ Jecasionally 
observed observed 
3 Occasionally Occasionally Not observed 


observed 


1 Coma dy 
observed 


Not observed * 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


on all parts of the bodies in all 
specimens examined, with the majority 
of pollen grains being transported on the 
head, thorax and abdomen (Table 1). 

E. australasiae has fine hairs on the 
undersurface and legs, with much of the 
general body surface glabrous. It is 
therefore likely to be less efficient in 
pollen adsorption that the hairy P. 
punctata. However, this may be offset 
by the sticky and conglomerative nature 
of the pollen, which adheres readily to 
the smooth surfaces of the beetles as 
well as to the hairs. Specimens of both 
E. australasiae and P. punctata were 
found with large clusters of pollen 
grains, both amongst hairs (abdomen) 
and on glabrous surfaces such as elytra 
and thorax (pronotum) (Table 1). 

Most text books state that the majori- 
ty of the sub-family Cetoniinae 
(Scarabaeidae) to which Polystigma, 
Eupoecila and Glycyphana belong, are 
usually destructive feeders on the petals 
and reproductive structures of flowers. 
Observations have shown that P. punc- 
tata, E. australasiae and G. stolata fed 
almost exclusively on nectar which col- 
lected in a shallow depression between 
the ovary summit and the side of the 
calyx-tube. A high degree of specificity 
appears to exist between Eucalyptus and 
Angophora flowers and these beetles, 
(Hawkeswood, 1975-1980, pers. obs.). 

Of the scarabs, Glycyphana stolata 
(Fabricius) and Phyllotocus macleayi 
(Fischer), are also important pollinators 
(Table 1). However, their presence in 
fewer numbers (Table 1) and more 
sedentary behaviour indicate they may 
be less important in cross-pollination 
than Eupoecila and Polystigma but still 
important in effecting geitonogamous 
pollinations. 

Six species of longicorn-beetle 
(Cerambycidae) were collected (Table 
1). The most common of these was 
Clytus (Chlorophorus) durvellei Laporte 
& Gory (Table 1). Specimens of this 
species were most commonly observed 
in copulation (Table 2) either on the 


May/June 


flowers or on branchlets beneath 
blossoms. Individuals were most active 
on the flowers although they did not 
always come in contact with the stigmas 
or anthers. They fed on nectar intermit- 
tently and a large proportion of their 
time was spent in copulation or crawling 
up and down branches. Although in- 
dividuals carried pollen mostly on their 
abdomen and legs (Table 1), their role in 
cross-pollination of A. woodsiana is 
probably not as significant as that of the 
larger, more hairy scarab beetles which 
often scrape their bodies through 
flowers (stamens) and over stigmata. 

Pollen was not usually detected on the 
antennae of the cerambycids (Table 1). 
Trace amounts of pollen were detected 
on the base of the antennae only, near 
the head of Aridaeus thoracicus (Kirby) 
and Stenocentrus ostricilla (Newman) 
(Table 1). The predominant absence of 
pollen on the antennae is probably due 
to the fact that most cerambycids have 
long, thick antennae which are extended 
back over their bodies and do not usual- 
ly contact anthers. This is in contrast to 
the comparatively small, feathery anten- 
nae of the Scarabaeidae, which usually 
come in contact with the anthers since 
they are positioned downwards. 

The behaviour and pollen loads of the 
other species of Cerambycidae were 
similar to that of C. durvellei (Tables 1 
and 2). Overall, the small longicorn- 
beetles (body length < 1.8 cm) probably 
play a more important part in self- 
pollination than cross-pollination, since 
individuals tended to remain on one pro- 
fusely flowering branch and did not 
usually take flight. No  inter-plant 
movements by FEroschema poweri 
Pascoe and Trichomesia newmanii 
Pascoe were observed (Table 2). 

The small clerid beetle, Scrobiger sp. 
(Cleridae) frequently fed on nectar from 
the flowers (Table 2) and in so doing, 
adsorbed pollen onto the undersurface, 
mostly on the abdomen and legs (Table 
1). They were most active on the flowers 
and their rapid flight made observations 


125 


on them difficult. It is generally known 
that clerid beetles visit the flowers of 
native plants during summer (e.g. Brit- 
ton, 1970) but observations by the 
author in New South Wales, Queensland 
and Western Australia (1975-1981) have 
suggested that species are not common. 
Subsequently, their role in pollination 
may not be so important as presently 
realized. Further studies are needed on 
these beetles before their role in pollina- 
tion can be properly assessed. 

The small cantharid, Chauliognathus 
sp. (Cantharidae) was also a visitor to 
the flowers (Table 1), often feeding on 
nectar from one or two flowers during 
each foray (Table 2). Small amounts of 
pollen were detected on the head, 
thorax, abdomen and legs (Table 1). 
Although these beetles were extremely 
active on the flowers, they rarely came 
in contact with the stigmata. Since 
flights to nearby plants were not observ- 
ed (Table 1) this species may not be im- 
portant in A. woodsiana pollination. 
Further observations are needed on 
these beetles since, despite their active 
nature and relative scarcity, they may be 
important in geitonogamous pollina- 
tions. 


The feral honey-bee, Apis mellifera L. 
is well-known as a pollinator of a diverse 
range of plants throughout the world, 
and may even be more efficient than the 
scarab beetles in A. woodsiana 
pollination. However, since A. mellifera 
is an introduced species, it cannot be 
considered a natural pollinator and 
therefore, for purposes of this paper, 
comparisons of pollinator efficiency 
with native insects are not warranted. 


(b) Seed set 

A high percentage of flowers produc- 
ed fruiting capsules with seeds (Table 3). 
The samples range from a 55.6% 
pollination success to 70%, with an 
average of 61.1% (Table 3). These 
figures could be higher if flowers with 
aborted ovaries and those adversely af- 
fected by boring and chewing insects (in 
both cases, the flowers fall from the 
trees early), were not taken into con- 
sideration. These parameters are dif- 
ficult to measure. Usually, only fruiting 
capsules remain on the branches (in the 
case of Angophora), while both healthy 
flowers which are not pollinated and 
those which have suffered damage etc. 
fall early, leaving a peduncle scar. (Each 


Table 3. The number of fruiting capsules in relation to the total number of flowers produced 


by Angophora woodsiana F. M. Bail. 


from Tree 2). 


in each sample. (Samples 1-4 from Tree 1, samples 5-7 


—_—_—_—————————— 


Total 
number of 
flowers in 

each 

sample 


Sample Number 


No. of fruits 
produced per 


Percentage pollinated 
and producing mature 
sample fruiting capsules 


with seeds 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


scar has been counted as one flower 
which has not been pollinated (Table 3) 
regardless of whether flowers were 
damaged, contained aborted ovaries or 
were normal but failed to be pollinated, 
before abscission). 

No germination tests have been made 
on the seeds from the capsules collected 
since at the time of collection, they were 
slightly immature. However, it is assum- 
ed for purposes of this paper, that the 
seeds have arisen from self- and/or 
cross- pollination (i.e. geitonogamy and 
xenogamy respectively), rather than 
through autogamous means. This 
assumption is based on work by Pryor, 
Chattaway and Kloot (1956) who stated 
that most eucalypts (and angophoras) 
are out-breeding. 


Discussion 

According to Pryor, Chattaway and 
Kloot (1956), most eucalypts are ap- 
parently out-breeding with protandrous 
flowers but are still selfcompatible (i.e. 
they are able to be self-pollinated) with 
viable seeds being produced as a result. 
Although Krug and Alves (1949) were 
generally unsuccessful in attempts at ar- 
tificial self-pollination of Eucalyptus 
alba Reinw. in a Brazilian plantation, 
examination of certain recessive 
characters in this population led them to 
suggest approximately 23% of all seeds 
resulted from self-fertilization. In addi- 
tion, in a study of allozyme genotypes in 
E. obliqua L Herit., Brown, Matheson 
and Eldridge (1975) suggested that 24% 
self-fertilization occurred in that 
species, while Eldridge (1970) suggested 
that 28% self-fertilization occurred in E. 
regnans F. Muell. Since self-fertilization 
averages about 23-28% in these ex- 
amples, it is suggested that countervail- 
ing advantages (such as maintaining 
sources of variability within the gene- 
pool) exist in retaining a large portion of 
out-crossing. 

If cross-pollination is also important 
in the genetic variability of populations 
of A. woodsiana, then the insects listed 


May/June 


in this paper (Table 1), must play an im- 
portant role in cross-pollinating flowers. 
It has been suggested (e.g. Ashton, 
1975) that wind is a possible agent of 
pollination in eucalypts. However, after 
studying E. regnans in Victoria, Ashton 
(1975) found the pollen to be sticky and 
tended to adhere into clumps 10-200 um 
in diameter during and after anther 
dehiscence and therefore was probably 
unsuitable for wind transport to 
the stigmas of flowers on other plants 
nearby. 

As mentioned earlier, little has been 
recorded on the pollination vectors of 
Angophora. Prakash (1969) noted that 
swarms of honey-bees visited the open 
flowers of A. floribunda (Sm.) Sweet 
during flowering time, as well as beetles, 
sap-sucking insects and wasps but did 
not investigate their pollen loads etc. 
More information on vectors is known 
for the closely related genus Eucalyptus 
and it seems appropriate to review some 
of this data. Barber (1965) postulated 
that pollination of Eucalyptus was ef- 
fected by a wide range of agents in- 
cluding wind, insects, birds and mam- 
mals but did not provide any data on in- 
sect vectors, their behaviour nor their 
pollen loads. Ashton (1965) concluded, 
from a brief survey of insect vectors 
visiting E, regnans flowers at Wallaby 
Creek (about 65km NNE of 
Melbourne), that pollination was ef- 
fected by these insects, many of which 
were abundant. He found (p. 403), that 
beetles (Mordella sp. (more likely 
Mordellisterna sp.) Mordellidae), feral 
honey-bees (Apis mellifera X A. 
Jusitanica hybrids, Apidae), small native 
bees (Lefoproctus flavomaculatus 
(Cockerell) and Callomelitta  picta 
Smith, Colletidae), hoverfiles (Eristalis 
sp. (probably E. tenax L.), Syrphidae), 
blow-flies (Anastellorhina  stygia 
(Fabr.), Calliphoridae), ants (Myrmecia 
nigrocincta Smith and Jridomyrmex sp., 
Formicidae), butterflies (Oreixenica 
Jathoniella herceus Waterhouse and 
Lyell, Nymphalidae), moths (Agrotis in- 


127 


fusa (Boisd.) and Caradrina cryphaea 
Turner, Noctuidae) plus unidentified 
flies and wasps were attracted to the 
flowers. In addition, Ashton also notic- 
ed that bees (predominantly the in- 
troduced species), were the dominant 
vector during the day in sunny weather, 
while at dusk, noctuid moths became ac- 
tive and the Bogong Moth, Agrotis in- 
fusa (Boisd.) was particularly abundant, 
Unfortunately, no data was provided on 
pollen loads nor the comparative effi- 
ciency of the vectors in pollinating 
flowers. 

Ashton (1975) also stated that it was 
likely that nectar-feeding birds were also 
important pollinators of &. regnans and 
lists (p.404) four species of honeyeater 
which were encountered during a heavy- 
flowering period in a mature forest of E. 
regnans. No birds were observed feeding 
from <A. woodsiana at Burbank, 
although the possibility of parrots and 
honeyeaters as vectors cannot be 
overlooked and must wait further obser- 
vations. 

Furthering the work on the phenology 
of E. regnans, Griffin (1980) noted the 
flowers were protandrous and a wide 
range of insects visited the flowers for 
pollen and nectar. He did not however, 
provide a list of these insects or state 
whether they carried E. regnans pollen 
or not. Griffin presumed these insects to 
be the major pollen vectors, since over 
several seasons of observation, nectar- 
feeding birds were rarely sighted on the 
trees. Griffin also noted that many of 
the insects were large relative to the size 
of individual flowers and would tend to 
work whole inflorescences causing fre- 
quent geitonogamous pollinations (i.e. 
pollination of a flower by pollen from 
another flower on the same plant). 
These observations are supported by my 
own observations on beetles on A. 
woodsiana (Table 2). 

According to Faegri and Van der Pij1 
(1976) plants which possess the syn- 
drome of cantharophily (i.e. beetle 
pollination), have all or most of the 


128 


following floral features — (a) flowers 
with no special or definite shape and few 
visual attractions; they are generally 
flat, cylindric or shallow, bowl-shaped 
and easy of access, (b) flowers which are 
dull, greenish or cream, and have open, 
easily accessible attractants such as nec- 
tar and pollen, (c) flowers with a strong, 
fruity or aminoid odour, (d) flowers 
with exposed anthers and stigmata (i.e. 
above the level of the corolla or 
perianth) and (e) flowers with an 
epigynous ovary. 

Angophora flowers possess all these 
characters and are thus ideally suited for 
beetle pollination. Indeed, the informa- 
tion presented in this paper and 
previously published data on Eucalyptus 
pollination suggests that beetles are im- 
portant pollinators of Angophora and 
Eucalyptus species, although these are 
not the only pollinators. 

Thus, despite having all features of 
cantharophily, Angophora and 
Eucalyptus cannot be called obligate 
cantharophiles, since other vectors are 
known. For instance, Hopper, Coates 
and Burbidge (1978) and Ford, Paton 
and Forde (1979) have shown that birds 
play a dominant role in the pollination 
of certain eucalypts. 

It would be most interesting and 
useful to compare the vector array 
throughout the range of this species and 
to compare it with that of other 
Angophora_ species. However, such 
comparisons will have to wait until fur- 
ther studies on insect vectors are under- 
taken and published. 


Acknowledgements 

I would like to thank Dr G. P. 
Guymer, Queensland Herbarium, In- 
dooroopilly, Brisbane, for identifying 
specimens of A. woodsiana. | would 
also like to thank Dr H. A. Ford, 
Zoology Dept., Uni. New England, for 
examining the mss. This research was 
undertaken on private funds and I thank 
my mother, Mrs D. E, Hawkeswood, 
for assistance. 


Vic. Nat. Vol, 98 


References 


Ashton, D, H., 1975. Studies of flowering 
behaviour in Eucalyptus regnans F. Muell. Aust, 
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Barber, H. N., 1965. Selection in natural popula- 
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Britton, E. B., 1970. Coleoptera, Chapter 30, In: 
The Insects of Australia, C.S.1.R.0., Melb. Uni. 
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Brown, A. H. D., Matheson, A. C. and Eldridge, 
K, G., (1975). Estimation of the mating system of 
Eucalyptus obliqua L. Herit, by using allozyme 
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Debenham, C. N., 1961. The genus Angophora. 
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Eldridge, K. G., 1970. Breeding system of 
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Working Group Meeting on Sexual Reproduc- 
tion of Forest Trees, Finland, Vol.1. 

Faegri, K, and Van der Pijl, L., 1976. The Prin- 
ciples of Pollination Ecology. Permagon Press, 
Oxford. 248 pp. 

Ford, H. A., Paton, D. C. and Forde, N., 1979, 
Birds as pollinators of Australian plants. N.2Z. J. 
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Froggatt, W. W., 1907. Australian Insects. W. 
Brooks & Co., Sydney. 449pp., 


Griffin, A. R,, 1980, Floral phenology of a stand of 
mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans F. Muell,) in 
Gippsland, Victoria, Aust, J, Bot, 28, 393-404, 

Hawkeswood, T. J,, 1981. Notes on the pollination 
of two species of Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) from 
south-west Western Australia, West, Aust, Nat. 
15 (In press), 

Hopper, 5. D., Coates, D. J. and Burbidge, A, H,, 
(1978). Natural hybridization and morphometric 
relationships between three mallee eucalypts in 
the Fitzgerald River National Park, W.A. Aust. 
J, Bot, 26, 319-333, 

Krug, C. A., and Alves, A. S., 1949, Bucalyptus 
improvement. J. Heredity 40, 133-139, 143-149. 
McKeown, K. C., 1945, Australian Insects. Royal 
Zoological Society of New South Wales, Sydney, 

303pp, 

Nilsson, L. A., 1978. Pollination Ecology of 
Epipactus palustris (Orchidaceae). Bot. Notiser 
131, 355-368. 

Prakash, N., 1969, A contribution to the life history 
of Angophora floribunda (Sm.) Sweet (Myr- 
taceae). Aust. J. Bot. 17, 457-469. 

Pryor, L. D., Chattaway, M. M., and Kloot, H. N., 
1956. The inheritance of wood and bark 
characters in Eucalyptus. Aust. J, Bot 4, 216- 
238. 


Nataralést 


““Across Mountain and Plain’’ 
Published by BAIRNSDALE 
FIELD NATURALISTS CLUB. 


$3.95, (postage 50) available Sales Officer, 
FNCV. 


The family of Keith Churchill Rogers went 
to live on the Black Mountain plateau at 
Wulgulmerang, 30 miles north of Buchan, in 
1902. Keith was then aged 7. Life was still 
very much a pioneering one — Bairnsdale, 
the nearest town of any size, was a 2-day 
buggy drive away. Black Mountain station 
which the Rogers purchased, was originally 
owned by the O’Rourke family who came 
from the Monaro in the 1840's and establish- 
ed homesteads at Black Mountain and in the 
Suggan Buggan valley. 

Keith grew up with a keen sensitive ap- 
preciation of this wonderful upland area. He 
rode extensively about the district and 
developed a considerable knowledge of its 
fauna, flora and geology. He was a founda- 
tion member of the Bairnsdale Field 
Naturalists Club and in 1953 joined the Field 
Naturalists Club of Victoria. A most gentle, 
courteous and thoughtful man, he was always 
willing and ready to help fellow naturalists 
visiting the locality and there are many people 


May/June 


R. enlewe 


who warmly remember his unstinting sup- 
port. Over the years his articles to 
Clematis’, the Bairnsdale Club's journal, 
the Latrobe Valley ‘‘Naturalist’’ and our 
“Victorian Naturalist’’ were read with great 
interest and when he died in April 1978 at the 
fine age of 82, there were many who felt a 
deep sense of loss. 

The Bairnsdale Field Naturalists Club is in- 
deed to be congratulated. As a memorial to 
Keith and a splendid means of ensuring that 
his knowledge of North East Gippsland is 
handed on, that Club has published this 
valuable little anthology of his writings. The 
fine foreword by Dr Jim Willis expresses ex- 
actly what all of Keith's friends knew him to 
be. 

The topics covered range widely — 
rediscovery of Rock wallaby, rare plants of 
the Nunniong Plateau, bird notes, mountain 
trips, plant lists of specific areas and many 
other subjects — and all written in Keith's 
simple, pleasant, very readable style. 

This grand little publication will surely find 
its way to the book shelves of all naturalists 
but certainly those folk with a special place in 
their hearts for East Gippsland. 


Gwynnyth Taylor. 


129 


Selection of a Neotype for the Southern Short-nosed 
(Brown) Bandicoot, /soodon ‘tai (Shaw & Nodder, 
1797). 

By JOAN M. DIXON* 


Historical background 

The short-nosed bandicoot Jsoodon 
obesulus was described as the Porculine 
Opossum Didelphis obesula by Shaw 
and Nodder (1797). The type specimen 
was preserved whole and the figure 
depicting it said to be of natural size. 
(Fig. 1) It measures 11.5 cm from the 
nose to the base of the tail in a straight 
line, and gives all appearance of being a 
juvenile animal. The specimen is at- 
tributed to John White (1757/8-1832), 
Chief Surgeon to the Settlement at 
Botany Bay who had an interest in 
natural history, collected specimens and 
produced drawings, some of which he 
published in a Journal of a Voyage to 
New South Wales (1790). The Porculine 
Opossum does not appear in any of his 
publications, but Shaw and Nodder 
recognised White as the source of the 
type specimen. Furthermore White 
presented the specimen to the anatomist 
and surgeon John Hunter (1728-1793). 
Subsequently, it was lodged in the 
British Museum. 

In the Appendix to White’s Journal 
p.269 are the comments ‘‘The Non- 
descript Animals of New South Wales 
occupied a great deal of Mr White’s 
attention, and he preserved several 
specimens of them in spirits, which ar- 
rived in England in a very perfect state. 
There was no person to whom these 
could be given with so much propriety as 
Mr Hunter . . .’” White arrived with the 
First Fleet in 1788 and remained in New 
South Wales until December, 1794. By 
the latter date, parties from the Port 
Jackson and Rose Hill (Parramatta) Set- 
tlement had crossed and explored 
beyond the Hawkesbury and Nepean 
Rivers. The precise locality for the type 


*Curator, Department of Mammalogy, National 
Museum of Victoria, 


130 


of Isoodon obesulus cannot be establish- 
ed, but the history of settlement and ex- 
ploration of Australia during the period 
1788 to 1797 strongly suggests that the 
specimen is from the Sydney area. 
However, on this line of evidence, the 
possibility that it came from the nor- 
thern environs of the Hawkesbury River 
on the western environs of the Nepean 
River cannot be discounted. 

Although the animal figured by Shaw 
& Nodder in the original description is 
recognisable as a young short-nosed 
bandicoot from its stance, stout body, 
short tail and ears, syndactylous hind 
feet and pointed snout, it is according to 
Tate (1948) ‘‘one of their poorest il- 
lustrations’’. The teeth are not accurate- 
ly drawn, although they are small and 
numerous. Unfortunately, neither the il- 


lustration nor the accompanying 
description enables the species to be 
absolutely determined. 


Geoffroy obtained information from 
Parkinson and wrote in 1804 of the Por- 
culine Opossum which he named 
Perameles obesula ‘Il y a long-temps 
que je connoissois, par le Naturalist 
Miscellany, la figure du  didelphis 
obesula, mais c’étoit envain que je 
m’étois occupé a en déterminer les rap- 
ports; je n’étois mis sur la voie de cette 
recherche, ni par l’analogie, puisque 
cette espécé n’appartenoit a aucun de 
mes genres de l’ordre des marsupiaux, ni 
par la description de M. Shaw, puisqu’il 
n’en qualifie les dents que par l’épithéte 
de nombreuses. J’eus toutefois le 
pressentiment que ce pouvoit étre le type 
d’une nouvelle famille, et dans cette per- 
suasion, sachant que l’obesula faisoit 
partie de la collection de Hunter, je 
m’adressai en Angleterre a I’habile 
naturaliste Parkinson pour en obtenir 
les renseignemens que je désirois; j’en 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


recus pour réponse la peinture que j’ai 
fait graver pour accompagner ce 
mémoire.”’ 

The sketch of Isoodon in Geoffroy 
(1804) was illustrated by Sydenham Ed- 
wards (1768-1819), botanical and 
zoological artist and editor of the New 
Botanic Garden. It is according to the 
author ‘‘de grandeur naturelle’’. The 
skull is larger than natural size. Geof- 
froy (1804) commented ‘‘Je rapporte 
avec doute a cette espéce un individu de 
la collection de Muséum, et qui nous 
vient aussi de la Nouvelle-Hollande. II 
m’est parvenu dans un mauvais état de 
conservation, manquant de queue et de 
quelques doigts; il surpasse de plus du 
double la taille de l’ obesula, il lui resem- 
ble au surplus par ses oreilles arrondies, 
son museau court et les couleurs du poil 
qui tirent cependant un peu plus sur le 
brun; sa téte n’est pas non plus aussi ar- 
quée. 

J’en fait graver le crane, pl. 45 pour 
qu’on puisse le comparer avec celui de 
nasuta’’. The skull featured by Geoffroy 
did not belong to the type specimen but 
its features compare favourably with 
those of Isoodon obesulus, 

Desmarest (1817) discussed the genus 
Isoodon and presented some informa- 
tion on the history of the species. He 
said that the name Jsoodon had been us- 
ed by Geoffroy in his public lecture on 
Zoology to the Museum d’Histoire 
naturelle de Paris, July 1817 and that 
Geoffroy (1817) gave an incorrect dental 
formula for the species ‘‘... en tout, 
cinquante dents.’? This seems to be 
Desmarest’s interpretation and not 
Geoffroy’s as Plate 45 of Geoffroy’s 
1804 work shows a typical /soodon skull 
having a dental count of 48 and on p. 61 
of that article Geoffroy mentions only 
48 teeth. Desmarest’s (1817) publication 
notes that the type was part of Hunter’s 
collection, and that Shaw when describ- 
ing it did not comment on the number 
and form of the teeth. According to 
Desmarest (1817) ‘‘Ce caractére impor- 
tant a été observé sur l’individu méme de 


May/June 


Didelphis obesula, the Porculine Opossum, 
from Shaw & Nodder (1797) Photo: R. Start. 


Hunter, par M. de Blainville, dans le 
dernier voyage qu’il fait a Londres, et 
communique a M. Geoffroy quien a tiré 
le nom du genre nouveau qu’il forme de 
cet animal’’. I am unable to locate any 
information which either indicates that 
Geoffroy did obtain such details from 
de Blainville or that his public lecture on 
Zoology was published. The true dental 
count is established from the skull 
featured by Geoffroy (1804) and 
discussed above. The type was listed as 
part of the British Museum (Natural 
History) collection by Gray (1843) as 
specimen ‘‘a. Very young. In spirits. 
The spec. figured by Shaw’’. 

Waterhouse (1846) reviewed existing 
information on Perameles obesula. He 
examined the original specimen 
‘‘described by Shaw, and feel no doubt 
that it is a young individual of the pre- 
sent species. I may add, that the skull 
figured by Geoffroy in the Annales du 
Muséum, and supposed to belong to the 
same species, is decidedly that of P. 
obesula.’’ He did not mention the loca- 
tion of the Shaw specimen. 


131 


There is no mention of the type or the 
species in Gray’s (1847) List of the 
osteological specimens in the collection 
of the British Museum. According to 
Thomas (1888), the type of Jsoodon 
obesulus was ‘‘not in existence’’. 

The validity of the animal in the 
original description being a short-nosed 
bandicoot is not disputed. Although the 
teeth are not shown with any accuracy, 
and there is no skull description, the 
animal agrees in both sketch and 
description with the currently recognised 
Isoodon obesulus, Present investiga- 
tions indicate that this species has its 
northern limit at the Hawkesbury River, 
where it is replaced by the northern 
short-nosed bandicoot Jsoodon 
macrourus (vide Dixon, 1978). It seems 
most likely that the type was I. obesulus 
and not the northern form /. macrourus, 
but as the locality cannot be precisely 
established, it is possible that the Shaw 
specimen was an example of the latter. 
Following examination of the collec- 
tions of the British Museum (Natural 
History) and general enquiries which I 
have made about the possible location 
of Shaw’s type, I consider that it no 
longer exists. 

From my review of the genus (in ms.) 
I have decided that neotype selection for 
Isoodon obesulus is advisable because of 
the possibility that the specimen describ- 
ed by Shaw and Nodder is a specimen of 
Isoodon macrourus (Gould, 1842). An 


account of the taxonomy of the genus 
Isoodon based on cranial characteristics 
was presented at the 2nd International 
Theriological Congress, Brno 1978 by 
the author (Dixon 1978a). 


Neotype Selection 

Short-nosed bandicoots have not been 
recorded in large numbers from the 
Sydney environs in recent years. A single 
damaged and long collected (1888) 
specimen from Botany Swamps is held 
in the Australian Museum Sydney, No. 
A 264. Another specimen, a skull which 
is badly fragmented, collected from 
Milton south of Sydney in 1912 is held in 
the Smithsonian Institution Washington 
(Dixon, 1978). Neither specimen is 
suitable as a neotype. 


Location 

Specimens have been recorded recent- 
ly from Ku-ring-gai Chase National 
Park, north of the Sydney metropolitan 
area, and a neotype has been selected 
from this region. On 18 September 1977, 
a young male Jsoodon obesulus was cap- 
tured by Mr A.B. Rose at a point 1.5 km 
south of the Hawkesbury River, 7.5 km 
from the Coal and Candle Creek Road 
turnoff on the West Head Road, 
Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, north 
of Sydney, New South Wales, Lat. 33° 
36'S; Long. 151° 16’E. 

This specimen is registered as M11821 


Fig. 2. 


132 


Habitat of the neotype of /soodon obesulus, West Head Rd. Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, 
north of Sydney N.S.W. October 1977. Photo: A.B. Rose, 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


in the collections of the Australian 
Museum, Sydney, New South Wales. It 
is selected here as the neotype of 


Isoodon obesulus (Shaw and Nodder, 
1797). 


Habitat 

The underlying rock of the area is 
Hawkesbury Sandstone. The vegetation 
comprised Eucalyptus haemastoma to a 
height of 6 m, a tall shrub layer con- 
sisting of Banksia ericifolia, Hakea 
sericea and Persoonia lanceolata to 3 m, 
thickly growing smaller shrubs Epacris 
microphylla, Boronia pinnata, Grevillea 
Figs. 3-4 Skin of neotype of J/soodon obesulus 
M11821, Australian Museum, Sydney. 


Fig. 3. Dorsal aspect. 


Photos: Figs. 3-9 R. Start. 


sericea, and Bossiaea  scolopendria 
which prevented low herb growth, and 
the ground covered with dead leaves. 
(Fig. 2.) 


The specimen 


The young male was trapped in a wire 
mesh cage trap, 36 cm long x 20.5 cm 
wide x 16.5 cm deep, using a bait mix- 
ture of peanut butter, oatmeal and 
honey. Its body weight when freshly kill- 
ed was 524 g. Body measurements are as 
follows: Total length 375 mm, tail 
length 112.3 mm, pes (without claw) 
55.5 mm, ear 31.45 mm. The specimen 
was deep frozen after death, prior to 


Fig. 4. 


Ventral aspect. 


May/June 


133 


preparation as a study skin and skull at 
the National Museum of Victoria. The 
remaining skeleton and soft parts have 
been fixed in 10% formalin and preserv- 
ed in 70% alcohol. One ectoparasite, a 
flea, was collected from the specimen 
and preserved with the specimen in 70% 
alcohol. 


Description of neotype 

The specimen agrees with currently 
accepted descriptions of the species. Its 
sturdy body is covered with a short, 
spiny coat, grizzled brown in ap- 
pearance due to the black-based, yellow- 
tipped guard hairs. Fore-feet are pale on 
the inner and upper surfaces, while the 
outer surface is darker. Hind feet are 
pale on the inner side and golden-brown 


Figs. 5-9. Skull of neotype of Isoodon obesulus 


M11821, Natural size. 


Fig.6. Cranium — ventral aspect. 


134 


above. The under side is a yellowish- 
white. The snout is elongated and has a 
naked rhinarium. Ears are short and 
rounded, just reaching the eyes when 
pressed forwards. The tips are covered 
inside with yellow-brown hairs and out- 
side with fine, darker hairs. The tail is 
short with a dark upper and pale under 
surface. The five-toed manus has reduc- 
ed Ist and Sth digits. The others are well 
developed and clawed. In the hind foot 
the Ist digit is small and lacks a claw, the 
2nd and 3rd digits are syndactylous and 
clawed, the 4th and Sth well developed 
and clawed. (Figs. 3, 4). 

The skull is typical 
obesulus. Dental formula is 
15,C1, Pm3, M4. 

che 3 4 


of JIsoodon 


Fig. 5. Cranium — dorsal aspect. 


Fig. 7. Cranium — lateral aspect. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Fig. 8 Mandible — Lateral aspect. 


The skull (Figs. 5-9) shows features of 
Isoodon obesulus recognised by Tate 
(1948). There are conspicuous accessory 
palatal vacuities between the anterior 
premolars, the bullae are inflated, the 
posteriorly projecting metacone on the 
upper M4 characteristic in J. macrourus 
is absent. The dentition is fully erupted 
and unworn except for the second 
premolar which is damaged at the crown 
on both upper and lower jaws. 

The following skull measurements 
made on the neotype follow Thomas 


(1888) and Tate (1948): 

Basal length 56.2 mm 
Zygomatic breadth 27.9 mm 
Length of nasals 25.4 mm 
Breadth of nasals 5.6 mm 
Intertemporal breadth 12.7 mm 
Palatal length 36.4 mm 
Breadth across M3 18.2 mm 
Basi-cranial axis 18.5 mm 
Basi-facial axis 38.2 mm 
Length of upper molar row 12.4mm 


Acknowledgements 

Thanks are extended to Mr A.B. Rose 
who collected the specimen on which the 
neotype description is based, and to Mr 
J.A. Mahoney, Department of Geology 
and Geophysics, University of Sydney, 
for advice and criticism of the 
manuscript, 


May/June 


Fig. 9. Mandibles — from above. 


REFERENCES 


Desmarest, A. (1817). Nouveau Dictionnaire 
d’Histoire Naturelle. Paris. 16:409-10. 

Dixon, J.M. (1978). Long-nosed bandicoots elude 
searchers. Forest and Timber 14(2):13-17. 

Incorrect title given — corrected in Forest and 
Timber 14(3) to ‘‘In Search of Bandicoots on 
the South Coast’’. 

Dixon, J.M. (1978a). Taxonomy of short-nosed 
bandicoots of the genus Isoodon (Marsupialia: 
Peramelidae), based on cranial characteristics. 
Abstract of papers. [nt.Congr.Theriol. 2 Brno 
1978 p.79. 

Geoffroy, E. (1804). Memoire sur un nouveau genre 
de Mammiferes a bourse, nommé Perameles. 
Annls.Mus. Hist.nat. Paris, 4:56-65. 

Geoffroy, E. (1817). Jsoodon. Established in an un- 
published public lecture on Zoology presented 
to the Museum d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris July, 
1817, [In Desmarest 1817 : 409]. 

Gray, J.E. (1843). List of the specimens of mam- 
malia in the collection of the British Museum. 
British Museum. London. 

Gray, J.-E. (1847). List of the osteological specimens 
in the collection of the British Museum. British 
Museum. London. 

Shaw, G. and Nodder, F.P. (1797). The Naturalists 
Miscellany. 8 pl. 298 and 4pp. 

Tate, G.H.H. (1948). Studies in the Peramelidae 
(Marsupialia). Results of the Archbold Expedi- 
tions. No. 60. Bull, Amer. Mus. nat. Hist. 
92(6):313-346. 

Thomas, O. (1888). Catalogue of the Marsupialia 
and Monotremata in the collection of the 
British Museum (Natural History). British 
Museum. London. 

Waterhouse, G.R. (1846). A natural history of the 
Mammalia. Volume I. Hippolyte Bailliére. Lon- 
don. 

White, J. (1790). Journal of a voyage to New South 
Wales. Debrett. London. 


135 


The Origin of Generic Names of the 
Victorian Flora 


Part 3 — Latin, Greek and Miscellaneous 
(Continued from page 84, Vol. 98 No. 2.) 
By JAMES A. BAINES 


*Verbesina. New Lat. verbesina, like 
Verbena, from the resemblance of the 
leaves to those of that plant. *V. 
encelioides, Crownbeard or Goldweed, 
was placed in Ximenesia by Cavanilles 
in 1793 (in honour of a Spanish 
botanist, Ximenes), but transferred by 
U.S. botanist Asa Gray in 1876 (it is an 
American composite genus of 150 
species). The specific epithet means ‘like 
Encelia’, another American composite 
genus, named after Christopher Encel, a 
writer on oak-galls. 

*Vicia. The Lat. name for vetch, 
which is an English form of the same 
word, Victoria has 6 naturalized species, 
all known as different kinds of vetch, in- 
cluding *V. sativa, Common Vetch. The 
genus is papilionaceous. 

Viminaria. Lat. vimen (genitive 
viminis), a twig, an osier; because of the 
long twiggy apparently leafless bran- 
ches. V. juncea, Golden Spray, was 
named from its resemblance to reeds; its 
former specific epithet, denudata, from 
its denuded stems, and the common 
name from its showy pea-flowers. 

*Vinea. Shortened from Lat. vinca- 
pervinca, periwinkle (per, through; vin- 
cio, bind; for a twining plant). The 
English word has come from pervinca, 
and has also been given to the shellfish 
periwinkle, which should be merely 
winkle. Our species is *V. major, Blue 
Periwinkle (from which as children we 
used to extract the little ‘paint-brush’). 
It is in family Apocynaceae. 

Viola. Lat. name for the violet and 
other sweet-scented flowers. Victoria 
has 2 introduced species, *V. odorata, 
Common or Scented Violet, and *V. 
tricolor, Wild Pansy, and 4 native, in- 
cluding V. hederacea, Ivy-leaf Violet, 
and V. betonicifolia, Showy Violet, the 


136 


former specific epithet recalling Hedera, 
Ivy, and the latter Betonica, Betony. 
The genus gives its name to family 
Violaceae. The accent should fall on the 
first syllable, as in violet, not as in the 
musical instrument, the viola, whose 
derivation is different. 

Viscum. Lat. name for mistletoe. 
Korthalsella japonica, Jointed 
Mistletoe, was placed by Thunberg (of 
‘Flora Japonica’ fame) in this genus, 
which gives its name to _ family 
Viscaceae. It is native here as well as in 
Japan. 


(cont. from p. 137) 


Dr Smith ended on snails and showed 
a slide of Australia’s largest snail with 
shell about 3.5cm long (1%), our only 
slug, and the Lake Pedder snail with a 
magnified view of its teeth (radula). 

Exhibits. A most impressive display 
was an entire benchful of newly bound 
journals for our library. They are the 
journals we receive each month but, for 
years, nothing has been done about 
binding. Mr McInnes took the matter in 
hand and now they’re up-to-date. The 
money comes from the Club Improve- 
ment Account which is largely funded 
by the bookstall. 

Three exhibits under low-power 
microscopes showed the 8mm (%4") 
larva of the Brown Lacewing and some 
aphids on which it feeds; very hairy 
4mm larva of a beetle (some sort of 
carpet beetle?) and the eggs of a Sawfly. 
The eggs had been laid in a line inside a 
leaf, and the exhibitor split down one 
face of the leaf to reveal the eggs — each 
egg about 3mm long and all packed in a 
row side by side so that they looked 
rather like teeth. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Field Naturalists Club of Victoria 
Report of recent Club activities 


(cont. from p, 138) 


limestone containing foraminifera 
(Lepidocyclina) with a piece under a 
microscope; this rock is used in law 
Court buildings at corner of Russell and 
Latrobe Streets. 

A member reported finding part of a 
pelvis of diprotodon (fossil wombat to 
6m long) at Fyannsford. Another 
reported the late Mr Arthur Swaby using 
a solution of Bursaria spinosa for pro- 
tection against sunburn and a scientific 
test of it. Queensland Fruit Bats (about 
70-80) are at present in the Melbourne 
Botanic Gardens. 


Annual General Meeting 
Monday 11 May 

Annual Report for 1980 was read by 
President Dr Brian Smith. The main 
points were: 

FNCV Centenary Year included such 
highlights as the Nature Show in Oc- 
tober at the Lower Melbourne Town 
Hall, the week excursion at Wilsons 
Promontory in November, all day sym- 
posium at Rusden in July on effects of 
introduced plants and animals, and was 
capped by receiving the 1980 Victorian 
Conservation Prize. 

The year began without a Club 
treasurer but Mr David Dunn was later 
appointed. 

Several representations regarding con- 
servation were made to government and 
other bodies. 

Excursions, Special Study Trips and 
Group excursions continued. 

The Victorian Naturalist included a 
special Centenary issue in June. 

The bookstall run by Mr Dan MclIn- 
nes continued to provide cheaper books 
for members and revenue for the Club. 

1980 Australian Natural History 
Medallion was presented to Mr Michael 
Tyler of South Australia. 

Treasurer’s Report for 1980. 
Financial pages were printed in April 
issue 1981. 


May/June 


In absence of the Treasurer, former 
Treasurer Mr Dan McInnes reported a 
surplus of $60 for the year. There were 
sundry extra expenses due to Centenary 
activities, cost of the Natural History 
Medallion has increased, cost of 
printing the Victorian Naturalist has 
again risen and it alone exceeds 
subscriptions by more than $800! 
However, interest from investments, a 
grant from Victorian Government and 
from the Ingram Trust, have enabled all 
accounts to be met. The Club is in a 
sound financial position. 

Election of Officers and Council 
Members. Officers elected: President 
Miss Wendy Clark, Vice-President Mr 
Jon Martindale, Treasurer Mr David 
Dunn, Assistant Treasurer Miss Lindy 
Lumsden, Excursion Secretary Miss 
Marie Allender, Editor Mr Rob Wallis, 
Assistant Editor Dr Dane Panetta, 
Librarian Mr Peter Kelly, Assistant 
Librarian Miss Madge Lester. Offices 
vacant: Secretary, Assistant Secretary, 
Programme Secretary. 

Council members elected: M. 
Allender, D. Dunn, M. Lester, L. 
Lumsden, J. Martindale, A. Thies, H. 
Weatherhead. Council consists of the 
President (W. Clark), Vice-President (B. 
Smith) and then other persons, so we 
need three more Council members. 

Speaker for the evening was retiring 
President Dr Brian Smith. Dr Smith 
game an illustrated talk on the National 
Museum and its three main functions — 
collecting, research and education by 
display of specimens. 

Collecting, filing and preserving 
specimens is a continuing task since 
establishment of the Museum in 1854. 
Skeletons, skins and soft parts of 
creatures need to be available for resear- 
chers, and there are hundreds of 
microscope slides. Research is also car- 
ried out in the field and Dr Smith spoke 
of some of these activities including the 
recent biological survey before construc- 
tion of Dartmouth Dam and the current 
survey of Thomson River. (cont. on p.136) 


137 


Field Naturalists Club of Victoria 
Reports of recent Club activities 


General Meeting 
Monday 16 March 

Mr Robert Burn spoke about Vic- 
torian opisthobranch molluscs — sea 
slugs to the layman. Although they may 
be described as sea snails without shells, 
“‘slug’’ seems a misleading derogatory 
term for such fantastic creatures. 

Mr Burn said that there is still much 
to be discovered about Australian sea 
slugs and their distribution. He began by 
showing colour slides of some bubble 
shells where the shells were visible in the 
all-enveloping colourful mantle, and the 
gills being hidden by the mantle. Then 
he moved on to the tree nudibranchs 
that have no shells and the gills exposed 
on the back — sometimes in flower-like 
rosettes. The colours and combination 
of colours (reds, blues, orange, yellow) 
and the variety of form (with bumps and 
curious processes) were amazing and 
one imagined that such things would be 
confined to the tropics. But these were 
all Victorians and ranged in size from 2 
or 3mm to more than 30cm. 

When thanking the speaker, the Presi- 
dent said that Mr Burn was an example 
of how a non-professional can add to 
our scientific knowledge. Mr Burn is an 
amateur but his spare-time activities 
have made him a recognised authority 
on Australian sea slugs and he has 
discovered several species new to Vic- 
torian waters. 

Exhibits included the eggs and larvae 
of a paropsis beetle, young casemoth 
caterpillar about 2cm long (%’’), egg 
mass of the whelk Thais orbita, dead 
young butcher bird picked up in a 
garden, dishes of green algae Niftella, 
Spirogyra and Cladophora, and pond 
life under a microscope including 
rotifers, dino-flagellates and 
trachelomonas. 


(cont. on p. 137) 


138 


General Meeting 
Monday 13 April 

The meeting stood in silence for a 
minute in respect for honorary member 
Miss Lorna Banfield who died last 
month. 

Otway Ranges was the subject for the 
evening and there were two speakers. 

Mr Graham Love spoke of the 
geology of the Ranges, the coastal plains 
to the west and the basalt plains to the 
north, showing several diagrams and 
cross sections. The cretaceous sedimen- 
tary strata of the Ranges has economic 
potential. 

Mr Ken Norris of the Environment 
Studies Division of the Ministry for 
Conservation spoke of mammals of Ot- 
way Forest, a small fairly wet forest of 
Mountain Ash isolated from other 
forests. Mr Norris showed colour slides 
of its animals beginning with tree-top 
dwellers such as Long-eared Bat, 
Possums and Gliders, and moved pro- 
gressively down to ground dwellers such 
as Red-necked Wallaby, Potoroo, 
Antechinus, Bush Rat, etc. The Otway 
Ranges is one of three places in Victoria 
where the Tiger Cat occurs, also the rare 
Smoky Mouse and Broad-toothed Rat. 
The 20-30 slides revealed some creatures 
unfamiliar to most of us even by name. 

Exhibits and Nature Notes. A dark 
grey slug with black spots, about 5cm 
long by more than a cm diameter (2/2 " 
x %") was found on silverbeet; it is the 
introduced Limax maximus and was 
carrying minute white mites. A squarish 
red lumpy object about 24cm across 
(1’’) was the fruit cap of Eucalyptus 
erythrocorys of W.A. Piece of slate 
from Bendigo included iron pyrites 
(fools gold). Some gypsum selenite 
crystals came from Fossil Beach Morn- 
ington, and a swallow-tail form and a 
rosette from Fyannsford Quarry 
Geelong. Also from Fyannsford, some 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


GROUP MEETINGS 
All FNCV members are invited to attend any 
Group meetings, no extra charge. 
At the National Herbarium, the Domain, 
South Yarra, at 8.00 p.m. 
Second Thursday — Botany Group 
Thursday, 9 July. Speaker: Mrs Ilma 
Dunn. Slides of New Zealand. 
Thursday, 13 August. Speaker: Mrs M. 
Corrick. Victoria’s deserts. 
Third Wednesday — Microscopy Group. 
Wednesday, 15 July. Protozoa. Speaker: 
Dr Peters. 


Wednesday, 19 August. Diatoms. Speaker: 
Dr Blaze. 


At the Conference Room, the Museum, 
Melbourne, at 8.00 p.m. 
Good parking — enter from Latrobe St. 


First Monday — Marine Biology and 
Entomology Group. 

Monday, 6 July. Hydrozoa. Speaker: Mr 
D. McInnes. 

Monday, 3 August. What plant does that 
insect feed on? Speaker: P. Carwardine. 


GROUP EXCURSIONS 


All FNCV members are invited to attend Group excursions. 


Botany Group — last Saturday. 


Saturday, 25 July. Mornington Peninsula — heathlands. 
Saturday, 29 August. Botanic Gardens Annexe and Cranbourne area. 
Saturday, 26 September. Starlings Gap mosses etc. Speaker: Arthur Theis. 


Day Group — Third Thursday. 


Wednesday, 15 July. Planetarium. Meet outside State Library (Swanston St entrance) at 
11.30 a.m. Please note change of day. Leader: K. Gill (836 8016). 

Thursday, 20 August. Zoological Gardens — bird aviary. Meet outside Royal Park station 
entrance at 11.30 a.m. Leader: D. McInnes (211 2427). 


JUNE 


Mon |. Marine Biology & Entomology Group. Insects. Some interesting life histories. Mr P. Kelly. 
Tue 2. Mammal Survey Group. Identification of Rodents. 


Wed 3. Geology Group. 
QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY 
6-7-8 Mammal Survey. Mt. Worth. 


Sun 7, General Excursion Zoological Gardens, Parkville. 
Thur11. Botany Group. Philippines Fungi. Mr M. McBain. 
Mon 15. General Meeting. Film Night. South West Tasmania. 
Wed17. Microscopical Group. Rotifers. Mr P. Genery. 


Thur 18. Day Group — Arts Centre. 
Sat 27. Botany Group Excursion. 


Erratum. The genus of the Blue Whale (Vol. 98, 
No.2 p.52) is Balaenoptera and not Baelonoptera. 


Field Naturalists Club of Victoria 


Established 1880 


OBJECTS: To stimulate interest in natural history and to preserve 
and protect Australian fauna and flora. 
Members include beginners as well as experienced naturalists. 


Patron: 
His Excellency the Honorable SIR HENRY WINNEKE, KCMG, KCVO, OBE, KStJ, QC. 


Key Office-Bearers 1981-1982 


President: 
Miss WENDY CLARK, 27 Rangeview Grove, North Balwyn, 3104 (859 8091 A.H.) 
Secretary: 
Correspondence to: FNCV, National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141 
Treasurer: Mr. D. DUNN, 3 Allfrey Street, East Brighton, 3187 (578 5753) 
Subscription-Secretary: Miss H. MALCOLM C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South 
Yarra, 3141 
Editor: Mr. R. WALLIS, C/- State College of Victoria — Rusden, Blackburn Road, North 
Clayton, 3168, 544 8544, 
Librarian: Mr. P. KELLY, C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141 
Excursion Secretary: Miss M. ALLENDER, 19 Hawthorn Avenue, Caulfield, 3161 
(527 2749) 
Book Sales Officer: Mr. D. E. McINNES, 129 Waverley Road, East Malvern, 3145 (211 2427) 


Group Secretaries 


Botany: Mr. MICHAEL McBAIN, 19 Foster St, St Kilda, 3182 (534 2293) 

Day Group: C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141. 

Geology: Mr. T. SAULT, C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141 

Mammal Survey: Mr. A. FAITHFUL, 67 Athelstan Road, Camberwell, 3124 (29 5108 A.H.) 

Microscopical: Mr. M. H. MEYER, 36 Milroy Street, East Brighton (596 3268) 

Entomology and Marine Biology: Mr. D. E. McINNES, 129 Waverley Road, East Malvern, 
3145 (211 2427) 

FNCV Kinglake Nature Reserve: McMahons Road, Kinglake. 


Bookings and keys: Mr. 1. F. MORRISON, 788 Elgar Road, Doncaster (848 1194) , 
MEMBERSHIP 


Membership of the F.N.C.V. is open to any person interested in natural history. The 
Victorian Naturalist is distributed free to all members, the club’s reference and lending library 
is available and other activities are indicated in reports set out in the several preceding pages of 
this magazine. 

Subscription rates for 1981 


IMGIODOMIMINY. 2022025 ).32 ent ee hone 
SIGITIEMAGITCROORIEIY ORG HAUNOM, onleds- UP vs) so drt dacee fue dotted abhi dec) Sue OG SOR ee Se 
Country Members and Retired Persons....... 
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SIOGs, 6 ey env tarn 3 By oS BERS eve _ 
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@) JENKIN BUXTON PRINTERS PTY. LTD., WEST MELBOURNE 


Vol, 98, No. 4 
July/August 
1981 


Published by the FIELD NATURALISTS CLUB OF VICTORIA 
in which Is incorporated the Microscopical Society of Victoria $ { f5 


Reoistered for posting as a publication — Category ‘B"’ 


FNCV DIARY OF COMING EVENTS 
GENERAL MEETINGS 


At the National Herbarium, the Domain, South Yarra. 


Monday, 10 August, 8.00 p.m. 


Life History of squids. Speaker: Dr C. C. Lu. 


Monday, 8 September, 8.00 p.m. 
Meeting sponsored by the Botany Group. 


Mr R. Dodds will be awarded Honourary Membership. 


Monday, 12 October, 8.00 p.m. 


Aspects of the environmental impact statement in relation to the East Gippsland woodchip 


industry. Speaker: Dr B. Smith. 


New Members — July/August General Meetings. 


Ordinary 
Jane Bartlett, 750 Drummond St, Carlton North. 
Glen Jameson, 56 Everard Drive, Warrandyte. 
Brian Monaghan, Newman College, Parkville. 
Margaret Thomas, 12 Bedford St, Box Hill. 
Maureen Thomas, 12 Bedford St, Box Hill. 
Margaret White, 8 Fairmont Ave, Camberwell. 
Mrs G. Wright, 16/55 Hotham Place, 
East St Kilda. 


Joint 


David, Joel and Angela McKenzie, P.O. Box 27, 
Brunswick. 

Wendy Rutherford, c/- 50 Glyndon Rd, 
Camberwell. 


Country 
Alan Gibb, RMB 1170, Milawa. 
Brian Hawkeswood, 48 City Rd, Chippendale. 


FNCV EXCURSIONS 


Sunday, 9 August. Boneseed pulling at Studley 
Park. 

Sunday, 6 September. Yarran Dheran and nearby 
Reserves. Leader: Mrs J. Zirkler. The coach will 
leave Batman Avenue at 9.30 a.m. Fare $6.00. Bring 
a picnic lunch, 

Saturday, 19 — Sunday, 20 September. Weekend 
gel-together of the VFNCA at Yea. Details of, the 
programme and accomodation are in the last 
Naturalist. The coach from Melbourne will leave 
Flinders St outside the Gas and Fuel building at 8.00 
a.m, Bring picnic lunches for Saturday and Sunday. 
Payment should reach the Excursion Secretary by 
the September General meeting. 

Sunday, 4 October. Maryborough, Cosstick 
Reserve. This will be led by a member of the 
Maryborough FNC whom we will meet at the 
Maryborough Post Office at 11.45 a.m. The coach 


will leave Batman Avenue as near 9.20 a.m. as 
possible. Fare $8.50. Bring 2 meals and wear a name 
tag. 

Preliminary notices: 

Friday, 16 October — Friday, 6 November. New 
Zealand, North Island. Full details may be obtained 
from the Excursion Secretary. Final payments 
should be made by Monday, 7 September. 

Tuesday, 3 November, Club picnic to Chambers 
Rock. Leaders: Mr and Mrs D. Dunn. The coach 
will leave Batman Avenue at 9.30 a.m. Fare $6.00, 
Bring a picnic lunch. 

Saturday, 16 — Friday, 22 January. Portland. 
Details of this excursion will appear in the next 
Naturalist. The cost will be $220 for the fare and 
DBB accomodation in a motel. A deposit of $20 
should be paid to the Excursion Secretary when 
booking. + 


GROUP MEETINGS 


FNCV members are invited to attend any 
Group meetings, no extra charge. 
At the National Herbarium, the Domain, 
South Yarra, at 8.00 p.m. 
First Tuesday — Mammal Survey Group. 
Tuesday, 1 September. Island populations. 
Speaker: Andrew Bennett. 
Tuesday, 6 October. Bandicoots. Speaker: 
Peter Brown. 
First Wednesday — Geology Group. 
Wednesday, 7 October. Granites of 
Wilsons Promontory, Speaker: Gary Wallis. 
Third Wednesday — Microscopy Group. 
Wednesday, 16 September. Pollen grains, 
Speaker: Dr Blaze. 
Wednesday, 21 October. Marine life under 
the microscope. Speaker: H. Bishop. 


Second Thursday — Botany Group. 
Thursday, 11 September. Members’ night. 
Thursday, 8 October. The family 

Rutaceae. Speaker: Mrs H. Weatherhead. 


At the Conference Room, the Museum, 
Melbourne, at 8.00 p.m. 

Good parking — enter from Latrobe St. 
First Monday — Marine Biology and En- 
tomology Group. 

Monday, 7 September. 
Speaker: U. Bates. 

Monday, 5 October. Insect pests and the 
Agriculture Department. Speaker: D. 
Harbeck. 

Monday, 3 November. No meeting — Cup 
Day. 


Scale insects. 


The Victorian 
Naturalist 


Volume 98, Number 4 July/August, 1981 


ISSN 0042-5184 


Editor: Robert L. Wallis 
Assistant Editor: F. Dane Panetta 
Editorial Committee: H. Cohn, B. Smith 


Blechnum vulcanicum Kukenthal (Blechnaceae): A New Record 
for Mainland Australia by N. G. Walsh.................255:seeeee eee 144 


Observations on Two Sympatric Species of Buprestidae 
(Coleoptera) From Sand Dunes On the North Coast of 
New South Wales by T. J. Hawkeswood................:.:005 146 
Observations on Some Jewel Beetles (Coleoptera: 
Buprestidae) From The Armidale District, North-eastern 
New South Wales by T. J. Hawkeswood....................065 152 
Radiocarbon Dating of Estuarine Shells in the River Yarra, 
Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Victoria by E.D. Gill. 156 
A Note on Climbing Ability in Tiger Snakes (Notechis 
scutatus) and Predation on Arboreal Nesting Birds by G. 


Za SU he os ue: BABIN iene ROO E ESTE PCE a eg 159 
A Short History of The Discovery and Naming of Banksias 
in Eastern Australia Part III by A. I. Salkin.................... 160 
F.N.C.V. Excursion to Flinders Island, 13th to 20th 
January, 1980 by E. Brewster ................0.:seeeee esse eters 163 
The Origin of Generic Names of the Victorian Flora by J. 
PS AP iret LAD Ong Gc Re ae det US EOC ae Coo ae EER en 169 


Summer on Mt Kosciusko. Report of F.N.C.V. Excursion, 
17th-25th January, 1981 by E. K. Turner and M. K. Doery. 170 


F.N.C.V. Reports of recent Club activities ..................5+ 178 


Cover illustration: Walking down Merrit’s Track, Thredbo. (See article on p. 170). 


Blechnum vulcanicum Kukenthal (Blechnaceae): A new 
Record for Mainland Australia 
By N. G. WALSH* 


The genus Blechnum L. contains 
about 180 species distributed 
throughout the world and is represented 
in Australia by some eighteen species 
which occur through a wide range of wet 
environments. 

Features of the genus include linear 
sori which lie parallel and near to the 
midvein of the pinnae; indusia are at- 
tached toward the margin. Fronds are 
simply pinnate with the exception of B. 
patersonii (entire, lobed or pinnate), and 
luxuriant forms of B. nudum 
(pinnatifid). 


Victorian Species 

Nine species occur indigenously in 
Victoria, occupying wet sites from near 
sea-level to high-alpine bogs. Eight of 
the species are common where suitable 
habitats occur. The ninth, B. 
vulcanicum, has only recently been 
recorded for the Australian mainland 
and is otherwise widespread throughout 
the Pacific Islands (type locality Java), 
New Zealand and Tasmania where its 
habitat varies from dry woodland to 
wet-subalpine forest. 


Description of B. vulcanicum 

A tufted fern with erect rhizomes 
spreading by underground stolons. 
Stipes pale yellow-brown, to 20 cm., 
those of fertile fronds sometimes slightly 
more, invested toward the base with 
brown subulate scales and pronounced 
tubercles. Sterile fronds narrowly 
triangular to 30 cm. above stipes, simply 
pinnate; pinnae darkgreen, falcate, 2-8 
cm, long, 0.5-1.0 cm. broad at base, at- 
tached to rachis by their full breadth ex- 
cept the lowest pair which are deflexed 


Fig. 1:/Fronds and stipe of B, vulcanicum 

a. Vegetative frond X! Note overlapping lobes at 
base of lowest pair of pinnae 

b. Fertile frond X1 

¢. Base of stipe bearing long, subulate scales X3 


144 


and attached by the upper half only, the 
lower half is free and produced into a 
rounded lobe; margins noticeably 
thickened. Fertile fronds similar but pin- 
nae narrower, appr. 0.4 cm., sori con- 
tinuous; indusium with irregular 
margins. 


Habitat 
Steep, sheltered rocky gully, sedimen- 
tary substrate. Altitude 1360 m. 


Locality 

Tributary of the Wonnangatta River, 
Snowy Range, Eastern Highlands, Vic- 
toria. 


Similar Species in Victoria 
B. aggregatum: 

Distinguishable from B. vulcanicum 
by the reducing lower pinnae, i.e. frond 
broadest near centre of stipe c,f. B. 


vulcanicum, broadest at base. Basal 
scales generally not persisting. 
B. cartilagineum: 

Pinnae longer, not falcate; plant 


typically more robust (to 80 cm, tall); 
fertile pinnae not narrower than sterile 
pinnae, Basal scales generally not per- 
sisting. 


B, nudum: 
As for B. aggregatum. Fronds not 
falcate, rachis generally black. 


Acknowledgements 

Thanks to Betty Duncan and Prof. C, Chambers 
(Melb Univ.) for confirmation of specimen, to Dr J. 
H. Ross for advice and Anita Podzywynski for the 
careful and accurate illustration, 


REFERENCES 


H. H, Allan (1961-1970) Flora of New Zealand, 
N.Z. Govt, Printer, Wellington. 

D, L. Jones & S. C, Clemesha (1976) Australian 
Ferns and Fern Allies. Reed, Sydney. 

N. A. Wakefield (1975) Ferns of Victoria and 
Tasmania. F.N.C.V. Melbourne, 

Specimen lodged at National Herbarium, Sth. 
Yarra. NGW no. 411. 


*38 Paxton St., E. Malvern. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


145 


July/August 


Observations On Two Sympatric Species of Buprestidae 
(Coleoptera) From Sand Dunes on the North Coast of 
New South Wales. 

By T. J. HAWKESWOOD* 


Abstract 

Three species of jewel beetle, Agrilus 
australasiae Laporte & Gory, Cisseis 
scabrosula Kerremans and an uniden- 
tified Cisseis species, were collected 
from leaves of Acacia sophorae (Labill.) 
R. Br. on foredunes near Coffs Har- 
bour, New South Wales, during 
December, 1978. Observations on the 
behaviour, host plant specificity and 
predators of A. australasiae and C. 
scabrosula are recorded and discussed 
for the first time. 


Introduction 

The Buprestidae are a large family of 
beetles, well represented in Australia. 
About 800 species are presently known 
and many others await description. 
Despite the large number of species and 
the apparently widespread distribution 
of a few species, very little information 
is available at present on their exact 
distribution, plant preferences, 
behaviour and breeding biology. 

However, there have recently ap- 
peared a number of papers which have 
greatly increased our knowledge of the 
Australian buprestid fauna. Barker 
(1975, 1977) has revised Astraeus and 
provided a checklist of Stigmodera 
(Castiarina) (Barker, 1979). Williams 
(1977) and Hawkeswood (1978) have 
provided data on buprestids from areas 
around Sydney which are being 
threatened by urban development. 
Peterson and Hawkeswood (1980) have 
recently provided notes on the general 
biology of Diadoxus from Western 
Australia. 

Further information on_ buprestid 
behaviour, distribution and food plants 


* Department of Botany, James Cook University, 
Townsville, Queensland, 4811. 


146 


of two species of Australian Buprestidae 
is provided here for the first time. 


Observations 

On the 11 December 1978, a visit was 
made to Hungry head, a beach approx- 
imately 21 km south of Coffs Harbour, 
north-east New South Wales (30°31'S, 
153°02'E). A large number of in- 
dividuals of CYsseis scabrosula 
Kerremans were collected from the 
leaves (or stems) of non-flowering 
Acacia sophorae (Labill.) R.Br. plants 
between 1020 and 1235 hrs (Eastern 
Standard Time). During the course of 
observations and collections of C. 
scabrosula, Agrilus australasiae Laporte 
& Gory and a further (unidentified) 
Cisseis species were also noticed in fewer 
numbers on A. sophorae stems and 
leaves. 

During the course of observations, 
temperatures varied from 29-32°C and 
there was a slight sea breeze. 

Selected plants of A. sophorae 
(growing along a 100m stretch of 
foredunes) were closely examined for a 
period of 5 minutes each, during which 
time, the number of males and females 
of C. scabrosula were recorded, as well 
as the number of pairs in copulation and 
the frequency of which escape 
mechanisms occurred (Table 1). In addi- 
tion, similar observations were made on 
individuals of A. australasiae. Plants 
chosen for study were growing more 
than 3 metres apart to minimize coun- 
ting individuals more than once which 
flew from one plant to an adjacent plant 
during the course of one observation 
period. 


(A) Notes on escape behaviour 
Hawkeswood (1978) observed three 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


47 


Table 1. Observations on Cissets scabrosula Kerremans from eight Acacta sophorae plants at Hungry Head, 


1 


north-east New South Wales on 11 December, 1978. 


Plant Number of Number of Number of Number of | Number of 
Sahniwae beetles per plant pairs observed times "upward flight" times "free-fall and times thanatosis 
(during obs. period)* in copulation per occurred (during each flight" occurred (during occurred 
plant obs. period)* each obs. period) * (during each obs. 
ew” @ ‘Total SRELSL)S 
1 PAG} 20 43 4 4 2 it 


2 15 8 23 z 1 1 0 
3 iz 21 33 5 4 1 i 
4 8 ii 19 7 0 1 0 
5, 11 15 26 3 a 1 0 
6 i 8 13 1 1 0 0 
7} 10 4 14 2 i 0) 0 
8 8 12 20 3 1 1 0 


Averages nlp eS) 12.4 2349 Boss 1, 72 0.88 0.25 
(per plant) 


* = Observation period = 5 minutes for each plant. 


July/August 


(Voucher collections of C. scabrosula are housed in the author's private collection), 


Table 2. 


Observations on Agrilus australastae Laporte & Gory from twelve 


plants of Acacia sophorae at Hungry Head, north-east New South 


Wales on 11 December, 1978. 


Number of times 


Plant Total number Number of times 
of beetles "upward flight" thanatosis 
i 3 per plant occurred (during occurred (during 
(during obs. each obs. period)* each obs. period) * 
period) * 
1 1 1 0 
2 2 1 1 
3 2 1 1 
4 1 i 0 
ait 3 1 L 
6+ 1 0) 0 
7t 2 i 0 
8 2 1 1 
9t v3 1 0 
10 4 1 1 
4. 2 id 0 
12 1 1 0 
Totals 23 1l 5 
Averages Lae 0.9 0.4 


(per plant) 


* 
" 


Observation period = 


= 
" 


5 minutes for each plant. 


One voucher specimen was collected from each of these plants 


before observations on escape behaviour were undertaken. 


(Voucher specimens are housed in the author's private collection). 
P 


escape mechanisms exhibited by adults 
of Australian Buprestidae. Briefly these 
are (a) ‘‘upward flight’’ when 
disturbed, the beetle stops moving, 
quickly opens its elytra and flies up- 
wards rapidly before flying in other 
directions, (b) ‘‘free-fall and flight’? — 
the beetle usually falls a short distance 
from a stem, leaf or flower of the food 


148 


plant and then flies away before hitting 
the ground, and (c) thanatosis or ‘‘free 
fall and death feign’’ — the beetle mere- 
ly drops to the ground and there remains 
in an ‘‘inert’’ condition usually with the 
ventral surface facing upwards. 


(i) Cisseis scabrosula Kerremans 
This buprestid exhibited all three 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


escape mechanisms when approached or 
disturbed (Table 1). Of the 23 observa- 
tions on escape behaviour, ‘‘upward 
flight’ was the most frequent with 14 
occurrences (i.e. 60.1% of the total), 
while 7 occurrences (30.1%) of ‘‘free- 
fall and flight’’ were observed and only 
2 occurrences (9.8%) of thanatosis were 
recorded (Table 2). An additional 
behavioural trait to that previously 
recorded on Cisseis (Hawkeswood, 
1978; and unpublished data) was noted 
on C. scabrosula. When approached to 
within about 30cm, some beetles ceased 
movement, reversed direction (so as to 
move down the Acacia stem) and then 
moved to the surface of the stem facing 
away from the predator (in this case the 
author). Beetles then proceeded down 
the stem for a distance of a few cen- 
timetres before flying away, or display- 
ing the ‘‘free fall and flight’’ escape 
mechanism. Thanatosis was usually ex- 
hibited upon immediate danger i.e. 
when the author suddenly moved in to 
capture a resting beetle. 


(ii) Agrilus australasiae Laporte & Gory 

This species was present in much 
fewer numbers than Cisseis scabrosula 
(Table 2). A total of 16 occurrences of 
escape behaviour were recorded (Table 
2). Of these, 11 occurrences (i.e. 68.8% 
of the total) of ‘‘upward flight’? and 5 
occurrences (31.2%) of thanatosis were 
recorded, while ‘‘free-fall and flight’’ 
was not observed (Table 2). Individuals 
of A. australasiae were more adept than 
those of C. scabrosula. No mating was 
observed in A. australasiae. 


(iii) Cisseis sp. 

Since all three specimens observed 
were also collected for voucher material, 
no observations on their behaviour were 
possible. This species will not be discuss- 
ed until further collections and observa- 
tions are made. It is mentioned here in 
the interest of it being a third sympatric 
species on Acacia sophorae at Hungry 
Head. 


July/August 


(B) Host plant specificity 

All three buprestids appeared to be 
restricted to Acacia sophorae. 
Examination of other plants on the dune 
system (i.e. Carpobrotus glaucescens 
(Haw.) Schwartes (Aizoaceae), Spinifex 
hirsutus Labill. (Poaceae) and Banksia 
integrifolia L.f. (Proteaceae)), indicated 
that buprestids were not utilizing these 
as secondary food sources at the time, 
since no individuals were found on these 
plants. A few individuals of C. 
scabrosula were observed feeding on A. 
sophorae leaves and both buprestids fed 
readily on A. sophorae leaves in the 
laboratory (at the Botany Department, 
University of New England, Armidale). 
An examination of a small sample of 
Acacia plants in the field showed exten- 
sive leaf damage, probably due to 
feeding by these three buprestids, since 
no other phytophagous insects were 
observed on the foliage. 


(C) Other behavioural observations 

Not all Acacia plants were occupied 
by buprestids. Observations suggested 
that only 15-20% of the Acacia plants 
growing in the 100 metre tract of dune 
sampled were being utilized by the 
buprestids and these were all in the one 
area. 

Cisseis scabrosula congregated on 
both sides of leaves and on stems 
towards the ends of branches. Mating 
readily occurred during these congrega- 
tions, although no eggs were deposited. 
Of 191 C. scabrosula counted, 22 pairs 
(representing 23% of the total number 
counted, Table 1) were found in copula- 
tion. Copulation lasted 10-30 seconds. 
No mating between individuals of 
Agrilus australasiae was observed. 

Between 4 and 11 individuals of C. 
scabrosula were present on leaves and 
stems (at any one period of time per 
plant), mostly at the ends of branches. 
The number of males and females pre- 
sent per plant was variable (Table 1), but 
overall, approximately equal numbers 
of males (92) and females (99) were 


149 


counted (Table 1). The occasional 
specimen of the unidentified Cisseis 
species was present amongst the groups 
of C. scabrosula. Individuals of A. 
australasiae tended to be absent from 
plants upon which C. scabrosula were 
common. The plants occupied by A. 
australasiae were usually smaller (0.3- 
0.4 metres high) than those commonly 
utilized by C. scabrosula which were 
0.4-0.7 metres high. 


(D) Predation by spiders 

A spider, Uloborus sp. (Uloboridae), 
was resident amongst the Acacia foliage 
in few numbers. From a total of 35 webs 
examined on the foredune, only five 
(14.3%) were occupied by spiders. Their 
webs were thin and relatively weak, but 
examination of two adjacent webs show- 
ed that two small C. scabrosula (both 
males) had been captured. One beetle 
was dead and wrapped in silk while the 
other was unsuccessfully trying to 
escape from the web. The spider quickly 
pounced on the beetle, immobilized it by 
biting the muscular tissue between the 
thorax (pronotum) and elytra and began 
feeding on the beetle’s fluids. The spider 
fed for about two minutes and then 
wrapped the dead beetle in silk. 


Discussion 

Since Kerremans (1898) described 
Cisseis scabrosula, almost nothing has 
been published since on the species. 
Carter (1929) lists its distribution as New 
South Wales and Victoria and includes it 
in his key to Cisseis (Carter, 1923). 

Cisseis scabrosula is an alert and ac- 
tive insect and may exhibit several 
escape mechanisms when approached. 
Its tendency to move to the opposite side 
of Acacia stems when approached, is an 
addition to the patterns of escape 
behaviour previously noted in Cisseis by 
Hawkeswood (1978). Linsley and Ross 
(1976) note that the buprestid 
Hippomelas sphenica (Le Conte) from 
North America has the habit of moving 
to the opposite side of the branch when 


150 


disturbed. However, these authors do 
not mention whether any further escape 
behaviour occurred after the beetles had 
moved. 

Rapid movement to the other side of a 
branch when approached may enable 
beetles to become obscured from a 
predator’s sight. This behaviour may 
also permit beetles to adopt a cryptic 
position on the stems (especially near the 
base of the phyllodes). In the event of 
further danger from predators, rapid 
methods of departure would facilitate 
the insects’ safety. At present, little is 
known about predators of Australian 
buprestids. It is likely that the escape 
mechanisms exhibited by Cisseis (and 
other genera) have played an important 
role in their survival and evolution. 

The congregations of C. scabrosula 
on branch tips is probably related main- 
ly to sexual activities, for it is here that 
mating commonly takes place. C. 
scabrosula also appears to prefer 
feeding and mating on larger plants of 
A. sophorae. These sites are fully expos- 
ed to sunlight and permit ready flight 
and escape, and probably give beetles 
better opportunities to detect moving 
predators. 

There are very few reports of preda- 
tion on Australian jewel beetles. 
Douglas (1954) reported the dusky wood 
swallow (Artamus cyanopterus) as a 
predator of an unidentified Curis 
species. Barker and Inns (1976) first 
recorded an asilid fly (Phellus piliferus) 
feeding on a large jewel beetle, 
Stigmodera  (Themognatha) _ tibialis 
Waterhouse from Western Australia. 
Hawkeswood (1980) first recorded the 
spider Araneus sp. (Araneidae) as a 
predator of the small Stigmodera 
(Castiarina) picta Laporte & Gory near 
Gingin, Western Australia. That spiders 
do predate on buprestids, is further 
substantiated here. 

Agrilus australasiae was described by 
Laporte and Gory (1837) and since then 
the only notes published on its biology 
are those by Froggatt (1902). He states: 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


“This is a plentiful species upon the 
foliage of this wattle [Acacia decurrens 
(Wendl.) Willd.] in the early summer in 
the Mittagong district (New South 
Wales; 34°27'S 150°27’E) where 
numbers can be taken by shaking the 
branches into a net or umbrella.’” 
recorded (Table 1). An additional 
made to Hungry Head, a beach approx- 
least disturbance. Little is known about 
the biology of the Australian species of 
Agrilus but the data at hand suggests 
that they are specifically foliage feeders 
on Acacia leaves. 

The three buprestid species appear to 
occupy a habitat which is restricted to a 
narrow zone on the sand dunes adjacent 
to the ocean. It is possible that Acacia 
sophorae is the only species which they 
utilize for food and breeding purposes in 
the Coffs Harbour area. Since they ap- 
pear restricted to Acacia along the 
dunes, any future disturbance to this en- 
vironment (e.g. clearing of the dunes for 
residential development, which is at pre- 
sent occurring to some extent) could 
lead to their extinction in these areas. 


Acknowledgements 

I would like to thank Dr J. D, O’Dea (Depart- 
ment of Physiology, University of New England, 
Armidale, N.S.W.) for critically examining earlier 
drafts of the manuscript. Thanks are also expressed 
to Messrs. D. Knowles and M. Peterson (Perth, 
W.A.) for reading and commenting on an earlier 
draft which was written in 1979. Lastly, I would like 
to thank Mr Bruce Murray (Bellingen, N.S.W.) for 
accompanying me to Hungry Head and Mylestom 
Beach and for assistance in field observations and 
collections. 


REFERENCES 


Barker, S. (1975). Revision of the genus Astraeus 
Laporte & Gory (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). 
Trans. R. Soc. S, Aust. 99, 105-141, text figs. 1- 
25. 

Barker, S. (1977). Astraeus (Coleoptera: 
Buprestidae): A description of three new species 
and new locality records. Trans. R. Soc, S. Aust. 
101, 11-14, text figs. 1-4. 

Barker, S. (1979). New species and a catalogue of 
Stigmodera (Castiarina) (Coleoptera: 
Buprestidae). Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust. 103, 1-23, 
text figs. 1-4. 

Barker, S. and R. Inns. (1976). Predation on 
Stigmodera (Themognatha) tibialis by a fly. 
West. Aust. Nat. 13, 147-148, fig. 1. 

Carter, H. J. (1923). Revision of the genera Ethon, 
Cisseis and their allies (Buprestidae). Proc. Linn. 
Soc. N.S. W. 48, 159-176. 

Carter, H. J. (1929). A checklist of the Australian 
Buprestidae. Aust. Zool. 5, 265-304, plates 1-3. 
Douglas, A. M. (1954). Observations on feeding of 
dusky wood-swallows. West. Aust. Nat. 4, 94-95. 
Froggatt, W. W. (1902). Insects of wattle trees. 
Agric. Gaz. N.S.W. 13, 701-720, text figs. 1-18. 
Hawkeswood, T. J. (1978). Observations on some 
Buprestidae (Coleoptera) from the Blue Moun- 

tains, N.S.W. Aust. Zool, 19, 257-275, figs. 1-2. 

Hawkeswood, T. J. (1980). A spider feeding on a 
jewel beetle. West. Aust. Nat. 14, 236. 

Kerremans, C. (1898). Buprestides nouveaux de 
!’Australie et des regions voisines. Ann. Soc. ent. 
Belg. 42, 113-182. 

Laporte, F. L. and H. Gory (1837). ‘Histoire 
naturelle et Iconographie des Insectes Col- 
éopteres. Tome II. Suite aux Buprestides’’. (P. 
Dumenil, Paris). 

Linsley, E. G. and E. S. Ross (1976). Plant associa- 
tions among adult Hippomelas. (Coleoptera: 
Buprestidae). Pan-Pacific Ent. 52, 272-285, figs. 
1-2. 

Peterson, M. and T. J. Hawkeswood, (1980). Notes 
on the biology and distribution of two species of 
Diadoxus (Buprestidae: Coleoptera) in Western 
Australia. West. Aust. Nat. 14, 228-233. 

Williams, G. A. (1977). A list of the Buprestidae 
(Coleoptera) collected from Leptospermum 
flavescens Sm. at East Minto, New South Wales. 
Aust. ent. Mag. 3, 81-82. 


New Book 


‘Useful Wild Plants in Australia.” 
A.B. & J. W. Cribb (Authors of ‘‘Wild Food in Australia.’’) 
269 pages. Few Color Plates. 
Price $15.95 (Discount to members) Postage 50km $1.00 Vic. $1.40. 
Order from Sales Officer F.N.C.V. 


July/August 


151 


Observations on Some Jewel Beetles 
(Coleoptera:Buprestidae) From The Armidale District, 


North-eastern New South Wales. 
By T. J. HAWKESWOOD* 


Introduction 


The Buprestidae are commonly 
known as ‘‘jewel beetles’’ and they are 
most abundant in the tropics (e.g. Brit- 
ton, 1970; Gray, 1974; Hawkeswood, 
1980). Despite the large number of 
species in the family, which Britton 
(1970) has estimated to be about 15,000, 
little is known about their general 
biology, and in particular, adult 
behaviour, feeding and flight biology, 
and relative importance in the pollina- 
tion of flowers. In Australia, despite it 
being regarded as one of the head- 
quarters for the family (Tillyard, 1926) 
and having about 800 species (Carter, 
1929; Britton, 1970), almost nothing is 
known about the distribution, ecology 
and life histories of buprestids, although 
taxonomic work is still proceeding (e.g. 
Barker, 1975; Levey, 1978). This is in 
contrast to the situation in other places 
such as the United States of America 
where ecological studies have been 
undertaken in conjunction with tax- 
onomic work (e.g. Hespenheide, 1969; 
1973; 1976; Nelson & Westcott, 1976; 
Westcott & Verity, 1977; Westcott et al, 
1979). This situation has changed 
somewhat in Australia with the ap- 
pearance of papers by Williams (1977), 
Hawkeswood (1978; 1980; 1981) and 
Peterson & Hawkeswood (1980). 


Further observations and notes are 
provided on four sympatric species, 
Stigmodera (Castiarina) inflata Barker, 
S. (C.) oblita Carter, Curis caloptera 
(Boisduval) and C. splendens Macleay 
from the Armidale area, North-eastern 
New South Wales. 


* Department of Botany, James Cook University, 
Townsville, 4810. North Queensland, 


152 


Observations 

On 22 February, 1978, a visit was 
made to Dangars Falls, some 24 km ESE 
of Armidale, North-eastern New South 
Wales (30°41'S, 151°441E), during 
1245-1350 hrs (Temp. 23°C-26°C). 
Numerous individuals of a black and 
yellow buprestid, Stigmodera 
(Castiarina) species were collected from 
five flowering bushes of Bursaria 
spinosa Cay. (Pittosporaceae) growing 
on the edge of a high cliff near the falls 
proper and in a creek bed near the top of 
the falls. Some of the beetles were soft 
indicating that they had recently emerg- 
ed from pupae. This buprestid proved to 
be undescribed and was later named 
Stigmodera (Castiarina) inflata by 
Barker (1980) and is only known from 
the specimens collected by the author 
(and B. J. Hawkeswood) from Dangars 
and Bakers Creek Falls, in the Armidale 
district (Fig. 1). Another buprestid, 
Curis splendens Macleay (Fig. 2) was 
associated with S. inflata on Bursaria 
spinosa flowers, but in smaller numbers. 
No other buprestids were observed. 
Large numbers of flies, wasps and 
cockchafer beetles were also observed 
sharing the feeding niche on flowers of 
the Bursaria. 

Visits to Dangars Falls were again 
made on 17 September, 1 October, 9, 16 
November, 9, 25 December 1978, 14, 20 
January and 8-14 February 1979, but S. 
inflata was only collected on 10-14 
February 1979, during the peak flower- 
ing phase of B. spinosa. This buprestid 
appeared to be present in fewer numbers 
than at the same period the previous 
season. Curis splendens was also com- 
monly present during the flowering of 
B. spinosa. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


On 23 February, 1978, a visit was 
made to the Bakers Creek Falls lookout 
(30°35!S, 151°48!E) where large 
numbers of S. inflata were observed 
feeding and resting on Bursaria spinosa 
flowers. There was a slight breeze blow- 
ing, the weather was overcast and the 
temperature was 22°C during the course 
of observations (1320-1530 hrs, EST). 
Stigmodera inflata was the dominant in- 
sect species on the blossoms, and was 
present in much larger numbers than 
observed at Dangars Falls on 22 
February, 1978. During the course of 
observations, Curis splendens Macleay, 
Stigmodera (Castiarina) oblita Carter 
and one specimen of Curis caloptera 
(Boisduval) were noticed on the flowers. 
Bursaria spinosa was growing in a com- 
paratively large stand near and on the 
edge of a cliff in two semi-cleared pad- 
docks with Eucalyptus species, 
Jacksonia scoparia R.Br., herbaceous 
annuals and various grasses. About 42 
Bursaria plants were counted in the 
area, but only 18 (43.3%) were flower- 
ing. All these were examined and the 
numbers of S. inflata and C. splendens 


Table 1. Abundance of S, 


Bakers Creek Falls, north-east New South Wales 


inflata Barker* and Curis splendens Macleay* on flowers of Byrsaria 


(the most common buprestids) were 
recorded (Table 1). In some cases, large 
bushes (1.0-1.5 m high) were at the stage 
of peak flowering and nectar production 
was high. Since these bushes offered 
abundant and easily accessible food, 
large numbers of nectar-feeding S. in- 
flata were attracted to the blossoms 
(Table 1). Although accurate counts 
were unable to be made due to some 
beetles movements from place to place 
during counting and the large numbers 
present, an estimate has been made for 
these plants (i.e. plants 7, 8, 10, Table 
1). Fortunately, in other instances, 
beetles were present in lower numbers, 
so that the counting of individuals more 
than once on a particular plant, was 
minimal. No beetles were found on 
poorly flowering or non-flowering 
plants (Table 1) (i.e. plants in these two 
categories were usually young plants < 
lm high). Both buprestids (S. inflata 
and C. splendens) favoured the large, 
profuse flowering bushes (Table 1). Up 
to 8 beetles at a time were either feeding 
or resting on a panicle of flowers (i.e. a 
group of 20-40 flowers). 


spinesq Cay. at 


on 23 February, 1978. 


Plant No. No. of buprestids 


Planet No, 


No. of buprestids 


S. inflata G. eplendens inflata » Bplendens 

Tt 0 0 10 e.75 7 

2 18 2 iL ey 2 

3 10 1 12 3 

4 19 2 13 4 it) 

3 & oO 1 12 1 

6 12 2 1 1 o 

7 ©.90 8 16 U 0 

§ c.60 6 Fie a 0 

9 a. 0 18 22 


Total: c. 360 3. inflata. 


34 C. splendens. 


Average/plant = c.20 


Average/plant = c.2 


* Voucher specimens of both species are housed in the South Australian Museum (SAM). 


+ Poorly flowering plant, 


July/August 


153 


Fig. 1. Stigmodera (Castiarina) inflata on flowers of 

Bursaria spinosa, at Dangars Falls, North-east New 

South Wales, 22 Feb. 1978. Bar indicates 5 mm. 
(Photograph by B. J. Hawkeswood). 


The most interesting aspect of the 
behaviour of S. inflata was the distinct 
but dull whirring noise made in flight, 
presumably derived from beating the 
wings against the elytra (wing-cases) 
and/or body. This whirring sound 
resembled a large hive-bee in flight. 
Periods spent in flight were generally 
small (2-25 seconds). Beetles usually 
flew for short distances from one group 
of flowers to another on the same plant. 
Nearest-neighbour flights to adjacent 
plants also occasionally occurred. No 
escape mechanisms were displayed until 
the author gently shook a branch which 
induced only two beetles (from a total of 
15 on the branch) to undergo thanatosis 
(i.e. ‘‘free-fall and death feign’’, see 
Hawkeswood, 1978). 

The aggregative behaviour of S. in- 
flata on blossoms of the foodplant, is 
typical of many other nectar-feeding 
species (Hawkeswood, 1975-80, pers. 
obs.). However, in this case, S. inflata 
was the only species dominant. This is in 
contrast to other areas, e.g. the Blue 
Mountains, N.S.W., where up to 15 
species of Buprestidae may be found on 
the one foodplant, and a high percen- 
tage (c. 60%) may be common on 
blossoms (Hawkeswood, 1978). As men- 
tioned previously, other insects, e.g. 
flies, wasps and cockchafers, were also 
common visitors to flowers at Dangars 
Falls, but at Bakers Creek Falls, only a 


154 


Fig. 2. Curis splendens on flowers of Bursaria 

spinosa, at Bakers Creek Falls, North-east New 

South Wales, 23 Feb. 1978. Bar indicates 5 mm. 
(Photograph by B. J. Hawkeswood). 


small number of flies were noticed on 
blossoms. About 0.5 km further along 
the road leading to the highway to Ar- 
midale, five Bursaria plants were ex- 
amined on the same day. Although no 
buprestids were observed, large numbers 
of flies, wasps, cockchafers and but- 
terflies were present. Almost all popula- 
tions of B. spinosa were examined for 
insect vectors during 1975-79 in the Ar- 
midale district. Only at Bakers Creek 
and Dangars Falls, were S. inflata 
found. It would appear then that 
populations of S. inflata at Bakers 
Creek Falls are very localized at present, 
and the large numbers of this buprestid 
on Bursaria flowers probably excludes 
most other insects from visiting flowers 
on these plants. 

Stigmodera inflata possesses typical 
warning coloration i.e. yellow fasciae 
(bands) on a black background. It is 
possible that there is an evolutionary 
tendency for this species to mimic bees 
and/or banded wasps, both in colour 
pattern and sound. The predators of S. 
inflata in the Armidale area are 
unknown. Hawkeswood (1978) and 
Peterson and Hawkeswood (1980) have 
suggested that birds (e.g. magpies and 
butcherbirds) are the most likely 
predators of buprestids. If this is the 
case, then such aggregations of S. in- 
flata feeding synchronously on B. 
spinosa (coupled with warning colora- 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


tion and mimicry) may be important in 
reducing predation pressures, and allow 
beetles better chances of finding part- 
ners for breeding purposes in order to 
maintain a large population size. 


Acknowledgements 

I would like to thank my brother, Mr B. J. 
Hawkeswood, for assistance in field work, My 
research on the Buprestidae of Australia has been 
undertaken on private funds and I would like to 
thank my mother, Mrs D. E. Hawkeswood, for 
facilities provided during this time, 1975-81. 


REFERENCES 


Barker, S. (1975). Revision of the genus Astraeus 
Laporte & Gory (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). 
Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Aust. 99, 105-142. 

Barker, S. (1980). New species and new synonyms 
of Stigmodera (Castiarina) (Coleoptera: 
Buprestidae). Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Aust. 104, 1-7. 

Britton, E. B. (1970). Coleoptera (Beetles). Chapter 
30. In; The Insects of Australia. Melb. Uni. 
Press., Carlton, Victoria, 1029pp. 

Carter, H. J. (1929). A check list of the Australian 
Buprestidae. Aust. Zool. 5, 265-304. 

Gray, B. (1976). Observations on insect flight in a 
tropical forest plantation. V. Flight activity of 
Buprestidae and Othniidae (Coleoptera). Z. ang. 
Ent. 76, 190-195. 

Hawkeswood, T. J. (1978). Observations on some 
Buprestidae (Coleoptera) from the Blue Moun- 
tains, N.S.W. Aust. Zool. 19, 257-275. 

Hawkeswood, T. J. (1980). Jewels among the 
beetles. Wildlife in Aust. 17, 9-10. 


Hawkeswood, T. J. (1981). Observations on two 
sympatric species of Buprestidae (Coleoptera) 
from sand dunes on the north coast of New South 
Wales. Victorian Nat. 98, 146-151. 

Hespenheide, H. A. (1969). Larval feeding site of 
species of Agrilus (Coleoptera) using a common 
host plant. Oikos 20, 558-561. 

Hespenheide, H. A. (1973). Notes on the ecology, 
distribution and taxonomy of certain 
Buprestidae. Coleopterists Bull. 27, 183-186. 

Hespenheide, H. A. (1976). Patterns in the use of 
single plant hosts by wood-boring beetles. Oikos 
27, 161-164. 

Levey, B. (1978). A taxonomic revision of the genus 
Prospheres (Coleoptera; Buprestidae). Aust. ae 
Zool. 26, 713-726. 

Nelson, G. H. and Westcott, R. L. (1976). Notes on 
the distribution, synonymy, and biology of 
Buprestidae (Coleoptera) of North America. 
Coleopterists Bull. 30, 273-284. 

Peterson, M. and Hawkeswood, T. J. (1980), Notes 
on the biology and distribution of two species of 
Diadoxus (Coleoptera:Buprestidae) in Western 
Australia. West. Aust. Nat. 14, 228-233. 

Tillyard, R. J. (1926). The Insects of Australia and 
New Zealand. Angus & Robertson, Sydney. 

Westcott, R. L. and Verity, D. S. (1977). A new 
species of Acmaeodera (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) 
from Baja California. Coleopterists Bull. 31, 
149-154. 

Westcott, R. L., Barr, W. F., Nelson, G. H., and 
Verity, D. S. (1979). Distributional and biological 
notes on North and Central American species of 
Acmaeodera (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) 
Coleopterists Bull, 33, 169-182. 

Williams, G. A. (1977). A list of the Buprestidae 
(Coleoptera) collected from Leptospermum 
flavescens Sm. at East Minto, New South Wales. 
Aust. ent. Mag. 3, 81-82. 


New Book 


‘The Distribution and Conserva- 
tion of Vascular Plants in the 
Alpine area, Victoria’. 


Available from Portland Field Naturalists 
Club, P.O. box 470, Portland, Victoria 3305 
for $6 a copy including postage. 


This is a publication of 110 pages which in- 
cludes an up-to-date checklist of the vascular 
flora of about 1617 species, showing the 
distribution of each species within the area 
and including many new records. The conser- 
vation status of each species is indicated and 


July/August 


detailed distribution data are given for 565 of 
the rarer species. The 178 native species ab- 
sent from biological reserves are listed. The 
location of areas is given in which new 
reserves would significantly increase the 
number of plant species which are adequately 
conserved. A detailed, coloured map showing 
minor grid squares and the location of 
various types of Public Land is included. 

Similar publications on the Mallee and 
Corangamite-Otway areas; plus the modern 
Victorian vascular plant check list are 
available from the same address for the same 
price. 


155 


Radiocarbon Dating of Estuarine Shells in the River 
Yarra, Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Victoria 
By EDMUND D. GILL* 


Waterfall at Melbourne 
The early history of Melbourne is the 
story of two rivers — the Saltwater 


River, now called the Maribyrnong, and 
the Freshwater River, now called the 
Yarra. Melbourne stands where it is 
because of the supply of fresh water. 
When the early settlers sailed up the 
Yarra they found it was shallow and sal- 
ty for some distance, but further up it 
became fresh and deep. It widened into 
a pool nine metres deep, which came to 
be known as The Basin (Billot 1979). 
However, the boats could go no further 
because of a waterfall about a metre 
high consisting of basalt. Flood waters 
pouring over this waterfall had scoured 
out The Basin, which formed a natural 
harbour for the small boats in use then. 

Upstream from the waterfall the 
basalt formed a rapids. Old photo- 
graphs show basalt outcropping through 
the water. This lava flow is of olivine 
basalt about 810 000 years old (Bemmett 
et al., 1975). Billot (1979) described ear- 
ly Melbourne thus — ‘‘The tents of 
Hoddle and his surveyors nestled by the 
Yarra Falls, and clustered around what 
was later to be the Market Square stood 
the huts and tents in which the settlers 
lived’’. 


Estuarine Bed above Waterfall 

During the low sea level of the Last 
Glacial Period, Port Phillip was dry and 
the Yarra River flowed along its floor. 
Because of this lower base level, the 
Yarra cut far below its present level in 
the Melbourne area. Thus the stump of 
a red gum was found in living position 
19.2 m below present low water when 
the Spencer Street bridge was being built 
(Gill 1971). When the sea rose again this 
channel was infilled. When the first set- 


tlers came to Melbourne, the Yarra was 
flowing over the basalt flow that created 
the waterfall. 

North of the Yarra River the early set- 
tlers saw Batman’s Swamp, and many of 
us can remember part of this in its 
natural condition, standing above high 
water level and crowded with shelly 
fossils. In the late 1940s and in the 1950s 
I monitored numerous bores in the 
Yarra Delta (including the Appleton 
Dock and Coode Island series) and 
noted a number of places where the in 
situ shell bed (not filling) extended 
above high water level. It is significant 
that, in spite of compaction, the top of 
the shell bed stands so high. The ex- 
planation is that sea level was higher 
some 6000 years ago, and Russell’s map 
(Figure 1) shows the old sea cliff near 
Spencer Street. At that time the 
estuarine bed extended up the Maribyr- 
nong River to the munition works (I col- 
lected shells from the mouth of Steele 
Creek), and up the Yarra River to 
beyond Swan Street, Richmond, where 
shelly beds are known. Beside the 
Maribyrnong River north of the 
Maribyrnong Road bridge I collected 
the skeleton of a porpoise, while at the 
bend in the river near the boatshed | 
found a shark’s tooth in a sewerage ex- 
cavation. Further upstream at Brunel 
Street I discovered in the estuarine shell 
bed a piece of red gum bored by marine 
borers that dated 4820 + 200 years 
(W-170). 

If the waterfall on the Yarra River 
(1 m high) was overtopped by the 
estuarine waters that deposited the shell 
bed, the sea would need to have been 
about 2 m above present level. The fact 
that under natural conditions the river 
flowed over the waterfall shows that the 


*1/47 Wattle Valley Road, Canterbury, Victoria, 3126. Pleistocene low level river channel had 


156 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


? 
a>? 


a»? @P,t CAE” 
ear tae lL 
‘ 4 


. 


Fig. 1. Part of Robert Russell’s 1837 map of Melbourne, showing The Basin opposite William Street, the 


waterfall, and the former cliff near Spencer Street. At the south end of the cliff is Batman’s Hill, now the site 
of the Spencer Street railway station. 


been filled in to a high level above that 
of the basalt. Diatoms also provide 
evidence of this incursion of the sea (Gill 
1953). 


Shells for Radiocarbon Dating 
Melbourne’s first bridge ran diagonal- 
ly across the Yarra River a short 
distance upstream of the waterfall. The 
basalt provided an excellent foundation. 
On the other hand, it also provided a 
serious impediment to the movement of 
flood waters. The floods became a 
serious menace (see picture Gill 1971 
frontispiece), so it was decided to 
remove the basalt and straighten the 
river course. Kitson (1900) has mapped 
the old and new courses, showing how a 


July/August 


former bend in the Yarra has been in- 
corporated in the present Royal Botanic 
Gardens. In Kitson’s time the Friendly 
Society Gardens lay on the opposite 
bank of the Yarra from the ‘‘Botanical 


Gardens’’. 
Kitson made his observations in 1898 
during construction, and noted 


throughout the area an estuarine shell 
bed with nine species of pelecypods, 
four of gasteropods, and a barnacle. 
The fauna includes Anadara trapezia of 
which there are millions in the Yarra 
delta. This species is still in Port Phillip 
Bay, but at the limit of its distribution. 
The shell size there is small, and they 
grow below low water level only. One 
Saturday afternoon during the building 


157 


of Appleton Dock I took my young 
family there to collect Anadara for a 
biometrical study. In a short time 2000 
shells were collected. I was impressed by 
their overall large size and thickness. It 
appears that the world climate was 
slightly warmer then, and the higher sea 
level may well be a result of that. 


Radiocarbon Date 

As no radiocarbon date had been ob- 
tained for the shell bed in the Yarra 
above the waterfall, I approached Dr 
Peter Jell of the National Museum of 
Victoria, who kindly made available 
some shells of Polinices sordidus 
collected at the time of the improvement 
works. The outside label read ‘‘Friendly 
Society Gardens’’ but inside the box 
another label read ‘‘Botanic Bridge’’. 
This bridge at Anderson Street is shown 
in Kitson’s map, so I conclude that the 
shells were collected near the Royal 
Botanic Gardens at the north end of the 
Anderson Street bridge. 

The New Zealand Radiocarbon 
Laboratory, through Mr T. Grant- 
Taylor, kindly assayed these shells. The 
old half life of C14 (as used for earlier 
dates) gives an age of 6780 + 190 years 
B.P. (N.Z. 5094A) while the more 


recently calculated half life gives an age 
of 6980 + 200 years B.P. (N.Z. 5094B). 


Ecology of Polinices sordidus 

This carnivorous gastropod lives in 
muddy sand at low tide in Port Phillip 
and Western Port. In does not survive in 
areas of restricted salinity. Kitson does 
not state at what level he found the 
shells, but it would be appreciably below 
that at which they lived because these 
muddy sediments suffer a high degree of 
compaction (Gill and Lang 1977). 


REFERENCES 


Bennett, R., Page, R. W. and Bladon, G. M. 1975. 
Catalogue of age determinations on Australian 
rocks, 1966-1970. Rept. 162, Bur. Min. Res. 
Canberra. 

Billot, C. P., 1979. John Batman. Hyland House, 
Melbourne, 330 pp. 

Gill, E. D., 1953. Palaeoecological interpretation of 
some Victorian fossil diatom floras. Mem. Nat. 
Mus. Melb. 18:141-153. 

Gill, E. D., 1971, The far-reaching effects of 
Quaternary sealevel changes on the flat continent 
of Australia. Royal Society of Victoria Presiden- 
tial Address. Proc. R. Soc. Vic. 84:188-205. 

Gill, E. D. and Lang, J. G., 1977. Simple measure- 
ment of compaction in marine geological forma- 
tions from engineering data commonly available. 
Mar. Geol. 25:M1-M4. 

Kitson, A. E. 1900. Geological notes on the River 
Yarra improvement sections at the Botanical 
Gardens and vicinity, Melbourne. Proc. R. Soc. 
Vic. 13:243-252. 


New Book 


“‘How to Know Western Australian Wildflowers’’ 
Part 111A 
W. E. Blackall and B. J. Grieve (Second Edition by B. J. Grieve) 
296 Pages of Text and Line Drawings. 15 Color Plates. 
Price $27.95 (Discount to Members) Postage 50km $1.00 Vic. $1.40. 
Order from Sales Officer, F.N.C.V. 


158 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


A Note on Climbing Ability in Tiger Snakes (Notechis 
scutatus) and Predation on Arboreal Nesting Birds 
By GARRY A. WEBB* 


Australian elapid snakes have been 
reported preying on ground nesting 
birds (Anon, 1919; Cogger, 1979; Le 
Souf, 1911). To my knowledge there 
have been no published observations of 
elapid predation on arboreal nesting 
birds. Shine (pers. comm.) removed 
several nestling Magpies (Gymnorhina 
tibicen) from the stomach of a Tiger 
snake (Notechis scutatus) which was 
found in a hollow limb of a tree in the 
Armidale area. 

Climbing ability in Tiger snakes has 
been documented previously (Heatwole 
et al., 1973). They observed a 50 cm long 
Tiger snake climbing to a height of 10 
metres in a large radiata pine (Pinus 
radiata). Similarly, the observation 


Fig. 1A: Tiger snake coiled around a young Radiata 
Pine in Bondi State Forest, N.S.W. Note partially 
overgrown branch stubs left by pruning. 


*Forestry Commission of N.S.W. P.O. Box 100, 
Beecroft, N.S.W. 2119, 


July/August 


reported here involves a Tiger snake 
climbing a Radiata Pine. 

At 1800 hrs. on the 2nd January 1981, 
a Tiger snake approximately one metre 
in length was observed in a 15 cm 
diameter radiata pine in Bondi State 
Forest, N.S.W. The snake was tightly 
coiled around a whorl of branch stubs 
1.6 metres above the ground (Figure 
1A). In attempting to get a closer view I 
disturbed the snake which quickly 
descended, partially sliding (with its tail 
still anchored around the tree) and then 
falling once it relinquished its hold (Fig. 
1B). 

When the tree was inspected closely a 
Scarlet Robin (Petroica bicolor) nest, 
containing a single nestling, was found 


Fig. 1B: Tiger snake descending from the tree using 
branch stubs as support. The whorl of the branch 
stubs shown in Fig. 1A is at the top of the figure. 


159 


in the fork of the lowest branch, 2.4 
metres above the ground. It would ap- 
pear that the snake was attempting to 
reach the nest to prey on the young bird. 

The climbing method used by this 
snake was not actually observed. The 
Tiger snake observed by Heatwole et al., 
(1973) utilized the deeply furrowed 
bark, to move upwards by concertina 
movement, and branches for looping its 
body. The Radiata Pine in this observa- 
tion had neither furrowed bark nor low 
level branches and therefore the snake 
could not have used this method. A 
more likely method of ascent would be 
the use of the whorls of partially 
overgrown branch stubs in the tree 
trunk, left by earlier pruning. These are 
spaced at varying intervals, short 
enough for the snake to be able to raise 


the front portion of its body, loop 
around the next whorl of stubs and then 
pull the rest of its body up. When first 
observed the snake had the front portion 
of its body raised and was probably at- 
tempting to reach the next whorl of 
stubs. 


REFERENCES 


Anonymous (1919). Snakes and young birds. Emu, 
28:303, 

Cogger, H. G, (1979). Reptiles and amphibians of 
Australia. A. H. & A. W. Reed Pty. Ltd., 
Sydney. 

Heatwole, H., S. A. Winton Jr., G. Witten, M. 
Dick, J. Parmenter, R. Shine and E. Parmenter, 
(1973). Arboreal Habits in Australian Elapid 
Snakes. HISS News — Journal 1(4):113. 

Le Souf, D, (1911). Snakes in Birds Nests. Emu, 
11:187. 


A Short History of The Discovery and Naming of 
Banksias in Eastern Australia 


Part III] Richard Anthony Salisbury 
By A. I. SALKIN* 


Richard Anthony Markham, who 
later changed his name to Salisbury as a 
condition of inheriting a large fortune, 
described two species of banksias in his 
“Prodromus Stirpium in Horto ad 
Chapel Alerton Vigentium (1796). These 
were B. serratifolia and B. aspleniifolia. 

In 1809 Joseph Knight produced a 
work entitled ‘‘On the Cultivation of 
Plants belonging to the Natural Order of 
Proteeae’’. Three Banksia species were 
described from materia! in cultivation. 
A great deal of controversy surrounds 
this work as it was believed to emanate 
not from the pen of Joseph Knight but 
was partly if not wholly written by 
Salisbury. The preface to the work has a 


* Science Department, 


Brentwood High School, 
Heath St., Glen Waverley, 3150. 


160 


curious acknowledgement to Salisbury 
and there is also a hint against accusa- 
tions of plagiarism. 

“Perhaps few works have greater 
claim to originality than the present, not 
a single line being copied from any 
other. For the names only of the dif- 
ferent Genera, their various authors are 
quoted, except those of R. A. Salisbury, 
Esq. whose manuscripts have been 
found useful in every sheet.” 

Knight’s publication appeared in 
August of 1809. The botanical establish- 
ment of the day attributed the work to 
Salisbury and saw in it an attempt to 
publish genera and species described by 
Brown in January 1809, when he read 
his paper ‘‘On the Proteaceae of 
Jussieu’’ (Brown, 1810a) before the Lin- 
nean Society. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Correspondence between Good- 
enough and Smith (Britten, 1886) 
reveals the depth of this distrust — 

“How shocked was I to. see 
Salisbury’s surreptitious anticipation of 
Brown’s paper on the New Holland 
plants, under the name and disguise of 
Mr Hibbert’s gardener!** Oh, it is too 
bad! I think Salisbury is got just where 
Catilene was when Cicero attacked him, 
viz., to that point of shameful doing 
when no good man could be found to 
defend him. I would not speak to him at 
the anniversary of the Royal Society.’’ 

The antipathy and antagonism by the 
botanical establishment to Salisbury 
probably dated from a time prior to 
1809. Salisbury was an acrimonious 
and irritable man but he also held 
views on classification that were ana- 
thema to many other botanists. There 
appears to have been, to quote Britten 
(1886), ‘‘A tacit understanding on the 
part of the botanical leaders of the 
period, including Brown, Banks, and 
Smith, that Salisbury’s works and 
names should as far as possible be ig- 
nored’’. This appears to have included 
Salisbury’s earlier work in which he 
published the names of two Banksia 
species. It may have been for this reason 
that names of two banksias published in 
Knight’s book have different names. 
The first of these is named B. serraefolia 
and B. serratifolia Salisb. Prod r.p. 51 is 
given as a synonym. The second is nam- 
ed B. uncigera and B. oblongifolia Cav. 
Ic. V.6. p.28 tab 542 given as the 
synonym for this. 

If Salisbury was the true author of 
“On the Cultivation of Plants Belonging 
to the Natural Order Proteeae’’ it seems 
curious he should forget his own 
previous name for B. uncigera. 

The question naturally arises how did 
Salisbury get hold of material to 
describe his two Banksia species. There 
was of course the illicit trade and 
xX Knight who had been Hibbert’s gardener had ac- 


quired the famous collection of live Proteaceae as 
the Foundation of his nursery business. 


July/August 


Salisbury did employ a collector, James 
Lee, who collected Proteaceous plants 
for him at the Cape and in Australia 
(Britten, 1917) but the answer may be 
simpler than this. Salisbury was not 
always a persona non grata; Smith had 
named the genera Salisburia in his 
honour — 

“In honour of Richard Anthony 
Salisbury, Esq., of whose acuteness and 
indefatigable zeal in the service of 
botany no testimony is necessary in this 
Society nor in any place which his 
writings have reached.’’ (Britten, 1917) 

Salisbury for his part acknowledges 
help from Smith and the use of Smith’s 
herbarium — ‘‘ex Herbario amicissima 
Smith’’. 

The most plausible answer to 
Salisbury’s descriptions of the two 
Banksia species in 1796 and 1809 is that 
Salisbury recognized the two species in 
the Linnean Society Herbarium as being 
distinct and obtained material from New 
South Wales from his collector James 
Lee. In 1796 he described the two species 
from this material and had plants pro- 
pagated from seed presumably by 
Joseph Knight. It was this cultivated 
material that was described in 1809 
either by Knight or Salisbury. 

As to the charge of plagiarism, there 
is a great deal of doubt as to whether 
Brown’s reading of his paper had any ef- 
fect on the publication of these two 
species, whatever its effect on Knight’s 
or Salisbury’s publication of other 
genera and species of the Proteaceae. 

Having established that Salisbury’s 
descriptions were original the validity of 
the descriptions have now to be looked 
at. The descriptions of 1796 are very 
brief and compared with the descrip- 
tions of Smith (1793) quoted earlier, and 
Cavanilles (1800) to be quoted, are in- 
adequate unless one is very familiar with 
the species concerned. B. serratifolia has 
the following diagnosis in Latin — 

«5. B. foliorum laminis rectis, lineari 
— lanceolatis, profunde serratis, trun- 
catis cum mucrore, adultis utrinque 


161 


glabris, planis. B. serrata Linn. Suppl. 
p. 126, diversissima species. 

Ex Port Jackson auct Jac. Lee.”’ 

The description though brief does 
point out one of the major differences 
between B, serrata and B. serratifolia; 
that of the longer narrower leaves with 
much closer serrations. 

The description of B. serraefolia in 
Knight’s book is longer and the Latin 
diagnosis is followed by synonyms. 

“This species grows wild near Port 
Jackson, and is common in our collec- 
tions, but very difficult to increase by 
cuttings, nor does it flower with us so 
plentifully as some others. Stems 
villous, leaves 6 to 9 inches long, linear 
— lanceolate, deeply and spinulously 
serrated, hardy cottony underneath. 
Nerve prominent both above and below. 
Stigma not much angulated.”’ 

Banksia serratifolia does have leaves 
of this length but a critical diagnostic 
feature of the stigma is that it is more 
acutely angled than B. serrata. The 
description above indicates the opposite. 
A description of another species, B. 
mitis, which follows is given the descrip- 
tion of ‘“‘Stigma exceedingly 
angulated’’. The name of a synonym for 
this species is B. serrata. 

Robert Brown's description of B. 
aemula is also brief but ‘‘type’’ 
specimens are available (Stearn, 1960). 
Brown in his description uses the 
character of the long much serrated leaf. 
“foliis lato-linearibus elongatis trun- 
catis, profunde serratis’’ and gives the 
correct diagnosis for the stigma 
“stigmate capitato exsulco nitido apice 
(quadrangulo)’’. 

Brown’s description uses Salisbury’s 
“profunde serratis’’ from the 1796 
description but is correct on the stigma 
diagnosis; he does however give B. ser- 
ratifolia as a synonym but uses a query 
— Salisb. Prod. 51? (Brown, 1810a). 

The resolution of the problem is 
therefore not an easy one — on the one 


162 


hand we have the priority of publication 
and on the other a barely adequate 
diagnosis and no known type specimen. 

The description of B. aspleniifolia 
compared with the detailed diagnosis by 
Cavanilles of B. oblongifolia, if we ac- 
cept that the height of 12 feet is an ob- 
vious mistake, is even more inadquate, 
nevertheless for the purpose of this art- 
icle the Salisbury names will be used. 
Firstly, I believe that Salisbury has been 
much maligned and it is necessary to 
restore the balance, but I also think 
Salisbury recognised possibly as early as 
1792 that 8B. serratifolia and B. 
aspleniifolia were distinct species. He 
appears to have consciously set out to 
have collections made and in the case of 
B. serrata and B. serratifolia used the 
methods of experimental cultivation in 
order to resolve differences that are 
essentially minor genetic ones. 

One curious omission is that he did 
not note and presumably failed to 
observe that B. aspleniifolia develops a 
large and distinctive lignotuber and one 
can only assume that the taxonomic 
significance of this organ escaped the 
notice of the botanists of this period. 


REFERENCES 


Britten, J. 1886. On the Nomenclature of some Pro- 
teacea. J. Bot, Lond. 24:296-300. 

Britten, J, 1917, The plants of Salisbury’s 
“*Prodromus’' 1796 J. Bot, Lond. $4:57-65, 

Brown, R. 1810, On the Proteaceae of Jussieu, 
Trans. Linn. Soc, 10:15-226, 

Cavanilles, A. J. 1800, Observations on the soil 
natives and plants of Port Jackson and Botany 
Bay. Anales De Hist. Nat. 3:181-245. Trans. R, J, 
Dorr. 

Knight, J. 1809, On the cultivation of plants belong- 
ing (o the natural order of the Proteeae. William 
Savage: London. 

Salisbury, R, A, 1796. Prodromus Stirpium in Hor- 
to ad Chapel Alerton vigentium. 

Smith, J. E, 1793-5, A specimen of The Botany of 
New Holland. Sowerby:London, 

Stearn, W. T. 1960, Introduction to facsimile edi- 
tion of R. Brown's Prodromus florae Novae 
Hollandiae. In J, Cramer and H. J. Swann (eds) 
Historiae naturalist classica 6, Cramer: 
Weinheim. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


F.N.C.V. Excursion to Flinders Island, 13th to 20th January, 
1980. 


Conditions at Tullamarine airport were 
overcast when the T.A.A. charter plane with 
36 Victorian Field Naturalists as passengers 
left for Flinders Island on the 13th January. 
There was broken cloud cover for the trip 
along the Victorian coast with views of 
Phillip Island, Wonthaggi, Cape Paterson, 
Inverloch and Anderson’s Inlet, Waratah 
Bay and Shallow Inlet, and the large sand- 
blow on the Yanakie Isthmus. Much of 
Wilson’s Promontory, Bass Strait and 
Flinders Island were covered by clouds. At 
Flinders Island airport there was bright sun- 
shine and a strong westerly wind both of 
which continued for the rest of the day, We 
were met by the school bus which was to 
transport us for each day of our week on the 
island. 

Fourteen of our number had accommoda- 
tion at the guest house near the airport while 
the others, plus two who had flown over from 
the mainland a day earlier, stayed at the hotel 
in Whitemark. After lunch a smaller school 
bus collected the fourteen from their rural 
retreat to take them to Whitemark as it did all 
week. The afternoon was spent exploring 
around the town and along the beach. Swamp 
Harriers, Masked Plovers, Silver Gulls, 
Pacific Gulls, Silvereyes, (Tasmanian form) 
and Blue Wrens were seen during the after- 
noon, That evening we all gathered in the 
hotel lounge to meet John Whinray, our 
leader for the week, and discuss plans for our 
proposed outings. 

Monday, 14th January. A fine clear morn- 
ing. All joined the large bus at Whitemark for 
a trip to Patriarchs Inlet. Much of the road 
was through land which had been cleared and 
drained for the Soldier Settlement scheme 
during the 1950's. Although the roadsides in 
these areas were bare there were compensa- 
tions for we could see a variety of birds in the 
paddocks. 

Starlings, Swamp Harriers, White-faced 
herons at dams, and large flocks of Cape Bar- 
ren Geese. When we stopped to admire them 
as they grazed they rose and circled before 
they flew to other paddocks. The bus took us 
a short distance along a bush track before we 
left it to stroll along the track to the Inlet. 
Eucalyptus Globulus was the dominant large 
tree in this area with an understorey of Com- 
mon Cassinia (C. aculeata), Narrow-leaf 


July/August 


Wattle (Acacia mucronata), Broom Tea-tree 
(Leptospermum scoparium), Hazel Pomader- 
ris (P. apetala) Coast Tea-tree 
(Leptospermum laevigatum), Currant Wood 
(Monotoca glauca), Coast Beard-heath 
(Leucopogon parviflorus) with its white ber- 
ries called ‘‘currants’’ by the locals, and eaten 
by the Cape Barren people, and Scented 
Paper-bark (Melaleuca squarrosa). There was 
also Swamp Paper-bark (M._ ericifolia) 
Golden Tip (Goodia /otifolia), Sallow Wattle 
(A. longifolia), and Callitris rhomboidea here 
known as Cape Barren Pine but in other parts 
of Australia often called Oyster Bay Pine. 
Among the Tasmanian ‘Tea-tree 
(Leptospermum glaucescens) with its distine- 
tive red juicy fruit and the Silver Banksia 
(Banksia marginata) were Grey Fantails and 
Crescent Honeyeaters. At a lower level were 
bushes of Correa reflexa with occasional 
green bells, Fireweed Groundsel (Senecio 
linearifolius) Trigger Plants (Stylidium 
graminifolium), tangles of Clematis 
microphylla, Coarse Dodder Laurel 
(Cassytha melantha) with its coarse stems and 
large fruits, and also some Downy Dodder 
Laurel (Cassytha pubescens) with fine string- 
like stems. There was Pink Beard-heath 
(Leucopogon ericoides) and Twiggy Daisy- 
bush (Olearia ramulosa) and two Swoard- 
sedges ... Lepidosperma concava and L. 
elatus, with Tassel Rope-rush (Hypoleana 
fastigiata) and bushes of Tree Everlasting 
(Helichrysum dendroideum) with Cherry 
Ballart (Exocarpus cupressiformis) and Dag- 
ger Hakea (H. teretifolia). 

Along a damp bank which had been 
scraped bare by a bulldozer draining the track 
minute plants had re-established themselves. 
There was angled Lobelia (Lobelia alata), 
Creeping Cotula (Cotula repens), the Tiny 
Sundew (Drosera pygmaea), Swamp Weed 
(Selliera radicans), Swamp Goodenia 
(Goodenia humilis), Swamp Mazus (Mazus 
pumilio), Swamp Clubmoss (Selaginella 
uliginosa), Creeping Woodsorrel (Oxalis cor- 
niculata), Prickly Couch (Zoisia macrantha), 
Dwarf Bog-rush (Schoenus maschalinus), 
Creeping Raspwort (Haloragis micrantha) 
and a tiny Violet. Black-faced Cuckoo 
Shrikes swooped past us here before we came 
to the open view of Patriarchs Inlet, with a 
wonderful expanse of water for the Birdos to 


163 


see Pelicans, Black Cormorants, Sooty 
Terns, Sooty Oyster Catchers, Masked Lap- 
wings, White-fronted Chats, Red Capped 
Dotterels, Caspian Terns and New Holland 
Honeyeaters,. On the low lying salty flats were 
patches of Pricklefoot (Erynigium 
vesciculosum), Rounded Noon-flower 
(Disphyma blackii), Purple Swainson Pea 
(Swainsona lJessertifolia), Pale Goosefoot, 
(Chenopodium glaucum), with Bower 
Spinach (Tetragona implexicoma) growing 
over some of the small shrubs. Woolly Xan- 
thosia (Xanthosia pilosa) was noted on the 
walk back to the bus for lunch as well as wasp 
holes in the sandy track. A_ beautiful 
specimen of Hyacinth Orchid (Dipodium 
punctatum), Woolly Heath (Epacris 
Januginosa), and small patches of Silver 
Everlasting (Helichrysum dealbatum) were by 
the lunch spot where Welcome Swallows and 
Black Currawongs flew over as we ate. There 
was a brief stop back on the main road to 
view dozens more Cape Barren Geese near a 
Little Pied Cormorant on a dam, while Pipits 
rose from the roadside. 


Our next stop was at a hillside forest area 
which marks the junction of many mainland 
and Tasmanian plants. Furze Hakea (Hakea 
ulicina) which has its Southern limit here on 
Flinders Island was here as well as Spreading 
Wattle (A. diffusa), Prickly Geebung 
(Persoonia juniperina), Swamp-heath 
(Epacris paludosa), and Pink Swamp-heath 
(Sprengalia incarnata) were both here, Silky 
Hakea (H. sericea), Star Daisy-bush (Olearia 
stellulata), Rough Guinea-flower (Hibbertia 
aspera), a Wedge Pea (Gompholobium sp.), 
Guitar Plant (Lomatia tinctoria) endemic to 
Tasmania, Blue Damperia (Damperia stric- 
ta), Climbing Apple-berry (Billardiera 
scandens), Spreading Rope-rush (Ca/orophus 
Jateriflorus), and two ferns... Screw Fern 
(Lindsaya linearis), and Comb Fern (Schizea 
bifida). There were a few flowers of Butterfly 
Flag (Diplarrena moraea) and great excite- 
ment when first specimens of the Large 
Tongue Orchid (Cryptostylis subulata) were 
found and then the Small Tongue Orchid (C. 
leptochila). 


Our final stop for the day was beside a pea- 
ty swamp where we found Slender Honey- 
myrtle (Melaleuca gibbosa), Forked Sundew 
(Drosera binata) with its lovely white flowers 
2 cm across, Swamp Boronia (Boronia par- 
viflora), small Fairies’ Aprons (Utricularia 
Jaterifolia), Blunt-leaf Heath (Epacris ob- 


164 


tusifolia), Yellow Hakea (H. nodosa), and 
Mealy Honey-myrtle (Melaleuca squamea). 
Jewel spiders had webs hung between the low 
shrubs. Seeded specimens of Veined Sun- 
orchid (Thelymitra venosa) and many flowers 
of the Horned Orchid (Orthoceras strictum) 
were a delight as we were told that the Horn- 
ed Orchid had only been found three times 
previously in the Eastern Bass Strait islands. 
Slender Clubmoss (Lycopodium laterale) and 
more Comb Fern were here. Yellow-tailed 
Black Cockatoos flew over across to a nearby 
hill. Along the edge of the road were plants of 
Bundled Guinea Flower (Hibbertia 
fasciculata) and another Hyacinth Orchid as 
well as a large brown grasshopper with bright 
orange beneath its wings. 


Tuesday, 15th January. A very strong 
North wind was blowing as we again headed 
North from Whitemark to find a sheltered 
spot for the morning’s exploration. From the 
central cleared plains we turned through 
private property to Summer Camp Gully. 
This spot has permanent water and had been 
used for over one hundred years by kangaroo 
hunters when kangaroo skins had been one of 
the islands early exports. This practice ceased 
in 1947. After that time the area had been us- 
ed as a permanent camp site for the labour 
force clearing land during the 1950's Settle- 
ment scheme. As a consequence of this con- 
tinued use of the area there had been frequent 
burns but there are still some large trees and 
thick regrowth. Hazel and Swamp Paper 
Bark had overgrown the old track which led 
to the steep rocky gully where there was a 
waterfall and a small dam for farm water 
supply. There was a patch of Scrub Nettle by 
the track while Clematis arisata, Apple-berry, 
and Wonga Vine (Pandorea pandorana) 
twined in the trees. John Whinray told us that 
this plant of Wonga vine and some others at 
the SE of Flinders Island are the only two 
Tasmanian records of this plant. Shrubby 
Velvet-bush (Lasiopetalum dasyphyllum) and 
Golden Tip were here with Large-leaf Bush- 
pea (Pultenea daphnoides), Hop Bush 
(Dodonea viscosa) and Tree Zieria (Zieria ar- 
borescens) The final climb to the gully where 
the reservoir had been built was past some 
Rough Tree-ferns (Cyathea australis), Privet 
Mock-olive (Notolea ligustrina), and Tasma- 
nian endemic Monoftoca glauca, and Blue 
Olive-berry (Eleocarpus reticulatis). Above 
the waterfall was the object of our scramble 
to find it...Tasmanian Blanket-leaf 


Vic. Nat. Vol, 98 


(Bedfordia linearis) the only specimen known 
on the island. There were lichens and dry 
mosses on the granite rocks, and Necklace 
Fern (Asplenium flabellifolium), Small 
Poranthera (P. microphylla), a minute 
Stonecrop (Crassula sp). Lower in the gully 
were Prickly Currant Bush (Coprosma 
guadrifida), Pink Berry (Cyathodes 
juniperina), Narrow-leaf Wattle, Hop 
Goodenia (G. ovata), White Kunzea (K. am- 
bigua), Common Wedge-pea 
(Gompholobium huegelii), Shrubby Spurge 
(Phyllanthus gunnii), Rough Guinea-flower, 
Ivy Flat-pea (Platylobium traingulare), and 
Hard Water-fern (Blechnum procerum) and 
Sickle Fern (Pellaea falcata) with masses of 
Scrambling Coral-fern (Gleichenia 
microphylla). Droppings of the Brush-tail 
Possum were found. During the lunch break 
we saw Black Cockatoos, Green Rosellas, 
Flame Robins, a Brown Falcon as well as 
skinks and bullants. 

As we headed South on the open road 
towards a peak named The Dutchman we saw 
a Swamp Harrier, Nankeen Kestrels and 
White-faced Heron with more Cape Barren 
Geese at a dam. During a short stop at the 
North end of The Dutchman we found Hakea 
epiglottis, a Tasmanian endemic which grows 
no further N than Flinders Island — and not 
in the N of the island, Also here was 
Leucopogon esquamatus which grows in 
NSW and Tasmania and misses all but the ex- 
treme East of Victoria. As well there was 
Prickly Geebung (Persoonia juniperina), 
Dusty Miller (Spyridium parvifolium), Silky 
Guinea-flower (Hibbertia sericea) Short 
Purple-flag (Patersonia fragilis), Tall Lobelia 
(Lobelia gibbosa), a metallic skink and two 
Mountain Dragons. 

After an adventurous trip alongside a road 
in the making our final stop was at Logan’s 
Lagoon Conservation area of 2000 acres. 
This lagoon is very shallow and is filled by 
both rain water and occasional salt flow from 
the sea. A very strong West wind had blown 
up during the day and had swept the shallow 
water to the far side of the lagoon towards 
the coast. The keen birdwatchers had to take 
off their footwear and paddle over a slimy 
surface until they were within sighting 
distance of thousands of waders and other 
water birds — Swans, Ducks, Sand-pipers, 
Fairy Terns, Silver Gulls, Pelicans, Little 
Stints, Caspian Terns, Red-capped Dotterels. 
Those who remained on shore had the lovely 
sight of seeing huge flocks of these birds rise 


July/August 


and wheel in the sunlight as they were 
disturbed by the advance of the birdos. 
Around the shore of the lagoon were burrows 
of the Eastern Swamp Rat in the recently 
burnt tussocks and shell beds. Among the 
plants were Angled Lobelia, tiny plants of 
Sea Celery (Apium prostratum), Creeping 
Monkey-flower (Mimulus repens), and 
Epilobium sp., a Fan-flower (Scaevola sp.), a 
Tasmanian endemic Nablonium calceroides, 
Candles (Stachhousia monogyma), 
Pelargonium inodorum, a _ Blue-bell 
(Wahlenbergia sp.), Tasman  Flax-lily 
(Dianella tasmanica), Cotula sp., Sea Rush 
(Juncus maritimus). Our final interesting find 
in this spot was a Tasmanian Spiny Ant-eater 
among the tussocks and Coastal Teatree by 
the track. It was lighter in colour than the 
mainland species with its spines almost hid- 
den by fur. 


Wednesday, 16th January was a fine calm 
day so we were able to visit Big Green Island. 
A small boat ferried us eight per trip across 
the smooth water with fine views back to 
Flinders Island with the Strzelecki Peaks 
dominating the scene. Our boatman advised 
us that if we wished to swim to do so during 
the morning for the tide would be out later in 
the day when at low tide 80 acres of reef are 
exposed. So a few from each boatland swam 
while waiting for the rest of the party to ar- 
rive. Those who went walking along the san- 
dy beach saw both Sooty and Pied Oyster- 
catchers, Silver Gulls, Turnstones and 
Gannets. 

At the landing cove was a sheep race which 
led from yards and a shearing shed. Higher 
on the hill was a house with a detached kit- 
chen which had been built in 1872. Grazing 
had commenced on the island in 1860 since 
when there had been frequent fires which 
have destroyed most of the original plants, 
The present dominant growth consists of 
Prickly Spear-grass (Stipa teretifolia), Austral 
Hollyhock (Lavatera plebeia var. tomen- 
tosa), Slender Thistle (Cardus tenu/florus), 
and Creeping Saltbush (Atriplex semibac- 
cata) discovered here by John Whinray. 

After lunch we walked across the island to 
an area of Mutton-bird burrows in a patch of 
Leek Lilies (Bulbine semibarbata). Mutton 
birding has taken place on this island since 
1815. Below the burrows were two sheds — 
one a dwelling during the birding season, and 
the other a processing shed for the owner of 
the Mutton Bird Lease for Big Green Island. 


165 


Nearby was an attractive rock-ringed circular 
bay with a solitary pelican. Further along this 
West coast of the island we visited a Penguin 
rookery and met one of the inhabitants. Then 
a walk back through the granite rocks and 
thistles above the rookery over the crest of 
the ridge and back to rest in the shade of the 
African Box-thorn bushes while waiting for 
the boat to return us to Flinders Island. The 
more energetic walked to a part of the expos- 
ed reef where a Black-faced Cormorant was 
nesting. On this walk they found plants of 
Creeping Monkey-flower, Pale Goosefoot 
(Chenopodium glaucum) and Leafy Pepper- 
cress (Lepidium foliosum). 


Thursday, 17th January was another fine 
day with a strong West wind as our bus head- 
ed for Killiecrankie Bay on the NW of the 
island. We crossed the flat land between 
Whitemark and the airport where an early 
drainage scheme had taken place after settle- 
ment in 1910 to cross Pat’s River where 
Straight Wattle (A. stricta) grows. 
Killiecrankie Bay was our first stop for ex- 
ploration of beach and bush. As we arrived at 
10.30 am bags of crayfish were being loaded 
onto a trailer for transport to the aerodrome 
to be in Albury (NSW) that afternoon. Three 
most energetic persons climbed to the coarse- 
grained granite outcrops high above the bay 
and were rewarded to find the Streaked Rock 
Orchid (Dendrobium striolatum). The less 
energetic were happy to wander around the 
shore or into the edging bush to find a variety 
of plants Coast Tea-tree, Coast Beard-heath, 
Wirilda, Sea-box (Alyxia_ buxifolia), 
Boobialla (Myoporum insulare), Box-thorn, 
Australian Indigo, (Jndigofera australis), 
Variable Sheoak (Casuarina monolifera), 
Kangaroo Apple (Solanum aviculare), 
Common Correa, Hop Goodenia (Goodenia 
ovata), Grass Trigger-plant, Thyme 
Riceflower (Pimelea serpyllifolia), Austral 
Trefoil (Lotus australis), Cushion-bush 
(Calocephalus brownii), Coast Daisy-bush 
(Olearia axillaris), Coast Everlasting 
(Helichrysum paralium), Two-horned Sea- 
rocket (Cakile maritima), Grey Saltbush 
(Atriplex cinerea), and Pale Turpentine-bush. 
Growing in rock cracks in a nearby cove were 
small plants of Eutaxia microphylla and a 
Star-hair (Astrotricha sp.) both of which 
were specie records found by John Whinray. 
There was a tame Black-headed Cormorant 
near one of the houses while these other birds 
were seen... Grey Fantails, Blue Wrens, 


166 


Firetails, Green Rosellas, Silver Gulls, 
Silvereyes and Scrub Wrens. 

After lunch the bus took us to the 
heathlands around the old Tin Mine workings 
where ‘‘Killiecrankie Diamonds’’ are found. 
Some folk went sieving in the stream bed for 
these fine Topaz crystals . . . and some were 
rewarded with some very small specimens, 
while the Birdos went in search of Tawny- 
crowned Honeyeaters which they found. As 
well more Beautiful Firetail Finches were 
seen, Grey Shrike Thrushes and Yellow- 
winged Honeyeaters. 

Along the tracks through the heathland we 
found Tassel Rope-rush (Hypoleana 
fastigiata), Twine-rush (Leptocarpus sp.) 
with both male and female flowers, Oval-leaf 
Pseudanthus (Pseudanthus ovatlifolius), 
Prickly Guinea-flower (Hibbertia acicularis), 
Common Wedge-pea (Gompholobium 
huegelii), Shrubby Velvet-bush 
(Lasiopetalum dasyphyllum), bright blooms 
of Yellow-eye (Xyris sp.), the Horned Or- 
chid, Scrambling Coral-fern, Short Purple- 
flag, Wiry Bauera (Bauera_ rubioides), 
Bundled Guinea-flower, Cone-bush 
(Ilsopogon ceratophyllus), Heath Parrot-pea 
(Dillwynia glaberrima), Guitar-plant, Swamp 
Sheoak (Casuarina paludosa), and Wirilda 
(Acacia retinoides). There were jewel spiders 
with webs between the bushes and a small 
fresh water crayfish was found in a damp 
spot. 

From the Tin Mine area we were taken up 
the winding gravel road to the summit of Mt. 
Tanner where at 213 metres are the Radio 
Telephone Repeater Towers between Victoria 
and Tasmania. There were fine views both 
North and South over much of the western 
and central parts of the island. Growing in 
the cracks in the granite boulders and around 
their base were plants of Large-leaf Bush- 
pea, Silver Banksia, White Kunzea, Narrow- 
leaf Wattle, Rough Guinea-flower, Black 
Sheoak (Casuarina littoralis), Phebalium 
bilobum, and Cape Barren Pines. 

The final stop for the day was for a visit to 
‘*Ege Beach"’ where there are large ‘‘Eggs’’ 
of water worn granite, many of them .5 m. in 
diameter. On the walk from the bus to the 
beach we found Swamp Beard-heath, Coast 
Pomaderris (Pomaderris oraria), while on the 
windswept flats behind the beach among the 
Poa tussocks and Speargrass were Creeping 
Myoporum (Myoporum parvifolim), 
Creeping Woodsorrel (Oxalis corniculata), 
Swamp Weed (Selliera radicans), and 


Vic, Nat. Vol. 98 


Australian Salt Grass (Distichlis 
distchophylla). Among the boulders fringing 
the beach were large plants of Sea Celery 
(Apium prostratum). 


Friday, 18th January. Again a strong 
westerly wind as we drove SE from 
Whitemark to Vinegar Hill Lookout with 
views over the town of Lady Barron, 
Franklin Sound and its islands to Cape Bar- 
ren Island. The bus parked on a huge granite 
slab. In the sands around the rock outcrops 
grew Black Sheoak, Cape Barren Pine, White 
Kunzea, a Daisy-bush and lower on the slopes 
Common Heath (Epacris impressa). A short 
trip into Lady Barron to visit the wharf area 
where bales of wool were being loaded into 
the largest of the three freighters which ser- 
vice the island as the harbour here is deeper 
and more sheltered than the jetty at 
Whitemark. Then on for a brief stop at 
Petrification Bay, one of the few places 
where there are volcanic outcrops on Flinders 
Island. A sandspit here was crowded with 
Caspian Terns, Silver Gulls, Eastern Curlews 
and Whimbrels. Our lunch stop was at pic- 
turesque Trousers Point where headlands of 
granite rocks edged with orange lichen are 
topped by Black Sheoak and White Kunzea, 
with a view across a sandy beach to the 
Strzelecki Peaks. Hooded Dotterels were seen 
in a sandblow. 


The afternoon was spent in the Strzelecki 
National Park for exploration along the creek 
and up the track leading to the summit of 
Strzelecki Peak. On the lower slopes along 
the creek was a thicket of Prickly Moses 
(Acacia verticillata), Large-leaf Bush-pea, 
Kunzea and Austral Bracken (Pteridium 
esculentum). A Spotted Skink was seen and a 
Blue Tongue Lizard infested with both black 
male ticks and grey engorged female ticks. 
Six small fish were seen in the stream and 
John told us there are four varieties of native 
fish on the island. In the gully where the track 
crossed the creek were a variety of ferns — 
Soft Tree-fern (Dicksonia antarctica), Rough 
Tree-fern, King Fern (Todea barbara), Soft 
Water-fern (Blechnum minus), Hard Water- 
fern (Blechnum procerum), Common Filmy- 
fern (Hymenophyllum curpressiforme) and 
Finger Fern (Grammitis billardieri). These 
were sheltered beneath Prickly Currant-bush, 
both Swamp and Scented Paper-bark, a 
Zieria, and Pomaderris. A Hyacinth Orchid 
was beside the track and Striped Rock Orchid 
plants were on a rock beside a waterslide. 


July/August 


(Later that afternoon we saw these latter ona 
huge isolated boulder in a windswept pad- 
dock). Across the creek the steep gravelly 
track continued straight up the steep hillside 
to the edge of large granite slabs. From clear- 
ings beside these rocks there were views out to 
the islands to the West and over Trousers 
Point to the South. There were fine 
specimens of large quartz crystals in some of 
the cracks in the granite. Only five of the 
most energetic continued on the strenuous 
climb about two thirds of the way to the sum- 
mit. Along the track were Tasmanian Hakea, 
Short-flower Westringia (Westringia 
brevifolia) and Scented Everlasting 
(Helichrysum argophyllum) and a Mountain 
Dragon Lizard. 

Saturday, 19th January. An even stronger 
West wind was blowing on this morning 
where our first stopping place was out at 
Bluff Point beach just beyond the guest 
house. The tidal flats here were sheltered by 
the slight rise of The Bluff and we saw 
Plovers, Silver Gulls, both Sooty and Pied 
Oyster-catchers, White-fronted Chats among 
the channels and sand bars with growths of 
Beaded Glasswort (Salicornia quinqueflora), 
Rounded Noonflower, Cudweed 
(Gnapthalim candidissimum), Salt Lawrencia 
(Lawrencia spicata) and Cushion Bush. There 
was a variety of grasses and rushes . . . Mar- 
tram Grass (Ammophila arenaria), Spear- 
grass, Coast Saw-sedge (Gahnia trifida), 
Common Sword-sedge, (Lepidosperma 
longitudinale), Knobby Club-rush (Scirpus 
nodosus), and Tall yellow-eye. (Xyris oper- 
culata). Further up the slope was Large 
Kangaroo-apple (Solanum  Jaciniatum), 
Swamp Paper-bark, Coast Tea-tree, Black 
Sheoak, Boobialla, Giant Hop-bush, Twiggy 
Daisy-bush, Wiry Bauera, with tangles of 
Dodder Laurel (C. melantha) and Small- 
leaved Clematis among them as well as Clim- 
bing Lignum (Muehlenbeckia adpressa) and 
Ivy Flat-pea on the ground with Hairy Cen- 
trolepis (Centrolepis strigosa) and Woolly 
Xanthosia. Edging the sand which was being 
blown by the wind on the exposed beach 
around the point was Two-horned Sea- 
rocket. 

After this we proceeded North once more 
until we stopped to visit a fascinating private 
gemstone and shell collection as well as view- 
ing the surrounding garden which had been 
established after the land had been complete- 
ly cleared for settlement in 1950, Our 
lunchtime stop was at Allport’s Beach where 


167 


we watched the surge of the incoming tide 
and found a variety of coastal 
plants... .Coast Twinleaf (Zygophyllum 
billardiera), Grey Salt-bush with its distinc- 
tive male and female flowers, Coast 
Everlasting, Correa, Marsh Salt-bush 
(Atriplex paludosa), Wallaby Salt-bush 
(Threlkeldia diffusa), Showy Cassinia 
(Apalochlamys spectabilis), Ross’s 
Noonflower (Carprobotus rossii), Water 
Plantain (Alisma plantagoaquatica), masses 
of Bower Spinach (Tetragona implexicoma), 
over some of the shrubs and lower branches 
of Pale Turpentine-bush, Sweet Bursaria 
(Bursaria spinosa) and Large Kangaroo Ap- 
ple. An immature White-breasted Sea Eagle 
was seen and a Yellow-throated Honey-eater 
was feeding on the berries of Coast Beard- 


heath. 
In the early afternoon we paid a visit to the 


Museum conducted by the Furneaux Group 
Historical Research Association where we 
saw many of the historical records and relics 
of the islands. Then we went on to see the 
Wybalenna Chapel and Burial Ground at the 
site where the remnants of the Tasmanian 
Aboriginal tribes were taken in 1830 in an un- 
successful endeavour to preserve their race. 
Our final stop for the afternoon was at Port 
Davies by the long disused and damaged 
timber jetty. Here the wind seemed even 
stronger than earlier in the day as it blew over 
the hardy bushes of White Correa (Correa 
alba) on the exposed headland of granite with 
colourful bands of orange lichen around 
them. Within the bay to the East was an in- 
teresting outcrop of limestone with a 
‘“‘mushroom’’ rock island. White-fronted 
Chats were busy among the bushes. 

In more sheltered parts of the island we 
had seen some butterflies during the 
week... mostly Meadow Browns which 
John told us were the most common. Cicadas 
had been heard in many places and their 
nymph cases found on trees, 

That evening we all met at the C.W.A. hall 
in Whitemark with John Whinray and our 
bus driver, Leedham Walker and his wife 
when John gave us a short talk on the history 
of the island and of the sealing and hunting 
trades of earlier years. He also told us of the 
mutton birding industry and its methods and 
developments over the years. He then showed 
us a fascinating selection of coloured slides of 
various of the Bass Strait islands with details 
of the history and flora and fauna of each 
one. At the conclusion thanks were expressed 


168 


to John for the evening’s program and for his 
time and knowledge which he had given so 
generously during our stay on the island. 
Thanks were also given to Leedham for the 
care and patience he showed to our bus load. 
My thanks to Marie Allender for organis- 
ing the trip, to John Whinray for his great 
assistance with plant names, to those other 
F.N.C.V. members who helped compile the 
plant list, and to Cecily Allen who supplied 
the Bird List. 
Eulalie P. Brewster. 


BIRDS SEEN ON FLINDERS ISLAND 13th. to 
20th,, January, 1980. 


*Denotes breeding 


* Little Penguin Pacific Gull 
* Short-tailed Shearwater * Caspian Tern 


Pelican Fairy Wren 
*Black-faced Cormorant Crested Tern 

Little Black Cormorant Yellow-tailed Cockatoo 

White-faced Heron Green Rosella 

Little Egret Fan-tailed Cuckoo 

Black Swan Kookaburra 

Cape Barren Goose Skylark 

Mountain Duck Welcome Swallow 

Grey Teal Tree Martin 

Musk Duck Pipit 

White-breasted Sea Eagle 
Black-faced 
Cuckoo-shrike 

Swamp Harrier Blackbird 

Brown Falcon Flame Robin 

Pied Oystercatcher * Dusky Robin 

* Sooty Oystercatcher Golden Whistler 

Masked Plover Grey Shrike-thrush 

Hooded Dotterel Grey Fantail 

Red-capped Dotterel Superb Blue Wren 

Turnstone White-browed 
Scrubwren 

Eastern Curlew Tasmanian Thornbill 

Whimbrel Yellow-throated 
Honeyeater 

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Strong-billed 
Honeyeater 

Red-necked Stint Crescent Honeyeater 

Curlew Sandpiper New Holland 
Honeyeater 

Silver Gull Tawny-crowned 
Honeyeater 


Eastern Spinebill 
White-fronted Chat 
Silvereye 
Goldfinch 

* House Sparrow 
Beautiful Firetail 
Common Starling 
Australian Magpie 
Black Currawong 
Forest Raven 
Blue-winged Shoveller. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


The Origin of Generic Names of the 
Victorian Flora 


Part 3 — Latin, Greek and Miscellaneous 
(Continued from page 136, Vol.98, No.3) 
By JAMes A. BAINES 


Vitis. The Lat. name for the grape- 
vine. Vitis hypoglauca was Mueller’s 
name for the Jungle Grape, but A. 
Gray’s prior name of Cissus hypoglauca 
is now the valid name; the plant is in 
family Vitaceae, named from the genus. 

*Xanthium. Gk xanthion, name of a 
plant said by Dioscorides to be used for 
dyeing the hair yellow (from xanthos, 
yellow); in allusion to yellow flowers. 
*X. spinosum, Bathurst Burr, of 
Chilean origin, was inadvertently im- 
ported into Australia tangled in the tails 
of horses, in the 1840s, and was first 
recorded near Bathurst, N.S.W., in 
which colony it was naturalized by 1850, 
and in Victoria soon after. It has also 
been known as Common Cockleburr, 
and, in U.S.A., as Spiny Clotbur or 
Cocklebur. *X. pungens, Noogoora 
Burr, was first noticed on Noogoora cat- 
tle station, near Ipswich, Qld., and is 
thought to have been introduced with 
North American cotton seed. Our third 
species, *X. orientale, Californian Burr 
or European Cockleburr, has names in- 
dicating the doubt about the origin of 
some species, so much have the burrs 
spread these plants over many years. 
Sometimes the flowers are greenish and 
the fruits yellowish, and a yellow dye is 
obtained from Bathurst Burr. They are 
all proclaimed noxious weeds. The 
genus is in family Compositae. 

Xanthorrhoea. Gk xanthos, yellow; 
rheo, flow; alluding to the resin (‘gum’) 
that flows from the stem. Victoria’s 3 
species are all known as different kinds 
of grass-tree (from the appearance and 
height of the foliage), but in S.A. the 
name Yacca is more usual, and in W.A. 
Blackboys. Some botanists place it in its 
own tribe of Liliaceae, while others give 
it family status in Xanthorrhoeaceae. 


July/August 


Xanthosia. Gk xanthos, yellow; from 
the colour of the hairs on some species. 
Victoria has 4 species, all known as 
kinds of Xanthosia, but one of them, X. 
pilosa, Woolly Xanthosia, is known as 
Hairy Southern Cross in N.S.W., pro- 
bably on analogy with one of W.A.’s 13 
species, X. rotundifolia, which first was 
given the name Southern Cross. The 
genus is umbelliferous. 


Xerotes. Gk xerodes, looking dry 
(from xeros, dry). Nine of our 10 species 
of Lomandra were previously referred 
to this genus, in tribe Xeroteae in family 
Liliaceae. Probably named by Labillar- 
diere (1805) from one of the species 
preferring an arid habitat. 


Xyris. Gk name for a species of iris. 
Victoria has 3 species, all known as dif- 
ferent kinds of yellow-eye. The genus 
gives its name to family Xyridaceae. 


Zannichellia. Named by L. after G. 
G. Zannichelli (1662-1729), an Italian 
botanist, of Venice. Two of our 4 
species of Lepilaena, Slender and Long- 
fruited Water-mat respectively, were 
formerly in Zannichellia, which gives its 
name to Zannichelliaceae, the family to 
which they belong. (Omitted from 
Part 1, so included here.) 


*Zea. Gk zeia, zea, name of a sort of 
grain, used as fodder for horses, pro- 
bably spelt, a coarse wheat. *Z. mays, 
Maize, Indian Corn, called Corn in 
U.S.A., is much cultivated, especially 
on river flats in Gippsland, but does not 
persist long away from arable fields. 
Mealies is a South African common 
name. The word maize comes from 
mahiz, the name in the old Carib dialect 
of the island of Haiti, although the 
original habitat was highland Mexico. 


169 


Zostera. Gk zoster, a girdle; alluding 
to the ribbon-like leaves. Victoria’s 2 
species are both known as kinds of 
grass-wrack. The genus gives its name to 
family Zosteraceae. 

Zygophyllum. Gk zygon, yoke, pair; 
phyllon, leaf; referring to the pair of 
leaflets which compose each leaf; hence 
the common name twin-leaf, by which 
Victoria’s 9 species are known, with a 
distinguishing adjective in each case. 
They are sometimes known as Squash 
Bushes in S.A. The genus gives its name 
to family Zygophyllaceae, which has 25 
genera and 240 species. 


Editor’s note: This completes the series 
of articles by the late Mr James Baines 
on The Origin of Generic Names of the 
Victorian Flora (Part 3). The series 
spanned several years of The Victorian 
Naturalist and has proved extremely 
popular with its readers. Copies of the 
references used by Mr Baines as sources 
for his Parts 1 and 2 are available on re- 
quest from the editor. 


Summer on Mt. Kosciusko 
(Report of F.N.C.V. Excursion, /7th-25th January, 1981) 


By ELIZABETH K. TURNER* AND MARY K. DOERY 


We arrived, all forty four (44) of us, at our 
first night’s stop at Orbost at 5 p.m. on a hot, 
muggy day. East Gippsland was alleged to be 
in the grip of a 2 year drought, but owing toa 
3 in fall of rain a few weeks previously, the 
fields looked green and lush. 

We had enjoyed a picnic lunch under the 
shade of gum trees in Jean Galbraith’s front 
garden at Tyers. On the front gate she had 
left a notice ‘‘Follow the green hose to picnic 
spot’, and here iced lemonade and biscuits 
were dispensed. Later we enjoyed a view of 
the bower of the Satin Bower Bird nearby. It 
was surrounded with blue drinking straws, 
thoughtfully provided on the bird tray by 
friends. 

Beyond Swanreach we noted Red Box (E. 
polyanthemos) along the roadside in associa- 
tion with Red Ironbark (£. sideroxylon). A 
large area of the Colquhoun Forest, near 
Lake Tyers, was brown due to a recent 
deliberately-lit bush fire. 

Next day, Sunday, 18th January, we saw 
the devastation left by the October, 1980, 
bushfires starting just east of the Brodribb 
River timber mills and ending just west of 
Cabbage Tree, apparently sparing the 
Livistona remnants there; more extensive 
devastation had been left by clear-felling in 
the Bondi State Forest just north of the 
N.S.W. border; where to our amazement and 
concern we saw miles of bare hills being 
planted with Pinus sp. 


170 


Seeing the distant snow-clad Alps in the 
west when we reached Nimmitabel seemed to 
alleviate the discomfort of the heat, and at 
Cooma in the Park where we had lunch, the 
temperature was palpably lower and there 
was a breeze. Murray Pines (Callitris col- 
umellaris) showed as dark green patches on 
the hills amongst the rosy pink trunks of 
Eucalyptus rubida and other eucalypts, and 
by the roadside we saw clumps of blue 
Walhenbergia sp., Paterson’s Curse (Echium 
lycopsis), and orange-yellow clustered 
Helichrysum, (H. semi-papposum) as well as 
an occasional pink Hyacinth Orchid 
(Dipodium punctatum). Alan Morrison men- 
tioned that he had once seen wallabies 
feeding on these flowers, and Dick Morrison 
told a tale of Stump Tailed Lizards eating or- 
chid flowers in the Grampians. 

We attended an audio-visual session at the 
Kosciusko Park Headquarters and reached 
the Wilson’s Valley (the site of a former cat- 
tleman’s hut) at the new Ski Riders Motel, in 
time for a cup of tea. 

From the coach we saw several Wedge- 
tailed Eagles and what appeared to be an in- 
congruous White-breasted Sea Eagle sitting 
in a gum tree nowhere near any water. After 
dinner, it was warm and still as we walked 
along the Valley Road. There were calls of 
the Currawong, Crimson Rosella, Gang 
Gang, Tree Creepers and various 
honeyeaters, and the roadside was lined by 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


the Scaly Everlasting (Helichrysum hookeri) 
and clumps of golden yellow Button 
Everlasting (H. scorpioides) and yellow 
Kunzea mulleri. A large, aggressive Wolf 
Spider was caught and photographed with 
young on her back. Also a large black, flying, 
male Mountain Grasshopper was caught. 

Next morning, Monday, 19th January, 
after a brief visit to the brand-new town of 
Jindabyne for supplies, we accompanied the 
Ranger on a 4 Km. walk to Rainbow Lake, a 
man-made lake formerly the water supply for 
the Hotel Kosciusko, now known as Sponar's 
Lodge. Approximately 100 people arrived for 
the walk, and the young Ranger called on 
members of the F.N.C.V. to lead groups, 
most comprising some families and young 
children. We walked on a track over 
subalpine heathland where Snow Gum (E. 
pauciflora subsp. niphophlia) grew, and 
down into sod tussock grasslands where 
golden Craspedia sp. and bright pink Trigger 
plants (Stylidium graminifolium) alternated 
with yellow Kunzea muelleri, blue 
Wahlenbergia ceracea and the Silver Snow 
Daisy (Celmisia longifolia). 

We were able to observe the male and 
female plants of the Mountain Aciphyll 
(Aciphylla simplicifolia), a small species with 
slender segmented leaves, and the Australian 
Carraway (Oreomyrrhis eriopoda) and some 
of the children tasted the leaves of the Moun- 
tain Pepper (Drimys lanceolata) and were in- 
terested in the way in which the Wombat 
marked the territory around his burrow with 
piles of faeces carefully deposited on strategic 
rocks. 

The tiny plum pine (Podocarpus lawrencei) 
was found near a stream and there were 
several patches of Alpine Leek Orchids 
(Prasophyllum alpinum and P. suttonii) in 
flower. The minute two-flowered Knawel 
(Scleranthus biflorus) showed up as patches 
of bright yellowish-green, and in some areas 
the pale violet flowers of the mud Pratia (P. 
surrepens) covered the depressions between 
the sod tussocks. 

Epacris microphylla and E. breviflora were 
seen and the Candle Heath (Richea continen- 
sis) was still in flower in some areas. 

One of the rarer finds was the dark red 
Dead Horse fungus (Asero] rubra), the 
tubular cup of which exuded a stench which 
attracted the pollinating flies. Two species of 
Rice Flower (Pimelea axiflora and P. 
ligustrina) were found and one beautiful 
plant of golden Podolepis (P. robusta) 


July/August 


delighted the children. A Sacred Kingfisher 
caused consternation amongst Grey Leaden 
flycatchers, but a female Rufous Whistler 
went on feeding without concern. Flame 
Robins were not uncommon in the Snow 
Gum woodland, and the hot sun sank early 
into a mass of thundery-looking clouds, 

No thunder or rain eventuated and Tues- 
day, 20th January, was hot and still — so we 
were relieved to spend the day around the 
summit of Mt. Kosciusko, 2,228 m. (7,314 
feet); most of us returned very sunburned and 
bitten by myriads of particularly large March 
flies with beautiful green eyes. 

Since 1956, cattle grazing has been banned 
in the Kosciusko Alpine Park, and much of 
the flora is regenerating. The Parks and 
Wildlife Service is also regulating the human 
invasion, and no vehicular traffic is allowed 
beyond Charlotte's Pass. Shuttle buses run 
from Perisher to the Summit turntable for 6 
weeks in the summer only, and the ascent to 
the Trig Station on the summit is made on 
foot. 

A few snow drifts had survived the heat on 
the eastern slopes of the mountain and below 
one of these drifts Barbara Morrison 
discovered a beautiful clump of white 
Anemone Buttercup (Ranunculus 
anemoneus) which enticed most of the party 
to make the climb to photograph and enjoy 
it. There were many bright green clumps of 
Caltha intraloba, the Alpine Marsh marigold, 
showing their characteristic twin-lobes at the 
base of the leaves, but as yet no flowers had 
appeared. However, as if to compensate, the 
Wreath Pennywort (Dichosciadium ranun- 
culaceum var. ranunculaceum) made exten- 
sive white flowered rosettes around large 
palmately lobed hairy leaves. Gentianella 
diemensis, the mountain Gentian, was in bud 
and we found but three delicate white flowers 
fully opened. 

The Alpine Mint-bush (Prostanthera 
cuneata) was in flower along the verges of the 
road, and we were fascinated to discover deep 
below the stiff pointed silvery leaves of the 
Pineapple Grass (Astelia alpina) the exserted 
yellow male inflorescence, and on a separate 
plant the even lower female inflorescence 
often bearing orange-yellow fruits. On the 
Sphagnum moss beds grew the glistening 
Alpine Drosera (D. arcturi) with a single 
white flower, and close by grew patches of 
the Stiff Diplaspis (D. hydrocotyle) which 
had attractive clusters of terminal fruits born 
on thick hollow stalks. Another attractive, 


171 


fragrant mat of creamy-yellow flowers was 
the alpine stackhousia (S. pulvinaris) and it 
took us some time of puzzling to discover 
that the beautiful pale pink or white flowers 
of our old friend Claytonia, are now known 
as Neo-paxia australasica. 

The most showy plants of the summit were 
surely the carpets of Silver Snow Daisy, and 
the lilac Eyebright (Euphrasia collina sp.) and 
the rather sprawling clumps of Mountain 
Celery (Aciphylla glacialis) with male and 
female flowers on separate plants, Yellow 
Billy-buttons or Craspedia sp. made a bright 
show, and there were patches of violet Moun- 
tain Willow-herb (Epilobium sarmentaceum). 

The heaths, chiefly Epacris glacialis, E. 
microphylla, and E. petrophilia (the Snow 
Heath) were flowering conspicuously on the 
rocky slopes. The Carpet Heath, 
(pentachondra pumila) together with the 
Snow Beard Heath (Leucopogon montanus) 
had both white star-like flowers and crimson 
fruits on the same plants. 

Brachycomes, with white and pale pink 
flowers were common and near the summit 
there were clusters of Helipterum albicans, 
the Alpine Sunray with large, white papery 
flowers with yellow centres and woolly, 
silvery leaves; the so-called Australian 
Eidelweiss (Ewartia nubigena) persisted in 
growing on the rocky pathways and thus their 
mats of attractive inflorescences were often 
much bruised. Some of the party found fine 
specimens of the Alpine Groundsel (Senecio 
pectinatus). The Prasophyllum orchids (both 
P. alpinum and P. suttonii) were in profu- 
sion, but no other orchids were found. 
Several species of Colobanthus, the Cushion 
plant, were identified, the Dwarf Buttercup 
(Ranunculus millanii) and several other But- 
tercup species were found, as well as the pink, 
sweetly perfumed flowers of the Alpine Rice- 
flower (Pimelea alpina). A pinkish Baeckea 
gunniana grew closely over some rocks in a 


small mountain stream. 
A vain search was made for the spectacular 


Corroboree Frog, but other frog species were 
found; and a Nankeen Kestrel was seen dive- 
bombing a large, Wedge-tailed Eagle. 

After a picnic lunch near the summit, some 
of our members went gaily for a swim in the 
snow-melt waters of Lake Cootapatamba; 
(Fig.1). 

Our first stop on Wednesday, 2\st 
January, was at the tall circular Snowy Valley 
Lookout Tower which actually overflowed 
with the enormous back pressure of water 


172 


when a rock fall a few weeks ago blocked the 
Jindabyne-Island Bend water tunnel of the 
Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme. A 
team of tunnellers was boarded at our Motel. 


Our bus then took us southwest to Thredbo 
Village, 35 kilometres from Jindabyne. At 
first the road ran beside Wollondibby Creek 
and then ran west to the Crackenback River 
Valley. The Crackenback Chairlift starts 
from the Valley Terminal in the Village, and 
most of us ascended by this means from 1,380 
metres to the treeless top of the Ramshead 
Range at 1,990 m. Some also descended in the 
same fashion, but for those of us who walked 
down Merrit’s Track there were faunal and 
floral rewards (see cover photo). 


Firstly, we were able to observe two slender 
white-lipped snakes which crossed our path, 
and several almost tame water skinks which 
refused to be easily disturbed from sunning 
themselves on the rocks. Merrit’s Track 
started in the treeless alpine zone between 
massive granite boulder outcrops where the 
vegetation was predominantly snow grass 
(Poa caespitosa) and then descended by a 
series of steep steps into the subalpine 
woodland, and the snow gums. Here we were 
amongst heathlands of Bossiaea foliosa with 
minute leaves and a large area of Mountain 
Plum Pine (Podocarpus lawrence!) some trees 
being 6-8 feet high and some espaliered on the 
granite boulders, their new growth at the tips 
having a purplish tinge. Lycopodium 
fastigiatum, the Mountain Club Moss was 
found under the shrubs, and we were 
delighted by the carpets of yellow flowering 
Goodenea hederacea which often overhung 
the banks along the path. Patches of bright 
Alpine Groundsel (Senecio pectinatus) 
enlivened the scene, and we discovered a mat 
of lilac fan-flower (Scaevola hookeri var, 
alpestris). We saw fruits but no flowers of the 
Ovate Phebalium (P. ovatifolium) which is 
restricted to the Mt. Kosciusko alpine and 
subalpine regions. Prostanthera cuneata was 
in flower, and when we reached the Ram- 
shead Creek crossing, Prosthanthera lasian- 
thos the pale, lilac flowered Christmas Bush 
was also flowering. 


We noted the leaflets of the high altitude 
form of the red-headed Acaena sp. were 
broader than those at lower altitudes. The 
Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla xanthochlora) 
with its large fan-like leaves and clusters of 
small greenish flowers is apparently very akin 
to the European widespread form, and may 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


have been a very early introduction to 
Australia. 

Part of the track lay along the ski slopes 
which had been cleared, and here small herbs 
like the Woodruff (Asperula minima), and 
the deep blue Wahlenbergia gloriosa and 
Geranium sp. were in flower. 

We entered a wet, sclerophyll forest of 
Alpine Ash (BE. delegatensis) which is said to 
grow generally between 1,220 and 1,525 
metres elevation — here also Black Sallee (E. 
stellulata) which was recognized chiefly by its 
star-like clusters of buds, grew with the Snow 
Gum (E. niphophila) and a Hickory Wattle 
(A. obliquinervia) appeared. We crossed the 
Ramshead Creek and eventually by following 
the banks of the Thredbo river, we crossed 
back to where the bus awaited us in the 
Thredbo Village. A thunder-storm brought a 
heavy rain shower on our homeward drive 
but the temperature remained fairly warm. 

Two of the Park Rangers took a party of us 
spotlighting in the Sawpit Creek Forest on the 
Waterfall Track. After 2 hours all we had 
seen was a White-Lipped Snake, a large 
Huntsman Spider, and the moonlight filter- 
ing down between the motionless branches of 
some enormous Candlebark and Snow 
Gums. 

Thursday, 22nd January, dawned cooler 
with banks of black clouds rolling in from the 
Dividing Range in the north only to disperse 
as they reached us. The shuttle bus from 
Perisher was cancelled owing to a gale on the 
summit, but from our Motel at Wilson’s 
Valley approximately 1,230m. we descended 
to Sawpit Creek at 1,159m. and walked down 
the Pallaibo track. This is an historic track up 
to the alpine areas used originally by the 
Aborigines and is said to mean ‘*By’n By’’. 
They used the Sawpit Creek as an easy access 
to the high rocky areas in early summer look- 
ing for the Bogong Moths, whose fatty tissue 
supplied a useful addition to their meagre 
winter diet. later, the same track was used by 
the cattlemen looking for summer pastures in 
the high country for their cattle; their old 
stock fences or ‘‘breaks’’ were formed of 
stacked dead timber and are still to be seen. 
The track descends south to the Thredbo or 
Crackenback River near the Jindabyne Road, 
and leads past large groups of rounded 
granite boulders. The predominant tree along 
the creek bed is the Woolly Tea-tree 
(Leptospermum lanigerum); and the chief 
eucalypts, the Candlebark (E. rubida). There 
were also E. da/rympleana and E. stellulata. 


July/August 


Fig. 1 Botanising at Lake Cootapatamba. 


There were attractive stands of the Pearl 
Ballart (Exocarpus stricta) covered with 
swollen pearly lilac fruit stalks each with a jet 
black seed at the tip. Red berries were in 
abundance on bushes of Leucopogon 
suavolens, Coprosma_ hirtella, Pimelea 
pauciflora which is called the Poison Pimelea 
(however we ate some of the red berries with 
impunity) and Asperula minima. There was 
also a white flowered Lomatia (L. fraseri), 
Wahlenbergia sp., the Austral Forget-me-not 
(Myosotis australis) and the blue Violet 
(Viola betonicifolia). 

The orchids found included a fine stand of 
Pterostylis decurva, the Summer Greenhood, 
the Onion orchid (Microtus unifolia), a Beard 
orchid (Calochilus sp.) in fruit and 
Prasophyllum despectans, the Sharp Midge 
orchid. The blue flowering Digger’s 
Speedwell (Veronica perfoliata) grew 
alongside robust specimens of the white Der- 
went Speedwell (Parahebe derwentia), 
Scurf-pea (Psoralea adscendens) was not un- 
common. 

The birdwatchers amongst us breathed a 
sigh of contentment: ‘‘Here,”’ they said ‘‘is 
the first really good bird spot of this tour.”’ 
There were: Gang-gang, and Sulphur-crested 
Cockatoos, Bronze Cuckoos, and Crimson 
Rosellas, White-throated Tree-creepers and 
Silvereyes, Red Wattle-birds and Pied Cur- 
rawongs, Striated and Spotted Pardalotes, 
the former observed feeding young, Spine- 
tailed Swifts, Blue Wrens and Grey Thrushes, 
Restless Flycatchers and Kookaburras. Most 
people caught glimpses of Grey Kangaroos 
(Macropus giganteus) and some saw the Red- 
necked Wallaby (M. rufogriseus); one Black 
Snake was seen and many varied sized skinks. 

Our last full day on Australia’s highest 
land mass — 23rd January was clear, almost 
cloudless and hot. Our first stop was on the 


173 


road just south of Charlotte Pass. Most of us 
ascended the rocky northern slope on which 
grew Snow Gum, Prostanthera cuneata in 
abundant flower, yellow Kunzea mulleri, 
heaths and Baeckeas, and the Ovate 
Phebalium, the latter not in flower. There 
was a ground cover of the Spreading Rope 
Bush (Empodisma minus) which some of us 
mistook for the dwarf Alpine Ballart, 
however, we later found a small Exocarpos 
nanus and photographed the red shining 
fruiting pedicel, Podolepis sp., Craspedia 
sp., in deep orange as well as bright yellow, 
the large Yam Daisy (Microseries lanceolata) 
and the Alpine Daisy Bush (Olearia algida), 
and the Alpine Orites were all in flower. 

We rediscovered many of the alpine plants 
from our previous days, but also found the 
Fetted Buttercup (Ranunculus muelleri) and 
the Granite buttercup (R. graniticola). Some 
of the attractive and unusual monocots we 
found were Luzula australasica, one of the 
Juncaceae, the soft snow grass (Poa costi- 
niana) and the Rock Poa (Poa saxicola), 
Alpine Wallaby Grass (Danthonia nudiflora), 
Velvet Wheat Grass (Agropyron velutinum), 
Bristle Grass (Trisetum spicatum) whose 
stems are velvety-pubescent, and Carex 
cephalotes (one of the Cyperaceae) were also 
found. From the summit of the ridge we 
could see the source of the Snowy River runn- 
ing to the North West below us, and opposite 
was Mount Clark, with Mount Northcote 
behind overlooking the valley, and a little to 
the South East was Mueller’s Peak, which 
seems to give the Melbourne Field Naturalists 
a feeling of familiarity with the area because 
of Mueller’s early association with our Club. 

Returning about 10 Km. to Perisher, we 
had lunch and then many of the party walked 
to The Porcupine (1,926 m.) following a 
track along the snow poles. The unusual 
plants discovered here were the Wedge 
Oschatzia (O. cuneifolia) which had long 
slender stalks and small white flowers; a 
white flowered Sky Lily (Herpolirion novae- 
zelandiae) and two glorious patches of 
Thelymitra venosa, the Veined Sun-orchid 
(each in a sphagnum bog patch) consisting of 
a few sky blue flowers, veined with dark blue, 
We also identified the Seseli (Gingidia algens) 
which had parsnip-like leaves, and the fruits 
of which smelled strongly of aniseed when 
crushed. 


*¢/- Royal Children’s Hospital, Parkville 


174 


Young spotted trout (Galaxis sp.) in the 
mountain streams were observed snapping 
grasshoppers which landed on the surface of 
the water, and Prasophyllum alpinum 
specimens growing in the shade had a distinct 
perfume. The National Park Rangers had 
told us that the Ravens (Corvus coronoides) 
being aggressive, large and territorial had 
multiplied and spread throughout the park, 
and smaller native birds were retreating and 
diminishing in numbers. 


On Saturday, 24th January, we drove 
southwest down the Alpine Way to Tom 
Groggin then north, descending steeply to 
Swampy Plain River. The Snow Gums were 
left behind and we entered a Woolly Butt (E. 
delegatensis) forest, and later Peppermints 
and Swamp Gums. 


We detoured into the Murray No. 1 Power 
Station, which is an emergency power station 
capable of producing 150,000 Megawatts of 
electricity from water pressure conveyed one 
mile down a precipitous hill in enormous 
pipes to the turbines below, This colossal sta- 
tion with 10 turbines was under the control of 
one man. 


As we reached Khancoban, both enormous 
front tyres on the bus exploded. The second 
punctured after the bus had stopped beside 
the public gardens where we had lunch in the 
shade of Spruce and other trees and waited 
for new tyres to arrive from Corryong, 27 
Km. west, Eventually, we reached Corryong 
at 3 p.m., the heat was intense, over 40°C. 
and many of us enjoyed the pool at the 
Motel. 


On 25th January we journeyed west 
through Cudgewa, Koetong, and Tallangat- 
ta. The water in the Hume Weir had receded 
so much with the drought that cattle were 
grazing on land exposed under the dead trees 
which formerly had been drowned by water. 
Pelicans were abundant, Coot and several 
species of Duck, Ibis, Herons, Emus and a 
Whistling Eagle, Black shouldered Kite, and 
Red-rumped Grass Parrots were seen, also 
Eastern Rosellas, flocks of Corellas, Spoon- 
bills, Egrets and Plovers were all visitors to 
the flats around the Weir. 


We joined the Hume Highway at 
Wodonga, and reached Melbourne around 4 
p.m. The temperature was 35 C. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Mataalist 


““A Field Guide to Nests & Eggs 
of Australian Birds’’ 
BY GORDON BERULDSEN 


Rigby Publishers Limited, 1980, Adelaide: 
Pp.448 + col. pll, 63, 183 mm x 125 mm. 
$16.95. 


When Alfred Newton of Cambridge, a 
founder of the British Ornithologists’ Union, 
wrote disappointedly of eggs as a source of 
benefit for systematic ornithology! he 
unintentionally did a disservice to one branch 
of his science. It was not that he was 
necessarily wrong but rather that the lasting 
effect of his comment, perfectly just in con- 
text, tended to debase the study of eggs in 
general. This effect was later carried even far- 
ther, for other reasons, by the considerable 
anti-collecting swing of the early mid- 
twentieth century. Yet the study of nests and 
eggs provides a great deal of fundamentally 
important information on various points; — 
breeding distribution, nest construction, 
range of variation in nest site and material, 
range of clutch size, egg colour variation etc, 
and it is right to add Newton's further com- 
ment that he yielded ‘to none in his high 
estimate of its (bird-nesting’s) utility in ac- 
quainting the learner with the most in- 
teresting details of bird-life — . . ."" 

The last serious works on Zoology of 
Australian birds were Campbell’s and 
North’s — still basic and valuable references. 
Campbell was a pioneering field worker and 
egg collector whose book is an essential 
historical source of data. North, a museum 
ornithologist added splendid  species- 
descriptions to his similarly valuable 
historical account of eggs. Apart from the 
very useful descriptions of nests and eggs in 
Cayley’s ‘‘What Bird is That?”’, in Graham 
Pizzey’s ‘Field Guide’’ and in books dealing 
with particular groups, e.g. Frith’s ‘‘Birds in 
the Australian High Country’, nothing 
substantial on the subject has appeared in 
many years. 

Against this background welcome to Gor- 
don Beruldsen’s valuable book. First, and ex- 
tremely important, it rightly renounces not 
only egg collecting but also the touching of 
eggs in a nest and the keeping of parent birds 


July/August 


a - 
Revtou 


away from the nest. This is not only a legal 
matter but also, for many people a moral one 
and it is true that the nest, indirectly, and the 
eges and young directly, represent the most 
vulnerable stage in the life-cycle of a bird 
species. Many will also agree that the view of 
the bird’s nest and eggs is an intimate 
privilege in nature not to be taken lightly, No 
one ought to feel therefore that this book will 
initiate a spate of egg collecting by young 
naturalists and perhaps this aspect ought to 
be briefly discussed and advice offered to 
them. There is no question about it — collec- 
tion of the eggs of protected native birds, and 
they are almost all protected, is a legal of- 
fence and is punishable by law. It must not be 
done and every opportunity must be taken to 
stress this. On the other hand bird-nesting, 
the finding of nests and climbing to them is a 
healthy enough activity for boys, and some 
girls, and it was once considered a healthy 
field sport for men, and as far as that goes, it 
is. There is no doubt that it can be the means 
of gaining a close and lasting knowledge of 
birds, their habits, and their nests and eggs, 
However the advice offered is this — if you 
are not prepared to take the trouble to take 
and preserve notes on the nests and eggs you 
see, as well as being careful not to touch them 
(unless it is known that the species is not sen- 
sitive to the eggs being handled) and not to 
derange the nest or keep the birds away too 
long, and if you are not prepared to make 
your notes available to others later for or- 
nithological knowledge and for conservation 
of the species — then keep away from nests 
and eggs; you don’t belong there. The taking 
of notes and the keeping of these rules are the 
cost of the privilege of seeing. Remember too 
that mammal and bird predators are ever 
alert to the movements of humans, especially 
if these movements reveal birds’ nests 
previously unknown to the predator, 
therefore avoid examining nests within their 
view, 

Now to the book. It is substantial, well- 
produced and divided into three sections. 
Part | provides explanation, general informa- 
tion and a note on conservation. Part 2 
presents the coloured plates of nests in the 
field and of eggs with keys to the identifica- 
tion of both. Part 3 contains the descriptive 


175 


text for each species giving species names, 
distribution, breeding range, nesting season, 
breeding frequency, nest description and egg 
description including clutch size. 

There are 32 photographs, all but one in 
colour, of the nests of different species and 
48 coloured plates of eggs of over 400 species. 
Over 500 species are described in the text. 
Happily the eggs of introduced species are in- 
cluded though unfortunately not illustrated. 
The General Information includes useful 
comment on Colony Breeding, Predation and 
Parasitism. The coloured photographs of the 
nests in the field, often revealing the eggs they 
contain, are excellent. The keys to the nests, 
based on site, shape, structure and material 
are generally sound and very useful providing 
their necessarily broad approach is ap- 
preciated. Nevertheless they are not ideal — 
the nest of the Gull and the Pipit hardly have 
any real affinity though artificially falling in 
the same category here. The publisher’s at- 
tention is drawn to the need for a comprehen- 
sive guide to nests based on line drawings and 
photographs that will at once show the nest 
types of species groups and the wide range of 
variation that can exist in the nests of par- 
ticular species while also facilitating iden- 
tification. The nest Collection at the National 
Museum of Victoria would be available for 
study for such a work. 

The plates of the eggs are a main feature of 
the book and generally they are reasonably 
well-produced and serve their purpose well 
enough but one has to say that some, 
especially those of smaller eggs, are not as 
sharp, and not as free of shadows as they 
deserve to be considering their purpose, their 
importance and their potential attractiveness. 
In some instances their colour tends to be a 
little yellowish and the eggs of the ravens are 
rather paler and duller than is so in life. Some 
form of size scale on each plate would have 
been most useful and some means of number- 
ing the clutches would have provided quick 
reference to species names in the plate legend. 
On plate 113 it would seem that egg C 
represents the ‘‘Elongated oval’’ shape and 
egg F the ‘‘Tapered oval (typical egg shape)’’ 
not as is stated on the plate. The inclusion 
somewhere of a sample range of incubation 
periods of birds of various sizes and groups 
would have been useful. For the serious 
student it would have been helpful to give an 
indication of the number of eggs, or the 
references, upon which the average egg size is 
based. 


176 


The text is generally excellent and the book 
is literally full of good information compiled 
by a dedicated field observer e.g. the details 
given for the Brown Hawk, the distraction 
display of the Dollarbird and many other 
comments. There are also the points one ex- 
pects to find e.g. reference to the dry leaves in 
the lining of the Yellow-Robin’s nest and the 
inward curve of the rim of the Little 
Grassbird’s nest. Some common points 
however are unexpectedly not mentioned e.g. 
the ramp of trampled reeds often leading to 
the Coot’s nest, the occasional nesting 
association of the Willie Wagtail with the 
Magpie-lark and its liking for dead branches 
sometimes over water, and the frequent use 
of sheep’s wool by the White-plumed 
Honeyeater. The attempt to avoid repetition 
in describing species’ eggs sometimes 
becomes clumsy in another direction e.g. the 
eggs of the Yellow-tufted Honeyeater are said 
to be like those of the Yellow-throated, that 
are said to be like those of the White-eared 
that are said to be like those of the Purple- 
gaped — that are described! The shape of the 
eggs of all the owls is given as round but this 
is not so for the owls of family Tytonidae in 
which the eggs are distinctly longer than they 
are wide, It may be noted also that the 
Eastern Rosella sometimes nests in holes in 
sandbanks, (Amu 54.118) 

Regardless of these minor points this is a 
splendid book that will fill a very real need. 
An equally important point however is that it 
is a very significant book that could well 
stand at the beginning of a new era in the 
study of nests and eggs. This study has for 
years been much neglected because of the 
disrepute into which egg collecting fell when 
it was still legal and by desuetude when it 
became illegal. With it went, from the body 
of bird-watchers, a certain amount of general 
lore on eggs, nests, and nesting habits and in 
its place came a Sense of guilt to accompany 
any interest in eggs. 

The author of the book in his ‘‘Introduc- 
tion’ shows his awareness of the historical 
position of his work. I wonder, however, 
whether either the author or publisher has 
fully considered the potential of the book and 
the opportunity it presents to capture the im- 
agination of the young and to impressively 
present, for the close of the 20th century, a 
set of ideals that, although they are certainly 
not new are nevertheless new when you are a 
fourteen year old reader. I mean ‘‘a look and 
take notes but don't touch" ideal; an ideal of 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


responsiveness to the fascination (for some), 
and to the beauty, of a nest of eggs coupled 
with a real respect for the bird’s needs. On 
the other hand perhaps the decision not to go 
as far as this has been both a conscious and a 
wiser one than the approach just suggested. 
The prominent and explicit warnings 
against touching and collecting eggs printed 
at the front are at present no doubt still 
necessary — yet they are negative; they 
preserve the present tradition without presen- 
ting a positive alternative. The real question 
is whether it is better to adopt an attitude of 
providing a needed book of information 
while preserving the status quo knowing that 
there will always be a few boys with illegal 
boot-box egg-collections doing limited harm, 
or to initiate and encourage a wider interest 
within positive guide-lines. A book on birds’ 
eggs has been long overdue and this is a good 
one but there is need to consider which line is 
the better one to take. My choice would be to 
have faith in young people providing one 
gives them a sense of having something to 
collect that is worthwhile i.e. good field data 
to use for the conservation of the birds (the 
R.A.O.U. Nest Record scheme offers op- 
portunity for putting data to good use), good 
field data for the use of posterity, and good 
field data to accompany their own 
memorable experience of field acquaintance 
with the nests and eggs of Australian birds. 


A. R. McEvey, 
Curator of Birds, 
National Museum of Victoria. 


1. Newton, Alfred. Assisted by Hans 
Gadow, ‘‘A Dictionary of Birds’? London: 
1893-1896. In essay under ‘‘Eggs’’. Still an 
excellent brief account of the subject. 


“‘The author of this work is seeking an artist 
to assist in preparing future works. Please 
contact G. R. Beruldsea, 18 Cohen St., Ken- 
more, Q. 4069”’’. 


‘Learning about Australian 
Birds” 
BY ROSEMARY BALMFORD 


22 cm x 14 cm, 240 pp including 15 colour 
plates. Collins, 1980. Hard cover. Recom- 
mended retail price $16.95. 


This is a very readable book which will be 


useful in bridging the hiatus between casual 


July/August 


observation and more formal bird study. The 
quthor repeatedly emphasizes the relative 
lack of information on most facets of 
Australian birdlife and the place for con- 
tributions from the dedicated amateur. Her 
chapters entitled ‘What to watch for’, ‘What 
to record’, ‘Studying birds in the field’ and 
‘Research’ should aid the reader to formulate 
problems and devise methodology ap- 
propriate for their solution. References for 
further reading related to each chapter and 
regional organizations concerned with bird 
study are listed at the end of the book. 

The major weakness of this book stems 
from its attempt to address the full range of 
experience of potential readers — from the 
novice to the aspiring author. Much of the 
material on field identification could better 
have been left to other sources, most notably 
the verbal descriptions of characteristics of 
major bird groups. Similarly, those setting 
out for remote areas will need to know con- 
siderably more than what is covered in the 
chapter entitled ‘Expeditions and holidays’. 

Such criticisms aside, this book hopefully 
will motivate readers to undertake and com- 
municate the results of individual studies, as 
well as to contribute to ongoing projects of 
larger scale. 


F.D, PANETTA 


Proceedings of the Melbourne 
Herpetological Symposium 
EDITED By 
C. B. BANKS AND A. A. MARTIN 


(Proceedings of the Melbourne 
Herpetological Symposium held at The Royal 
Melbourne Zoological Gardens, Victoria, 
Australia, May, 1980. Eds. C. B. Banks and 
A. A. Martin. Zoological Board of Victoria. 
Available from Symposium Secretary, The 
Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens, P.O. 
Box 74, Parkville, Vic. 3052. Price $12.00, in- 
cluding postage. Cheques should be made 
payable to ‘Zoological Board of Victoria’). 

A collection of 35 papers and expanded 
abstracts covering Australian frogs and 
lizards, venom research, tortoises and turtles, 
and Australian crocodiles. Further papers 
discuss such topics as reptile diseases, 


herpetological communities, conservation 
and taxonomic studies. Many noted 
herpetologists are represented. 

177 


Field Naturalist Club of Victoria 
Reports of recent activities 


General Meeting 
Monday 15 June 
Instead of a speaker there was a film 
on the need to conserve our forests. It 
was a case of preaching to the converted 
and perhaps that was fortunate as the 
unconverted would be unlikely to sit 
through such wordiness and chopped up 
picture sequences. Included were some 
frightening shots of large trees being 
reduced to chips. 


Exhibits and Nature Notes. There 
were several slides of rotifers under 
microscopes; one of the slides dated 
from last century, being made by Shep- 
pard who described the species in 1898. 
Also under microscopes were some liv- 
ing hydras — slender stalks with several 
projecting arms at the end like a star, 
and some desmids — transparent green 
threads with a fine pattern. 


Several land snails of the family 
Caryodidae, endemic to Australia, in- 
cluded Australia’s largest Hedleyella 
falconeri about 8cm (3’’) from NSW 
and Queensland, and Victoria’s largest 
— Pygmipanda atomata about 5cm 
(2’’); this was shaped like the marine 
Pheasant Shell but was brown in colour. 


A large bony structure was the jaw of 
a wombat, and an Australian On- 
thaphagus beetle about 2cm long (%’’) 
showed the shovel feet characteristic of 
dung beetles. 


A member reported a bright yellow 
slime mould, a patch about 10 cm (4’’) 
across, that withdrew into the bark over- 
night. Another reported that the last of 
the Queensland fruit bats seem to have 
left the Botanic Gardens. 


President Wendy Clark thanked con- 
tributors and urged more members to 
provide specimens and nature notes for 
much can be learned from them. 


178 


General Meeting 
Monday 13 July 

Mr Ros Garnet was presented with 
honorary membership of this Club. 

In making the presentation, Dr J. H. 
Willis spoke of Mr Garnet’s wide- 
ranging activities in the cause of natural 
history and conservation. Prior to join- 
ing FNCV, three articles by Ros Garnet 
had been published in the Victorian 
Naturalist and, by 1970, 107 Garnet 
items had appeared in our journal in- 
cluding a series of 19 articles on Na- 
tional Parks in 1960-61. He has publish- 
ed a book on Wilsons Promontory and 
Wyperfeld, each illustrated by his own 
photos and line drawings, and a book on 
Venomous Australian Animals for the 
Commonwealth Serum Laboratories. 

Dr Willis reported that Ros Garnet 
has been secretary, vice-president and 
president of this Club; he was a foun- 
ding member of the National Parks 
Association, being secretary for more 
than 20 years, and he was a driving force 
in creating the National Parks Authori- 
ty. For many years Mr Garnet was on 
the management committee of Wilsons 
Promontory and of Wyperfeld. In 1966 
he was awarded the Natural History 
Medallion. 

Speaker for the evening was Mr Ros 
Garnet on ‘‘Reminiscences of a 
Naturalist’’. He entertained us with ac- 
counts of early incidents and FNCV 
members, how he became increasingly 
involved with activities of this Club and 
in efforts for national parks. He ended 
with a pertinent nonsense rhyme and a 
song sung with a fine resonant voice. 

Exhibits and Nature Notes. There was 
an entire bench of memorabilia 
displayed by Ros Garnet. Included were 
his first record of interest in natural 
history — a certificate of membership in 
the Gould League of Bird Lovers at the 
age of 8, photo album of early FNCV 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


The 
Victorian Naturalist 


The Magazine of the 
FIELD NATURALISTS CLUB OF VICTORIA 


in which is incorporated 


THE MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY OF VICTORIA 


Vol. 97 


January-December, 1980 


COMPILED BY KEN N. BELL 


@) JENKIN BUXTON PRINTERS PTY. LTD. 
1-13 Abbotsford Street, West Melbourne, 3003 


ABORIGINES 


Colongulac Skeleton, radiocarbon date, 148 
AMPHIBIANS 


Breeding seasons of Frogs in Vict., Tas., 6 
Frogs of French, Phillip Isl., 232 


AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY 
MEDALLION 


Trust fund, 18, 42, 113, 157, 204 
AUTHORS 


Allen, S, (with Shine, R.), 188 

Anderson, R. C., (with Dedman, V. and 
Doughty, C.), 235 

Backhouse, G. N., (with Frusher, D. J.), 144 

Baines, J. A., 22, 32, 176, 225 

Baxter, G., (with Wallis, R.), 211 

Beasley, A. W., 15, 266 

Beaton, G., (with Weste, G.), 65 
(with Weste, G. and Crichton, G. A.), 165 

Beauglehole, A. C., 213, 247 

Belcher, C. A., (with Craig, S.A.), 205 

Beumer, J. P., (with Harrington, D. J.), 68 

Bird, E. C. F., 48 

Brook, A. J., 6 

Brown, R. S., (with Norman, F. I. and Deer- 
son, D. M.), 249 

ChealeP DiC. 75 

Cooke, D., 159, 160 

Corrick, M. G., 19, 151, 217 

Coulson, G. M., 4 

Coventry, A. J., (with Robertson, P.), 190 

Craig, S. A., (with Belcher, C. A.), 205 

Crichton, G. A., (with Beaton, G., and 
Weste, G.), 165 

Dedman, V., (with Anderson, R. C., and 
Doughty, C.), 235 

Deerson, D. M., (with Norman, F. I., and 
Brown, R.S.), 249 

Dixon, J. M., 34 

Doughty, C., (with Anderson, R. C., and 
Dedman, V.), 235 

Feehan, H. V., 216 

Frusher, D. J., (with Backhouse, G. N.), 144 

Galbraith, J., 114 

Garnet, J. R., 23, 130 

Gibbons, D., (with Van Dyke, S.), 58 

Gill, E. D., 107, 148 

Harrington, D. J., (with Beumer, J. P.), 68 

Jackson, P. D., 11 

Kelly, K., (with Traynor, M.), 76 


ii 


King, D. H., 263 

Kloot, T., 268 

Lester, M. J., (book review), 79 

Littlejohn, M. J., 232 

Lubcke, E., (with others), 222 

Lubcke, J., (with others), 222 

Milton, D. A., 26 

Norman, F. I., (with Brown, R. S., and Deer- 
son, D. M.), 249 

Osbourne, W. S., 163 

Peterson, I., (with others), 222 

Reeves, P., (with others), 222 

Robertson, P., (with others), 222 

Ross, J. H., 262 

Schuk, M., 268 

Shine, R., (with Allen, S.), 188 

Simon, R., 25, 175 

Smith, B. J., 76, 92, 121 

Spillane, A. E., 161 

Stuwe, J., 157 

Tidemann, C. R., 64 

Traynor, M., (with Kelly, K.), 76 

Turner, E., 170 

Van Dyke, S., (with Gibbons, D.), 58 

Wall, P., (with others), 222 

Wallis, G. L., 194 

Wallis, R., (with Baxter, G.), 211 

Weste, G., (with Beaton, G.), 65 
(with Beaton, G., and Crichton, G. A.), 
165 

Willis, J. H., (book review), 78, 93 

Young, G. E., 200 

Young, R. A., 258 


BIRDS 


Avifauna and Flora of Dannevig, Norman 
and Wattle Isl., Vic., 249 

Female Teal Calls the Tune, 268 

Orange-bellied Parrot: Species Endangered, 
235 

Powerful Owls, Tuan predation by, 58 


BOOK REVIEWS 


Distribution and Conservation, Vascular 
Plants in Corangamite-Otway area, Vict., 
139 

Kosciusko Alpine Flora, 79 

Lichens of Sth. Australia, 78 

Tasmanian Bird Atlas, 268 

Victorian Vascular Plant Checklists — 13 
Study Area and 24 Grid Distribution, 227 


ERRATA 


75, 138, 265 


EXCURSIONS 


Botanical Safari, Aust. Arid Regions, 170 
Broken Hill, 222 

Lake Mountain, Molluscs on, 76 

Special Study Trips (for Centenary), 136 


FLN.C:V. 


Annual Report, 182, 226 

Balance Sheet, 81-85 

Centenary Expedition, 269 

Centenary meeting, 136 

Centenary nature show, 271 

Centenary picnic, 135 

General Meetings, 41, 86, 135, 226, 269 


FISHES 


Crimson-spotted Rainbowfish, 144 

Fishes in Lerderderg River, 
impoundment Distribution, 68 

Survey of fishes, West branch Tarwin R., 
above Berry’s Ck., 11 


Pre- 


FUNGI 


Gasteromycetes, Vict. checklist, 165 
Pyrenomycetes and Loculoascomycetes, 
Vict. checklist, 65 


GEOLOGY AND PALAEONTOLOGY 


Aragonite from Melbourne, 266 

Australites, Flanged Button and Lenses 
found Recently, 216 

Basalt in East. Aust., Importance of, 15 

Coastal Morphology and Mangroves, 48 

Contributions to Geol. of early F.N.C.V., 
107 

Wilson’s Prom.: Introl. to its Geol., 194 


HISTORY 


A Century and beyond, 92 

Botany and F.N.C.V., first 30 years, 114 
First Century of F.N.C.V., 93 

Highlights of F.N.C.V. History, 128 
National Parks and F.N.C.V., 130 
Naturalists of Yesteryear, 25, 175 

Origin of F.N.C.V., 120 

Presidents of F.N.C.V., 129 

Zoology and F.N.C.V. — early years, 121 


MAMMALS 


Bush Rat, Movement over Snow surface, 163 

Common Wombat, Geographic variation in, 
200 

Dunnart, White-footed, N.S.W. Range ex- 
tension, 263 

Kangaroo, Western Grey, Victorian Range 
extension, 4 

Reconstructing Furred Mammals, 76 

Swamp Antechinus, Notes on Captive 
specimen, 211 

Wattled Bats, 
Predators, 258 

Whales — Mesoplodon bowdoini, 
record, N.S.W., 64 
Mesoplodon layardi, Victorian stranding 
and Review of Aust. Records, 34 

Yellow-bellied Glider, Live trapping, 205 


Vulnerability to Avian 


New 


MISCELLANEOUS 


Introduced Animals and Plants, Effects of 
(meeting), 63, 138 
Reconstructing Furred Mammals, 76 


MOLLUSCS 


Molluscs on Lake Mountain, 76 


OBITUARY 


Swaby, A. J., 33 


PERSONAL 


Tyler, M. J. — A. N. H. Medallist for 1980, 
199 


PLACES AND LOCALITIES 


Conondale Ranges, Reptile Survey, 26 

Dandenong and Mt. Corranwarrabul, 22 

Dannevig, Norman and Wattle Isl., Flora, 
Avifauna, 249 

French Island, Phillip Isl., Frogs of, 232 

Lake Mountain, Molluscs on, 76 

Lerderderg River, fishes, preimpoundment 
Distribution, 68 

Mt. Corranwarrabul and Dandenong, 22 

Tarwin R., West Branch, fish survey, 11 

Wilson’s Prom., Geology, 194 


PLANTS 


Acacia enterocarpa, 157 

Bushpeas of Victoria, (12)19, (13)151, 
(14)217 

Dannevig, Norman, Wattle Isl., Flora, avi- 
fauna, 249 

Deletion of Vascular plants, 247 

Erroneous or Doubtful, Grid records, 213 

Genetic Names, Origin of, Vict. Flora, 32, 
176, 225 

Lawns, Wildflowers, Weeds and Orchids, 23 

Luzula in Victoria, 159 

Mallee, Additional Records, 73 

Mangroves and Coastal Morphology, 48 

Monotoca rotundiflora in N.S.W., 262 

Trithuria in Victoria, 160 


REPTILES 


Australian Copperhead, Ritual Combat in, 
188 

Scincid Lizards, Vict. New Records, 190 

Survey techniques, a Comparison at Conon- 
dale Ranges, 26 


SPIDERS 


Leaf-Curling Spider, Observations on, 161 


iv 


excursions, 22’’ leaf of Mountain Grey 
Gum Eucalyptus cypellocarpa, and 
much more. 

Under the microscope were some liv- 
ing aquatic earthworms — short, white 
and segmented, and some protozoans 
like translucent white pears. 

Provided with a large hand lens for 
better viewing were three introduced 
slaters — Beaded Slater Porcella scaber, 
Smooth Woodlouse P. Jaevis (probably 
the most common ) and Butcher-boy 
Armadillidium vulgare; each was about 
lcm long. 

Flowers of Myrtaceae family were 
queried as a species of Agonis — ball- 
like 12mm cluster of small fruits with a 
few 6mm white flowers at the top. 


A member reported groups of 30 or 
more Blackbirds and asked if that is 
usual. Another reported flocks of 
several hundred Mynahs. Two Gang 
Gangs were seen in East Hawthorn, and 
one member remarked how lovely it was 
to hear Currawongs and asked where do 
they go in summer; to the mountains 
was suggested. 

A member reported on the invincibili- 
ty of a rock-fern she was growing; twice 
it had been completely defoliated by 
snails but survived. 

OAM to Sister Enid Bowman. Many 
years secretary of the Victorian branch 
of SGAP, Sister Bowman has been 
honoured with the Order of Australia 
Medal. 


To All Naturalists 


LAND USE POLICY 


The Federal Government is holding a standing committee on LAND USE POLICY and is in- 
viting all interested persons or groups to make submissions, 


The current political climate is swinging away from consideration of conservation. The catch 


cry is ‘‘Development at any cost’’. 


This standing committee is an excellent opportunity to exert some influence on the direction 


Australia is heading. 


The FNCYV is organising a submission to the hearing and we would like to incorporate in- 


formation that you could provide. 
Weare collecting information on : 


Effect of the above on wildlife. 
Factors responsible for that loss. 


alt lee at 


Any other issues you feel are important. 


Alterations in habitat, particularly bush and swamp and vegetation clearance. 


Improvements to the legislation and administration which would overcome the above. 


Please send all information to Wendy Clark, 27 Rangeview Avenue, North Balwyn, 3104, by 
19th September 1981. For additional information ring Wendy on 859 8091 ah. 377 2336 bh or 


Malcolm Turner 877 2835 ah. 


Syllabus (Geology Group) 


Wednesday, 1 July. Quantitative Approaches to Graptolite Environments in Central Victoria. Part II. 


Speaker:. Dr Noel Schleiger. 


Wednesday, 5 August. New Classification of Rocks. Speaker: Mrs Gabi Love. 


Wednésday, 2 September. Slide Night. 


Wednesday, 7 October. Granites of Wilson’s Promontory. Speaker: Mr Gary Wallis. 


Wednesday, 4 November. To be announced. 
Wednesday, 2 December. Xmas members night. 
Excursions. 7-8 November. 


Week-end excursion to Wilson’s Promontory. Leader: Mr Gary Wallis. 


Field Naturalists Club of Victoria 


Established 1880 


OBJECTS: To stimulate interest in natural history and to preserve 
and protect Australian fauna and flora. 
Members include beginners as well as experienced naturalists. 


Patron: 
His Excellency the Honorable SIR HENRY WINNEKE, KCMG, KCVO, OBE, KStJ, oLal 


Key Office-Bearers 1981-1982 


President: 
Miss WENDY CLARK, 27 Rangeview Grove, North Balwyn, 3104 (859 8091 A.H.) 

Secretary: 
Correspondence to: FNCV, National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141 
Treasurer: Mr. D. DUNN, 3 Allfrey Street, East Brighton, 3187 (578 5753) 
Subscription-Secretary: Miss H. MALCOLM C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South 
Yarra, 3141 
Editor: Mr. R. WALLIS, C/- State College of Victoria — Rusden, Blackburn Road, North 

Clayton, 3168, 544 8544. 
Librarian: Mr. P. KELLY, C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141 
Excursion Secretary: Miss M. ALLENDER, 19 Hawthorn Avenue, Caulfield, 3161 

(527 2749) 
Book Sales Officer: Mr. D. E. McINNES, 129 Waverley Road, East Malvern, 3145 (211 2427) 


Group Secretaries 


Botany: Mr. MICHAEL McBAIN, 19 Foster St, St Kilda, 3182 (534 2293) 

Day Group: C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141. 

Geology: Mr. T. SAULT, C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141 

Mammal Survey: Mr. A. FAITHFUL, 67 Athelstan Road, Camberwell, 3124 (29 5108 A.H.) 

Microscopical: Mr. M. H. MEYER, 36 Milroy Street, East Brighton (596 3268) 

Entomology and Marine Biology: Mr. D. E. McINNES, 129 Waverley Road, East Malvern, 
3145 (211 2427) 

FNCV Kinglake Nature Reserve: McMahons Road, Kinglake. 

Bookings and keys: Mr. 1. F. MORRISON, 788 Elgar Road, Doncaster (848 1194) 


MEMBERSHIP 


Membership of the F.N.C.V. is Open to any person interested in natural history. The 
Victorian Naturalist is distributed free to all members, the club’s reference and lending library 
is available and other activities are indicated in reports set out in the several preceding pages of 
this magazine. 

Subscription rates for 1981 

Metropoltiaticss: a ncten ta. Ute abe spactl 9 Brn Dy od 
JOIN MOUORAMN ESE ES ise.8. ose temo bey ye 
Country Members and Retired Persons... 
Joint Country and Joint Retired ..... 
CUMS Soaks 54 on A Sea Are ae 
Subscription to Victorian Naturalist. . 
Overseas Subscription to Victorian Naturalist rey Srey oe 
iNGIWIGU aN SERA rage eee wee es ae es sn Dvehiapubhduscs cists) cadlecc en 


All subscriptions should be made payable to the Field Naturalist Club of Victoria and posted to the Subscription Secretary. 
@ JENKIN BUXTON PRINTERS PTY. LTD., WEST MELBOURNE 


Vol. 98, No.5 
Sept/Oct. 
1981 


ae esto 


Ahmet ial 


Published by the FIELD NATURALISTS CLUB OF VICTORIA 
in which Is incorporated the Microscopical Society of Victoria $ 1 15 


FNCV DIARY OF COMING EVENTS 
GENERAL MEETINGS 


At the National Herbarium, the Domain, South Yarra. 


Monday, 12 October, 8.00 p.m. 


Aspects of the environmental impact statement in relation to the East Gippsland woodchip 
industry. Speaker: Dr Brian Smith. Honorary Membership will be awarded to Miss Ruth 


Clarke. 
Monday, 9 November, 8.00 p.m. 


Presentation of the Australian Natural History Medallion Award. The Medallion address 
will be given by the winner, Dr Elizabeth Marks, on ‘‘Natural history of mosquitoes’’. 


Monday, 14 December, 8.00 p.m. 


Meeting to be hosted by the Hawthorn Juniors. 
New Members — September/October General Meetings. 


Ordinary 


Lori Eddington, 1/470 Brunswick Rd, West Brunswick. 


Beth Elkins, 11/156A Napier St, Essendon, 


Peter Evans, 51 Woodleigh Cres., South Vermont. 


Richard Faragher, 4 Grange Ave, Canterbury. 
Ellie Hamilton, 9 Aintree St, East Brunswick. 
Alison Hilton, 16 Dawson Ave, Elwood. 

John Kosky, 111 Lawrence Rd, Mt Waverley. 


Eunice Leonard, 9/20 Denmark Hill Rd, Hawthorn East. 
Dianna McClellan, 3 The Boulevard, North Balwyn. 


Vicki Paris, 82 Trevallyan St, South Caulfield. 
Elizabeth Powell, 22 Davison St, Richmond. 
Bruce Thorley, 34 Regent St, Burwood. 


Joint 


Robert and Nancy Davidson, 32 tel raa ea Ave, Glenroy. 


Alan and Gail Holmes, 81 Newry St, 


orth Fitzroy. 


Mary and Harry Hunt, bn f Sparrows’, Pakenham Upper. 


Tim and Denise McCartin, | 


Country 
Doug Binns, P.O. Box 273, Eden. 
Isobel Brinsden, Box 112, Merbein. 


Marco Polo St, Essendon. 


FNCV EXCURSIONS 


Tuesday, 3 November. Club picnic to Chambers 
Park. Leaders: Mr and Mrs D. Dunn. Coach will 
leave Batman Ave at 9.30 a.m. Fare $6.00. Bring a 
picnic lunch. Members coming by car should meet 
at 10.45 a.m. at Emerald Hall, on the corner of the 
road to Emerald Lake. 

Sunday, 6 December. Mt Worth. Leader: Miss 
Wendy Clarke. Coach will leave Batman Ave at 
9.30 a.m. Fare $7.00. Bring 2 meals. 

Preliminary notices: 

Saturday, 16 — Friday, 22 January. Portland. 


This will be hosted by the Portland Field Naturalists 
Club. The costs will be $220 for the fare and DBB 
accommodation in a motel. A deposit of $20 should 
be paid to the Excursions Secretary when booking 
and the balance by the December General Meeting. 
Day trips will depend on the season but will pro- 
bably include Cape Nelson, Mt Richmond National 
Park and Kentbruck Heath. Coach will leave 
Flinders St from outside the Gas and Fuel at 8.00 
a.m. Bring a picnic lunch. 


GROUP MEETINGS 


FNCV members are invited to attend any 
Group meeting, no extra charge. 
Day Group — Third Thursday. 

Thursday, 15 October. Yarran Dheran 
Reserve, Mitcham, (Melway map 49 Bé6.) 
Meet at entrance gate, Ashburton Drive, at 
11.30 a.m. Cars will meet 10.30 a.m. train 
from Flinders St (Lilydale) at Mitcham sta- 
tion, Leader: G. Taylor (878 3415). 

Thursday, 19 November. Jell’s Park, Glen 
Waverley, (Melway map 71 K6.) Meet at 
11.30 a.m, near car park. Cars will meet 


10.25 a.m. train from Flinders St at Glen 
Waverley station. Leader: D. Mclnnes 
(211 2427). 


December — no meeting. 


At the National Herbarium, the Domain, 
South Yarra, at 8.00 p.m. 

First Tuesday — Mammal Survey Group. 

Tuesday, 6 October. Bandicoots. Speaker: 
Peter Brown. 

Wednesday, 28 November. Owls. Speaker: 
Ed McNabb. Please note date. 

(continued on page 223) 


The Victorian 
Naturalist 


Volume 98, Number 5 September/October, 1981 


ISSN 0042-5184 


Editor: Robert L. Wallis 
Assistant Editor: F. Dane Panetta 
Editorial Committee: H. Cohn, B. Smith 


The Inshore Fishes of the Kent Group in Bass Strait by R. H. 


SUE San Pera hiya teste hd can est 9: © a PR Rae ss thai ce 184 
Potassium/Argon Age of Basalt in Floor of Hopkins River, 
Allansford, S.W. Victoria, Australia by E. D. Gill.............. 188 
A Short History of the Discovery and Naming of Banksias in 
Raster Ausiraliasbart Vy. 1, Salkinses, 4c a4cccaay estes e 191 
Little Red Flying-foxes Collecting Water in Fur by R. H. Loyn ... 194 
A Buried Soil at Mount Eccles, Western Victoria, and the Date of 
Breton bye lO AO iieiin cae, |. APN ee oe ote eA os tees 195 
Predation on a Small Colony of Bats by an Australian Hobby, 
Palco longipenmis by G.. Vi Czechura:: e.cci. ce eee bt eee eee 200 
A Slab of Devonian fossils from Heathcote and a Little 
Ralasoecolosy. Dy IeVerNeils x, . ok daicuiee ub aataaty os whit nthe gue 204 
A List and Further Notes on the Butterflies from Glenbrook, New 
South Wales-by- bel (HawkKeswOod. . hid wal beg ee ees 210 
Earth Stars: The Family Geasteraceae Fischer byG. A. Crichton.. 214 


Rare and Endangered Victorian Plants. 2. Brachyome 


TTIICHCTEICIE SIL Va nS EU Wet, aes 0: Re iis tre legate, 0 ey gt taev ght 216 
Why Not Look Beyond the Flowers by C. M. Henshaw.......... 219 
Uae a rea cok NCO ARIC SIME RSS Od ely ae leedss aneheis (gl kes gata Thigh oe 221 


Cover illustration: A view from Deal Island on East Cove, Murray Pass and Erith in the background. 


The Inshore Fishes of the Kent Group in Bass Strait 
By RUDIE H. KUITER* 


The Kent Group (39°29'S, 147°20'E) 
lies between Wilson’s Promontory and 
Flinders Island in the shallow waters of 
Bass Strait. It consists of three main 
Islands of which Deal Island, about 512 
km long is the largest. The other two, 
Erith and Dover Islands, which are close 
together and joined by an intertidal 
ridge are separated from Deal Island by 
a deep channel called Murray Pass. The 
channel is nearly one kilometre wide and 
about 45 metres deep in the middle. 
Strong tidal currents, up to 2% knots, 
run here. The shores are rocky, except 
for the upper parts of the coves, which 
have sandy beaches. 

Between March 22 and 29, 1981 a 
variety of habitats in ten different loca- 
tions around the Islands were surveyed. 
Observations were made mostly to dep- 
ths of 25 metres, with the exception of 
one dive to 35 metres in Murray Pass. 
One dive was made after dark. Nearly 
half the number of fish species observed 
were photographed as well. Visibility 
during the dives averaged about 20 
metres. 

The surroundings of the Kent Group 
consist of vast areas of sand with a mean 
depth of about 30 metres. The sand in 
the vicinity of the islands is bare and 
wave shaped, indicating a regular 
turnover caused by the big seas so 
notorious for Bass Strait. Because of the 
sand barrier the island group is an 
isolated place for reef-dwelling fishes. 
However many species have pelagic 
young and are carried by currents from 
other places making this region 
particularly interesting from a distribu- 
tional point of view. Habitats vary bet- 
ween the exposed areas and the pro- 


* P.O. Box 124, Seaford, Vic, 3198. 


184 


tected areas in Murray Pass, but the 
general scene is algae and kelp down to 
15 to 25 metres. In the exposed areas 
kelp covers the rocks down to the sand. 
In most places reefs are composed of 
large boulders sloping often steeply 
down to the sand. They create lots of 
caves and ledges with a rich growth of 
invertebrates. In Murray Pass the kelp is 
replaced at about 20 metres by red 
algaes, caulerpaes and a tremendous 
variety of sponges and _ascidians. 
Seagrasses cover most of the sandy areas 
in the coves, especially in Murray Pass. 

A total of 68 species in 33 families of 
fishes were recorded during the dives. 
The leatherjackets were best represented 
with 9 species, followed by the wrasses 
with 7. The most common species were 
the Barber Perch on shallow to deep 
reefs and the Butterfly Perch on deep 
reefs, where they occurred in dense 
schools. Several species of wrasses were 
also common, particularly the Yellow- 
saddled wrasse which occurred in ag- 
gregations in kelp areas. 

The least common wrasse, the Snake- 
skin wrasse was only found in depths 
greater than 20 metres. None of the 
species of leatherjackets appeared very 
common, despite their diversity, 
although representatives of all sizes were 
observed. Species of particular interest 
were species which occur primarily in 
N.S.W. These are the One-spot Puller 
and Mado, which occurred commonly in 
both juvenile and adult stages. The 
White-ear outnumbered the Scaly-fin by 
far, a situation opposite from that in 
Victoria, while the Halfbanded Perch, a 
species not recorded from Victoria oc- 
curred reasonably common in depths of 
about 20 metres. This species is very 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


common in southern N.S.W. and pro- 
bably does occur in eastern Victoria as 
well. Another primarily N.S.W. species, 
the Black Drummer, was found in 
schools over algae covered boulders in 
the intertidal zone of some coves. The 
sand and seagrass areas were almost ex- 
clusively populated by the Silver Belly 
and Goatfish, although a few species of 
ray, several Port Jackson Sharks, an 
Angel Shark and a Flathead were 
observed in the area as well. In addition 
some Sand-gobies and small schools of 
False-eyed Weed-whitings were seen 
close to reefs. None of the pipefishes or 
seahorses (family Syngnathidae) could 
be found, although the habitat seems 
ideal and the family is well represented 
in Victoria. All species observed are well 
known from the mainland, with the ex- 
ception of the Southern leatherjacket, 
which is uncommon in Victoria, but 
common in Tasmania. Generally most 
species, with the exception of a few sand 
dwelling ones, appear to be established 
and are reasonably common. 


Fig.1 
Some fishes photographed in the Kent Group 
a Barber Perch, Caesioperca rasor 


*r) a, Sa eRe subel a 


b Yellow-saddled wrasse, Notolabrus fucicola 


September/ October 


c Southern leatherjacket, Meuschenia australis 
d Snake-skin wrasse, Eupetrichthys angustipes 


e Long-snouted Boarfish, Pentaceropsis recur- 
virostris 
f Mado, Atypichthys strigatus 


g Southern Gurnet-perch, Neosebastes 
paenoides 


Scor- 


185 


PROVISIONAL CHECKLIST OF THE INSHORE FISHES OF THE KENT GROUP IN BASS STRAIT 
(39°29'S, 147°20'E), MARCH 1981 


Class CHONDRICHTHYES (Cartilaginous Fishes) 
Subclass ELASMOBRANCHII (Sharks and Rays) 
Family HETERODONTIDAE (Bullhead Sharks) 
Port Jackson Shark, Heferodontus portusjacksoni 
(Meyer), 1793 


Family SQUATINIDAE (Angel Sharks) 
Angel Shark, Squatina australis Regan, 1906 


Family RHINOBATIDAE (Shovelnose Rays) 
Banks’ Shovelnose Ray, Aptychotrema rostrata 
(Shaw and Nodder), 1794 


Family DASYATIDAE (Stingrays) 
Smooth Stingray, Dasyatis brevicaudata (Hutton), 
1875 


Family MYLIOBATIDAE (Eagle- or Bullrays) 
Southern Eagle Ray, Myliobatis australis Macleay, 
1881 


Class OSTEICHTHYES (Bony Fishes) 
Subclass ACTINOPTERYGII 
Superorder TELEOSTEI 

Family AULOPIDAE (Sergeant Bakers) 
Sergeant Baker, Aulopus purpurissatus 
(Richardson), 1843 


Family PEGASIDAE (Sea Moths) 
Sculptured Sea Moth, Acanthopegasus lancifer 
(Kaup), 1861 


Family MORIDAE (Cods) 
Bearded Rock Cod, Physiculus barbatus 
(Guenther), 1863 


Family ATHERINIDAE (Hardyheads) 
Small-mouthed Hardyhead, Atherinasoma 
microstoma? (Guenther), 1861 

Hardyhead, Atherinasoma sp. 

Ogilby’s Hardyhead, Pranesus ogilbyi Whitley, 
1930 


Family DINOLESTIDAE (Long Finned Pike) 
Long Finned Pike, Dinolestis lewini (Griffith), 1834 


Family APOGONIDAE (Cardinal fishes) 
Southern Cardinal, Apogon conspersus Klunzinger, 
1872 


Family SERRANIDAE (Sea-Perches) 

Half-banded Sea-Perch, Ellerkeldia maccullochi 
Whitley, 1929 

Butterfly Perch, Caesioperca lepidoptera (Bloch 
and Schneider), 1801 

Barber Perch, Caesioperca rasor (Richardson), 1839 


Family PLESIOPIDAE (Devil- and Hulafishes) 


Southern Hulafish, Trachinops caudimaculatus 
McCoy, 1890 


186 


Family GERRIDAE (Silverbellies) 
Silverbelly, Parequula melbournensis (Castelnau), 
1872 


Family MULLIDAE (Goatfishes) 
Red Mullet, Upeneichthys lineatus (Bloch and 
Schneider), 1801 


Family PEMPHERIDAE (Bulls eyes) 
Common Bulls eye, Pempheris 
Klunzinger, 1879 


multiradiata 


Family SCORPIDIDAE (Sweep and Mado) 
Mado, Atypichthys strigatus (Guenther), 1860 
Sea Sweep, Scorpis aequipinnis Richardson, 1848 


Family KY PHOSIDAE (Drummers) 
Zebra fish, Girella zebra (Richardson), 1846 
Biack Drummer, Girella elevata Macleay, 1881 


Family ENOPLOSIDAE (Old Wifes) 
Old Wife, Enoplosus armatus (White), 1790 


Family HISTIOPTERIDAE (Boarfishes) 
Long-snouted Boarfish, Pentaceropsis 
virostris (Richardson), 1845 


recur- 


Family APLODACTYLIDAE (Sea Carp) 
Sea Carp, Dactylosargus arctidens (Richardson), 
1839 


Family CHEILODACTYLIDAE (Morwongs) 
Jackass Morwong, Nemadactylus macropterus 
(Bloch and Schneider), 1801 

Banded Morwong, Cheilodactylus 
Hutton, 1872 

Magpie Perch, Cheilodactylus (Goniistius) nigripes 
(Richardson), 1850 


spectabilis 


Family LATRIDAE (Trumpeters) 
Bastard Trumpeter, Latridopsis forsteri 
(Castelnau), 1872 


Family POMACENTRIDAE (Damselfishes) 
One-spot Puller, Chromis hypsilepis (Guenther), 
1867 

White-ear, Parma microlepis Guenther, 1862 
Scaly-fin, Parma victoriae (Guenther), 1863 


Family LABRIDAE (Wrasses) 

Maori wrasse, Ophthalmolepis lineolatus (Cuvier 
and Valenciennes), 1838 

Snake-skin wrasse, Eupetrichthys angustipes Ramsy 
and Ogilby, 1888 

Pretty Polly wrasse, 
(Castelnau), 1872 
Senator wrasse, Pictilabrus laticlavius 
(Richardson), 1839 
Blue-throated wrasse, 
(Richardson), 1840 


Dotalabrus aurantiacus 


Notolabrus  tetricus 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Yellow-saddled wrasse, 
(Richardson), 1849 

Rosy wrasse, Pseudolabrus (Lunolabrus) _ psit- 
taculus (Richardson), 1840 


Notolabrus  fucicola 


Family ODACIDAE (Cales and Weed-whitings) 
Rainbow Cale, Heteroscarus acroptilus 
(Richardson), 1846 

Herring Cale, Olisthops cyanomelas Richardson, 
1850 


Birdnose Weed-whiting, Neoodax beddomei 
(Johnston), 1885 
False-eyed Weed-whiting, Neoodax attenuatus 


(Ogilby), 1897 


Family TRIPTERYGIIDAE (Triple fins) 

Macleay’s triple fin, Norfolkia macleayanus? 
(Lucas), 1891 

Rock triple fin, Norfolkia sp. 

Weed triple fin, Trianectes sp. 


Family CLINIDAE (Weedfishes) 
Johnstons weedfish, Heteroclinus 
(Saville-Kent), 1886 

Wilson’s weedfish, Heteroclinus wilsoni (Lucas), 
1890 

Coleman’s weedfish, Heteroclinus n. sp. 


Johnstoni 


Family GOBIIDAE (Gobies) 

Kuiter’s sandgoby, Nesogobius n. sp. 

Sandgoby, Nesogobius sp. 

Sculptured goby, Callogobius mucosus (Guenther), 
1871 


Family SCORPAENIDAE (Rock-cods and Gurnet 
perches) 

Southern Rock-cod, 
Richardson, 1842 
Spiny Gurnet perch, Neosebastes scorpaenoides 
Guichenot, 1867 

Red Gurnet perch, Helicolenus papillosus (Bloch 
and Schneider), 1801 


Scorpaena_ ergastulorum 


Family PLATYCEPHALIDAE (Flatheads) 
Yellow Finned flathead, Platycephalus speculator 


Family MONACANTHIDAE (Leatherjackets) 
Six spined Leatherjacket, Meuschenia freycineti 
(Quoy and Gaimard), 1824 


Horseshoe Leatherjacket, Meuschenia hippocrepis 
(Quoy and Gaimard), 1824 


Southern Leatherjacket, Meuschenia australis 
(Donovan), 1824 

Toothbrush Leatherjacket, Penicipelta  vittiger 
(Castelnau), 1873 

Mosaic Leatherjacket, Eubalichthys mosaicus 
(Ransay and Ogilby), 1886 

Gunn’s Leatherjacket, Eubalichthys gunni 
(Guenther) 


Velvet Leatherjacket, Parika scaber (Forster), 1801 
Rough-skin Leatherjacket, Scobinichthys 
granulatus (Shaw), 1790 

Pigmy Leatherjacket, Brachaluterus jacksonianus 
(Quoy and Gaimard), 1824 


Family DIODONTIDAE (Porcupine fishes) 
Globe fish, Diodon nicthemerus Cuvier, 1818 


Acknowledgements 


I am grateful to the other participants, David 
Staples, Scoresby Sheperd, Jan Carey, Phillip Bock, 
Rhyllis Plant, Felix Wiedenmayer and master skip- 
per Alan Cripps of the ‘Polperro’, for their 
assistance, 

I would also like to thank Martin Gomon and 
Scoresby Sheperd for their valuable advice and 
reading the manuscript. 


Fig. 2: 

A tiny juvenile leatherjacket hitches a ride with a 
jelly, drifting along in the tidal currents. Many 
species of fish have pelagic stages and are dispersed 
in this way. It is likely that some species occurring in 
the Kent Group have originated that way, par- 
ticularly the primarily NSW species. 


The Effects of Introduced Animals and Plants in Australia. 


A limited number of copies of the Proceedings of the above conference are available for $2 
from Rob Wallis, Department of Environmental Studies, Rusden CAE, Clayton, Vic. 3168. 
Regarding the article ‘Introduced Mammals in Victoria’ by H. Brunner, P. L. Stevens and 
J. R. Backholer (see Victorian Naturalist 98: 5-17), the authors wish to acknowledge that Evan 
Jones contributed much of the section dealing with feral cats. Full details of this work will be 


published soon in the scientific literature. 


September/October 


187 


Potassium/Argon Age of Basalt in Floor of Hopkins 
River, Allansford, S.W. Victoria, Australia 
By EDMUND D. GILL* 


Rivers have always been barriers to 
human movement. Rivers rive — they 
divide. Derivationally, a rival is a person 
on the other side of the river. Many 
political and social boundaries follow 
rivers. In Australian history many rivers 
have been barriers, and an example is 
the Hopkins River east of Warrnam- 
bool, Victoria. Before bridges were 
built, settlers found that they could ford 
the river at Allansford because of the 
hard substrate (a basalt flow) and 
because the banks were not too high. 
The property at this ford was owned by 
James McMahon Allan (Bonwick 1858) 
and so this site came to be known as 
Allansford. 


Eruption Date of Basalt 

At the Australian National University 
potassium-argon dates on this basalt 
were kindly assayed by Dr I. McDougall 
(Table 1). Some technical difficulty was 
experienced in determining these ages 
because of small amounts of calcite in 
the rock. It is thought that the age of the 
flow can best be expressed as 0.65 + 
0.06 m.y. The samples came from about 
100 m south of the bridge on the main 
street of Allansford. 

The basalt is thus appreciably younger 
than the Yangery Basalt forming the 
plain from north of Warrnambool to 
west of the Hopkins River at Allansford 
which was dated 1.95 m.y. (McDougall 
and Gill 1975). On the other hand it is 
older than the Sunnyside Calcarenite 
forming the east bank of the Hopkins 
River estuary north of the Hopkins 
Point Road bridge, which gave a 
uranium/thorium date of about 400 000 
years (Gill and Amin 1975). 


* 1/47 Wattle Valley Road, Canterbury, Victoria 
3126. 


188 


Stratigraphy 

The bedrock of the area is Port 
Campbell Limestone, an Upper Miocene 
calcareous silt laid down on the con- 
tinental shelf. Where not stripped by 
erosion, it is covered by Hesse Clay (Gill 
1965) as can be seen extensively in road 
cuttings north and east of Allansford. 
The areas nearer the coast so stripped 
may be due to the higher sea level that 
cut the 20 m platform in the Warrnam- 
bool Aeolianite whereon the business 
section of that city stands. 


On the east side of the road running 
north from Allansford to Wangoom a 
quarry shows the Port Campbell 
limestone. It also outcrops on the west 
bank of the river just south of the 
Allansford bridge, where also there is a 
quarry. Opposite Jubilee Park it forms 
the high south bank west of Pool 5 
(Fig. 1). At Warrnambool it forms the 
high cliff forming the west bank of the 
Hopkins River north of the Hopkins 
Point Road bridge. 


The Basalt Flow and River History 


The present rather zigzag course of 
the river was established before the 
basalt was extruded, and appears to be 
controlled by fundamental structures in 
the bedrock. There are essentially two 
directions (1) north-south which is the 
general direction of drainage, and (2) 
ESE-WNW which is parallel to the 
coast. The course of the river at the time 
of basalt eruption was different from 
now, but not very different. The deep 
pools shown in Fig. | are places where 
the river has excavated into the bedrock 
beside the basalt. At Pool 1 basalt out- 
crops to form the steep south bank of 
the river, which consists of 6* m of 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


POTASSIUM-ARGON AGES ON BASALT FROM ALLANSFORD IN HOPKINS RIVER 
EAST OF WARRNAMBOOL, VICTORIA 


Lab. No. Rado Ar 100 Rad se Calculated 


divit.s °%) (107! ? mol/g) hotel eae Age (m.y.) 
+ 2 (sede 
J7-15 1.310, 1.293 1.510 13.6 0.67 + 0.03 
jeaye 19.2 0.70 + 0.03 
- 1 85 ij Q ‘ AS ~ 
77-16 25, WES 1.306 24.4 0.58 + 0.02 
=} - - ~~ - 
70.581 x 10 pede Na=h.962 x 10 10-1 Oy yet 167 x 10 


Table 1 


basalt covered by 2 m of alluvium. The 
River former river course is now partly under 
eek we the river terraces. For example, just 
north of Pool 2 a small gully in the west 
bank marks the south edge of the basalt 
infilling the former river course. At Pool 
4 the basalt margin cuts obliquely across 
Basalt the river; this edge is the former south 
thoy Dat bank of the river, the former course 
passing under the alluvium of the north 

bank. 


The Allansford Basalt (as I suggest it 
be called) terminates at the east boun- 
dary of Jubilee Park, where it forms the 
north bank of the river. The Hopkins is 
tidal to Tooram Rocks, east of the park, 
where the lava flow last crosses the 


yee course of the present river. How far 
ie} 


basalt flow>= below sea level the base of the basalt lies 

ree is not known at present, but the fact that 

of Hopkins 0.65 m.y. ago the floor of the river was 

JUBILEE Beiy'Bay| at least 4 m below present sea level over 
PARK 


9 km from the sea suggests a lower sea 
level. In fact, nearly all the basalt flows 
that cross the coast of S.W. Victoria oc- 
cupy courses graded to lower sea levels. 
Fig. 1. The River Hopkins in the Allansford district. | This prompts the question whether some 


River on Miocene Limestone 


September/ October 189 


a 
a 
° 
45 ou ° S fe) 
a iva 
re w 
al wi in 
> < 
eget & - 
z = 
OA =i 
xc w = 
30j25- = i 
<r o a0 iv) 
Piette ts = 
<Oa = s 


OM 
OKm 5 


z 
S 
7) 
w 
WwW 
iva 
a 
a Sy on 
a Zucg 
a Pas « eye eee 
< « < Oz De 
o Wi Se 
© ar ACG 
br] &. 
wn = Wwoge 
> au oS 
va rf ie a<qOo 
WwW i 
Sa x WwW 
a rs) se 
= 5 < 
ao oa J 


PORT 


CAMPBELL 
LIMESTONE 


10 


Fig. 2. Cross section from Allansford to the sea, showing the ridge that prevented a southerly course from 


Tooram Rocks to the ocean. 


hydroisostatic factor is involved in the 
extrusion of these basalts, i.e. whether 
the lifting of the great weight of sea 
water off the continental shelf reduced 
pressure and encouraged eruptions. 
Tooram is 9.3 km from the mouth of the 
river, but apparently at no time did the 
river flow directly south from Tooram 
to the sea because a high ridge of 
bedrock limestone intervenes (Fig. 2). 


REFERENCES 


Bonwick, J. 1858. Western Victoria, its Geography, 
Geology and Social Condition. Geelong. 

Gill, E. D. 1965. Quaternary geology, radiocarbon 
datings, and the age of australites. Geol. Soc. 
Amer. Spec. Pap. 84: 415-432. 

Gill, E. D. and Amin, B. S. 1975. Interpretation of 
7.5 and 4 metre last interglacial shore platforms 
in S.E. Australia. Search 6: 394-396, 

McDougall, 1. and Gill, E. D. 1975, Potassium- 


argon ages from the Quaternary succession in the 
Warrnambool-Port Fairy area, Victoria, 
Australia. Proc. R. Soc. Vict. 87: 175-178. 


Sweet Bursaria — protection against sunburn 


An FNCV member reported that the late 
Mr Arthur Swaby used to apply a solution 
from Sweet Bursaria Bursaria spinosa as a 
protection against sunburn. 

Mr Swaby had a very practical method for 
convincing sceptics of its effectiveness. He 
boiled Bursaria leaves for several minutes, 
then bathed one forearm with the cooled 
solution, leaving the other arm untreated. At 
the end of a warm day in the field, the 
solution-covered arm was the same colour as 
before, but the other arm showed how burn- 
ing the ultra-violet rays of a sunny day can 
be. 


190 


Intrigued by this report, another member 
decided to test it scientifically. About 1 cubic 
cm of Bursaria solution made with distilled 
water was placed in a quartz container and 
exposed to light of various wave lengths. All 
the ultra-violet rays were absorbed by the 
solution. (Quartz does not absorb ultra-violet 
rays as ordinary glass does but permits all 
rays to pass through it.) Then, as a control, 
the experiment was repeated using distilled 
water only; the ultra-violet rays were not ab- 
sorbed by the water. 

A biochemist surmised that the active in- 
gredient was probably rutin. 

M,J.L. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


A Short History of the Discovery 
and Naming of Banksias in 
Eastern Australia 


Part IV The Abbe Antonia Jose Cavanilles, 
Robert Brown, and Franz W. Sieber 
BY A. I. SALKIN* 


In March 1793 a Spanish expedition 
of exploration under the command of 
Allessandro Malaspina, whose avowed 
aims were geographical, zoological and 
botanical, sailed into Port Jackson 
(Burke, 1967), This expedition was one 
of many that were to be made in the next 
few years. The French had already fund- 
ed the voyage of La Perouse (1785-88). 
This ill-fated voyage was the stimulus 
for a further French voyage to the 
Australian region of the South Seas, this 
was the voyage of Bruny d’En- 
trecasteaux (1791-94), the first rescue at- 
tempt in the history of ocean navigation. 
A further major expedition by the 
French was that of Baudin (1800-1804). 
Apart from the La Perouse expedition 
all other voyages had at least one 
botanist on board. The Spanish voyage 
was no exception, the botanist was Don 
Luis Nee, and in the region of Port 
Jackson and Parramatta, during the 27 
days of the stay, he made a number of 
journeys. His observations of the colony 
are recorded in ‘‘Anales De Historia 
Natural No. 3” of March 1800 
(Cavanilles, 1800). In the same issue 
Cavanilles described a number of 
Banksia spp. some of them, though col- 
lected earlier, not previously described. 
B. serrata, B. integrifolia, B. ericifolia 
and B. spinulosa were re-described and 
the first of the new species to be describ- 
ed was B. microstachya, this however is 
the juvenile foliage of B. marginata. 

The second new species to be describ- 
ed was Banksia oblongifolia. The 


* Science Department, 


Brentwood High School, 
Heath St., Glen Waverley, 3150 


September/October 


specimen collected is clearly correct but 
the height of twelve feet in the descrip- 
tion is much too high; once again we 
have the problem of the botanist 
describing a species from a dried 
specimen and making unwarranted 
assumptions about heights or being 
misled by the collector. 

The question of height becomes clear- 
ly absurd in the next species to be 
described. 

“This tree towers majestically over 
the rest of the genus, and resembles the 
oak in size and nobility; some examples 
are thirty feet in height with one and 
half feet in diameter at the base... It 
grows in Botany Bay and in the town of 
Jackson. Observ. The carpenters of our 
expedition compare this tree with the 
oak, and from it they have made various 
boxes, which are preserved in the house 
of Mr Nee.’’ 

The species is given the name of B. 
robur and the herbarium specimen cor- 
responds correctly with this species as 
does the rest of the description. It would 
appear that the description above per- 
tains to either B. serrata or B. in- 
tegrifolia. 

The third and last new species to be 
described was B. marginata. 

Like Smith, Cavanilles as well as giv- 
ing a Latin diagnosis gives a popular 
description in Spanish — 

“Banksia marginata 
Banksia caule fruticosa; foliis 
linearibus, truncatis, margine revoluto; 
capsulis campiessis. 

Shrub of four to five feet in height, 
whose wood is ashen red with veins the 
colour of cinnamon.’’ (This appears to 


191 


be an early attempt to use Wood as an 
aid in taxonomy.) ‘‘The bark dark and 
hairless when old, downy and_fer- 
ruginous on the young branches. These 
divide various times, two, three or five 
coming from the same point and from 
its centre the inflorescence or cylindrical 
spike of flowers. All are covered with 
many stiff leaves supported by very 
short leaf stalks. They are linear, from 
one to two inches in length and two lines 
in width; green and hairless above white 
and somewhat downy on the underside, 
truncated at the point where the single 
longitudinal nerve projects and with the 
edges recurved. The spikes are two to 
three inches and are composed of downy 
scales of which the lower form a ruff 
and are pointed. The corollas are downy 
and deeply divided into four slender 
capillary lobes, some five lines in length, 
having the ends wider and concave 
enclosing a short filament and the an- 
ther. The cone is conical, covered with 
the hairlike styles of the flowers that 
have aborted, leaving visible between 
them a large number of little capsules, 
very compact, circular, wide in the 
anterior part, narrow and covered with a 
reddish fuzz on the posterior. They are 
fastened perpendicularly to the cylin- 
drical receptacle and the wider surfaces 
are horizontal. The valves open towards 
the centre lengthwise, revealing the two 
compartments and the moveable 
diaphragm, half divided into two small 
fine blades; in each compartment there 
is a winged seed, smaller than in Banksia 
ericaefolia (sic), They grow on the road 
from Jackson to Parramatta, where the 
above mentioned Nee found them in 
flower and fruit. I believe that the fruit 
was of the past year.’’ 

Three other supposedly new Banksia 
spp. are described. B. oleifolia can be 
nothing other than B. integrifolia and B. 
glauca and B. salicifolia are 
synonymous with B. oblongifolia. 


Robert Brown 
Early in the 19th Century Matthew 


192 


Flinders made a voyage of exploration 
that was remarkable for the precision 
and determination with which it was car- 
ried out (Flinders 1814, Mack 1966). 
What is even more remarkable is that 
unlike Cook he gave the botanist, 
Robert Brown, every possible op- 
portunity to carry out the work that was 
to make Brown one of the most impor- 
tant botanists to visit Australia. Even 
before the ship had reached Port 
Jackson, Brown had collected some 750 
species, over six hundred of which were 
new to science. Brown was no stranger 
to the botany of Australia. As Banks’ 
collector he had seen all the material 
from Australia in the Banks Herbarium 
(Brown, 1814). He also appears to have 
been aware of Cavanilles’ description of 
B. marginata, for the first eastern 
Banksia sp he collected at Bay X, near 
the present town of Port Lincoln, S.A. 
At first naming it B. marginata, he then 
appears to have had second thoughts 
and crossed out the first name and 
substituted B. patula his own name. 
Brown stayed in Australia until 1805 
during which time he travelled extensive- 
ly (Stearn, 1960). He was at the colony 
in Port Phillip just before Collins moved 
it to Tasmania and he spent time both at 
the Tamar and the Derwent settlements. 
Yet for all this exploration most of his 
names for eastern Banksia species are 
synonyms for banksias already describ- 
ed. Brown seems to have been aware of 
the variation within the various species. 
However, most of the differences that 
he perceived can be explained either by 
ontogeny, the difference between 
juvenile and adult foliage, or phenotypic 
response, the ability of plants to adapt 
within their lifetime to different en- 
vironmental conditions. Only two 
eastern Banksia species have stood the 
test of time, of the ones he described 
from his visit; these are B. collina which 
is a variant of the B. spinulosa complex 
and B. paludosa which appears to be an 
intermediate between B, integrifolia and 
B. aspleniifolia. There is however still 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


no certainty that some of the variation 
that he was looking at particularly in B. 
integrifolia and B. marginata is not 
genetic, for there is littke doubt that both 
these species exhibit, particularly in 
cultivation, differences that are not the 
result of the environment. 

Brown’s contribution in the Banksia 
taxonomy of eastern Australia was not 
so much in describing new species but in 
being able to discern, in the field, varia- 
tion that raised questions about the fix- 
ed and enduring character of ‘‘the 
species’’. 


Franz W. Sieber 

Little has been written in English 
about Franz Sieber probably because he 
was not of that nationality or perhaps it 
was because he was a_ professional 
botanist who collected specimens of 
plants to sell. Audas (1950) gives him a 
short mention — 

“One of the early botanical collec- 
tors, whose specimens are frequently 
mentioned in connection with those of 
Brown, was Francis W. Sieber, a native 
of Prague, Bohemia, He collected in 
New South Wales, and took large and 
excellent collections to Europe, which he 
sold in numbered sets bearing the labels 
“Florae Novae Hollandiae’’ and 
“Plants Exotic’’. Descriptions of many 
plants bearing his name as author are 
published in De Candolle’s Prodomus 
(sic) and other works. It was he who 
discovered the curious but ornamental 
tree Quintinia Sieberi, frequently found 
growing out of the Dicksonia tree- 
fern.” 

Sieber spent only seven months during 
1823 in Australia in the vicinity of Port 
Jackson and the Blue Mountains. One 
of his collections from New South Wales 
was a Banksia sp. which he named after 
a fellow collector who was working in 
the region at the same time; Banks’ col- 
lector Alan Cunningham. One of the 
‘sets’? including Banksia cunninghamii 
is in the Kew Herbarium and bears the 
label ‘‘F1 Novae Holl. No. 6.’’ Another 


September/October 


label on the specimen notes that it is **B. 
collina R. Br. Flora Australiensis. Nam- 
ed by Mr Bentham.’’ Bentham in his 
‘Flora Australiensis’’ (1870) records a 
collection of Siebers and gives the 
number as six, the location he questions 
as Blue Mountains. He also records a 
specimen from Alan Cunningham, 
Western descent of Blue Mountains. 

Brown in his ‘‘Proteaceae Novae’’ 
(1830) describes B. cunninghamii and 
gives dates, locations and the names of 
the collectors. The first of these is 1817, 
the mountains near Port Jackson, D. 
(sic) Cunningham.’’ The second is 
“©1825 Wilsons Promontory’’, the col- 
lector ‘‘D. Baxter’’. 

It appears that while Bentham was not 
aware of the identity of these species, 
Brown was, and could perceive the rela- 
tionship between the two. 

Bentham had of course not been to 
Australia and perhaps because of the 
magnitude of his task he tended where 
possible to ‘‘lump’’ species together. 
The problem however was not one 
which could have been solved by the 
conventional methods of alpha tax- 
onomy in a herbarium with only dried 
specimens. The problem is partly one of 
micro evolution that requires the techni- 
ques of experimental taxonomy involv- 
ing the whole living plant. 

There is no certain way of knowing if 
the specimin is in fact B. cunninghamii 
except by the phytoglyph method men- 
tioned earlier (Part 1), It does, however, 
bear a close resemblance to specimens I 
have collected and there is a strong 
likelihood that both Sieber and Cunn- 
ingham were perceptive enough to 
recognize its dissimilarities to B. collina. 

Apart from this there is the location 
of collections; both the Sieber and Cun- 
ningham collections came from the Blue 
Mountains where this species is localized 
and the Baxter collection from Wilsons 
Promontory is the closely related 
species, which Mueller later named B. 
prionophylla (Mueller, 1853) and 
Meissner described (Meissner 1854). 


193 


REFERENCES 


Audas, J. W. (1950) The Australian Bushland. W. 
A. Hamer: N. Melbourne. 

Bentham, G. (1870) Flora Australiensis. Vol. 5, L. 
Reeve and Co. : London. 

Brown, R. (1814) Botany of Terra Australia. In M. 
Flinders. Voyage to Terra Australia. Vol. 2 Nicol: 
London. 

Brown, R. (1830) supplementum primum prodromi 
florae Novae Hollandiae. R. Taylor: London. 

Burke, I. and K. (eds.) (1967) The Spanish at Port 
Jackson. Australian Facsimile Society: Sydney. 

Cavanilles, A. J. (1800) Observations on the soil, 
natives and plants of Port Jackson and Botany 
Bay. Anales de Hist. Nat. 3. 181-245. Trans. R. J. 
Dorr. 


Flinders, M. (1814) A Voyage to Terra Australis; 
undertaken. . . in the Year 1801, 1802 and 1803 2 
vols. Nicol: London. 

Mack, J. D. (1966) Matthew Flinders 1774-1814 
Nelson; Australia. 

Meissner, K. F. (1854) Proteaceae. Linneaea 26 : 
352-3, 

Mueller, F. (1853) First General Report. Votes and 
Proceedings of the Legislative Council 1853-4 
Vol. 1 Part 2, p 897. Government Printer : 
Melbourne. 

Stearn, W. T. (1960) Introduction to facsimile edi- 
tion of R. Brown’s Prodromus florae Novae 
hollandiae. In J. Cramer and H. J. Swann (eds.) 
Historiae naturalist classica 6. Cramer 
Weinheim. 


Little Red Flying-foxes Collecting Water in Fur 
By RICHARD H. Loyn! 


During a period of hot weather in 
January 1979 a flock of about 200 Little 
Red Flying-foxes (Pferopus scapulatus) 
was found roosting in 14m high River 
Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) 
regrowth near Barmah Lake on the 
River Murray. At dusk the bats left the 
roost and began flying low over the 
water on a tributary creek, gliding and 
making loud splashes as they belly- 
flopped onto the surface. The heads 
were held high and did not touch the 
surface. By watching individual bats I 
could see that after doing this each 
would fly to a nearby tree, hang upside 
down and lick the water vigorously from 
the fur on its chest. I concluded that the 
function of this behaviour was to obtain 
water for drinking rather than washing 
as the bats did not appear to lick parts 
which had not already been wetted, and 
their movements suggested that they 
were swallowing substantial volumes of 
water. 

It is well known that bats of many 


1, Mountain Forest Research Station, Sherbrooke, 
Vic., 3789. 


194 


species fly low over water to obtain in- 
sects or water. However, I am not aware 
of any reports of collecting water in the 
belly fur. Troughton (1973) mentions 
that fruit-bats ‘‘drink regularly, usually 
while on the wing; lapping the water as 
they glide over its surface.’’ Perhaps this 
is a mistaken interpretation of the belly- 
flopping method. However, I do not 
know if flying foxes use the method 
regularly or only on hot days. The 
temperature had reached 45°C on the 
day of observation (5.1.79) and the bats 
may have been under stress (and in need 
of extra water); three dead ones were 
found under the roost. The most ob- 
vious food source was the blossoms of 
River Red Gums which were flowering 
nearby. 


Acknowledgement 

1 am grateful to Miss Joan Dixon and staff of the 
National Museum, Victoria for confirming identity 
of one of the dead bats. 


REFERENCE 
Troughton, E, 1973 Furred Animals of Australia, 


9h Edition (1967), revised 1973. Angus and 
Robertson, Sydney. 314 pp. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


A Buried Soil at Mount Eccles, Western Victoria, and the 
Date of Eruption 
By C. D. OLLIER* 


Mount Eccles is located about 8 km 
west of Macarthur in the Western 
District of Victoria. Mount Eccles itself 
is a rounded scoria cone, but there are 
many intriguing volcanic features in the 
vicinity including several small eruption 
centres, and large lava flows such as the 
Tyrendarra flow which flows south to 
the sea (Boutakoff 1963; Ollier 1964). 
The lava flows have disrupted drainage 
to form lateral streams, lakes and 
swamps, and volcanicity at Mount 
Napier to the north-east has had the 
same effect. Various attempts have been 
made in the past to work out a relative 
chronology of volcanoes, lava flows, 
river courses, and swamps, and more 
recently carbon dating has been used to 
provide absolute dates. 

This paper describes a pre-Mount Ec- 
cles soil which contained roots yielding a 
further carbon date, and reviews the 
chronology of the area. 

The salient features of the 
physiography are shown in Fig. 1. 
Mount Napier blocks a former drainage 
line that went from Buckleys Swamp, 
down the Harman Valley, and along the 
line of the Condah Swamp. Once 
created by volcanic damming, the 
swamp upstream of Napier would ac- 
cumulate organic matter, and the oldest 
date of this should give a guide to the 
age of Mount Napier. A specimen col- 
lected by L. K. M. Elmore and dated by 
E. D. Gill gives a date of 7240 + 140 y 
(Gill and Elmore, 1973). 

Condah Swamp results from the dam- 
ming of a stream by the lavas erupted 
from Mount Eccles, in the same way 
that Buckleys Swamp results from the 


*Department of Geography, University of New 
England, Armidale, N.S.W, 2351. 


September/October 


eruption of Mount Napier. If the Con- 
dah Swamp was older than the Harman 
flow, basalt should overlie peat, but 
such relationships have not yet been 
found. Mapping by geomorphology 
students from Melbourne University in 
1966 showed in fact that the peat of the 
northern part of the Condah Swamp 
overlies the Harman flow. This suggests 
that Mount Eccles is younger than 
Mount Napier. 

The Tyrendarra lava flow followed an 
old drainage line along a prior Darlot 
Creek. Tributaries from the west were 
dammed back to form swamps and lakes 
(Lake Condah, Whittlebury Swamp, 
Homerton Swamp). North of Homerton 
the Darlot Creek runs along the western 
side of the lava flow as a lateral stream; 
at Homerton it crosses the lava flow and 
then runs along the eastern side of the 
lava flow as a lateral stream. South of 
Homerton Swamp the Fitzroy River 
comes in and runs along the western side 
of the flow. The lava flow therefore has 
twin lateral streams only south of 
Homerton Swamp. 

To the east of the Tyrendarra flow 
there is less obvious disruption of 
drainage because there were no major 
tributaries here before the lava flow. 
Nevertheless a few swamps have formed 
by ponding by the Tyrendarra flow, in- 
cluding Woolsthorpe Swamp and a 
patch of swamp south east of Lake Con- 
dah (the lake, not the village of the same 
name). Basal peat from the latter has 
been dated (Gill and Gibbons, 1969) and 
gives an age of 6235 + 120y. 

Gill (1979) describes a bore through 
the basalts of the Tyrendarra flow and 
into the underlying sediments. There ap- 
pear to be two lava flows, one above the 
other, with a weathering horizon at the 


195 


Condah Swamp 


Whittlebury 


Buckleys Swamp 


MACARTHUR 


Mt Eccles a <:: 


HOMERTONe 


Homerton 


Borehole 


Tyrendarra flow 


AL Woolsthorpe Swamp 


VOLCANICS 
ee ALLUVIUM 


10 


Kilometre 


Fig. 1. Important physiographic features of the area. 


top of the lower flow. This suggests two 
eruptions from Mount Eccles separated 
by a time interval sufficient for weather- 
ing — perhaps several thousand years. 
The underlying sediments consist of 
gravels, quite coarse considering the low 
gradient of the river at that time, and 


196 


containing fossil wood. This has been 
carbon dated and Gill reports an age of 
19,300 + 600 years. 


Mount Eccles Scoria Quarry 


The large scoria quarry just outside 
the Mount Eccles National Park was ex- 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Fig. 2. The Mt Eccles quarry, showing planar beds with some cross bedding. 


cavated at one stage to the very base of 
the volcanics, revealing the underlying 
soil. 

The volcanic sequence starts with very 
well stratified pyroclastic deposits con- 
taining much limestone from deep 
bedrock. There are planar beds and 
some cross bedding (Fig. 2), suggesting 
the base surge type of pyroclastic 
deposits commonly found around the 
maar-type volcanoes of Victoria. This 
sequence of thin-bedded pyroclastics is 
about 4 m thick, and is followed by pure 
scoria deposits, mostly black, in bands 
several metres thick. These gradually 
give way to very thick bands of red 
scoria (Fig. 3). This seems to be a typical 
Victorian volcanic sequence with a 
maar-type eruption at the start, follow- 
ed by scoria eruption. 

Beneath the volcanics is a brown soil 
with grey mottles and a small amount of 
buckshot. The soil has sub-angular to 
angular blocky structure and contains 
many roots, generally about | mm thick, 
which look remarkably fresh. 


September/October 


The soil is dark brown with occasional 
mottles and some ferruginous nodules 
which suggest some intermittent and 
temporary waterlogging at the time of 
soil genesis. The soil appears to be 
similar to the Prairie Soil profile (profile 
14 B, p. 140) described in the Handbook 
of Australian Soils (Stace et al. 1968). 
That soil is formed on basalt in Western 
Victoria, but the soil beneath the tuffs at 
Mount Eccles is evidently from a mixed 
parent material, probably alluvium, for 
it contains quartz, feldspar, tourmaline, 
hornblende, zircon, rutile and xenotime 
as well as basalt fragments. Carbonate 
and phosphate minerals indicate little 
leaching and secondary mineral forma- 
tion, and the hornblende suggests only 
weak to moderate weathering. The fresh 
looking roots might be explained by sup- 
posing that the basalt flow was hot 
enough to kill off microorganisms 
capable of decomposing organic matter, 
but not great enough to char the roots. 
Rather strangely, the absence of concen- 
trated roots or phytoliths seems to in- 


197 


Fig. 3. Red scoria bands in the Mt Eccles quarry. 


dicate the absence of topsoil, though it is 
hard to envisage any process that might 
remove the topsoil before volcanic erup- 
tion. 

The soil contains pollen possibly in- 
dicating open eucalypt woodland. The 
majority of pollen belongs to Com- 
positae. There is some eucalypt and 
Casuarina pollen, and the rest of the 
pollen belongs to grasses, Grevillea, 
Haloragis and Beyeria. There are some 
fern spores, and some cysts belonging to 
Staurophyra elegans. 

The fresh looking roots were 
separated and dated in the Radiocarbon 
Dating Research Laboratory at the 
Australian National University, 
Reference number ANU-1680. 

Henry Polach of the Radiocarbon 
Dating Research Laboratory at ANU 
notes (Pers. Comm.) ‘‘Low 14C activity 
of your sample combined with both 
relatively short counting time and small 
sample size do not allow us to define an 
absolute age error in conventional 
terms. However, the detected 14C activi- 


198 


ty places the radiometric age within the 
minimum age given and 52,000 BP with 
95% probability, with an ‘apparent’ age 
of 28,750+') BP.” The minimum date 
is 19,750 BP. 

There seem to be two possibilities to 
account for the various dates that have 
been derived from specimens in the 
vicinity of Mount Eccles. 

Firstly there may have been simply 
one main eruption about 20,000 years 
ago, supported by the date reported here 
from the buried soil and the Tyrendarra 
flow date of Gill (1979), and the younger 
dates are spurious or require a more 
complex explanation than has so far 
been provided. 

Secondly there may have been two 
periods of eruption. One about 20,000 
years ago and the other about 7,000 
years ago. This would account for the 
two older dates and also account for the 
two apparent flows in the borehole 
through the Tyrendarra lava flow, and 
for the very youthful features seen 
around the minor features south of 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Mount Eccles such as quite unweathered 
irridescent lava stalactites around the 
Shaft (Ollier, 1964). It certainly seems 
that Mount Eccles itself, that is the large 
scoria cone, is older than Mount Napier. 
Little Mount Eccles and the upper part 
of the Tyrendarra flow could be 
younger. 


REFERENCES 


Boutakoff, N. 1963, The geology and geomor- 
phology of the Portland area, Geol. Sury, Viet. 
Mem, 22. 

Gill, E. D. 1978. Radiocarbon dating of the 
voleanoes of Western Victoria, Australia, 
Victorian Nat. 95: 152-158. 


Naturalist 


“Social Behaviour of Animals’’ 
By JOHN M. DEAG. 


Studies in Biology Series, number 118, Ed- 
ward Arnold, London. 1980, ISBN 0-7131- 
2770-8. RRP $9.60, 


In what society is a female more genetically 
similar to her sisters than to her own off- 
spring? The answer (and its theoretical basis) 
provides insight into how altruism could 
evolve in a number of societies. Alarm calls, 
soldier ants fighting to the death, adolescent 
female monkeys carrying and caring for their 
siblings — these kinds of altruistic acts have 
proved problems for biologists to explain 
how such behaviours could have evolved. The 
answer has been provided by sociobiologists 
and their theory of kin selection. By sacrific- 
ing yourself you might save sufficient of your 
kin that bear some of your genes. Hopefully 
this will include many of your relatives with 
the ‘altruistic characteristic’’. 

The beauty of this little book is thal in only 
91 pages it manages to Cover so many aspects 


A Request 


Gill, D, 1979, The Tyrendarra Lava Plow, 
Western Victoria, Australia, Vierorian Nat. 96, 
227-9, 

Gill, EB. D. 1979, Coastal erosion, northwest 
Portland Bay, Victoria, Australia, CS/RO Div, 
App. Geomechanics, Technical Report. 94, 

Gill, E. D, and Elmore, L. K, M. 1973, Radiocar- 
bon dating of Mount Napier Eruption, Western 
Victoria, Australia, Vicrorian Nat, 90: 304-306, 

Gill, B. D. and Gibbons, Ff. R. 1969, Radiocarbon 
date related to vulcanism and lake deposits in 
Western Victoria, Aust, J. Ser, 42) 109, 

Ollier, C. D, 1964, Caves and related features of 
Mount Eccles. Victorian Nat, 81; 64-71, 

Stace, H. C, T., Hubble, G. D., Brewer, R,, 
Northeote, K, H., Sleeman, J. R., Muleahy, M, 
J, and Hallsworth, B. G. 1968, A Handbook of 
Australian Soils, Rellim Technical Publications, 
Adelaide. 


hee 
Neview 


of social behaviour without appearing to 
skimp too much, It is one of the excellent 
series of books sponsored by The Institute of 
Biology and it continues to maintain the 
already high standard we have come to expect 
from the Studies In Biology group. 

The author bases his work on the adaptive 
significance and biological roots of social 
behaviour. He stresses interaction between 
animals in different sorts of societies, cover~ 
ing such things as communication, aggres- 
sion, grooming, the development of social 
behaviour and finishes the work by trying to 
answer the question ‘‘why the social?’’ 

“Social behaviour of Animals’’ is a par- 
ticularly useful book for students and 
naturalists who would like an elementary 
understanding of basic sociobiological con- 
cepts, and an explanation of some of the 
jargon, procedures and assumptions of 
biologists who investigate social behaviour, 
(P.S. The answer to my opening question? 
Ants and bees which have haploid drones as 
males.) 

R. WALLIS 


Charles Andersson (P.O. Box 350, Ringwood, Vic. 3134. A.H, 88 3881) and David King 
(Traum St., Port Arlington, Vic. 3223) are surveying past and present animal sightings and 


history of Swan Island near Queenscliff. 


It is an island of tidal flats, salt marsh, Melaleuca and grassland which is presently restricted 
to use by golfers holding a pass from the Army. If you have seen any koalas, foxes, snakes, 
possums ete. there please contact either of the above, Help protect our heritage! 


September/October 


199 


Predation On a Small Colony of Bats by an Australian 


Hobby, Falco longipennis 
By GREGORY V. CZECHURA* 


Summary 

Predation by a single Australian Hob- 
by (Falco lJongipennis) on a small colony 
of bats was observed near Caboolture, 
southeastern Queensland. This falcon 
was observed to capture single bats over 
a period of three consecutive days. Each 
attack commenced with a high speed 
stoop, followed by a short, twisting 
flight ending with the capture of the bat 
close to the ground. On one occasion, a 
bat eluded capture after the initial at- 
tack. The falcon then attacked and 
captured another nearby bat in level 
pursuit. 


Introduction 

Among falcons occurring outside the 
Australasian zoogeographic region, 
eleven species have been recorded prey- 
ing on bats (Table 1). Kestrels and hob- 
bies figure prominently in this list. 

The extent to which Australasian 
falcons prey on bats is not readily 
known. The only two records available 
of the Australian Hobby Falco 
Jongipennis taking bats (Fleay 1950; Key 
1938) were clearly of a fortuituous 
nature, In both cases single bats, 
disturbed by a human observer at their 
daytime roosts, were taken by hobbies in 
the vicinity, Elsewhere in the Australa- 
sian region, Clunie (1972 a, b, 1976 a, b, 
1980) records Fiji Peregrine Falcons 
(Falco peregrinus) preying on fruit bats 
of the genera Pteropus and Notopteris. 

The following note reports on preda- 
tion of bats by an Australian Hobby, 


*Queensland Museum 
Gregory Terrace 
Fortitude Valley, Qld., 4006. 


200 


Observations 

All observations were made in grassy 
open agricultural land used for grazing 
dairy cattle about 0.5 km south of 
Caboolture, southeastern Queensland 
(27° 05‘, 152° 57°’). Tree cover was 
restricted to a few lone eucalypts and 
one small open stand of 17 trees. 

This area also contained a number of 
scattered dead, hollow trees. One such 
tree observed for several weeks (June- 
July, 1979) was occupied by a colony of 
small, brown bats, possibly a species of 
Tadarida (S. Van Dyck pers. comm.) 
Several species of Tadarida are known 
to favour such sites for roosts (Hall and 
Richards 1979). The roost tree contained 
three separate exit holes (A,B,C in Fig. 
1). The highest exit hole (A) was located 
about 5.5 m above ground level and was 
infrequently used. The remaining holes 
(B,C) were located 4.5 and 3.0 m ap- 
proximately. On leaving these holes the 
bats dropped towards the ground (as 
described by Young 1980) before flying 
off to forage. 

On the evening of 23 July 1979 the 
bats, while emerging, were attacked by a 
single Australian Hobby. The attack 
was commenced from high above the 
colony. After a brief twisting flight the 
falcon captured a single bat in its talons, 
Subsequently the hobby flew towards 
the township with its victim and was lost 
to sight. 

On the following evening (24 July) the 
hobby was again seen to take a single bat 
under virtually identical circumstances, 
A diagrammatic representation of these 
attacks is shown in Fig. 1. 

The final encounter took place on the 
evening of 25 July. The attack com- 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


TABLE 1 


Literature records of falcon predation on bats: Eurasian, African and American species. 


Species Common Name 
Falco alopex 
F. ardosiaceus 
F. biarmicus 


Fox Kestrel 
Grey Kestrel 
Lanner Falcon 


F. chicquera 

F. columbarius Merlin 
F. concolor 
F. dicksoni 


Sooty Falcon 
Dickson’s Kestrel 


F. eleonorae 


F. peregrinus Peregrine Falcon 


F. rufigularis Bat Falcon 


F. severus 
F. sparverius 


Oriental Hobby 
American Kestrel 


F. subbuteo European Hobby 


F. tinnunculus Common Kestrel 


menced as previously. However, on this 
occasion the first bat attacked eluded 
capture by fluttering in tight circles 
around the roost tree and finally return- 
ing to a hollow. The falcon flew around 
the tree before pursuing a lone bat some 
distance from the tree. Briefly, after 
level pursuit over open ground, the bat 
was captured, The falcon circled, gain- 
ing altitude, and ate the bat which re- 
mained held in the talons. Patagia and 
several other parts of the body were 
discarded. Owing to poor light, it was 
not possible to locate any discarded 
material. 

It is assumed that only a single 
Australian Hobby was involved in these 
observations as the bird ‘appeared’ at 
the roost at about the same time each 
afternoon, and subsequently flew off in 


September/October 


Red-headed Falcon 


Eleonora’s Falcon 


Reference 


Brown 1970 

Brown and Amadon 1969 

Brown in Clunie 1972; Brown 
1970; Brown and Amadon 1969 
Brown and Amadon 1969 


Bent 1938; Johnson and Coble 
1967 

Brown 1970 

Brown 1970; Colebrook-Robjent 
and Tanner 1977 

Brown 1970; Giglioli 1889-91; 
Walter 1979; Brown and Amadon 
1969 

Porter and White 1973; Sprunt 


1950; Stager 1941, 1948 

Allen 1939; Beebe 1950: 
Haverschmidt 1962; Murie 1935; 
Peters 1929 

Brown and Amadon 1969 

Black 1976; Heintzelman 1964; 
James and Hayse 1963; Orr 1954; 
Young and Blome 1975 

Brown and Amadon 1969; Wither- 
by et al, 1945 

Bent 1938; Gillette and Kimbrough 
1970; Witherby et al. 1945 


the same direction towards the 
township. There was no evidence of the 
falcon perching in the immediate vicini- 
ty of the roost tree to await emergence 
of the bats. 


Fig. 1, Diagrammatic representation of a successful 
Australian Hobby attack on a bat, See text for ex- 
planation of symbols used. 


201 


No subsequent bat-falcon encounters 
have been observed. The bats abandon- 
ed the roost sometime during August 
1979 and this tree has since remained 
unoccupied. 


Discussion 

All attacks consisted of an initial high 
speed stoop followed by a series of high 
twists and turns in response to the bat’s 
evasive manoeuvres (Fig. 1). Capture in- 
variably occurred close to the ground, 
and a short distance away from the roost 
tree. In the only case where a bat eluded 
capture, the bat did so by remaining 
close to the tree and out-manoeuvring 
the raptor. I have observed rapid 
twisting escape flight around tree trunks 
is often successfully employed by small 
honeyeaters (Melithriptus spp., 
Meliphaga spp., Myzomela spp.) when 
pursued by Collared Sparrowhawks 
Accipiter cirrocephalus. 

The initial stoop seemed to provide 
the falcon with a means of dispersing the 
bats around the roost tree and allowing 
it to single out a victim. Flocking or 
grouping behaviour on the other hand is 
known to decrease raptor hunting suc- 
cess (Page and Whitacre 1975; Opdam 
1980). Judging from the events of July 
25th, provided lone bats are present in 
the vicinity, a successful capture may 
result, although this initial strike is un- 
successful, 

Several authors (Baker 1962; Black, 
Howard and Stjernstedt 1979; Gillette 
and Kimbrough 1970; Young 1980) have 
emphasised the vulnerability of bats to 
-avian predators while emerging from 
their roosts while it is still light. The 
present observations support this view 
and further emphasise Baker’s (1962) 
findings that the most efficient bat 
predators are those that are fast fliers 
which single out individual bats. 

Of interest are the final stages of the 
chase leading to the capture of the bat. 
In all cases this involved the falcon clos- 
ing with the bat and capturing it within 
1-2 metres above ground level. At this 


202 


point, the bat’s evasive manoeuvres 
were poor due either to fatigue or lack 
of opportunity to manoeuvre. Walter 
(1979) found that a migrant bird under 
attack by Eleonora’s Falcons Falco 
eleonorae would progressively lose 
altitude and sometimes touch water as a 
result. ‘Apparently shocked by the 
whole experience, it would lose control 
and it was usually caught only seconds 
later’ (Walter 1979, p. 92), The trauma 
experienced by a bat finding itself under 
attack and close to being grounded may 
contribute to a similar ‘loss of control’ 
or hesitation resulting in the bat’s poor 
flight performance. 

The above observations indicate that 
the Australian Hobby will hawk bats at 
dusk as do other hobby species. In- 
terestingly, Morris (1977) has elsewhere 
observed the species hunting in pre- 
dawn gloom. Nevertheless, it would 
seem that bats are relatively rare prey 
items, taken opportunistically. This is 
the only time Australian Hobbies have 
been seen preying on bats in the 
Caboolture area where their usual diet 
consists of small birds (e.g. honeyeaters, 
sparrows and starlings) and insects (e.g. 


grasshoppers, dragonflies and 
lepidopterans). 
Acknowledgements 
I wish to thank Les Hall (University of 


Queensland) and Glen Ingram, Steve Van Dyck and 
Ralph Molnar (Queensland Museum) for their com- 
ments and suggestions. 


REFERENCES 


Allen, G. M. 1939. Bats. Dover Publications, New 
York. 368 pp. 

Baker, J, K. 1962. The manner and efficiency of 
raptor predations on bats. Condor 64:500-4. 

Beebe, W. 1950. Home life of the Bat Falcon Falco 
albigularis albigularis Daudin. Zoologica 
35:69-86, 

Bent, A. C, 1938, Life Histories of North American 
Birds of Prey, Order Falconiformes, Part 2, 
Dover Publications, New York, 443 pp. 

Black, H. L. 1976. American Kestrel predation on 
bats Eptesicus fuscus, Euderma maculatum and 
Tadarida brasilensis. South west Nat. 21:250-1. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Black, H. L., Howard, G. and Stjernstedt, R. 1979. 
Observations on the feeding behaviour of the Bat 
Hawk (Machieiramphus  alcinus) Biotropica 
11:18-21. 

Brown, L. 1970. African Birds 
Houghton-Mifflin, Boston. 320 pp. 
Brown, L. and Amadon, D. 1969. Eagles, Hawks 
and Falcons of the World. 2 vols. McGraw Hill, 

New York. 945 pp. 

Clunie, F. 1972a, Fijian Birds of Prey. Fiji 
Museum, Suva. 14 pp. 

Clunie, F. 1972b. A contribution to the natural 
history of the Fiji Peregrine. Notornis 19:302-22. 
Clunie, F. 1976a. A Fiji Peregrine (Falco 
peregrinus) in an urban-maring environment. 

Notornis 23(1): 8-28. 

Clunie, F. 1976b. Long-tailed Fruit Bats as 
Peregrine prey. Notornis 23:245. 

Clunie, F. 1980. Kill remains from a falcons nest. 
Fiji Heritage Feb. 1980. 

Colebrook-Robjent, J, F. R. and Tanner, I. C. 
1977. Observations of a Dickinson’s Kestrel’s 
nest in Zambia. pp. 62-70, in, A Symposium on 
African Predatory Birds. Northern Transvaal Or- 
nith. Soc,, Pretoria. 109 pp. 

Fleay, D. H. 1950, Little Falcon and bats, Emu 
50:137-8. 

Giglioli, E. H, 1889-91. Primo resoconto dei 
risultati della inchiesta ornithologica in Italia. 
Parts | and 3, Florence. 

Gillette, D. D. and Kimbrough, J. D. 1970, 
Chiropteran mortality. pp. 262-283, in, About 
Bats (B. H. Slaughter and D. W. Dalton eds). 
Southern Univ. Press, Dallas, Texas. 339 pp. 

Hall, L. and Richards, G. C. 1979. Bats of Eastern 
Australia. Queensland Museum, Brisbane. 66 pp. 

Haverschmidt, F. 1962. Notes on the feeding habits 


of Prey, 


and food of some hawks of Surinam. Condor- 


64:154-8. 

Heintzelman, D. S. 1964. Spring and summer Spar- 
row Hawk food habits. Wilson Bull. 76:323-422. 
James, P. and Hayse, A. 1963, Sparrowhawk preys 
on Mexican Free-tailed Bat. J. Mamm, 44:574. 
Johnson, W. J. and Coble, J. A. 1967. Notes on the 
food habits of Pigeon Hawks. Jack Pine Warbler 

45:97-8. 


Key, H. J. 1938. A Little Falcon kills a bat. S. Aust. 
Orn. 14:122. 


Morris, F, T. 1977. Little Falcon hunting in pre- 
dawn gloom. Aust. Bird Watcher 7:10. 


Murie, A. 1935. Mammals from Guatemala and 
British Honduras. Univ, Mich. Mus. Zool., Misc. 
Publ. 26:1-30, 

Opdam, P. 1980. Feeding Ecology and Niche Dif- 
ferentiation in Goshawk Accipiter gentilis L and 
Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus L. Rijksinstituut 
voor Natuurbeheer Verhandeling 16, Amster- 
dam. 

Orr, R. T, 1954. Natural history of the Pallid Bat 
Antrozous pallidus. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sei, 
28:165-246, 

Page, G. and Whitacre, D. F. 1975. Raptor preda- 
tion on wintering shorebirds, Condor 77:73-83. 
Peters, J. L. 1929. An ornithological survey of the 
Caribbean lowlands of Honduras. Bull. Mus. 

Comp. Zool. 69:397-479. 

Porter, R. D. and White, C. M. 1973. The Peregrine 
Falcon in Utah emphasizing ecology and competi- 
tion with the Prarie Falcon. Brigham Young Uni 
Science Bull. Bio. Ser, 18:1-74, 

Sprunt, A. 1950. Hawk predation at the bat caves of 
Texas, Texas J, Sci. 4:463-470. 

Stager, K. E. 1941. A group of bat-eating Duck 
Hawks, Condor 43:137-9. 

Stager, K. E. 1948. Falcons prey on Ney Cave bats. 
Bull. Nat. Speleol. Soc. 10:97-99, 

Walter, H. 1979. Eleonora’s Falcon: adaptations to 
prey and habit in a social raptor. Chicago Univ. 
Press, Chicago 410 pp. 

Witherby, H. F., Jourdain, F. C. R., Ticehurst, 
N, F., and Tucker, B. W. 1945, Handbook of 
British Birds Vol. 3. H, F. and G. Witherby, Lon- 
don. 387 pp. 

Young, R. A. 1980. Observations on the 
vulnerability of two species of Wattled Bats 
(Chalinolobus) to diurnal avian predators. 
Victorian. Nat, 97:258-262, 

Young, C. M. and Blome, G. G. 1975. Summer 
feeding habits of Kestrels in northern Ontario, 
Ontario Field Biologist 29:44-49, 


New Book (September) 
“Native Trees & Shrubs of South Eastern Australia.’’ 
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416 pages 254 x 191 mm 176 B&W. 307 Colour Illust. 
Price $29.95 (Discount to members) 
Postage 50 km $1.15 Vic. $1.60 
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September/ October 


203 


A Slab of Devonian Fossils From Heathcote and a Little 


Palaeoecology 
By J. V. NEIL* 


Introduction 

Between 350 and 400 million years 
ago at the beginning of the Devonian 
period, the sea extended into the 
Heathcote district and most of central 
Victoria. In the shallow waters of the 
coastal margin, a variety of bottom- 
dwelling invertebrate animals had found 
an attractive environment in which to 
live. For several million years, genera- 
tions of these animals lived and died, 
with littke change occurring in the 
species represented in the populations of 
animals living in the shallow water zone. 
Of these animals, those which produced 
hard shells or outer coverings had the 
best chance of being preserved as fossils, 
though it is almost certain that soft- 
bodied invertebrates shared this en- 
vironment with them (Laporte, 1968). 
Even the hard-shelled species faced little 
chance of preservation in the turbulent 
waters of the shelving coastal margin, 
and those which did resist eventual 
destruction may have been transported 
far from their original homes, But some 
were preserved, and now, at this 
unimaginable distance in time (by 
human standards), we can study them, 
and draw some interesting conclusions 
about how and where they lived. Such 
studies make up the science of 
palaeoecology — the study of ancient 
environments. 


The Material 

This simple study is based on one 
small slab of fine-grained, silty sand- 
stone (Figure 1). On one surface, 
approximately 250 fossils are 
preserved in the form of internal or ex- 
ternal moulds of the former hard parts 


* 23 Michael St., Bendigo, Vic., 3550. 


204 


of the animals. The slab, which is 
roughly quadrangular in shape, has an 
area of about 180 sq. cm., so that fossil 
moulds occur in the order of 1 or 2 per 
square centimetre. The fossils effectively 
cover the surface of the block, which has 
been split open to expose them, and they 
form a layer about 2 cm. in depth. 
Sedimentation rates in shallow waters 
suggest that this represents about 100 
years (Laporte, 1968), which is a mere 
instant in geological time. The rest of 
the block, which is 3 to 4 cm. thick, ap- 
pears to be much less fossiliferous. This 
is borne out by the much sparser oc- 
currence of fossil moulds on the ‘‘under 
surface’’ of the block. The block has the 
typical brownish-orange colour of 
Palaeozoic sandstones and, although 
hard, can be fairly easily worked to ex- 
pose the fossils. It is clear that only ten- 
tative inferences can be drawn from 
such a small sample from one location 
only, but extensive collecting in the 
district by the writer over many years 
substantiates the conclusions reached. 


Figure 1: A slab of Devonian fossils 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


The Location 

The Heathcote and Redcastle areas 
(Figure 2) were geologically surveyed by 
the late Dr D. E. Thomas in the 1940’s 
and his geologically coloured parish 
plans form the basis for any collecting in 
this area of richly fossiliferous Siluro- 
Devonian sediments. The faunas were 
described by Talent in 1965, though he 
restricted his work to the collections 
made by Dr Thomas. The slab which is 
the basis of this study was collected in 
the Parish of Redcastle, three or four 
kilometres to the east of Mt Camel, in 
an area of numerous fossil localities oc- 
curring in sandstones, siltstones and 
mudstones. They form part of the Mt 
Ida Formation (Talent, 1965). The area 
is characterised by notable changes in 
fossil faunas and rock types over com- 


— 
iP AER. 0 100 
Lj 


\ f 
ne Kim 


Pei 


A See below 


a Costerfield 


b Iedg les Mr lpa 
| 


i =) 
Heathcote ° & 


Figure 2: Locality plan of the Heathcote — Red- 
castle area 


September/ October 


paratively short distances. Later articles 
will deal with other interesting oc- 
currences from this area. 


After The Animals Died 

An important question which the 
palaeoecologist has to answer at this 
point is ‘‘Were the fossils preserved in 
situ, or have they been moved to a dif- 
ferent location?’’ Did they undergo 
post-mortem transportation? Although 
it is not possible to be dogmatic on the 
basis of the evidence available, some 
suggestions can be made with reasonable 
assurance. 


Some of the evidence points to a 
degree of transportation. Most of the 
fossils are of epifaunal animals 
(brachiopods, trilobites, corals, 
crinoids) — that is, animals which feed 
on or above the floor of the sea and are 
not firmly attached to it. After death, 
they are fairly easily moved. Even the 
crinoids, which are often quite firmly at- 
tached, are represented only by the col- 
umnals which form the stem of the 
animal. These are easily disarticulated 
and transported after death. The in- 
faunal bivalve molluscs, which burrow 
into the sediments, are not numerous in 
the assemblage. Given sufficient tur- 
bulence, even they may be moved and 
transported after death, 


Next one notes that all the brachiopod 
valves are separated — that is, not ar- 
ticulated. Ager (1967), one of the 
pioneers of palaeoecology, has stressed 
that brachiopods were normally buried 
with both valves articulated, because the 
muscles of the animal serve to open the 
shell, which otherwise remains naturally 
closed. Disarticulated valves indicate a 
high-energy environment with  tur- 
bulence, though not necessarily any 
great measure of transport. Ager has 
also indicated that strophomenids lived 
on, and were adapted to, fine sediments 
(mudstones and shales) yet in this 
assemblage we find several large 
strophomenid valves in a sandstone 


205 


matrix. (See also Bretsky, 1968, for 
details of the strophomenid-trilobite 
association). This suggests post-mortem 
transport, though not necessarily on an 
extensive scale, since the valves were not 


broken, surface ornament was 
reasonably well-preserved and _ finer- 
grained sediments occur within 100 


metres at a similar stratigraphic level. 
However, both Ager and Bretsky at- 
tribute the strophomenid-trilobite 
association to a deeper, sub-littoral shelf 
environment, so that their presence in 
the assemblage does not tie in well with 
the shallow-water hypothesis, unless 
post-mortem transport has occurred. 
The evidence is equivocal. 

The assemblage discussed here does 
suggest some post-mortem transport as 
the shells formed a dense cluster, as if 
water movement had collected them in 
some local hollow on the sea floor. 
There is little regularity about the orien- 
tation of the moulds. If the plane of the 
strophomenid valves is taken as the 
plane of the sea floor (since these large, 
gently convex shells would normally lie 
flat), then the other shells are oriented 
rather randomly. This indicates clearly 
that the fossils were not preserved in the 
life position, and that they represent a 
collection gathered in one localised area. 

Although some examples of flute 
moulds have been found in the vicinity 
by the writer, these sedimentary struc- 
tures, which usually indicate the action 
of turbidity currents in deeper water, do 
occur in shallow-water environments 
too, and so are not inconsistent with the 
conclusions which follow (Reineck & 
Singh, 1968). 


The Fauna 

The moulds or impressions on the 
block show that although a high density 
of fossils is preserved per unit area, 
there are not very many different kinds 
of invertebrates represented, nor many 
different genera of each family. (Iden- 
tification to the species level is quite dif- 
ficult for material preserved in this 


206 


way.) No original shell material or hard 
parts remain — only the moulds in the 
sandstone. A group of different animals 
occurring in one place like this is called 
an assemblage. This assemblage, though 
numerically quite large, is not very 
diverse. The following genera are 
represented (See Figure 3): 
Brachiopods 
— the strophomenids 
Stropheodonta and 
Maoristrophia 
— the spiriferids 
Howelleltla, 
Macropleura and 
Cyrtina 
— the rhynchonellids 
Stegerhyncus and an 
indeterminate genus 
— the orthid Jsorthis 
— the dalmanellacean 


Schizophoria 
— the chonetid 
“‘Chonetes’’ 
— the athyrid 
Molongia 

Bivalve 

molluscs — 
Actinopteria and an 
unidentified form 

Tabulate 

corals — Aulopora and Tham- 
nopora 

Trilobites — b. die ohh tO. etd 
Coniproetus 

Echinoderms — indeterminate crinoid 
columnals (stem- 
pieces) 

Uncertain 

affinities — Tentaculites 

Vertebrates— a spine (?) from an 
acanthodian 
placoderm (‘‘spiny 
shark’’) 


There are no bryozoans, gastropods, 
rugose corals or nautiloids in this 
assemblage, although they are common 
enough in localities nearby with similar 
rock-types. It is clear from this faunal 
list that brachiopods are the commonest 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


A — Actinopteria 

C— Howellella 

E — ‘‘Chonetes’’ 

G — Crinoid columnals 
H — Stegerhyncus 


September/October 


B — Stropheodonta 

D — Schizophoria 

F — Tentaculites 

J — Coniproetus (Head) 
(Figures not to scale) 


207 


phylum represented in this assemblage, 
and about 80-85% of the fossils are 
moulds of the valves of brachiopods. Of 
the genera of brachiopods, the rhyn- 
chonellids are very numerous, but the 
large strophomenids are the most 
noticeable, even though few in number. 
All the other phyla are represented by 
only a few moulds. 


The Environment 

It is possible to suggest the kind of en- 
vironment in which these animals lived, 
whilst recognising that the place where 
they were collected together and buried 
under the sediment may have been quite 
a different one. The key to that problem 
is whether the fossils were transported, 
or preserved in situ. But first, what of 
the environment in which they lived? 
Brachiopods, like crinoids and corals, 
are suspension feeders. They filter food 
particles from the water which circulates 
through that part of their structure 
which has that function. Naturally, a 
degree of turbulence is necessary if the 
food particles are to remain in suspen- 
sion, so that the presence of numerous 
suspension feeders suggests turbulent, 
rather than calm, water. But turbulence 
affects bottom-dwelling invertebrates 
only if the water is relatively shallow. In 
deeper water, the ocean floor remains 
largely undisturbed by water movements 
of the more vigorous kind. Consequent- 
ly, the brachiopod — dominated 
assemblage suggests the turbulent or 
high-energy waters of the coastal shelf. 
Finally, the sand and silt-sized particles 
which form the matrix of this slab in- 
dicate deposition in the shallower near- 
shore waters, whilst the finer detritus, 
which does not settle out until the deeper 
regions of the shelf are reached, forms 
shales and mudstones. 


The commonness of rhynchonellids in 
the assemblage is significant in this 
regard because of their distinctive ridged 
shells with a zig-zag opening between the 
valves. Rudwick 1964 has shown that 


208 


this zig-zag opening is an evolutionary 
adjustment to enable the animal to cir- 
culate water through the valves to obtain 
food, whilst excluding large, sand-grain- 
sized particles from entering. All of the 
foregoing factors point to a shallow- 
water, near-shore environment as the 
location in which these animals lived. 


Conclusions 

The general weight of evidence 
favours a shallow-water, near-shore en- 
vironment for the accumulation of this 
assemblage of fossils, though not all the 
evidence supports this conclusion. The 
high incidence of suspension-feeding 
animals, the disarticulation of the 
brachiopod shells, the random orienta- 
tion of the valves, the commonness of 
rhynchonellids within the fauna and the 
dearth or absence of silty and muddy 
components in the matrix — all of these 
suggest turbulent, relatively shallow 
water. It is likely that some post-mortem 
transport of the shells and other hard 
parts took place. The occurrence of 
strophomenids and trilobites in the 
assemblage suggests that they have been 
transported from an environment of 
finer-grained sediments, though not 
necessarily over a great distance. The 
other elements of the assemblage may 
also have been transported, though the 
sandstone matrix in which they are 
found proves nothing. The high concen- 
tration of fossils and their random 
orientation is a final piece of evidence 
which can be explained by transporta- 
tion and dumping, perhaps in a localised 
depression in the sea floor. This would 
not necessarily entail any change in the 
environment unless the distance involv- 
ed was considerable. 


This simple study does show that the 
picture of the environment in which 
these animals lived so many millions of 
years ago can be built up from fairly 
limited evidence, if one uses both induc- 
tion and deduction, and if one has ac- 
cess to the ideas of palaeoecologists who 
have studied similar problems. The con- 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


clusions reached from this one slab of 
fossiliferous rock are in agreement with 
the views of workers in this field of Vic- 


torian geology in recent years 
(Vandenberg, Garratt and Spencer- 
Jones, 1976) — namely that the 


Heathcote area in the Early Devonian 
was a shelf area near the shores of an 
embayment extending east from the 
Cambrian Mt. William-Colbinabbin 
axis. 


REFERENCES 


Ager, D. V. 1967 ‘‘Brachiopod Palaeoecology”’ 
Earth-Sci. Rev. 3: 157-179. 


Bretsky, P. W. 1968 ‘Evolution of Paleozoic 
Marine Invertebrate Communities’’ Science 159: 
1231-1233. 

Laporte, L. F. 1968 Ancient Environments 
Foundations of Earth Science, Prentice-Hall. 

McKerrow, W. 1978 The Ecology of Fossils 
Duckworth. 

Reineck & Singh 1968 Sedimentary Depositional 
Environments Springer-Verlag. 

Rudwick, M. J, S. 1964 ‘‘The function of zig-zag 
deflexions in the commissures of fossil 
brachiopods”’ Palaeontology 7 (1): 135-171, 

Talent, J. A. 1965 The Silurian and Early Devonian 
Faunas of the Heathcote District Mem. Geol. 
Surv. Vict. 26. 

Vandenberg, A, H. M. & Garratt, M. J. 
“Melbourne Trough’’, 1976, Part of Ch. 4 
“Silurian-Devonian’’ in Douglas, J. G. & 
Ferguson, J. A. (Eds.) Geology of Victoria Spec. 
Publ. Geol. Soc. Aust. 5. 


Naturalist 


“Light and Plant Life’’ 


By J. M. ANDF. R. WHATLEY 
Edward Arnold, 1980. London, pp:92. 
Recommended retail price $10.20. 


This little volume is No. 124 in the continu- 
ing ‘‘Studies in Biology’’ sponsored by the 
Institute of Biology, London. It provides a 
general introduction to the many ways in 
which plants respond to light. In ninety two 
pages a great breadth of subject is covered, 
beginning with a discussion of the 
photochemical reactions of photosynthesis 
and concluding with the influence of light as 
an ecological factor. There are fascinating 


—“Neolew 


but short sections on light influences on 
rhythmic phenomena in plants and on bee 
and other pollinator responses to flower col- 
our. 

This book will be particularly useful for 
undergraduates and for teachers long 
frustrated by the absence of an accessable 
reference on plant responses to light. 
Teachers and amateur scientists will be par- 
ticularly interested in the chapter ‘‘Sugges- 
tions for Practical Work’’. One difficulty 
with this book is the absence of an index. As 
the book is introductory it is unlikely that the 
reader will have the expertise to substitute the 
table of contents for a detailed index, even if 
the book is only small. 

E. McClellan. 


Australian Natural History Medallion Fund 


Amount on hand May 1981 
The Bairnsdale Field Naturalists Club. 
Total July 1981 


September/October 


$1603.50 
10.00 
$1613.50 


209 


A List and Further Notes on the Butterflies From 


Glenbrook, New South Wales. 
By T. J. HAWKESWOOD* 


Abstract 

Observations and collections of but- 
terflies in the Glenbrook area of the 
lower Blue Mountains, New South 
Wales, during the three month period, 
December 1976 to February 1977 are 
provided. A total of 28 species were 
recorded. 


Introduction 

The township of Glenbrook is 
situated about 70 km (43 miles) by road, 
west of Sydney (33°45'S, 150°38'E), at 
an altitude of 163 m (535 feet) above sea 
level. Much of the natural bushland in 
the immediate vicinity of Glenbrook has 
made way for residential development 
but there are still areas where fruitful en- 
tomological collecting may be under- 
taken. 

Glenbrook receives an average annual 
rainfall of about 80 cm (32 inches) and 
temperatures range broadly from 1°C to 
40°C. Good summer rains in excess of 
200 mm (8 inches) fell during the three 
months in which observations and col- 
lections were undertaken. 

The present vegetation of the Glen- 
brook area is one of dry sclerophyll 
forest composed of at least five species 
of Eucalyptus (i.e. E. gummifera 
(Gaertn.) Hochr., E. crebra F. Muell., 
E. eximia Schau., E. piperita Sm. and E. 
notabilis Maiden, all Myrtaceae) and 
two species of Angophora (i.e. A. bakeri 
C. Hall and A. floribunda (Sm.) Sweet 
(Myrtaceae). Species of Acacia (e.g. A. 
ulicifolia (Salisb.) Court and A, linifolia 
(Vent.) Willd., Mimosaceae), Hakea 
sericea Schrad., Banksia spinulosa Sm. 
and Persoonia levis (Cav.) Domin 
(Proteaceae) and Bossiaea heterophylla 


* Department of Botany, James Cook University, 
Townsville, Queensland, 4810. 


210 


Vent., Oxylobium ilicifolium (Andr.) 
Domin and Phyllota phylicoides (Sieb. 
ex DC.) Benth. (Fabaceae), are domi- 
nant plants which compose the shrub 
layers of the forest surrounding the 
township of Glenbrook. 

During the summer of 1976-1977, 
Angophora and some _ Eucalyptus 
species flowered profusely as did 
Bursaria spinosa (Cav.) Druce (Pit- 
tosporaceae) and Leptospermum species 
(Myrtaceae). Introduced weed species, 
(e.g. Bidens pilosa L. (Asteraceae), a 
plant common along roadsides and in 
cleared areas), flowered abundantly dur- 
ing this period and many adult but- 
terflies were taken visiting the flowers of 
these plants. 

Apart from the native plants mention- 
ed above and the weed species mention- 
ed in Table 1 below, there were few 
other plants flowering in the bush which 
could have afforded food for adult but- 
terflies. However, in residential gardens, 
various flowering plants were probably 
visited for nectar by many butterflies. 


Materials and Methods 

Observations and collections were 
made more or less continuously 
throughout the summer in the bush sur- 
rounding Glenbrook, with somewhat 
more intensive collections being made in 
January and February, 1977. (Casual 
observations were also made during the 
previous summer of 1975-1976). 

Specimens collected were captured by 
net, examined, then released or retained 
alive for later identification. 

The nomenclature used for the but- 
terflies follows that of Common and 
Waterhouse (1972) and that for the 
plant species mentioned follows that of 
Beadle et al (1972). 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


ADULT FOOD 


SPECIES PLANTS 


OCCURRENCE 


ppus plexiprua |tinnaeel Rare Jan 


Rare, Peb 
fypoeyeta metiriue Butler Few, Feb 
Hypocyata péeudiriue Buster Common. Feb 
Nypocyeta adtante adiante |ltner Common, Decm 
Geitoneura acantha agantha |Donavan| Very common. Dh 


Geitoneura klugit klugti 
(Guérin-éneville) Common. Feb 


Heteromympha merope mercpe (Fabricius) Very common. hec-Peb 


‘aiphome abeona abeona (Donovan) Common, tan=Fety 


Ypthima aratoa anetoa (Fabricius! Comron. Feb 


Polyuna purrhua serproniue (Fabricius) Uncommon. Jan-Peb 


Vanessa kerehat |McCoy) Common, tan-Feb 
Vanessa itea (Fabricius) 


Precia vilitda calybe (Godart) 
goaenidae 


Jatmenus evagcrae evagoraz (Donovan) 


Qizina otia Iabradus 


ADULT FOOD PLANTS (N = native W = introduced weed species 
-=no date available or not observed! 


Anteracene 
1. Caseinia wicata &. Cunn ex DC, {NH} 
2. Taracacum officinale Weber |M) 


3, Coreopsis lanceolata u. (Wi 


Discussion 

Although the Glenbrook area sup- 
ports a small butterfly fauna (at least 
during summer), most of the species are 
common (Table 1). Populations of these 
species appear to be well established in 
the area despite widespread destruction 
of native vegetation. The introduced 
weed species appear to afford nectar to 
adults of some butterfly species when 
relatively few native plants are in flower. 
Pimelea linifolia Sm. (Thymeleaceae), a 
plant which flowers for most of the 
year, is visited for nectar by many adult 
butterflies (Table 1). 

Rare butterflies of the Glenbrook area 
include Danaus plexippus_ plexippus 
(Linnaeus), D. affinis affinis (Fabricius) 
(both Nymphalidae), Pasma tasmanica 
(Miskin) (Hesperiidae) and Eurema 


September/October 


ev South dics, Dee. 


ADULT FOOD 


SPECIES! PLANTS 


OCCURRENCE 


Tew. Feb 


ites symmarmus aymmomue Hibner Few, Pek f 
Pagma taemaniea (Miskin) Rare, Fet 
Toridia parvula (plore Common. Dec-Peb 


Oeybadi stee typome tome hytome Lama 


Lower Common. Dec-Feh 


Partijonidar 
Teaphium aamaden chorwalon 
(Ge RiFelder! — Uncommon, tec-Feb 
Papilio anaotue W.5, Macleay Uneomman, Jan-Feb 
Papitic aageuo aegeun (honavan) Uncommon. Dec-Feb 
Pieridae 


Eurema emi lar (Donovan) Rare. Peb 


Pieris Tapas Papal (tinnasus| Tommon. Dec-Feb 


4, Frigerey Storihoidua (WoHik.) Sch. Bip. (Wl 


Pittosporackae 


piloed t. (#) 
io. Bursarid apinoaa (Cay.) Druce (8) 


6. Tagetea rrimta 1. (W) 
Myrtavens 
Malvaceae vy 
baeckea lintfalta Rudge (N) 
7. Pavonia hastate Cav. IN) it Ba fr 
Verbenacear 


aprifoliacese 
12. Verbena rigida Spreng (W) 
a. fentoera Japontown Thunb. (W) 
Fabaceae 
Thyme leaceae , 
13. Prifalium sp. (W) 
3, Pimelea linifolia sm. (N) 


The first of these, Danaus plexippus, 
is the well-known Wanderer or Monarch 
Butterfly, which occurs throughout 
eastern Australia. The larval food plants 
in Australia are the introduced cotton 
bushes (Asclepias fruticosa, A. 
curassavica), Asclepias rotundifolia, A. 
semilunata, Calotropis gigantea, and the 
moth-plant Araujia hortorum (all 
members of the Asclepiadaceae) (Com- 
mon and Waterhouse, 1972, pp. 221- 
222). As none of these plants grow in the 
Glenbrook area, it is unlikely that the 
butterfly breeds there. It is most pro- 
bable that D. p. plexippus is a migrant 
to the Glenbrook area. 

Danaus affinis (Black and White 
Tiger) occurs in coastal north-west 
Australia (Kimberleys, W.A.) to Darwin 
and Arnhem Land (Northern Territory) 
and from Cape York Peninsula (and the 


211 


islands of Torres Strait) along the east 
Australian coast to Port Macquarie 
(N.S.W.) (Common and Waterhouse, 
1972, p. 223). These authors also state 
that this butterfly is a common coastal 
species north of the Richmond River 
(N.S.W.) but only a few specimens have 
been taken as far south as Sydney. Thus 
my record of D. affinis from Glenbrook 
is noteworthy. Common and 
Waterhouse (1972, p. 224) also state that 
the larvae of D. affinis feed on 
Cynanchum carnosum 
(Asclepiadaceae), a trailing plant which 
grows on the margins of salt creeks and 
swamps amongst reeds. As this food 
plant does not occur at Glenbrook and 
the lower Blue Mountains (Beadle et al, 
1972, pp. 418-419), it is doubtful 
whether this butterfly breeds in the area 
unless an alternative food plant (at pre- 
sent unknown) is utilized. 


Pasma tasmanica (Tasmanica Skip- 
per) occurs on the tablelands of 
southern Queensland to eastern Vic- 
toria, occurs all over Tasmania and 
adults are on the wing from October to 
March (Common and Waterhouse, 
1972, p. 97). One adult was collected in 
a Eucalyptus crebra F. Muell. forest in 
the Blue Mountains National Park, 2 
km south of Glenbrook township on 5 
Feb. 1977. Little is known about the 
biology of this butterfly. Whether or not 
it breeds in the lower Blue Mountains re- 
mains to be determined. 


Eurema smilax (Small Grass Yellow) 
occurs throughout mainland Australia 
but is rarer in southern areas (Common 
and Waterhouse, 1972, p. 260). The 
species is known to breed on species of 


Cassia (e.g. Cassia fistula, C. cor- 
onilloides and C. nemophila, 
Caesalpiniaceae) (Common and 


Waterhouse, 1972, p. 200). No native 
Cassia species occur in the lower Blue 
Mountains at Glenbrook, but some or- 
namenta! cassias growing in residential 
gardens and garden escapes (e.g. C. col- 
luteoides Coll. and C. floribunda Cay.) 


212 


(Beadle et al, 1972, pp. 276-277) may be 
utilized by this butterfly. 


Butterfly research in Australia has, in 
the past, been more concerned with 
identification of larval food plants 
rather than with adult food plants. 
Studies are only beginning to show that 
some butterflies may be important in the 
pollination of certain native plants 
which possess tubular flowers (e.g. 
Pimelea (Thymeleaceae), Keighery 
(1975)), while others may play a lesser 
role in the pollination of other plants 
which are predominantly pollinated by 
beetles, flies and/or wasps and bees 
(Hawkeswood, 1979). Although no 
pollen loads were examined, Keighery 
(1975, p. 49) lists various butterflies as 
pollination vectors of a number of 
Pimelea species. These plants have 
tubular flowers with nectar at the base 
of the corolla-tube. The anthers are ex- 
serted on long filaments while the nar- 
row style and stigma are also prominent- 
ly exserted. These floral characters (in 
association with others) characterize the 
syndrome of psychophily (i.e. butterfly 
pollinated blossoms (Faegri and Van der 
Pijl, 1976)). Plants which are readily 
visited by butterflies at Glenbrook and 
possess most or all of the above men- 
tioned floral features include Lonicera 
japonica Thunb, (Caprifoliaceae), 
Pimelea linifolia Sm. (Thymeleaceae), 
Verbena rigida Spreng. (Verbenaceae), 
Bidens pilosa L., Tagetes minuta L., 
Taraxacum officinale Weber and 
Coreopsis lanceolata L. (Asteraceae). A 
majority of these species are introduced 
weeds (Table 1). 


Large flowered plants, such as 
Lonicera japonica, are probably better 
suited to pollination by larger but- 
terflies. The medium-sized Vanessa ker- 
shawi (McCoy), the only butterfly found 
on L. japonica (Table 1), appears to be a 
generalist in its feeding habits, and as 
such, is not restricted to L. japonica 
(Table 1). Keighery (1975) lists V. ker- 
shawi as a pollination vector of Pimelea 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


sulfurea, P. ferruginea and P. rosea in 
Western Australia. Conversely, small 
flowered plants such as Verbena rigida 
(Verbenaceae), Bidens pilosa and 
Tagetes minuta (Asteraceae) and 
Bursaria spinosa (Cav.) Druce (Pit- 
tosporaceae), are probably better suited 
to pollination by smaller butterflies such 
as the Skippers (Hesperiidae) and the 
Blues (Lycaenidae). However, large but- 
terflies such as Danaus plexippus plexip- 
pus (Linnaeus) and Polyura pyrrhus 
sempronius (Fabricius) (Nymphalidae) 
have been seen feeding from blossoms 
of small-flowered plants (Table 1). 

The data presented in this paper is not 
complete by any means, and additional 
field observations should reveal further 
species (especially during the winter and 
spring months) and add many new adult 
food plants. 

In addition to this paper, supplemen- 
tary notes on certain butterflies of the 
Glenbrook area may be found in 
Hawkeswood (1980). 


Acknowledgements 


1 would like to thank Mr J, D, O'Dea, Depart- 
ment of Physiology, University of New England, 
Armidale, N.S.W., for reading through an earlier 
draft of this paper written in April 1978. [ also 
thank my mother, Mrs D. E, Hawkeswood, for pro- 
viding facilities in order that this research could be 
undertaken in Glenbrook. 


REFERENCES 


Beadle, N. C. W., Evans, O. D., and Carolin, R. C. 
(1972). Flora of the Sydney Region, (A, H, and 
A. W. Reed, Sydney), 

Common, I. F. B. and Waterhouse, D. F. (1972). 
Butterflies of Australia, (Angus and Robertson, 
Sydney). 

Faegri, K. and Van der Pijl, L. (1976), Principles of 
Pollination Ecology. (Permagon Press, London), 

Hawkeswood, T, J. (1979), Insect pollination of 
Bursaria spinosa (Cav,) (Pittosporaceae) at Ar- 
midale, north-east New South Wales, (Un 
published manuscript). 

Hawkeswood, T. J. (1980). Notes on some but- 
terflies from Glenbrook, New South Wales, Aust. 
ent. Mag. 7: 37-38. 

Keighery, G. J. (1975). Parallel evolution of floral 
structures in Darwinia (Myrtaceae) and Pimelea 
(Thymeleaceae). West. Aust, Nat, 13: 46-50, 


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New Book 
“Seaweeds of Australia.”’ 
Photographs by Bruce Fuhrer 
Text by L. G. Christianson, M. N. Clayton, B. M. Allender 
112 pages 186 Colour Plates 
Price $17.95 (Discount to members) 
Postage $1.00 Order from Sales Officer F.N.C.V. 


Registered by Australia Post Publication No. V.B.P. 1268 


September/ October 


213 


Earth Stars: The Family Geasteraceae Fischer 
By G. A. CRICHTON* 


Earthstars have mystified people 
throughout the ages, and apparently still 
do. One lady, startled by the sudden ap- 
pearance of a crop of them in her back 
yard, hastily shovelled them out of 
sight, no doubt many of them lustily 
blowing off clouds of spores at this in- 
dignity. 

Many amateur naturalists and, from 
the state of the literature, not only 
amateurs, have been confused by this in- 
teresting group of the fungi. The world 
revision of the family Geasteraceae* 
Fischer by Ponce de Leon, Fieldiane: 
Botany 31(14):303-349 (Feb., 1968) 
divides the family into three genera- 
Geasteroides, Myriostoma and 
Geastrum. The first is not known for 
this region, Myriostoma has recently ap- 
peared in the Sydney Botanic Gardens 
and must be regarded as a recent 
migrant; so it is with Geastrum we are 
here concerned. 

Local members of this genus were 
dealt with by G. H. Cunningham in his 
Gasteromycetes of Australia and New 
Zealand, 1944; but many of these have 
now been relegated to synonyms in the 
present revision. 

Listed below is the present 
nomenclatural position of those species 
in the approximate order in which they 
occur in Cunningham’s key. Accepted 
names in bold face. Synonyms below. 


G. pectinatum Pers. 1801 
G. plicatum (Berk.) Cunn. 1942 
G. bryantii (Berk.) Fisch. 1933 
G. elliptice Cunn. 1942 


214 


G. lloydianum (Rick) P. Ponce 
G. hariotii (Lloyd) Fisch. 1933 
G. campestre (Morg.) Stanek, 1958 
G. campestre (Morg.) Kambley and 
Lee 1936 
G. clelandii (Lloyd) Cunn, 1942 
G. ambiguum Mont. 1839 
G. smithii (Lloyd) Cunn. 1942 
G. drummondii (Berk.) Cunn. 1942 
G. minimum Schw. 1822 
G. minus (Pers.) Fisch. 1933 
G. arenarium (Lloyd) Cunn. 1942 
G. Coronatum Pers. 1801 
G. limbatum (Fries) Cunn. 1942 
G. Javanicum (Lev.) P. Ponce 1846 
G. velutinum (Morg.) Fisch. 1933 
G. schweinitzii (Berk. and Curt.) Zeller 
1948 
G. mirabile (Mont.) Fisch, 1933 
G. subiculosum (Cooke and Masse) 
Cunn, 1942 
G. saccatum (Fr.) Fisch. 1933 
G. indicum (Klotz.) Rauschert, 1959 
G. triplex (Jungh.) Fischer, 1933 
G. australe (Berk.) Cunn, 1942 
G. quadrifidum Pers. 1801 
G. fenestriatum (Pers.) Fisch. 1933 
G. fimbriatum (Fr.) A. H. Smith, 1951 
G. fimbriatum (Fr.) Fisch. 1933 
G. floriforme (Vitt.) Cunn. 1942 
G. simulans (Lloyd) Cunn. 1942 
Astraeus hygrometricus (Persoon, 1801) 
Morg. 1889, G. Aygrometricum 
Persoon, 1801: 
generally placed in 
Astraeaceae. 


the family 


*6 Ainslie Park, Avenue, Croydon, Vic 3136 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Naturalist 


“Field Guide to the Non-Marine 
Molluscs of South Eastern 
Australia’ 


BY BRIAN J. SMITH AND 
RONALD C. KERSHAW. 


X +285 pp, numerous text figures and maps. 
Australian University Press, Canberra, 21 
December, 1979. Recommended Australian 
retail price $9.50. 


This is a most welcome addition to the 
molluscan literature of Australia. It breaks 
new ground in that for the first time, 
Australian collectors of land and fresh-water 
Shells have at their fingertips a reference 
describing and illustrating all the known 
species of a rather large segment of this island 
continent. The mere fact that such a reference 
as the Field Guide is available will un- 
doubtedly lead many into the non-marine 
field. 

As this name implies, the Field Guide is not 
a glamorous book to grace the coffee table. It 
is utilitarian in appearance and presentation, 
and is essentially a book to use in the field, in 
the laboratory, and in the home. The 
authors’ aim has been to produce more than a 
check-list and less than a_ revisionary 
monograph. They have achieved a good mid- 
dle stance where available data have been 
gathered together, for better or for worse, 
synthesized and freshly illustrated. By so do- 
ing, they have probably left themselves open 
to criticism of specialists, but at the same 
time the lesser experts and collectors will be 
untiringly grateful that there is a readily 
available reference. 

South eastern Australia as covered by the 


? ’ 
ak EuleEw 


Field Guide includes the densest populated 
portion of the continent, plus everything 
from temperate rain forest to arid, almost 
desert land. The 212 species described or 
mentioned indicate the richness of this varied 
habitat. Of these, 207 species are figured, and 
115 maps indicate the known distributions. 
Extensive use of keys, in many places ac- 
companied by line drawings to show the 
features being separated in the key, is made 
throughout the book. These should prove 
most useful, particularly to anyone attemp- 
ting to identify some of the smaller punctid 
and charopid shells. 

The Field Guide has been beautifully il- 
lustrated by Rhyllis Plant. Her clear figures 
show the salient features so important in 
identification of the shell. The figures are all 
of uniform size, regardless of the size of the 
species concerned. This tends to show up in 
place as big featureless shells and small 
sculptured shells. Without doubt, the main 
purpose of the Field Guide is to ofter a ready 
source of identification at species level. And 
for every species in the text, the author, date 
and reference is given. Some would expect the 
same data to be presented for the numerous 
genera used throughout the book. In referring 
to the systematic list at the back of the book, 
one finds curious lists of synonyms below the 
valid species, each with only the intial letter 
of the original genus and no further explana- 
tion, 

All in all, a fascinating, well illustrated 
book, full of a wealth of information and cer- 
tain to stimulate further observation and 
research on the non-marine molluscs. It 
achieves its aim, has something for amateur 
and professional, and is not unreasonably 
priced. It is highly recommended to all. 


Robert Burn 


New Book 
“Flora of Central Australia.”’ 
by The Australian Systematic Botany Society, 
537 pages 648 Line drawings nearly 2000 species covered. 
Price $35.00 (Discount to members) 
Postage 50 km $1.15 Vic. $1.60 
Order from Sales Officer F.N.C.V. 


September/October 


215 


Rare and Endangered Victorian Plants 
2. Brachycome muelleroides 
By J. STUWE* 


The present paper is the second of a 
series outlining results of recent research 
into the distribution and conservation 
status of plants thought to be rare or en- 
dangered within Victoria. The aim of 
the series is outlined by Stuwe (1980). 
The species dealt with here is 
Brachycome muelleroides, a small, an- 
nual daisy (Fig. 3). 


Range and abundance 

In Victoria, the species is known only 
from one stand in Barmah Forest, minor 
grid L53, and several stands on Ulupna 
Island, north of Strathmerton, minor 
grid 1.54 (Fig. 1), Estimated numbers of 
plants were 500-1000 at Barmah and 
over 1000 from Ulupna_ Island. 
However, 1980 was a good season for 
this species and fewer plants could be ex- 
pected during more usual years (WwW. 
Stebbing, pers. comm.), It was recorded 
from Picola, minor grid M7, in 1930 by 
J. H. Willis but has not been found 
there since. Crown Land on Ulupna 
Island, including the area carrying this 
species was proclaimed a Public Pur- 
poses (Preservation of Flora and Fauna) 
Reserve in 1969, The flora of the 
reserve, which includes another rare 
Brachycome species, B. readeri, has 
been outlined by Muir (1972). The Bar- 
mah Forest population is not reserved. 

B. muelleroides also occurs in New 
South Wales in the Walbundrie district 
and at Wagga (McBarron, 1952; Willis 
1972). The Wagga record, however, is 
probably based on a collection lodged at 
The National Herbarium, Melbourne, 
dated 1889, 


*Department of Botany 
La Trobe University 
Bundoora, Victoria 3083, 


216 


The species was classed as ‘Vulnerable 
3V’ on an Australia-wide basis by 
Hartley and Leigh (1979). Although it 
occurs within a biological reserve, it has 
been classed as ‘Endangered’ within Vic- 
toria in the present work because of its 
limited distribution, relatively small 
numbers of plants (especially when life- 
span is considered) and threats to the 
fragile environment it occupies (see 
below). 

As this species is a small annual, less 
than 15 cm high and often only 5-7.5 
cm, and is not likely to be recorded out- 
side its flowering period, it may have 
been overlooked in other riverain forests 
of northern Victoria such as Gunbower 
Forest as well as in other areas of Bar- 
mah Forest. We would like to know of 
any records of this species other than 
from Ulupna Island Reserve. 


Habitat 

In Victoria, the species is restricted to 
shallow depressions with heavy, crack- 
ing topsoil, where herbaceous plant 
cover and plant litter (including eucalypt 
leaf litter) are sparse (Figure 2.) Sur- 
rounding areas are dominated by 
Eucalyptus camaldulensis or B. 
microcarpa although eucalypts are 
sparse to absent within this species’ 
habitat. The depressions would be 
seasonally inundated and the area forms 
part of the Murray River floodplain. 


Threats and recommended conservation 
measures 

Cattle grazing, the use of recreational 
vehicles and (potentially) timber extrac- 
tion, combined with associated soil 
disturbances and the ingress of weeds 
are the major threats to this species. The 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Ulupna 


Island 


Reserve 


Murray River 


Picola 


Tocumwa ] 
. 


e 
Strathmerton 


Brachycome muelleroides 


populations 


Echuca Barmah Forest 


Scale in kilometres 
cammpieeananie 


O10 20 30 


e 
Numurkah 


Shepparton 


Figure 1. The distribution of Brachycome muelleroides in Victoria 


Fig. 2. Brachycome muelleroides and associated 
species. 


regulation of water flow in the Murray 
River, especially the decrease in flood 
frequency (Dexter, 1967) may have af- 
fected this species’ range, although rele- 
vant data are lacking. Possible further 
controls resulting from the completion 


September/October 


of the Dartmouth Dam may threaten 
this species in the future. 

Low-lying, seasonally inundated areas 
are usually extremely sensitive to distur- 
bances caused by domestic stock or 
vehicles during the wetter months. 
Although many such habitats at Barmah 
and Ulupna Island have been disturbed 
and invaded by weeds, a number have 
largely escaped damage. This is 
somewhat surprising when the long 
history of grazing is considered but may 
be explained by the seasonal nature of 
such activities. At Barmah, and possibly 
in the past at Ulupna Is., domestic stock 
are removed during the wetter months 
of the year (E. Chesterfield, pers. 
comm.). Similarly, recreational ac- 
tivities at both areas are largely 
restricted to the summer season when 
the heavy topsoil of this species’ habitat 
is hard and not as readily susceptible to 
disturbance. 


217 


Domestic stock, vehicles and timber 
extraction should be excluded from 
areas carrying this species. The Barmah 
population, including an adequate buf- 
fer, should be formally reserved. As 
riverain forests of northern Victoria are 
not adequately reserved, a large reserve 
at Barmah encompassing various plant 
communities, including this population 
and other B. muelleroides habitat, is 
desirable. 

The reservation of the section of 
Ulupna Island carrying this species has 
lessened but not totally removed the cur- 
rent threats. Sporadic, illegal cattle graz- 
ing still occurs, areas of past disturbance 
carry well-established populations of 
serious weeds, adjoining farmland 
represents a source of invasion of in- 
troduced species and the area is popular 
with campers and day trippers, especial- 
ly during summer. Regular monitoring 
is necessary here to attempt to quickly 
detect and/or control processes which 
threaten these populations. It is hoped 
that the infestations of weeds will be 
largely checked once processes causing 
soil disturbances are removed. Blanket 
spraying or forms of weed control in- 
volving soil disturbances may adversely 


218 


effect B. muelleroides and other native 
species and should be avoided if possi- 
ble. 

The establishment of Ulupna Island 
Reserve offers an example of how in- 
terest and a good deal of effort by local 
residents has been invaluable 
in the protection of rare plant species 
and a range of habitats which are other- 
wise unreserved in that part of the state. 
Another benefit of such interest is in 
ready monitoring and a general 
understanding of local problems. 


Recommendations sent to: 

Forests Commission, Victoria; 
Department of Crown Lands and 
Survey; Ulupna Island Reserve Commit- 
tee of Management. 


Acknowledgements 

I wish to thank Mr W. Stebbing, Secretary 
of the Ulupna Island Reserve Committee of 
Management for valuable discussion and 
assistance in locating and protecting popula- 
tions of this species. The work is funded in 
part by a grant from the National Estate Pro- 
gramme of the Australian Department of 
Home Affairs. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Why Not Look Beyond the Flowers? 
By C. H. HENSHAW 


Upsurge in Natives 

Fifty years ago, interest in indigenous 
Australian flora was at a very low ebb, but 
today it wins acclaim and attention from a 
wide spectrum of the population. Although a 
large number of people share this common 
interest, their involvement is manifested in 
many different approaches. 

The home owner seeks a decorative setting 
and believes he will have least trouble looking 
after a property planted with well-tried 
natives; a similar category of people realize 
they will receive a bonus if they concentrate 
on bird-attracting plants; the keen gardener is 
willing to go to some trouble to have a wide 
range of flowering natives throughout the 
year; the specialist delights in the challenge to 
grow the rarer and more difficult genera or 
species; the naturalist, interested in the world 
about him, wants to have a slice of it close at 
hand for study, or perhaps just peace and 
relaxation; the botanist studies microscopic 
parts and concentrates on taxonomic distinc- 
tions of selected Australian plants; the bush- 
walker likes merely to be there and only rare- 
ly does his curiosity prompt him to enquire 
about specific names; the nurseryman is keen 
to develop new and better garden species and 
he appreciates the help the gifted amateurs 
can offer; and there is the dedicated conser- 
vationist who desperately strives to protect 
the natural environment from the many 
forces inimical to it. 


Who Are The Conservationists? 

This writer finds himself in several camps 
with perhaps greatest kinship to the last 
category, and gets slightly peeved when peo- 
ple advocate leaving conservation to the con- 
servationists. Who are the conservationists 
but ourselves? It is often overlooked that the 
conservation movement is basically a con- 
federation of many organizations like ours, 
and being chronically short of cash and man- 
power, it needs as much help as it can get 
from all constituent groups. 


Natural History Problems 


In November, 1980 the fifth Conservation 
Council of Victoria Awareness Tour visited 


* 4 Pelling Road, 
Murrumbeena, 3163. 


September/ October 


the Little Desert and few, if any, of those at- 
tending joined from a sense of duty. Most 
had been on previous tours which had provid- 
ed enjoyable visits to unusual, off-beat places 
with the opportunity to discuss conservation 
matters with local people and hopefully to 
gain an insight into their problems. This time 
they met with farmers centred on Goroke 
who were seeking some way to prevent cor- 
rellas in plague proportions from eating their 
crops. A truly formidable problem! We had 
no magic words. 

At Lake Charlegrark, nearby, there were 
many questions for Research Officer Geoff 
Gourlay who is in charge of a pilot project to 
propagate Murray Perch, a native fish in 
many ways more suitable to the environment 
than imported trout. The rare Acacia 
enterocarpa (Jumping Jack Wattle with seed 
pods like the firecracker!) is alive and well at 
Diapur thanks to Land Officer Geoff Holl- 
ingsworth who had planted the former school 
ground with seedling acacias grown at the 
Forest Commission Wail Nursery. 

Earlier, en route, the party had been shown 
by Councillor Chris Hedges of Beaufort, 
well-timbered roadside verges and the loca- 
tion signs he persuaded his colleagues should 
be erected to protect them — from official 
bulldozers, mainly. Nearing Ararat, we stop- 
ped for lunch at Dobie Highway Park 
situated about a tree-girt stream that is one of 
the upper reaches of the Hopkins River. A 
very tatty Lands Department Reserve when 
seen a couple of years earlier, the Park is now 
a fine example of what can be achieved by a 
clean-up and the installation of the few 
necessary structures in a simple naturalistic 
manner. There are more to come on other 
highways. 

Later in the tour we met people involved in 
creating a garden/plantation of Australian 
Natives in the grounds of the Nhill State 
School — but what is even better, enlisting 
the real co-operation and interest of the 
children. 


Botanists Delight in Desert 

During most stops the four or five amateur 
botanists managed to make a quick survey of 
the local flora and vied with each other in 
identifying unfamiliar specimens. In the Lit- 
tle Desert, many plants new to us were seen. 


219 


One or two lingering purplish blooms in- 
dicated the strikingly beautiful Melaleuca 
wilsonii had just finished flowering but 
Melaleuca uncinata which at first distant 
sighting could be mistaken for an acacia in 
full bloom, was very widespread. Another 
believed to be Melaleuca neglecta was flower- 
ing profusely in places, but it is not nearly so 
spectacular. At the Desert Lodge were wide 
expanses carpeted with creamy flowered 
Kunzea pomifera (Muntries); here and 
elsewhere were huge clumps of Callistemon 
macropunctatus, some 10 m. long by 5 m. 
through and about 3-4 m. high, covered with 
scarlet bottle-brushes and chock full of birds. 

The Gompholobiums looked very like the 
species huegelii some of us had seen a few 
weeks earlier in the Brisbane Ranges, but they 
may have been G. ecostatum; and the attrac- 
tive Olearia ciliata seen in these Ranges, 
helped me to identify it in the desert. The 
Billardiera we frequently saw was not the 
familiar B. scandens but B. cymosa, as Willis 
says, a shrubby twiner — a most attractive 
plant with bluish or mauve flowers in 
corymb-like clusters and glossy, bright green 
leaves. It would make a desirable garden 
plant, but is rarely seen in cultivation. The 
flowers are somewhat like those of a Crowea 
but smaller, more profuse and of variable 
color in a single cluster. 


Idle Speculation on Origin 
Water loving plants such as Marsilea drum- 
mondii (Nardoo), Triglochin  spp., 


Utricularia dichotoma (Fairies Aprons) and 
an unidentified grassy reed were seen in a 
swampy area surrounding a man-made 
waterhole, No stream or even dried-up water- 
courses were seen here or elsewhere in the 
sandy desert although there is evidence that 
water collects in shallow depressions for a 
short while before sinking into the earth. The 
question arises as to whether the water- 
loving plants happened to be in residence 
when the waterhole was made, survivors per- 
haps in a damp micro-environment, from 
some earlier wetter epoch; or were the 
ancestors of these plants the lucky ones out of 
the millions of seeds and spores continually 
wind-borne over the earth’s surface — the 
lucky ones that lodged in the man-made wet 
environment where they could germinate and 
flourish -—— an outpost in an alien land? Or 
was there a more mundane answer — the 
plants had been brought in deliberately by 


220 


man, or accidentally, as seeds, perhaps on 
equipment used to scoop out the dam? 


Desert Problems 

It will be appreciated that the term 
“desert’’ is misleading — the average rainfall 
ranges from 16 inches upwards to 20 as you 
go westward to the South Australian border 
— far in excess of the maximum figure of ten 
inches generally applied to deserts. The name 
was given mainly because much of it is sandy, 
sterile and deficient in minerals necessary for 
crops. This however did not prevent various 
blocks being selected in the early days in- 
cluding several along the Nhill-Goroke Road, 
the northern and southern fringes and one or 
two large blocks in the centre of the western 
sector. 

Many people probably think the Little 
Desert problem was settled when fledgling 
conservationists first realised their potential 
power and they united in protest to stop 
McDonald’s land grab back in 1969 — an ex- 
ercise which resulted in this gentleman losing 
his Parliamentary seat. 

However the National Park which even- 
tuated covers only the eastern half of the 
desert and although the parts not in private 
hands in the west are vested in the Lands 
Department, this does not give the security of 
a National Park. Envious eyes have been cast 
on this section from several sources. A city 
company has plans for developing a large 
central tract. The southern boundary (and 
perhaps the northern one) is an irregular 
eastwest line with many incursions into the 
desert where the original selectors thought 
optimistically that the soil was good enough 
for cropping. Now, in order to reduce the 
cost of fence maintenance, local land owners 
are advocating that the boundary with desert 
crown land should be a straight line through 
the most northerly of the privately owned sec- 
tions. 


‘“*Crater’’ At Risk 

Perhaps a good idea in theory, but this 
would eliminate some desirable floristic 
areas; also the unique ‘‘crater’’, a fascinating 
kidney-shaped hollow several hundred metres 
in extent, surrounded by a jagged sandstone 
rim. Crater is a misnomer, the depression be- 
ing formed neither by volcanic action nor a 
meteor but is probably due to the collapse of 
a cave roof by removal in solution of underly- 
ing material — a bit like a giant crab hole so- 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


called. (cf. Gregory). This area was submerg- 
ed by the extensive Murray Gulf of the 
Miocene era (Sherbon Hills) and underwater 
currents may also have contributed to the 
unusual formation. 

It was on the rim of the ‘‘crater’’ we saw 
the frail tiny bipinnate leaves of Acacia mit- 
chellii with flowers. Another wattle of 
restricted distribution, A. rupicola was at Mt. 
Arapiles where also was said to be an unusual 
form of A. pycnantha which we didn’t stop 
to examine closely. The lovely magenta 
blooms of Pelargonium rodneyanum were 
seen only along the rocky outcrop bisecting 
the desert in a NNW/SSW direction, surfac- 
ing west of Nhill as the low Lawloit Range. 
Also in the vicinity of the ‘‘crater’’ were a 
relation of the Dusty Miller, Spyridium vex- 
illiferum with the distinctive velvety white 
foral bracts and another dwarf species 
possibly P. subochreatum. Further from the 
“‘crater’’ there were at least two hakeas in 
flower — H. rostrata distinguished by their 
characteristic beaked fruit and another with 
smaller fruit, By the time we consulted our 
reference books we couldn’t decide between 
H. rugosa and H. muellerana. 

Orchids were scarce but the lovely dark 
blue Lobelia gibbosa seen near our lunch spot 
had a comparable beauty. There were many 
other interesting plants seen but long lists 
without adequate comment can become 
tedious. 


The Irresistible Appeal Of Flowers 

People had said in no uncertain terms that 
we would be mad to expect a floral display in 
the Little Desert around this time of the year 
(Late November). It is realised that the com- 
mencement of flowering seasons can vary up 
to a month or more depending on the 
seasonal climate, so perhaps the hot dry spell 


contributed to the splendid range of flowers 
we saw. However, this preoccupation with 
flowers does raise the question, ‘‘Why not 
look beyond the flowers?’’ 

On this and indeed most other excursions 
into the wild, a plant has to be blooming 
before it is given any attention by anyone ex- 
cept the most dedicated botanist! I suppose it 
is normal and natural for people to be most 
affected by the beauty and color of the 
flower. When they are absent, a plant is 
sometimes difficult to identify and I am 
delighted when I can do so. 


Possibly we are moving into the realms of 
one-upmanship but | suggest that amateur 
botanizing trips in the bush could gain a new 
dimension if we gave more attention to the 
plants without flowers and also those with 
minute, insignificant floral displays. After 
all, most of us have mastered the commoner 
Victorian flowering plants. Why not accept 
the challenge of identifying those seen out of 
season? Reference to Willis’s Handbook or 
Jean Galbraith’s Field Guide can often help 
you, even if only by a process of elimination. 


An Esoteric Pleasure? 

There is the added interest of finding plants 
rare in a particular area, a new variety or 
form, or perhaps one not yet recorded. It is 
not impossible. Only recently the *‘ Victorian 
Naturalist’’ Vol, 98, No, 2, published the 
first record of Acacia notabilis for Victoria. 
You may even have a species named after 
you! 

Knowledge of our resources is so woefully 
inadequate that the possibility of finding 
new, unnamed flora is always present; such a 
plant may prove to have a medical or 
chemical potential. What a pity if it were to 
be wiped out before we discovered it? 


Field Naturalists Club of Victoria 
Reports of recent Club activities 


General Meeting 
Monday 10 August 


Dr C. C. Lu spoke of two scientific 
explorations: one in icy seas of the In- 
dian Ocean far south from Madagascar, 
the other in tropical seas south of the 
Philippines. Dr Lu’s chief interest is the 
Cephalopoda (many-armed molluscs) 


September/October 


and he showed slides of various species 
of octopus and a pearly nautilus (each 
with eight arms), squids and cuttlefish 
(ten arms or, more correctly, eight arms 
plus two long tentacle arms that are 
retractable). A question about the 


221 


beautiful nautilus shell sometimes found 
on beaches brought the response that it 
is from the paper nautilus Argonaut, 
and it is produced only by the female to 
serve aS an egg-case. 

Exhibits. A pale green stick insect 
20cm long (8’’) was feeding on 
Cootamundra blossom. The pupa 
(2.5cm) of a Wanderer Butterfly was a 
dark colour indicating that it was ap- 
proaching emergence, and large colour 
photos showed the eggs, caterpillar, 
light green young pupa, and the adult 
butterfly. 

Several small seaweeds of various col- 
ours were displayed in a flat jar. 

Under miscroscope were some sea 
spiders — all legs and no body for the 
intestines etc are housed in the legs; at- 
tached to seaweed by a fine thread were 
some hydroids that looked like white 
discs with an arc of fine long hairs; a 
clump of red bryozoa failed to open out 
the tentacles from each dented ball-like 
individual, but still looked very 
fascinating; and there were colonies of 
living diatoms shown at low and at 
higher magnifications. 

Amy Fuller Paintings. The Club has a 
hundred or more paintings of Australian 
wildflowers by Amy Fuller but few peo- 
ple see them. Some of them, mounted 
on large cellophane-covered cards, were 
exhibited this evening with the sugges- 
tion that they should be loosely bound 
into volumes, or perhaps made into con- 
certina folders and some displayed at 
each meeting. 

Natural History Medallion. Another 
casting cannot be taken from the 
original die of the natural history 
medallion and many members are not 
happy about that design. Consequently 
our Council has been investigating other 
methods and the possibility of a new 
design by a recognised artist. 


General Meeting 
Monday 14 September 


Members stood in silence in respect 
for Mrs Swaby who died last week. 


222 


Honorary membership was conferred 
on Mr Roy Dodds — 40 years in FNCV. 
In making the presentation, Mr Ros 
Garnet said that Roy was an enthusiastic 
member of the Geology Group and 
leader of many geology excursions. 

The evenings programme was arrang- 
ed by the Botany Group. the Group’s 
chairman, Mrs Hilary Weatherhead, an- 
nounced that various aspects of 
heathlands would be presented by dif- 
ferent Group members. 

Tom Sault stated that heathlands 
usually occur on windblown sand dunes 
or sometimes on compacted clay. He 
spoke of some of the mammals one 
would expect to find in heathlands. 

Introducing the plants, Hilary 
Weatherhead said that heathlands occur 
on infertile soils that cannot support 
substantial trees, any trees being short. 
Winds trim heathland plants to a fairly 
uniform height, often about 60 cm (2 
ft), and many plants have tough, small 
or hairy leaves in defence against the 
drying conditions. Nevertheless, there is 
a great variety of species and spring is 
the time to see many of them in flower. 

Margaret Potter showed slides of 
heathland plants from several areas. 
They included many heaths (family 
Epacridaceae), other woody plants, and 
some guinea flowers. 

Peter Carwardine spoke of some of 
the insects that live on heathland plants 
and gave some fascinating items about 
‘*skipper’’ butterflies (family 
Hesperidae). They are inconspicious 
yellows and browns with a wing span 
not more than 2.5 cm (1”) so are not 
often noticed. Peter described some of 
the characteristics these butterflies share 
with moths, their jerky ‘‘skipper’’ 
flight, and the leaf tubes made by the 
larvae where they hide during the day. 

Mary Doery said that birds depend on 
both plants and insects, and divided 
heathland birds into four groups — 
small brown birds which she called Little 
Brown Jobs, honeyeaters, brightly col- 
oured birds, and birds of the sky. She 


Vic. Nat. Vol, 98 


(Continued from inside front cover) 


Tuesday, 8 December. Members night. 
First Wednesday — Geology Group. 
Wednesday, 7 October. Granites of 
Wilsons Promontory. Speaker: Gary Wallis. 
Wednesday, 2 December. Members night. 
Third Wednesday — Microscopy Group. 
Wednesday, 21 October. Marine life under 
the microscope. Speaker: H. Bishop. 
Wednesday, 18 November. Photography 


through the microscope (movied and 35mm). 
Speaker: P. Genery. 


At the Conference Room, the Museum, at 
8.00 p.m. 

Good parking — enter from Latrobe St. 
First Monday — Marine biology and En- 
tomology Group. 

Monday, 2 November. No meeting — Cup 
Day. 

Monday, 7 December. ABC meeting. 


GROUP EXCURSIONS 


All FNCV members are invited to attend Group excursions. 


Botany Group — last Saturday. 


Saturday, 25 October. Langwarrin and Cribb Point. 


Mammal Survey Group. 


Saturday, 10 — Sunday, 11 October. Enterprise Range, Eildon. 
Saturday, 31 October — Tuesday, 3 November. Cup weekend. Big Desert. 
Saturday, 28 — Sunday, 29 November. Melton. 

Christmas camp. Boxing Day — New Year’s day. East Gippsland. 


Geology Group. 
Sunday, 11 October. Cape Liptrap. 


(Continued from page 222) 
showed slides of each group, beginning 
the LBJs with a male blue wren! 

Then came slides by Ilma Dunn of 
more heathland plants which included 
several orchids and bulbous plants. 

Exhibits. There was an entire bench of 
heathland flowers, and another bench- 
ful of books with illustrations of skip- 
per butterflies. 

An X-ray photo of wood showed the 
many tunnels made by the shipworm 
teredo. Three small Australian land 
snails, family Succincidae, each about 1 
cm tall (less than 2") crawled up the 
wall of their container. 

In a bowl of sea water were some 
galeolaria and sea weeds. Two galeolaria 


worms had been removed from their 
tubes, placed in a smaller dish within the 
sea water and put under 8X microscope. 
The worms were 5-8 mm long in a J 
shape, brownish colour with whitish 
‘feathers’? at the top — the feeding 
part. In the same small dish a sea spider 
was swimming around, about 2 cm 
across its spread of slender brown- 
banded legs. 

Under a 20X microscope were some 
hydroids Stauridium productum — 
slender transparent stalks perched on 
seaweed with finer branches at the free 
end, each branch ending in a tiny ball. 
These were found at Black Rock and is 
possibly the first record for Port Phillip 
Bay. 


Field Naturalists Club of Victoria 


Established 1880 


OBJECTS: To stimulate interest in natural history and to preserve 
and protect Australian fauna and flora. 
Members include beginners as well as experienced naturalists. 


Patron: 
His Excellency the Honorable SIR HENRY WINNEKE, KCMG, KCVO, OBE, KSu, ac. 


Key Office-Bearers 1981-1982 


President: 
Miss WENDY CLARK, 27 Rangeview Grove, North Balwyn, 3 104 (859 8091 A.H.) 
Secretary: 
Correspondence to: FNCV, National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141 
Treasurer: Mr. D. DUNN, 3 Allfrey Street, East Brighton, 3187 (578 5753) 
Subscription-Secretary: Miss H. MALCOLM C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South 
Yarra, 3141 
Editor: Mr. R. WALLIS, C/- State College of Victoria — Rusden, Blackburn Road, North 
Clayton, 3168, 544 8544. 
Librarian: Mr. P. KELLY, C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141 
Excursion Secretary: Miss M. ALLENDER, 19 Hawthorn Avenue, Caulfield, 3161 
(527 2749) 
Book Sales Officer: Mr. D. E. McINNES, 129 Waverley Road, East Malvern, 3145 (211 2427) 


Group Secretaries 


Botany: Mr. MICHAEL McBAIN, 19 Foster St, St Kilda, 3182 (534 2293) 

Day Group: C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141. 

Geology: Mr. T. SAULT, C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141 

Mammal Survey: Mr. A. FAITHFUL, 67 Athelstan Road, Camberwell, 3124 (29 5108 A.H.) 

Microscopical: Mr. M. H. MEYER, 36 Milroy Street, East Brighton (596 3268) 

Entomology and Marine Biology: Mr. D. E. McINNES, 129 Waverley Road, East Malvern, 
3145 (211 2427) 

FNCV Kinglake Nature Reserve: McMahons Road, Kinglake. 

Bookings and keys: Mr. 1. F. MORRISON, 788 Elgar Road, Doncaster (848 1194) 


MEMBERSHIP 


Membership of the F.N.C.V. is open to any person interested in natural history. The 
Victorian Naturalist is distributed free to all members, the club’s reference and lending library 
is available and other activities are indicated in reports set out in the several preceding pages of 
this magazine. 

Subscription rates for 1981 


Metropolitan............ pore siete 

Joint Metropolitan ......-.......... ‘ 
Country Members and Retired Persons... 
Joint Country and Joint Retired . 3 whe : rysaats 
ALT a Re eS CE Re rary , : Peach doh gins isle Fleleor Siok sleot) betes ee clams 
Subscription to Victorian Naturalist....... Faas thie edeeot abt A, 
Overseas Subscription to Victorian Waturallaf..2-cx4s-caokeatlane Nese! rm Avie, a Aen $12.00 
tre Vidal JOutRAlSn 5 oi sane ae ste eee cfettcje clea ene ed enes 


All subscriptions should be made eaabiei to the Field Naturalist Club of Victoria and posted to the Subscription Secretary. 


@) JENKIN BUXTON PRINTERS PTY. LTD., WEST MELBOURNE 


Vol. 98, No. 6 
Nov/Dec. 
1981 


a ee 


Published by the FIELD NATURALISTS CLUB OF VICTORIA 
in which is incorporated the Microscopical Society of Victoria $ | 75 


Registered by Australia Post. Publication No. V.B.P. 1268 


FNCY DIARY OF COMING EVENTS 
GENERAL MEETINGS 


At the National Herbarium, the Domain. South Yarra. 


Monday, 14 December, 8.00 p.m. 


Meeting to be hosted by the Hawthorn Juniors. 


Monday, 11 January, 8.00 p.m. 
Members night. 


Monday, 8 February, 8.00 p.m. 
Speaker: Miss Wendy Clark. Spiders. 


New Members — November/December General Meetings. 


Ordinary 
Mrs F. Grassick, 45 Devon St., Eaglemont. 
Ray Martin, 106 Murrumbeena Rd., Murrumbeena. 
Peter Mason, 30 Heath Ave, Mt Evelyn. 
Robert Price, 180 Serpell’s Rd., Templestowe. 
Lesley Skinner, 6 Kyora Pde., North Balwyn. 
Miss M. Thomas, 82 Stokes St., Port Melbourne. 


Joint 
Lauren Halliday, c/o 4 Grange Ave., Canterbury. 


FNCV EXCURSIONS 


Saturday, 16 — Friday, 22 January. Portland. 
This will be hosted by the Portland F.N.C. The cost 
will be $220 for coach and DBB motel accomoda- 
tion; this should be paid by the December General 
Meeting. The coach will leave from Flinders St out- 
side the Gas and Fuel at 8.00 a.m. Bring a picnic 
lunch. 

Sunday, 7 February. Point Leo, Merricks Beach 
bush and beach excursion. The coach will leave Bat- 
man Ave at 9.30 a.m. Fare $8.50. Bring a picnic 
lunch. Leaders: Elizabeth Turner and Mary Davy. 

Saturday, 6 — Monday, 8 March. Combined 
weekend at Morwell. This year the annual 
V.F.N.C.A. weekend gathering will be hosted by 
the Latrobe Valley F.N.C. Cost for coach and B & 
B accomodation will be $80.00. Deposit of $20.00 
should be paid to the Excursion Secretary when 
booking. Camp sites are available at the Aquatic 
Centre and also on shores of Hazelwood Pondage. 
Members wishing to camp should make their own 
bookings. 


Preliminary notices: 

Would members interested in an excursion to 
Western Australia in September/October 1982 
please advise the Excursion Secretary as soon as 
possible. Tentative plan: Friday, 24 September 
Perth to Jurien Bay; 25th Pinnacles National Park; 
26th Jurien Bay to Merriden; 27th Merriden to 
Kalgoorlie; 28th Kalgoorlie area; 29th tour of old 
mining towns; 30th Kalgoorlie to Esperance; Ist 
Esperence; 2nd Experence to Albany for 4 nights 
with day trips including Stirling Ranges; 6th Albany 
to Manjimup; 7th Manjimup to Augusta; 8th 
Augusta to Busselton; 9th Busselton to Perth. The 
night prior to the tour and the night we return to 
Perth would be included but not transport between 
Perth and Melbourne. Costs would depend on the 
numbers going but at present would be about $900 
based on 30 party members. Members may wish to 
extend their time in Perth and group fares to Perth 
may be arranged. 


(Continued on page 267) 


The Victorian 
Naturalist 


Volume 98, Number 6 November/December, 1981 


ISSN 0042-5184 


Editor: Robert L. Wallis 
Assistant Editor: F. Dane Panetta 
Editorial Committee: H. Cohn, B. Smith 


A Mass Stranding of Sperm Whales, Physeter macrocephalus 
Linnaeus, 1758 at Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania by O. E. 


ROUNSeVell eRe wl carscraANGsPeOANISS., yc sles Seba pec eee 228 
The Herpetofauna of Yellingbo State Faunal Reserve by lan 
SSATP am 0 eae Bikol Cem: Aen es pias ACER cach aa Cr AOS) OPPO ate 234 


Field Notes on the White-footed Dunnart, Sminthopsis leucopus 
Gray (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae) by R. J. Cheetham and R. L. 


VU See Ls MPP AeA Rirat Aq chi: Abstr ads tPA Ay bod ales csge-« ble 248 
Cinnamon Fungus by Cecily Falkingham................6..05. 251 
A Short History of the Discovery and Naming of Banksias in 

Eastern Australia Part V Ferdinand Mueller by A. I. Salkin...... 254 
Differentiating the Left-handed Freshwater Snails of South- 

eastern Australia by Brian J. Smith and Rhyllis J. Plant ......... 257 
Some Strange Native Orchids by Noel W. Gillam............... 264 


Cover illustration: Sminthopsis leucopus, Sketch by Terry Coates 


A Mass Stranding of Sperm Whales, 


Physeter 


macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758 at Macquarie Harbour, 
Tasmania 


By D. E. ROUNSEVELL*, R. J. PEARSE* AND P. DAVIS* 


Abstract 

On 15 January 1981 a herd of 26 
sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus, 
composed of mature females, subadults 
of both sexes and dependent young, 
became stranded in the entrance to Mac- 
quarie Harbour (42°13'S., 145°14’E.) 
on the west coast of Tasmania. The herd 
was first observed off the coast the day 
before the mass stranding occurred and 
a continuous account of significant 
events which took place during the 
period of the stranding is given. 

Nine of the stranded whales escaped, 
four with assistance from people helping 
them and five without. One of the 
escaped whales later restranded and died 
on the beach 12 km north of the harbour 
but as many as 8 of them may have sur- 
vived. It is the only record in Australia 
of stranded sperm whales returning to 
the sea alive and moreover while still 
stranded whales were alive. 


Introduction 

Sperm whales are one of the most 
commonly stranded species of whale in 
Tasmania. Eighteen earlier strandings 
are reported by Guiler (1978) and one 
large individual was stranded at Settle- 
ment Beach (40°, 02'S, 147°, 53'E) on 
Flinders Island on 29 August 1978 (R. J. 
Pearse). 

Most recorded strandings of this 
species were on sandy beaches on the 
northern and western coasts of the 
Tasmanian mainland or on islands in 
Bass Strait. The 20 strandings to date 
have involved 15 lone individuals, one 
pair of females and four large herds. 


*Tas. Nat. Parks and Wildlife Service, Sandy Bay 
Tas. 7005 


228 


The three previous mass strandings in- 
volved 38 whales (all males) at Perkins 
Is., 1911 (Scott, 1942), 58 whales at 
Cape Grim, 1970 (Guiler, 1978) and 32 
whales at Stanley, 1971 (The Mercury, 
29/3/71). The latter were nursery herds, 
composed of adult females, immatures 
and dependent calves. 

This paper gives an account of a mass 
stranding of a nursery herd at Mac- 
quarie Harbour on 15th January 1981 
and records some events and biological 
information resulting from that stran- 
ding. The stranding has been widely 
reported in the press, on television and 
elsewhere (Anonymous, 1981). 

The locality of the stranding is shown 
in the diagram (Map 1). To the north is 
the 20 km arc of Ocean Beach, a 
uniformly graded shallow sandy beach, 
and to the south is Cape Sorell, a rocky 
headland projecting into deeper water. 
The entrance to the harbour is shallow 
and treacherous and except in Kelly 
Channel the bottom is a system of 
mobile sandbars not shown on Map 1. 


Chronological account of stranding 

Wednesday 14 January (Maximum 
temperature 35°C) 

7 p.m. An abalone diver from Strahan 
located a herd of approximately 20 
sperm whales travelling slowly 
southwards 25 km NW of the entrance 
to Macquarie Harbour and followed 
them for a short time. 

Thursday 15 January (Maximum 
temperature 25°C, minimum 19°C) 

5.20 a.m. A fisherman asleep on a 
boat in Kelly Channel (Map 1) was 
woken up by loud pinging noises and 
saw whales swimming freely in channel. 
Another fisherman counted 17. During 
the next 2 hours more whales entered the 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


SORELL 


ears 


Map. 1. The locations of stranded sperm whales in the entrance to Macquarie Harbour. 


November/December 229 


harbour and the ebb-tide commenced. 
The sky was overcast, the sea was calm 
and the wind was less than 5 knots. 

8 a.m. Twelve whales aground on 
Fraser Flats, a sandbar covered by water 
to a depth of less than a metre. Abalone 
divers in a 470 hp. twin-hulled ‘‘Shark- 
Cat’’ attempted to herd the free swimm- 
ing whales back to sea without success. 
A small whale on the beach opposite 
Fraser Flats was towed into deep water 
but swam back to the beach when releas- 
ed. Attempts to tow two large whales 


resulted in the boat being towed 
backwards! 
12 noon. Strahan Police and 


N.P.W.S. Ranger Davis alerted. Davis 
identified whales and counted 26 
animals. The day was cool, the sky com- 
pletely overcast, the sea calm, and the 
whales appeared healthy and undamag- 
ed. 

2 p.m. Low tide. There was virtually 
no wind all day. 

8.30 p.m. Twenty four whales strand- 
ed inside harbour. Two whales seen 
earlier on the seaward breakwater had 
gone, presumed escaped to sea. 

Friday 16 January (Temperature max- 
imum 28°C, minimum 14°C) 

8 a.m. High Tide. 

6 a.m. Twenty four whales still 
stranded but at least 11 had moved over- 
night from Fraser Flats to the tip of 
Braddon Point. Only two whales 
aground on Fraser Flats. 

9. 30 a.m.- 12 noon. Authors record- 
ed the locations of whales (Map 1) and 
the sex and measurements of accessible 
animals (Table 1), The day was warm 
and cloudless with light breezes and the 
sea was calm. Five large whales (Nos. 
16-20) aground on sandbars or in 
shallow channels of water were dead and 
nearly all the whales were sunburnt. 
Campers and tourists helped live whales 
by splashing sea water over them all day. 

2 p.m. Low tide. 

7 p.m.-10 p.m. N.P.W.S. Ranger 
Davis attempted unsuccessfully to tow 
whales with 6 m jet boat by attaching 


230 


rope to tail but they panicked and either 
broke the rope or towed the boat 
backwards. As the tide rose a number of 
near-buoyant whales were pushed 
towards deep channels with the boat but 
they repeatedly grounded themselves. 
Finally two whales were pushed into the 
deepest channel and headed for the sea. 
One escaped to sea but the other ap- 
peared too weak to swim against the 
tide. However, it escaped overnight. 
During the night, 3 other whales escaped 
without assistance. 

Saturday 17 January (Temperature 
maximum 30°C, minimum 15°C) 

2 a.m. High tide. 

10 a.m. An overcast day and a calm 
sea. Nineteen whales remained; 10-14 of 
them dead. Davis, Project Jonah per- 
sonnel, campers and a local contractor 
using his backhoe dug holes and chan- 
nels during the day so that whales were 
cooled and would be better able to move 
at high tide. Davis unsuccessfully at- 
tempted to tow a small whale. A 
veterinarian with the Project Jonah 
team killed a dying whale with the drug 
Lethabarb. (Project Jonah is the name 
of a private organisation concerned with 
the welfare of whales). 

12 noon. One escaped whale restrand- 
ed and later died on Ocean Beach 12 km 
north of Macquarie Harbour. One large 
female in the northern group which had 
died on Thursday night burst open and 
shed a 4 m male foetus. 

4 p.m. An escaped whale re-entered 
the harbour and Davis using his boat 
turned the whale so that it could escape 
later on high tide. 

8 p.m. About 40 persons, campers, 
Tasmanian Wilderness Society members 
and Project Jonah personnel attempted 
to push 4 whales into deeper water on 
the rising tide but without success. 

10 p.m. Davis in boat checked the 
whale which had re-entered the harbour 
at 4 p.m. and found it swimming freely 
seawards. He went to another whale 
which had freed itself, but was swimm- 
ing in wrong direction. It was turned 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


and ran aground but continued attempts 
to swim. The whale rolled itself 3 times 
to reach deeper water. An hour later 
with much guiding both whales were out 
of the harbour. The smallest live whale 
(no. 3) was then rolled by a group of 
people into water deep enough for it to 
swim. 

Sunday 18 January (Temperature 
maximum 27°C, minimum 17°C) 

10 a.m. Only 4 whales were still alive. 
No attempt was made to shift them until 
high tide in the evening. The whales 
were monitored all day and repairs made 
to the boat. 

8 p.m.-10 p.m. Unsuccessful attempts 
were made to shift the live whales. One 
dying whale was shot. 

Monday 19 January. 

10 a.m. Three whales were still alive. 
During the day one whale died, another 
was killed by the veterinarian and the 
third was towed into the channel! by a 
fishing boat but it died just after it was 
released. 

9 p.m. All remaining stranded whales 
were now dead. An aerial survey of 
Ocean Beach at 11 p.m. by the Project 
Jonah team did not locate any further 
restranded whales. 


Discussion 

There were no mature males (over 
15 m in length) among the stranded 
whales nor were any observed at sea. 
Five of the nine stranded whales which 
eventually excaped, left voluntarily 
while some of the still-stranded whales 
were alive. Another 4 whales also left 
with some assistance. Of these nine 
whales one later restranded and died on 
the beach some 12 km north of Mac- 
quarie Harbour. This is the first 
Australian record of sperm whales leav- 
ing a mass stranding while other strand- 
ed whales were still alive. 

The stranding took place during 
heavy overcast and unusually calm 
weather for the region. During the stran- 
ding itself on 15 January and until 18 
January only light breezes prevailed and 


November/December 


the sea was calm, lacking any swell or 
choppy conditions. The timing of the 
tide was irregular and unpredictable, 
and its range was limited to approx- 
imately 60 cm. 

It is thought that the herd swam 
southwards perhaps following the con- 
tour of the coast which is a long 20 km 
arc of sandy beach until it reached the 
vicinity of Cape Sorell, a high rocky 
headland forming the southern side of 
the entrance to Macquarie Harbour. For 
an unknown reason the herd apparently 
attempted to pass east of this headland 
and thus entered the shallow water off- 
shore of the harbour mouth on a flood 
tide. Perhaps a misinterpretation of 
acoustic cues by the animals when in the 
vicinity of the harbour entrance led up 
to the stranding. It is most probable that 
the herd entered the stranding area by 
passing north of Entrance Island. At 
this time the five large whales (Nos. 16- 
20) probably became stranded close to 
the beach in series of narrow channels 
north of Braddon Point. The position of 
a further 2 whales temporarily stranded 
on the breakwater also suggested that 
the herd did not pass south of Entrance 
Island. The remaining 19 whales reached 
Braddon Point where some of them may 
also have become stranded in shallow 
water. At least 13 of the whales passed 
around Braddon Point and 12 of them 
ran aground on Fraser Flats, and 
another on the beach opposite. No fur- 
ther movements of whales were recorded 
within the harbour entrance until the se- 
cond day of the stranding. Then it was 
discovered that all but 2 of the 13 whales 
on or near Fraser Flats had moved back 
to locations on the western side of Brad- 
don Point and the two whales on the 
breakwater had gone. By then the first 
stranded group were lying completely 
out of the water on exposed sandbars 
parallel to the beach. They were dead 
and their skin was beginning to peel. All 
the remaining whales were half 
submerged or more than half submerg- 
ed, the smallest ones lying closer to the 


231 


Table 1: Measurements and other details taken on 16/1/81 from 20 sperm whales stranded at 
Braddon Point on 15/11/81. Body length was measured from tail notch to anterior of head; 
head length, anterior of head to base of flipper and flipper length, base to tip of flippers. 


Length (m) 
Sex : ; ~ Body Head 
6.0 (est.) 
Female 6.8 1.8 
Male 77 2.4 
Male 8.5 2.4 
Male 9.0 2.7 
Female 9.4 2.8 
— 10.5 3.0 
Female 10.8 aC 
Female 10.9 2.8 
Female 11.0 3.0 
— 11.0 avd 
Female 12.0 3.4 
Female 12.0 3.4 


Comments 


Flipper 
No. 3, alive 

0.62 No. 7, alive 

0.74 No. 11, alive, wry jaw 
(bent left) 

0.79 No. 8, alive (?) 

1.00 No. 6, alive 

0.98 No. 10, alive (?) 

1.00 No. 16, dead 

1.00 No. 17, dead 

0.95 No. 12, alive 

0.93 No. 18, dead, gravid 

1.05 No. 5, dead, broad 
white mid-dorsal 
stripes. 

1.12 No. 19, dead 

0.95 No. 9, alive 


Whales No. 1, 2, 4, and 13-15 all apparently alive; No. 20 was dead. See Map | for locations of 


numbered whales. 


beach in shallower water. Most of the 
live whales lay on their right sides with 
blow holes uppermost. The larger 
whales bore numerous groups of cir- 
cular scars (approx. 3 cm in diameter) 
presumed to have been made by the 
suckers on the tentacles of giant squid 
(Family Architeuthidae). 

That some of these whales survived 
for up to 125 hours, and others escaped, 
is probably due to their partial 
submergence in the water and the nar- 
row range of the tide throughout this 
period. The limited wave action and 
onlookers constantly splashing them 
down would have cooled them and also 
helped to prolong their survival. The live 
whales were vocal and although slow- 
moving, appeared to be healthy and un- 
damaged from stranding after 24 hours. 
Nevertheless those that later escaped 
with assistance were lethargic, and ap- 
peared to be too weak to swim against 
the incoming tide. 


232 


The youngest whales in the herd; were 
Nos. 3, 7, 11 and 8 (Table 1) and with 
the possible exception of No. 8 were 
dependant calves lacking irrupted teeth. 
The smallest (No. 3) lay close to No. 4 
which may have been its mother and was 
one of the largest whales in the herd. 
The wry jaw of the youngest male (No. 
11) was not caused by the stranding but 
was either a genetic deformity or the 
result of a very early injury. At least one 
female (No. 18) was gravid. She burst 
open 2.5 days after dying on an exposed 
sandbar and shed a near term (4.0 m 
long) male foetus. 

The number and size of animals in- 
volved in a mass stranding of sperm 
whale, or other species of large whale, 
make their rescue a large-scale undertak- 
ing. Such strandings are rare events and 
cannot be predicted. The possibility of 
rescue depends upon the accessibility of 
the site and many other prevailing cir- 
cumstances. Generally, people are un- 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


prepared to cope with such strandings 
when rescue is possible, as the stranding 
at Macquarie Harbour demonstrated. 
Nevertheless it is possible to prepare 
contingency plans to enable prompt ac- 
tion where rescue attempts are feasible 
or where mercy killing is necessary. No 
such plan operated during the present 
stranding but available equipment and 
Manpower was applied with great in- 
itiative. Unfortunately no tissues 
(blood, etc.) were obtained for study. 
The present stranding demonstrated that 
some live whales may be returned to the 
sea with human assistance. Whether all 
or any of the whales which escaped, aid- 
ed or unaided, have survived the effects 
of stranding and the destruction of their 
herd is not known. 


Acknowledgements 


The authors wish to thank Mr R. M. 
Warneke for commenting on an earlier 
draft of this paper. 


REFERENCES 


Anonymous 1981. 
Habitat 9(2): 3-4 r 

Guiler, E. G. 1978. Whale strandings in Tasmania 
since 1945 with notes on some seal reports, Pap. 
Proc. R. Soc. Tasm., 112: 189-213. 

Husson, A. M. and Holthuis, L. B. (1974). Physeter 
macrocephalus Linnaeus 1758 the valid name for 
the sperm whale. Zoologisch Mededelingen 
48(19): 205-17. 

Scott, E. O. G. Records of Tasmania Cetacea: No. 
1, Notes on various strandings at or near Stanley, 
North Western Tasmania. Rec. Queen Vict. 
Mus., 1:27-49. 


The day the whales came. 


East Gippsland Flora 


“The Distribution and Conservation of Native Vascular Plants in the East Gippsland area, 
Victoria’ (124 pp.) 


By A. C. BEAUGLEHOLE 


is available from 
The Portland Field Naturalists Club 
P.O. Box 470, Portland, Victoria 3305 
for $6 a copy including postage 


The earlier publications ‘The Distribution and Conservation of Native Vascular Plants in the 


Victorian Mallee’ similarly’ .. . 


in the Corangamite-Otway and Alpine area Victoria’ are 


available from the same address for $6. Victorian Vascular Plant Checklists’ (13 Study Area 


and 24 Grid Distribution) is also available at $6. 


Mistletoe in Introduced Trees 


I have noticed a number of trees bearing 
various loads of mistletoe, mostly Drooping 
Mistletoe, in widely separated suburbs of 
Melbourne. The trees affected have been 
Cherry-plum, English Elm, Liquidamber, 
Oak (English & Pin) and Silver Birch. This 
seems a disparate series. The greatest concen- 
tration I have seen is among the Pin Oaks in 
Mont Albert Rd., East of Balwyn Rd. 


November/ December 


From the conservation view, it could well be 
that we are seeing the start of a threat to our 
street trees. As a naturalist, I have mused on 
the apparent selectivity and on whether the 
seeds have been spread by native or introduc- 
ed birds — or both. It seems to open up fields 
of enquiry by the local Councils and perhaps 
by members of our Club, 

K. J. Marshall 


233 


The Herpetofauna of Yellingbo State Faunal Reserve 


By IAN SMALES* 


Introduction 

The Yellingbo State Faunal Reserve is 
situated 48 km due east of Melbourne, 
in the eastern foothills of the 
Dandenong Range. The Reserve, one of 
the State Wildlife Reserve system, is ad- 
ministered by the Fisheries & Wildlife 
Division, primarily for the conservation 
of the endangered Helmeted Honeyeater 
(Lichenostomus melanops cassidix). As 
a result of the Reserve being the major 
colony site of the Helmeted Honeyeater, 
and the consequent interest of the 
Fisheries & Wildlife Division and the 
Bird Observers’ Club, its avifaunal com- 
position is well known. The Reserve sup- 
ports a varied mammal fauna. This is 
known to have included the Yellow- 
bellied Glider (Petaurus australis) in the 
past and indications are that they may 
persist here, however no comprehensive 
or recent study of the mammal fauna 
has been carried out. 


The present survey was undertaken 

with the following objectives:- 

¢ To record the species of reptiles and 
frogs present within the Reserve. 

¢ To determine, if possible, the 
microhabitat requirements of the 
species present and consequently the 
vegetation associations, or structures 
necessary to maintain such 
microhabitats and their dependant 
herpetofauna. 


Since this investigation was begun 
Hutchinson (1979) has published a 
survey of the reptiles of Kinglake Na- 
tional Park. It is felt that a comparison 
of his survey with the present one, in so 
far as the reptiles are concerned, may be 
meaningful and so a deliberate attempt 
has been made to present a format 
similar to his. 


*Fisheries and Wildlife Division, P.O. Box 6, 
Yellingbo, Vic., 3139, 


234 


Methods 

Between December 1978 and 
December 1980 a record was kept of all 
the reptile and amphibian specimens 
observed on or adjacent to the Reserve. 
The initial specimen/s of each species 
recorded was collected for identification 
and these specimens have been lodged 
with the National Museum of Victoria. 
All specimens taken were collected by 
hand and no trapping methods were 
used, except for some unsuccessful at- 
tempts to collect Chelodina longicollis 
using drum nets. 

The entire survey was carried out in- 
cidental to maintenance and manage- 
ment work on the Yellingbo S.F.R. and 
when such work was being done along 
the Reserve boundary, the opportunity 
to check the herpetofauna on land im- 
mediately adjacent was taken. 


Taxonomy 

The amphibian taxonomy follows 
Brook (1979), while the taxonomy for 
reptiles is that of Cogger (1979), with 
two exceptions. Following Coventry’s 
(1976) diagnosis of Hemiergis the skink 
Saiphos maccoyi Lucas & Frost is ex- 
cluded from Hemiergis and retained in 
the genus Anotis. However this is simply 
for the sake of consistency with other re- 
cent workers and until its taxonomy is 
settled, since the name Anotis is preoc- 
cupied. The skink Egernia Jluctuosa 
which was formerly thought to consist 
of two disjunct populations, one in the 
South West of Western Australia, and 
the other in Victoria was split by Storr 
(1978), who erected the name E. 
coventryi for the Victorian species, 


The Reserve 

The Reserve is basically in the shape 
of three narrow strips, consisting of land 
on either side of portions of three 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


§//a Yellingbo 
e 


YELLINGBO STATE 
FAUNAL RESERVE 


— — SER. boundary 
Vegetation types 27 Ky 7 Sig Sat 


= Cockatoo Swamp 


Fig. 1. Yellingbo State Faunal Reserve. 


November/December 235 


creeks; the Woori Yallock, Cockatoo 
and Sheepstation. (fig. 1). At the time of 
the initial creation of the State Faunal 
Reserve in 1967, the then Fisheries & 
Wildlife Department assumed manage- 
ment of the standard crown land stream 
frontage reserve. Since that time the 
State & Federal governments have car- 
ried out a program of land purchase so 
as to increase the Reserve to its present 
size of approximately 340 ha. 

Throughout their lengths within the 
Reserve, the Woori Yallock and 
Cockatoo Creeks each fall from approx- 
imately 120m to 90m above sea level. 
The Sheepstation Creek falls from about 
140m to 90m. 

The Reserve lies between the 1,200mm 
and the 1,400mm _ rainfall isohyet 
(L.G-Gr 1973); 

Soil in the area of the Reserve is mot- 
tled grey to yellow-brown duplex com- 
prised of silty-clay and fine loam. 


Vegetation 

An analysis of the vegetation indicates 
the presence of three natural associa- 
tions in addition to pasture land recently 
added to the Reserve. The factors 
underlying the differences in these 
vegetational types are primarily contour 
(i.e. height above creek level) and conse- 
quent effect upon water table depth, 
rather than any major differences in soil 
composition. As a result the vegeta- 
tional types tend to merge into one 
another, however their approximate 
boundaries are illustrated in fig. 1. In 
fig. 1 and table 2 the four vegetation 
groups are listed as A, B, C and D, these 
are detailed below. 

A. (plate 1) Open-forest type I (Specht 
1970, L.C.C. 1973) 

Where the creeks follow a single 
defined bed the original vegetation com- 
plex consists of the Manna gum, 
Eucalyptus viminalis, and Swamp gum, 
E. ovata, in association with 
Blackwood, Acacia melanoxylon, and 
Silver wattle, A. dea/bata. In this 
habitat the lower storey is made up of 


236 


such species as Hakea nodosa, Bursaria 
spinosa, Cassinia aculeata and 
Coprosma quadrifida. A few patches of 
this association still contain the tree-fern 
species Cyathea australis and Dicksonia 
antarctica growing along the creek 
banks. The ground cover is typically of 
ferns, including Fishbone water fern, 


Blechnum nudum, Common 
maidenhair, Adiantum aethiopicum, 
and Austral bracken, Pteridium 


esculentum, with various grasses. In 
some areas the ground is now dominated 
by Blackberry, Rubus procerus. 


B. (plate 2) Swamp association 

Through much of the southern por- 
tion of the Reserve the Cockatoo Ck. 
flows through wide soaks and braided 
channels. The widest of such areas is the 
Cockatoo Swamp at the extreme south 


Plate 1 — (A) Open-forest type I, grows along much 
of Woori Yallock and Sheepstation Creeks. Shown 
here the trees are Manna gum and Messmate 


stringybark. Beneath these are Silver wattle, 
Blackwood, Cassinia and Coprosma. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Plate 2 — (B) Swamp association along Cockatoo 

Ck. A dense thicket of Swamp gum, Scented paper- 

bark and Prickly ti-tree, with Common reed and 
various grasses. 


eastern end of the Reserve. In these 
places the vegetation association com- 
prises a dense growth of the paperbarks, 
Melaleuca squarrosa and M. ericifolia 
and ti-trees, Leptospermum Janigerinum 
and L. juniperinum with emergent E£. 
ovata. The ground in the damper parts 
supports a cover predominantly of the 
Common reed, Phragmites communis, 
and Blechnum nudum, however slightly 
less wet areas are dominated by the Red 
fruit Saw-sedge, Gahnia sieberana, with 
Forest wire grass, Tetrarrhena juncea, 
and Sphagnum moss, Sphagnum 
subsecundum. In some places, such as 
the centre of the Cockatoo Swamp there 
are extensive beds of Phragmites 
communis with only occasional 
emergent trees (E. ovata, Melaleuca and 
Leptospermum). Whilst the basis of this 
community is a Closed-scrub formation 
(Specht 1970), some variety of structural 


November/December 


form, due to varying degrees of seasonal 
waterlogging, is evident. 


C. (plate 3) Open-forest type II 
(Specht 1970, L.C.C, 1973) 

The slopes above the creeks still sup- 
port a few uncleared patches of a dry 
sclerophyll forest. Almost all of this 
type is on private land outside the 
Reserve boundary, but was considered 
where it formed unbroken tracts in con- 
junction with the Reserve. It is 
dominated by Messmate stringybark, E. 
obliqua, and Narrow-leafed pepper- 
mint, &. radiata. Some retains an 
understorey of Hakea nodosa, bracken 
and occasional Small grass _ trees, 
Xanthorrhoea minor, however much of 
this forest has been subject to cattle 
grazing and has very little regeneration 
of the understorey except for areas now 
incorporated into the Reserve, which are 
beginning to recover. 


D. Alienated land 

Much of the Reserve, particularly 
portions recently purchased, is cleared 
and formerly was pasture. Scattered E. 
viminalis and E. ovata have remained 
along the creek frontages. These areas 
are at present in the process of being 
replanted with their original flora, and 
for the purpose of maintaining genetic 
integrity the Fisheries & Wildlife Divi- 
sion in co-operation with the Society for 
Growing Australian Plants is doing this 
using seed gathered from within the 
Reserve. 


Species present 

Fourteen species of reptiles, represen- 
ting the families Elapidae, Scincidae and 
Chelidae have been recorded. Nine 
species of frogs representing two 
families, the Leptodactylidae and 
Hylidae, are also present (see table 1). A 
summary of the distribution of each tax- 
on according to the available vegetation 
types is presented in table 2. 

The so called ‘cold blooded’ creatures 
(ectotherms) possess no_ internal 
mechanism for the control of their body 


237 


temperature and it is governed by the 
temperature of their immediate environ- 
ment. Terrestrial reptiles, however, are 
able to utilize one of two patterns of 
behaviour to achieve quite a high degree 
of thermo-regulation. Heliotherms bask 
in the sun to raise their temperature and 
retire to the shade to lower it. 
Thigmotherms do not bask but seek out 
areas of preferred temperature within 
the sheltered or shaded situations in 
which they live. Of the 13 terrestrial rep- 
tiles found at Yellingbo 11 are 


Table | 


heliotherms while 2 of the skinks are 
thigmotherms. 


Reptiles 

The only species of snake encountered 
during the survey was the Copperhead, 
Austrelaps superbus (Lowland form of 
Rawlinson 1969) It was recorded very 
frequently and in all of the identifiable 
vegetation types. 

Twelve species of lizards, all from the 
family Scincidae inhabit the Reserve. 
The most common species is the small 


REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS RECORDED FROM YELLINGBOS.F.R. 


Showing National Museum of Victoria registered numbers for voucher specimens collected during the 


survey. 


Family: Elapidae 
Austrelaps superbus (Gunther) 


(Lowland form, Rawlinson). Lowland Copperhead 


Family: Scincidae 
Anotis maccoyi (Lucas & Frost). McCoy's Skink 
Egernia coventryi Storr. Swamp Skink 
Egernia saxatilis Cogger. Black Rock Skink 
Egernia whitii (Lacepede) White’s Skink 
Lampropholis delicata (De Vis). Delicate Skink 
Lampropholis guichenoti (Dumeril & Bibron). 
Common Grass Skink 


Lampropholis mustelina (O’Shaughnessy). Weasel Skink 


Leiolopisma entrecasteauxii (Dumeril & Bibron) 
(Form A. Jenkins & Bartell) 


D55366-7 


D55341, DS5356-7 
D55365 

D55351-2 

D55364 

D55358-9 


D55347-8, D55360 
D55349-50 


D55344-5 


Leiolopisma metallica (O’ Shaughnessy). Metallic Skink 
Leiolopisma trilineata (Gray). Three-lined Skink 
Sphenomorphus tympanum (Lonnberg & Andersson) 
(Cool Temperate Form, Rawlinson). Southern Water Skink 
Tiliqua nigrolutea Gray. Blotched Blue-tongued Lizard 


Family: Chelidae 
Chelodina longicollis (Shaw). Eastern Snake-necked Tortoise 


Family: Hylidae 
Litoria ewingi (Dumeril & Bibron), Brown Tree Frog 


Litoria raniformis (Keferstein) Bell Frog 
Litoria verreauxi (Dumeril) 


Family: Leptodactylidae 
Geocrinia victoriana (Boulenger) 
Limnodynastes dumerilli Peters. Eastern Banjo Frog 
Limnodynastes peronii (Dumeril & Bibron) Brown Striped Frog 
Limnodynastes tasmaniensis Gunther. 
(Southern Call Race, Littlejohn). Spotted Grass Frog. 
Pseudophryne semimarmorata Lucas, Southern Toadlet 


Ranidella signifera (Girard), Common Eastern Froglet 


238 


D55346-D55355 
D55361-3 


D55342-3, DS5354 
D55353 


D55323, D55329-30 
D55332, D55334 
D55310-11 

D55331, D55335 


DS55317, D55$321-2 
DS5314-6 
D55328 


D55336 

D55312-3, DS5320, 
DS$5324-5, D55333 
D55318-9, D55327-8 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Plate 3 — (C) Open-forest type II grows on slightly 

higher ground. The trees here are Messmate 

stringybark and Narrow leafed peppermint with 
Hakea and Austral bracken below, 


Common grass skink, Lampropholis 
guichenoti, which is found in the litter 
layer of the Open-forest type II, the 
areas in and adjacent to the Open-forest 
type I association where the sunlight 
reaches the ground and also cleared 
land, provided there is access to shelter 
sites, in the form of logs, stumps etc. 
Lampropholis delicata is not common in 
the Reserve, but was recorded on eight 
occasions, all from slightly open patches 
in the Open-forest type I. Two species, 
Lampropholis mustelina and Anotis 
maccoyi are thigmothermic and were 
usually found only under fallen timber, 
often in quite damp and shaded situa- 
tions on the floor of the Open-forest 


Table 2 


THE INCIDENCE OF INDIVIDUAL SPECIES WITHIN THE VEGETATION TYPES PRESENT 
(See text for explanation of vegetation types). 


Vegetation types 


Species A B Cc D 
A, superbus re + } + 
E. coventry! + 

E. saxatilis + : pa r 
E, whitii hy + afr 
L. delicata + + f 
L. guichenoti + n ots + 
L. mustelina t i“ 
A. maccoyi + ri + 
L. entrecasteauxii et 
L. metallica ‘ 

L. trilineata a f 
S. tympanum nf .} + + 
T. nigrolutea fa of + 
C. longicollis (aquatic) 

L. ewingi + + + } 
L. raniformis + + + 4 
L. verreauxi + 4 a 4 
L. dumerilli + 4 4 + 
L. peronii - 
L. tasmaniensis rs 
G. victoriana 7 + + 
R. signifera + + + 
P. semimarmorata 7 + at 


November/December 239 


type I. A. maccoyi was occasionally 
found under logs in cleared land and on 
two occasions animals were discovered 
moving over the substrate well away 
from any shelter, both on sunny after- 
noons in June 1980. 

Specimens of the Metallic skink, 
Leiolopisma metallica were found infre- 
quently. These were all in refugia in 
cleared, or partially cleared land im- 
mediately adjacent to the Open-forest 
type I. One of these specimens was 
found in winter under a piece of wood 
together with four specimens of L. 
guichenoti, one L. mustelina and one 
Litoria verreauxi, all in a torpid condi- 
tion. Leiolopisma trilineata was also 
rather uncommon and most often was 
encountered in areas once cleared but 
now supporting a young regrowth of 
Hakea nodosa, Leptospermum 
Janigerinum, E. obliqua and Gahnia 
seiberana. Two specimens of 
Leiolopisma entrecasteauxii (Form A, 
Jenkins and Bartell 1980) were found on 
an old fence post standing in cleared 
pasture land, in July, 1979, to date no 
further animals have been located. 

Three species of skinks of the genus 
Egernia and one of Sphenomorphus 
were found. These four skinks are 
similar in their moderate size. 

The Cockatoo Swamp is of particular 
interest because these four species occur 
there in very close proximity. Around 
the southern margin of the swamp in the 
vicinity of Macclesfield Ck., Egernia 
whitii was seen basking in the entrances 
to burrows, probably constructed by 
yabbies (Cherax sp.). The vegetation 
here is either a regrowth, similar to that 
in which L. trilineata was found, or the 
interface between Open-forest type II 
and the swamp association flora. 

The most significant finding of the 
survey was that of a colony of the 
Swamp skink, Egernia coventryi (plate 
4). For many years this skink (known as 
Egernia luctuosa) was rarely recorded in 
Victoria. Whilst its preference for 
swamp/heathland was known all along, 


240 


it was believed to be nocturnal and thus 
possibly thigmothermic. Rawlinson 
(1971 a, b) listed it amongst the 
heliotherms and Robertson (1980) has 
now improved our understanding of the 
animal and proven that it is a diurnal 
heliotherm. Despite this, and some re- 
cent additional distributional data, at 
present it is still only known from about 
twenty localities (Robertson 1980, Storr 
1978). 


ae, : 2 ptt Wo 


Plate 4 — Evernia coventry/, the Swamp Skink. 


E. coventryi has been found at the ex- 
tremities of Cockatoo Swamp and seems 
to inhabit its entire area, however the 
colony is particularly dense in an area 
along the north of the swamp. The 
vegetation in this specific area consists 
of the dominant tree species Melaleuca 
sguarrosa, with some E&. ovata. The 
Eucalypts here, however, have been 
severely infested with lerp insects 
(Homoptera, Psyllidae) in the past and 
consequently there is a great deal of 
fallen timber on the ground. The ground 
is covered with Sphagnum moss, 
Sphagnum subsecundum and there are 
many clumps of the Red fruit saw-sedge, 
Gahnia sieberana. Forest wire grass, 
Tetrarrhena juncea grows into tangles 
up to 1.5m high around the trunks of the 
trees. These grass masses, especially 
where they also contain a dead log or 
two, are the prime micro-habitat which 
the lizards use as basking sites and 
secondary shelter sites. E. coventryi is 
known to use burrows of its own con- 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


struction, as well as those made by other 
creatures (€.g. yabbie holes). The vicini- 
ty where these observations were made is 
riddled with small holes and the skinks 
use these as their prime refuge sites. 

The abundance of dead timber 
around the northern perimeter of 
Cockatoo Swamp provides habitat for 
very dense populations of the Black 
Rock skink, Egernia  saxatilis in- 
termedia; and the Water skink, 
Sphenomorphus tympanum (Cool 
temperate form of Rawlinson 1969). S. 
tympanum occurs throughout the 
Reserve provided that solar radiation 
reaches the logs on which it basks. FE. 
saxatilis does not have access to rocky 
outcrops here, rather it utilizes dry and 
cracked timber whether fallen or still 
standing, wherever such is found, and 
the killing of trees by lerp infestation ap- 
pears to have been of direct advantage 
to this species. 


The last four mentioned species pre- 
sent an interesting situation at Cockatoo 
Swamp. In the area of the confluence of 
Macclesfield Ck. with the swamp E. 
whitii and E. coventryi have been found 
within a few metres of each other and 
both species use yabbie burrows, it is not 
known what interactions occur between 
the two species. On the north side of the 
swamp E. coventryi is sympatric with E. 
saxatilis and S. tympanum and on one 
occasion in October 1979 specimens of 
all three were observed basking within 
two metres of each other on the same 
log. Again it is hard to know what sort 
of interspecific interactions are taking 
place between these animals. However 
E. coventryi does not compete with the 
other two species for shelter sites, using 
its terrestrial burrows, while they prefer 
splits and hollows in the timber. 

In summer Tiliqgua nigrolutea, the 
Blotched Bluetongue was observed 
throughout the Reserve in all of the 
vegetation types. On two occasions 
specimens were found in hollow logs 
during the winter. 

The three creeks are part of the Yarra 


November/December 


system in which only one tortoise species 
is known to occur, the Eastern Snake- 
necked tortoise, Chelodina longicollis. 
Attempts to collect specimens by the use 
of drum nets have not, to date, been suc- 
cessful. One female animal was found 
close to the Fisheries and Wildlife Divi- 
sion’s office in early December, 1979, at 
least 300m from the nearest permanent 
water, and it is probable that it had just 
nested. This tortoise was found by Mr 
L. Willoughby, the Ranger-Naturalist at 
Yellingbo, he also reported sighting four 
further animals in a drying bow of the 
Woori Yallock Ck. in January 1980. 
Goode (1966) states ‘‘While 
freshwater tortoises nest naturally and 
incubate under normal outside condi- 
tions in the River Murray area of Nor- 
thern Victoria, and in Gippsland, the 
mean ground temperatures in the 
Melbourne area are too cold to permit 
natural incubation of freshwater tor- 
toise eggs.’’ Since the publication of that 
account this author has examined fertile 
eggs laid by C. longicollis on the banks 
of the Yarra and there is no doubt that a 
viable population exists throughout the 
Yarra drainage. Unfortunately, as a 
result of the Melbourne pet trade and its 
consequent introduction of many 
animals into the Yarra system, it cannot 
now be established whether or not a 
natural population existed prior to these 
introductions, and if so, whether the 
original stock of C. longicollis in this 
system was genetically closer to the 


Gippsland or the Murray/Darling 
drainage population. 
Amphibians 


The family Hylidae is represented at 
Yellingbo by three species presently in- 
cluded in the genus Litoria. The ubi- 
quitous Brown tree frog, Litoria ewingi 
was found throughout the whole 
Reserve. Litoria verreauxi and the larger 
Litoria raniformis also inhabit all of the 
habitat types, although L. verreauxi was 
less frequently seen in the Open-forest 
type II. In summer adults of L. ranifor- 


241 


mis were observed basking on twigs and 
emergent plants above the water of slow 
moving parts of the creeks. 

Six further species of frogs, members 
of four genera, are all from the family 
Leptodactylidae. Limnodynastes 
dumerilli was encountered throughout 
the entirety of the Reserve, frequently 
well away from open water in the forest 
litter layer. L. tasmaniensis (Southern 
call race of Littlejohn 1966) and L. 
peroni were under logs and flood debris 
in open pasture, but were not found in 
any forest situations. During both years 
Geocrinia victoriana, along with 
Ranidella signifera were very common 
everywhere, except the drier parts of the 
Open-forest type II forested slopes. G. 
victoriana particularly was evident dur- 
ing March and April when the males 
were calling. Pseudophryne semimar- 
morata was observed in all the areas of 
forest, including the Open-forest type 
II, as well as in former pasture adjacent 
to forest. It was never found anywhere 
but under logs, often together with A. 
maccoyl. 


Species Not Detected During Survey 
A number of species which may be 
Table 3 


SPECIES NOT DETECTED BY SURVEY 


Elapidae 
Cryptophis nigrescens 
Drysdalia coronoides 
Notechis scutatus 
Pseudechis porphyriacus 
Pseudonaja textilis 
Unechis flagellum 


Agamidae 
Amphibolurus muricatus 


Scincidae 
Leiolopisma coventryi 
Lerista bouganvillfi 
Pseudemoia spenceri 
Tiliqua scincoides 


Varanidae 
Varanus varius 


+ Species possibly occurring at Yellingbo 
= , Species unlikely to occur at Yellingbo 


242 


present within, or adjacent to, the 
Reserve did not turn up during the 
course of the survey. 


On the basis of the literature (Brook, 
1975, 1979) all of the species of amphi- 
bians likely to occur here were 
demonstrated to actually exist at Yell- 
ingbo. A number of reptiles whose 
general distributions include Yellingbo 
were not found due to deficiency of 
suitable habitat, or for other reasons. 
These are summarised in table 3 as 
species which are unlikely to be found at 
Yellingbo. Some other species may yet 
occur here and perhaps were overlooked 
by this survey, they are listed in table 3 
as those which possibly may be found in 
the future. 


Of these two groups, some are worthy 
of mention. The Tiger snake, Notechis 
scutatus is known from many locations 
within the Yarra catchment, however 
there are some places where it is rarely, 
if ever, recorded (P. Brown, C. Logan 
pers. comm). Despite apparently ex- 
cellent habitat, the large number of 
sightings of A. superbus make it seem 
probable that if any other large elapids 
were present they would have been en- 


Small-eyed Snake 7 
White-lipped Snake + 
Mainland Tiger Snake - 
Red-bellied Black Snake - 
Eastern Brown Snake = 
Little Whip Snake - 


Jacky Lizard + 


Brown Forest Skink + 
Spencer's Skink + 
Common Bluetongued Lizard - 
Lace Monitor + 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


countered. Therefore it is doubtful that 
N. scutatus is present at Yellingbo. Peo- 
ple local to the area speak of ‘black 
snakes’, however no confirmed 
literature or museum records of the Red- 
bellied Black Snake, Pseudechis por- 
phyriacus, are known for the area south 
of the Great Divide between Bacchus 
Marsh in the west and near Maffra in 
the east. Rawlinson (1971 a,b) has in- 
dicated this warm temperate distribu- 
tion. All of the adult specimens of A. 
superbus examined were very dark 
slatey-black with orange colouration of 
the ventro-lateral region and their super- 
ficial similarity to P. porphyriacus 
would explain confusion between the 
two. These factors indicate that P. por- 
phyriacus is not present at Yellingbo and 
that, for the present, verbal reports may 
best be regarded as referring to A. 
superbus. 

The skinks Pseudemoia spenceri and 
Leiolopisma coventryi, inhabitants of 
separate microhabitats within wet 
sclerophyll forest, may be living in 
climax Open-forest type I at the south- 
eastern end of Sheepstation Ck., but 
they were not detected. 


Table 4 


The Lace Monitor, Varanus varius is 
well known within a few kilometres both 
to the north and south of the Reserve. If 
it is present here it is probably only in 
places where Open-forest typé II on 
private land is contiguous with the bush 
on the Reserve itself and provides suffi- 
cient area for the requirements of this 
large animal. 


Zoogeography 

On the basis of Rawlinson’s (1969) 
division of the Bassian sub-region into 
three zones Yellingbo S.F.R. can readily 
be ascribed to the cool temperate zone. 
Whilst geographically the Reserve lies 
very close to the transition between 
warm temperate and cool temperate 
zones the reptile composition clearly 
shows a closer affinity to the cool 
temperate than either the warm or cold 
temperate zones. Data in table 4, 
adapted from Rawlinson (1971 a), 
demonstrates the above conclusion and 
also the greater influence of the warm 
temperate fauna in this area than that of 
the cold temperate. Only two species en- 
countered in the survey are not listed by 
Rawlinson as cool temperate zone rep- 


ZOOGEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF REPTILES RECORDED 


Elapidae 
A. superbus (Lowland form) 


Scincidae 

A. maccoyi 

E. coventryi 

E. saxatilis 

E. whitii 

. delicata 

. guichenoti 

. mustelina 

. entrecasteauxil 

. metallica 

. trilineata 
tympanum (Cool temperate form) 

T. nigrolutea 


wWRoeRaRS 


Chelidae 
C. longicollis 


November/December 


Warm Cool Cold 
temperate zone temperate zone temperate zone 


t++tet¢ 
+ 


Het t t+ +4 $4 
+ 


243 


tiles and these are the warm temperate 
Egernia coventryi (listed as E. Juctuosa) 
and Chelodina longicollis. Both of these 
animals are dependent upon riparian 
habitat, C. Jongicollis being almost en- 
tirely aquatic, and their existence here in 
the cool temperate may be explained by 
their dependence upon warmer valleys 
within the zone. Since 1971 E. coventry 
has been located at a number of other 
sites within the cool temperate zone (e.g. 
French Is., Wilson’s Promontory, Noo- 
jee — P. Robertson 1980) and perhaps 
in the light of this further knowledge, its 
inclusion only in the warm temperate 
zone of Rawlinson’s scheme may war- 
rant review. 

The amphibians of the Reserve are 
shown in table 5 according to the 
zoogeographic regions to which Little- 
john (1971) assigned them. The bias is 
clearly toward the Southern Bassian 
fauna, containing five species listed as 
exclusive to that zone and three species 
listed as ‘wide-ranging’ (i.e. encompass- 
ing both Bassian zones within their 
distributions). Only Litoria verreauxi is 
shown as primarily Eastern Bassian in 
distribution, however the data of Brook 
(1979) shows that this species extends 


Table 5 


from this zone somewhat to the west of 
Port Phillip Bay. 


Conservation Value Of The Reserve 

The significance of the Reserve from a 
herpetological point of view can be 
assessed from two angles, (1) the tax- 
onomic diversity which it supports and 
(2) its value to individual species. 


(1) Taxonomic diversity 

The number of species present is good 
when the small size of the Reserve is 
considered. It undoubtedly reflects the 
variety of habitats available. Hutchin- 
son (1979), who surveyed the reptiles of 
Kinglake National Park, 35km to the 
north-east of Yellingbo, found 19 
species in an area of 5,800 ha, which en- 
compassed 5 identifiable natural vegeta- 
tion associations. At Yellingbo 14 rep- 
tiles were encountered in an area of only 
340 ha, 5.86% of the area at Kinglake, 
and including 3 natural vegetation 
associations as well as alienated land. Of 
the species which occur at Yellingbo 10 
(71.4% of the total) also occur at 
Kinglake. 

Prior to the commencement of the 
survey a checklist of 9 frogs most likely 


ZOOGEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF AMPHIBIANS RECORDED 


Hylidae 

L. ewingi 

L. raniformis 
L. verreauxi 


Leptodactylidae 

L. dumerilli 

G. victoriana 

L. peronii 

L. tasmaniensis 
(Southern call race) 

P. semimarmorata 

R. signifera 


Wide- 
ranging 


Eastern 
Bassian 


Southern 
Bassian 


+ 


(Tables 4 and 5 — Data adapted from Littlejohn and Rawlinson (1971). See text for explanation of 


nomenclature.) 


244 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


to be collected at Yellingbo was drawn 
up from the literature (Brook 1975, 
1979, Littlejohn 1963, 1971, Barker and 
Grigg 1977). As can be expected from 
the riparian nature of the Reserve, frogs 
abound and in fact the full complement 
of expected species was discovered. 

On the basis of this analysis it may be 
said that despite its small total area and 
narrowness, the Reserve is maintaining a 
good herpetofaunal variety. 


(2) Significance to individual species 

The Reserve may only be considered 
of particular conservation value to 
Egernia coventryi. All of the other 
species discussed here are quite 
widespread and at present are in no way 
endangered. The colony of &. coventryi 
may well be one of the largest in ex- 
istence. It appears to take in the whole 
of Cockatoo Swamp (approx. 5Oha) and 
this is presently under investigation. Of 
the other known collection sites for this 
lizard two are within National Parks, at 
Mallacoota and Wilson’s Promontory 
and one is within French Is. State Park. 
Many of the other locations are on 
private land and hence provide no 
guaranteed habitat protection. With the 
exception of the Yellingbo and Boneo 
colonies, at none of the sites have more 
than half a dozen specimens been 
observed or collected and some of them 
are represented by single animals only. 
More colonies may be found in the 
future, however their swamp land 
habitat has been extensively cleared and 
drained throughout much of Victoria. 
The Yellingbo S.F.R. is therefore con- 
sidered to be of significant value in the 
conservation of this most attractive 
skink. 


Reserves, Shapes And Sizes 

From the foregoing results some 
generalised comments can be made in 
relation to the size and shape of a 
reserve such as Yellingbo. Yellingbo 
State Faunal Reserve is a riparian 
habitat and its prime purpose is the con- 


November/ December 


servation of a riparian species, the 
Helmeted Honeyeater, this fact, 
together with the history of settlement 
of the surrounding district has 
necessitated it being in the shape of thin 
strips of land. 

A number of authors have com- 
mented that long, narrow strips of land 
are not ideal for nature reserves. (Dia- 
mond and May 1976, Winter 1978, 
Frankenberg 1971 and Hastings 1977, 
the last 2 authors specifically mention- 
ing Yellingbo). This is due to the con- 
siderable effects upon such a reserve of 
Management practices carried out upon 
land outside and abutting the reserve 
boundary. Also dispersal distances of 
fauna within the reserve are seriously 
confined. 

Whilst the herpetofaunal variety is 
good, for animals of small body size at 
least, some correlation between the 
number of species present and the width 
of the Reserve at a given point seemed to 
be manifest. Certainly the vicinity of 
Cockatoo Swamp, the widest part of the 
Reserve and an area where much of the 
surrounding freehold, at present sup- 
ports bush contiguous with the Reserve 
(Fig.1), has more species than were 
observed in other comparable but nar- 
rower areas. No quantitative assessment 
of this was made but two of the larger 
skink species, E. coventryi and E. whitii 
were not found outside this area. Studies 
by Stebbins and Barwick (1968) 
demonstrated the large distances and 
area which may be covered in the daily 
activity of an adult Lace Monitor, 
almost without doubt, if this species 
does occur within the Reserve it will only 
be in a place or places where the adjoin- 
ing freehold is naturally timbered and 
will thus provide sufficient space for 
such an animal. 

It may be argued that a greater 
number of species present in a wider 
area of reserve, like the Cockatoo 
Swamp, may simply reflect the greater 
variety of microhabitats available, but 
perhaps therein lies its value. 


245 


Acknowledgements 

For encouragement and advice throughout this 
project and for critically reviewing this paper | am 
especially indebted to Mr John Coventry of the Na- 
tional Museum of Victoria. Mr Lawson 
Willoughby, Ranger-Naturalist, Mr Barry Hudson 
and Mr Mario Semeia, all of the Fisheries and 
Wildlife Division at Yellingbo, assisted willingly in 
the field. Thanks are due to Mr Peter Brown, of 
Rusden State College and Mr Mark Hutchinson, of 
LaTrobe University, for valuable discussions. | am 
grateful to Mr Peter Robertson, of Melbourne 
University for helpful discussions, particularly 
relating to Egernia coventryi. Miss Eva Stahr kindly 
typed two drafts of the manuscript. 

The project was carried out under Fisheries and 
Wildlife research permits nos. 79-138 and 80-138. 


REFERENCES 


Barker, J. and G. C. Grigg (1977). A Field Guide to 
Australian Frogs (Rigby Ltd., Adelaide 1977) 

Brook, A. J. (1975). The Distribution of Anuran 
Amphibians in Victoria. Victorian Nat., 92: 
104-120 

Brook, A. J. (1979). Atlas of the Frogs of Victoria. 
1979 © A. J. Brook. 

Cogger, H, G. (1979). Reptiles and Amphibians of 
Australia. (Reed,, Sydney. 2nd ed, 1979), 

Coventry, A. J. (1976). A New Species of Hemiergis 
(Scincidae: Lygosominae) from Victoria. Mem. 
Nat. Mus. Vic., 37:23-26, 

Diamond, J, M. and R. M. May (1976). ‘Island 
Biogeography and the Design of Natural 
Reserves’, in May, R. M. (ed.), Theoretical 
Ecology, Principles and Applications, (Blackwell 
Scientific Publications, Oxford, 1976). 

Frankenberg, J. (1971). Nature Conservation in 
Victoria — A Survey. (Halstead Press., Sydney. 
1971). 


Naturalist 
“‘Dinosaurs”’ 


By L. B. AND JENNY HALSTEAD 


Blandford Colour Series, Blandford Press, 
Poole, UK 1981. Recommended Retail Price 
$15.50. ISBN 0 7137 1154 X. Review copy 
supplied by Australia and New Zealand Book 
Co., Pty. Ltd. 


These two books in the Blandford Colour 
Series have very little in common — they dif- 
fer markedly in quality and, | suspect, their 
intended audience. Dinosaurs commences 
somewhat pretentiously with the author 
stating his book “‘provides the most com- 
prehensive survey of these ruling reptiles’ 


246 


Goode, J. (1966). Notes on the Artificial Incubation 
of Eggs of Victorian Chelid Tortoises. Victorian 
Nat., 83:280-286. 

Hastings, I. (1977). Maintaining Wildlife Values of 
Stream Frontages. Vict. Res. Mar, 1977:20-24, 
Hutchinson, M. N. (1979). The Reptiles of Kinglake 

National Park. Victorian Nat., 96:124-134. 

Jenkins, R. W.G. & R. J. Bartell (1980). Reptiles of 
the Australian High Country, (Inkata Press, 
Melbourne 1980). 

Land Conservation Council of Victoria. (1973), 
Report on the Melbourne Study Area, 

Littlejohn, M. J. (1963) Frogs of the Melbourne 
Area. Victorian Nat., 79:296-304. 

Littlejohn, M. J. (1966). Amphibians of the Vic- 
torian Mallee. Proc. R. Soc. Vict, 79(2):597-604, 
Littlejohn, M. J. (1971). ‘Amphibians’. Vier. Year- 

book 85:1-11. 

Rawlinson, P. A. (1969). The Reptiles of East 
Gippsland. Proc. R. Soc. Vict, 82:113-128. 

Rawlinson, P. A. (1971la) ‘Reptiles’. Vict. Year- 
book 85:11-36. 

Rawlinson, P. A. (1971b) The Reptiles of West 
Gippsland. Proc. R. Soc. Vict. 84:37-S2. 

Robertson, P. & Kinhill Planners Pty. Ltd. (1980), 
Mourning Skink Investigations. Alcoa Portland 
Aluminium Smelter Environmental Study Report 
No. 1., Nov, 1980. 

Specht, R. L. (1970), ‘Vegetation’, in Leeper, G. W. 
(ed.), The Australian Environment, C,S.1.R.0. 
(Melbourne University Press., Melbourne 4th ed, 
1970), 

Stebbins, R. C. & Barwick, R. E. (1968). 
Radiotelemetric Study of Thermoregulation in a 
Lace Monitor. Copeia 1968:541-547. 

Storr, G. M. (1978). The Genus Egernia (Lacertilia, 
Scincidae) in Western Australia. Rec. West, Aust. 
Mus., 6(2):147-187. 

Winter, J. (1978). pp. 227-231 in Lavery, H. J. (ed) 
‘Exploration North’. (Richmond Hill Press, 
Melbourne 1978). 


Review 


“Wild Animals of The World” 


By MAGGIE O'HANLON AND 
DOREEN 
Blandford Colour Series, Blandford Press, 
Poole, UK 1981. Recommended Retail Price 
$9.50. ISBN 0 7137 1145 0. Review copy sup- 
plied by Australia and New Zealand Book 
Co, Pty. Ltd. 


and that ‘‘it will serve as an encyclopaedia of 
dinosaurs’’. These are almost impossible ob- 
jectives to allain in a 170 page paperback! 
Nevertheless the work is obviously scholarly, 
recent and well written. Its cost seems to pose 
the main deterrent to would-be purchasers. 
Its level seems most appropriate for 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


naturalists and students with some biological 
knowledge who would prefer not to delve 
into the appropriate scientific literature in 
order to ascertain information on the most 
successful land vertebrates that have ever liv- 
ed. 


This last aspect needs stressing. Dinosaurs 
ruled the land for over 140 million years. 
(They were also important faunal com- 
ponents of the aerial and aquatic habitats). 
They outcompeted (completely) the contem- 
poraneous marsupials until the dinosaurs’ 
mysterious extinction 64 million years ago. 
And yet people still talk of dinosaurs as 
evolutionary failures! 


Our knowledge of dinosaurs is expanding 
rapidly. Over 800 species have been described 
world-wide. In Victoria, only one fossil 
dinosaur remain had been found prior to 
1978 (the famous Cape Patterson Claw in 
1906); since then hundreds of their bones 
have been unearthed. Interest in dinosaurs is 
still high. The local press recently reported 
that the National Museum of Victoria plans 
to display the enormous Mamenchisaurus 
skeleton from China in early 1982. This 
dinosaur is described and sketched in 
Dinosaurs; interestingly it had the longest 
neck of any known animal and is thought to 
have held it out horizontally rather than use it 
as an aid to feeding off high foliage. 


Dinosaurs begins with an _ interesting 
historical account of the early discovery of 
dinosaur fossils and is followed by a brief 
resumé of dinosaur origins, radiation and 
classification. The major part of the book is 
devoted to a description of dinosaur groups 
(32 families) accompanied by colour draw- 
ings of over 100 genera. These are of high 
quality and doubtless contribute much to the 
cost of the book. The book ‘‘closes with a 
critical view of the various theories that have 
been put forward to account for their 
(dinosaurs’) extinction ...’’ I feel many 
readers will be somewhat disappointed with 
this ‘‘review’’ — insufficient evidence is 
presented to allow the reader the opportunity 
of speculating on one of the most baffling 
riddles confronting biologists today. 

There are some other weaknesses in the 
book. Halstead claims to present ‘‘the latest 
results of research into the behaviour and 
physiology of dinosaurs’’, yet barely men- 
tions many of the exciting and significant 
discoveries of the last decade. The work of 
Ostram and Bakker on dinosaur activity pat- 


November/December 


terns, community relationships and thermo- 
physiology is dismissed in half a page. 
Another weakness is the lack of a suitable 
bibliography for those interested in reading 
more widely (or deeply) in the field. Despite 
these flaws, however, the book is well 
presented and written by a scientist who ob- 
viously knows (and seems to enjoy) his work! 


The same cannot be said for Wild Animals 
of The World. This book seems to be directed 
at children or adults with very little 
knowledge about mammals (these are the 
only animals considered), It aims to ex- 
emplify the types of mammal found in a 
number of biomes (polar; coniferous forest; 
deciduous forest, Mediterranean scrub and 
evergreen forest; grasslands; deserts; tropical 
rain forest; mountains; oceans) in each of the 
biogeographic zones — North America, 
Eurasia, Orient, South America, Africa and 
Australasia (which includes Australia, New 
Zealand and Tasmania!) 


Unfortunately the book fails on a number 
of counts. By only considering some animals 
from each zone within the biomes, readers 
who are unfamiliar with the habitat described 
gain little overall appreciation of its com- 
munity structure or ecology. Another fault is 
its lop-sidedness. Thus Australia’s grasslands 
are represented by the Quokka, Crest-tailed 
Marsupial Mouse (incorrectly named 
Sminthopsis crassicaudata), Red Kangaroo, 
Grey Kangaroo, Echidna, Potaroo (sic), 
Hare Wallaby, Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby, 
Red-necked Wallaby and Hopping Mouse. 
(Many of these are clearly not grassland 
dwellers). On the other hand, there are no 
Australasian examples given for deserts or 
mountains. Many biologists have recently 
noted the paucity of Australia’s grassland 
mammals in contrast to other continents. Our 
marsupials seem most diverse in temperate 
woodland and open-forest, while most 
species of our rodents (27%) are found in 
desert associations. Clearly this book does 
not reflect such preferences. 


The book’s major fault is its large number 
of errors. Almost every description of 
Australian mammals contains errors — from 
using well out of date scientific names to the 
drawing of the Quokka as a swimmer with 
four equal sized legs. We are told Trichosurus 
is an opossum, that the Northern native cat 
Dasyurus (called Dasyurops) is not a mar- 


(Continued page 253) 


247 


Field Notes On The White-footed Dunnart, Sminthopsis 
leucopus Gray (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae) 


By R. J. CHEETHAM* AND R, L. WALLIS* 


Introduction 

The White-footed Dunnart 
(Sminthopsis leucopus) is a small, insec- 
tivorous, dasyurid marsupial which oc- 
curs on Flinders Island and other parts 
of Tasmania, and on the mainland is 
restricted to coastal regions from 
western Victoria to southern New South 
Wales. Although once considered rare in 
Victoria (Frankenburg, 1971), Morton, 
Wainer and Thwaites (1980) noted that 
S. leucopus has been more frequently 
trapped recently and that it might not be 
as uncommon as once thought. 
However, trap success rates of S. 
leucopus have always been consistently 
low; for example, 0.07% (Green, 1972), 
0.2% (Callanan and Gibson, 1977), 
2.6% (Nicol, 1978), 0.5% (King, 1980) 
and 1.2% in this study, Use of techni- 
ques such as predator scat analysis and 
pitfall trapping in the future may resolve 
the question of the species’ rarity. 

Little is known of the field biology of 
S. leucopus. Morton et. al. (1980) 
published some information on_ its 
preferred habitat in Victoria (including 
details on vegetation structure, rainfall 
and soils) while Green (1972) and King 
(1980) described trapping sites in 
Tasmania and New South Wales respec- 
tively. Hyett and Shaw (1980) discussed 
the species’ diet and noted that breeding 
probably occurred in spring with a resul- 
tant litter of eight. 

This paper reports on aspects of the 
field biology of S. Jeucopus gained from 
an eighteen month trapping study. 


Study Site 
A trapping grid was set up on private 
property abutting Tarango Road, Yarra 


* Department of Environmental Studies, Rusden 
College of Advanced Education, Clayton, Victoria, 
3168. 


248 


Junction, 56 km east of Melbourne. The 
upper canopy consisted of Eucalyptus 
dives and E. radiata and the middle 
stratum contained Hakea_ teretifolia, 
Banksia marginata, Acacia spp., and 
Leptospermum juniperinum, and the 
ground cover Gahnia sieberiana, 
Pultenaea gunneii, Poa australis, 
Drosera spp., and Adiantum spp. The 
soil was a skeletal yellow podzol. The 
area has not been burnt for many years; 
local inhabitants state their only 
recollection of fire was in 1939 when the 
whole area was razed. 


Trapping 

Ninety folding aluminium Elliott 
traps (32 x 10 x 9 cm) were baited witha 
mixture of peanut butter, rolled oats 
and honey and set at dusk and cleared at 
dawn about every three weeks from 
September 1978 to April 1980. The traps 
were set in nine rows (7m apart) at 3m 
(and later at 6m) intervals. 


Results and Discussion 

Sminthopsis leucopus can be 
distinguished from S. murina by the 
presence of transversely striated, 
elongated apical granules on three inter- 
digital pads of the hind feet. Other 
distinguishing characters include molar 
length and pes width and length (Mor- 
ton, et. al., 1980). Using these criteria, 
the Yarra Junction dunnarts and a 
recently collected road kill from Won- 
thaggi are clearly S. leucopus. The 
localities also fall within the range of S. 
Jeucopus described by Morton et. al., 
1980, who have recorded a specimen 
from Narbethong, some {wenty km east 
of Yarra Junction. 

S. leucopus occurs in a variety of 
habitats. On the mainland, they live in 
tussock grassland and sedgeland near 
the coast, in scrub and heath (with a 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


good mid-storey cover) or in woodland 
and open forest providing there is good 
cover from a scrub or heath understorey 
(Morton et. a/., 1980), King (1980) has 
trapped S. /eucopus in a floristically 
complex coastal heathland with sparse 
cover at Jervis Bay, and Lee (pers. 
comm.) obtained specimens from sites 
in the Otway Ranges which show 
regeneration following some previous 
disturbance. Green (1972) has reported 
captures of S. leucopus in Tasmania 
from both coastal heath and sub-alpine 
rainforest dominated by Nothofagus. 
Seven S. leucopus (two males, five 
females) were trapped. Female #3 was 
trapped 13 times over the 13 months 
while two animals (male #4, female #7) 
were trapped only once. Males were only 
taken in September, October and 
November of 1978. No S. Jeucopus were 
trapped from November 1979 till the 
completion of the study the following 
April, despite saturation trapping (200 
traps) twice in this latter month. The 
month in which most S, /eucopus were 
caught was March (4 animals), and three 
captures were each made in April, May 
and June. Apart from female #3 which 
was not trapped on only three occasions 
prior to December 1978, the other dun- 
narts seemed to be trapped in sequential 
sessions then disappear from the trap 
record. Thus female #5 was trapped four 
times from February till April, but not 


TABLE 1 


thereafter, and female #6 four times 
from April to June only. 

The observed range lengths (Stickel, 
1954) of these three most frequently 
trapped females were 120, 62 and 55 m. 
When plotted on a map of the trapping 
grid home ranges of the females show 
considerable spatial overlap but females 
trapped on the same night occupied 
traps at least 20 m apart. In September, 
1978, a male and female S. /eucopus 
were taken in traps only 3 m apart. 

The range and mean body weights of 
individual S, leucopus are given in Table 
1. Animal #6 showed a weight loss from 
20 g during April and May to 15 g in 
June. Other animals captured more than 
once either maintained or increased in 
weight. The mass of one female (#3) in- 
creased from 22 to 30 g, the higher 
values being when she carried five pouch 
young. This animal gave birth between 
successive capture dates of 26/ix/79 and 
19/x/79. On this latter day, the young 
were each about 5 mm long and two 
weeks later they had grown to about 
8 mm, but were still unfurred and pink. 
All female S. Jeucopus had ten teats. 

Tyndale-Biscoe (1979) has suggested 
that Sminthopsis species are strictly ter- 
restrial and seasonally polyoestrous and 
thus differ from Antechinus species 
which are scansorial and monoestrous. 
This seems to be an over-simplification; 
S. leucopus has been reported to climb 


Number of capture, range and mean of the S. leucopus trapped during the study. 


Animal Number of Range in Mean 
number Sex captures body weight (g) body weight (g) 
1 M 2 21 21 

2 F 2 23-20 21.5 

3 F 13 30-20 24.7 

4 M 1 22 22 

5 F 4 20-19 19.5 

6 F 4 20-15 18.7 

7 F 1 — — 
November/December 249 


trees to feed and have been found in a 
nest 45 feet up on a gum tree (Sharland, 
1972). Morton, et. a/. (1980), considered 
that the striated foot-pads of S. 
leucopus may be related to their scan- 
sorial habits. Not all Antechinus species 
are monoestrous (or show post-mating 
male mortality). Finally, Lee, Woolley 
and Braithwaite (in press) believe S. 
leucopus differs from other species of 
Sminthopsis in that it is monoestrous 
with a restricted, seasonal breeding pat- 
tern (although males probably live for 
more than one year). 

Female #3 gave birth between 
27/ix/79 and 19/x/79. New-born young 
of Antechinus spp. are about 4.5 mm 
long (Marlow, 1971; Williams and 
Williams, in press). If we assume similar 
sizes of young of S. leucopus at birth 
(which may not be valid), we assume 
birth occurred on about 12/x/79. 

Gestation period in S. /Jeucopus is 
unknown, but that in other dunnarts is 
between 12 and 16 days (Godfrey, 1968; 
Fox and Whiteford, in press). Given a 
similar value for S. leucopus, female #3 
in this study must have mated late 
September. Such an assumption, 
however, is again only speculative, par- 
ticularly considering the monoestrous 
habit of the White-footed Dunnart 
which contrasts the pattern in other 
species of Sminthopsis. Green (1972) has 
reported a female S. Jeucopus captured 
near Binnalong Bay, Tasmania which 
carried eight pouched young about 12 
mm long when it died on 21/x/70, and 
on this basis concluded that breeding oc- 
curred in late spring (actually to the end 
of September). If breeding is as seasonal 
in this species as it is in Antechinus spp., 
then it seems breeding occurs at the 
same time in Victoria and Tasmania. 
This contrasts the situation in A. swain- 
sonii and A. minimus, both of which 
breed later in Tasmania than on the 
southern mainland (Green, 1972; Reed 
and Wallis, 1975; Wallis and Baxter, 
1980). 

Female S. /eucopus in this study had 


250 


ten nipples. In Tasmania, Green (1972, 
p. 27) found a subadult female to have 
“at least eight faintly developed nip- 
ples’. The previously mentioned Bin- 
nalong Bay specimen also had eight nip- 
ples. In Tasmania A. minimus females 
also have two fewer teats than their Vic- 
torian counterparts (Wallis and Baxter, 
1980). 

Ectoparasites include the mite 
Mesolealaps sminthopsis (Womersley, 
1954), a louse (possibly a Boopiid) and 
the tick Jxodes tasmani. 


Acknowledgements 

We wish to thank the Boys Brigade of Vic- 
toria and Mr Sutton-Smith for access to the 
study site and Dr D. Murray, Dr D. H. Kemp 
and Dr R. Domrow for examining the ecto- 
parasites. We also wish to thank Professor A. 
K. Lee for his constructive suggestions about 
the manuscript. Trapping was carried out 
under a permit issued by the Fisheries and 
Wildlife Division, Ministry for Conservation. 


REFERENCES 


ARCHER, M.., (in press). Carnivorous Marsupials. 
Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, 
Sydney, 

CALLANAN, B. A., and GIBSON, R. J., (1977), 
Mammals in the south-western Mornington 
Peninsula. Victorian Nat, 94: 31-44. 

FOX, B, J., and WHITFORD, D., (in press). Some 
information on growth, development and 
reproduction in Sminthopsis murina, 
(Marsupialia: Dasyuridae). In Archer, M., op. 
cit. 

FRANKENBERG, J,, (1971). Nature Conservation 
in Victoria. Victorian National Parks Associa- 
tion, Melbourne. 

GODFREY, G. K., (1969). Reproduction in a 
laboratory colony of the marsupial mouse 
Sminthopsis larapinta (Marsupialia; Dasyuridae). 
Aust. J. Zool, 17: 637-654. 

GREEN, R. H., (1972). The murids and small 
dasyurids in Tasmania. Parts 5, 6 and 7. Rec, Q. 
Vic. Mus, 46; 1-34. 

HYETT, J., and SHAW, N., (1980), Australian 
Mammals. A Field Guide for New South Wales, 
Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. Nelson, 
Melbourne, 

KING, D. H., (1980). Extension of the New South 
Wales range of the White-footed Dunnart 
(Sminthopsis leucopus Gray). Victorian Nat. 97: 
263-265. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


LEE, A. K., WOOLLEY, P., and BRAITH- 
WAITE, R. W., (in press). Life history strategies 
in dasyurids, In Archer, M op. cif. 

MARLOW, B. J., (1961). Reproductive behaviour 
of the marsupial mouse Antechinus flavipes 
(Waterhouse) (Marsupialia), and the develop- 
ment of the pouch young. Aust. J. Zool. 9 
203-218, 

MORTON, S, R., WAINER, J. W., and 
THWAITES, T. P., (1980). Distribution and 
habitats of Sminthopsis leucopus and S. murina 
(Marsupialia; Dasyuridae) in southeastern 
Australia. Aust. Mamm. 3: 19-30. 

NICOL, S. L., (1978), A mammal study of the 
Kinglake area, Victoria, Aust. Wildl. Res, 5: 
123-134, 

REED, G. F., and WALLIS, R. L., (1975). Studies 
of Antechinus swainsonii and other small mam- 


mals in an area of Sherbrooke Forest Park. 
Victorian Nat, 92; 84-90, 

SHARLAND, M,, (1962). Tasmanian 
Melbourne University Press, Melbourne. 

STICKEL, L., (1954). A comparison of certain 
methods of measuring ranges of small mammals, 
J, Mammal, 35; 1-15. 

TYNDALE-BISCOE, C. H., (1979), Ecology of 
small marsupials, In Ecology of Small Mammals, 
edited by Stoddart, D. M., Chapman and Hall, 
London, 

WALLIS, R., and BAXTER, G,, (1980), The 
Swamp Antechinus (Antechinus minimus 
maritimus) — notes on a captive specimen, 
Victorian Nat, 97: 211-212. 

WILLIAMS, R., and WILLIAMS, A,, (in press), 
The life cycle of Antechinus swainsonii. In 
Archer, M., op, evt. 


Wildlite. 


Cinnamon Fungus 
By CeciLy FALKINGHAM* 


Victoria is in the grip of the dreaded Cin- 
namon Fungus — Phytophthora cinnamomi. 

Cinnamon Fungus was first discovered in 
Java in 1922 in the bark of cinnamon trees. It 
is now known to be widely scattered 
throughout the world, and has caused serious 
problems in native forests, plantations, or- 
chards, home gardens and nurseries. 

Trees have been dying from this disease in 
jarrah forests in Western Australia since ap- 
proximately 1921 but the cause was not 
discovered until 1965. In Victoria patches of 
forest were seen dying back in early 1950 but 
it was not known that the reason was pro- 
bably Phytophthora until 1969. 

The Cinnamon Fungus feeds on the fine 
roots of susceptible plants, rotting them. This 
reduces the hosts ability to obtain moisture 
and nutrients from the soil. In Summer when 
the soil is dry, plants may die quite suddenly 
or may die back gradually from the tips. 
Hence the name — ‘‘die-back’’ as some peo- 
ple refer to it. Plants that grow in shallow soil 
will show signs of the disease before the same 
plants growing on deep moist loam. 

In Victoria, Stringybark Ash and Pepper- 
mint type eucalypts and the understorey 
plants associated with them, as well as the 
heaths, grass trees, coastal shrubs and tea- 
tree swamps, where the soils are shallow, 
drainage poor or impeded, are susceptible. 
Unfortunately no eucalypt has been found 


* 27 Chippewa Ave, 
MITCHAM, 3132. 


November/December 


entirely resistant, but most of the gums, 
boxes and iron-barks are very tolerant. 

In Victoria, as in Western Australia, logg- 
ing has contributed to the dieback problem. 
The nearly total destruction of plant species 
in vulnerable areas of native vegetation has 
led many plant pathologists throughout the 
world to recognize Cinnammon Fungus as 
the worst plant disease ever recorded. 
Whereas other fungus diseases may attack 
one or two hosts (such as the Dutch Elm 
disease) the Cinnamon fungus has nearly a 
thousand hosts. Australian natives are the 
most susceptible, but hosts include such ex- 
otics as pineapple and avocado crops, peach 
orchards, and garden plants such as 
rhododendrons and azaleas. 

Research in Australia and overseas shows 
that Cinnamon Fungus is generally most 
destructive when drought follows a period of 
warm wet weather. The warmth and moisture 
encourage rapid production of zoospores. 
Large-scale destruction of roots follows, and 
then the drought places the plants under 
stress that they cannot cope with because of 
their reduced root complement. 

Infection occurs when conditions in the soil 
are sufficiently wet and warm (above about 
15 deg. C), Temperatures below 5 deg C can 
kill the fungus, The combination of these two 
limitations, together with other important en- 
vironmental factors such as soil type, soil 
microflora, soil fertility and the particular 
vegetation association result in only a 
relatively small proportion of our forests be- 
ing located on high hazard sites, 


251 


The situation in the Brisbane Ranges more 
closely approximates that in Western 
Australia. In the Brisbane Range National 
Park, where the once fall proud beautiful 
Nanthorrhoea australis, (grass tree) was one 
of the most beautiful features of the park, 
now the grass trees are in various stages of 
ugly decay. The trees’ foliage turns yellow 
first then a rich cinnamon brown, then the 
whole crown inverts and wilts and within 6 
months only the stump remains. Instead of 
the flower spike standing straight and tall it 
wilts over, bent in a pathetic crook, giving the 
area an appearance of gloom and desolation. 
(It is important to mention at this point that 
not all species in the genus are equally suscep- 
tible. For example, Nanthorrhoea minor is 
tolerant). 

The fungus is now quite widespread, being 
found in the Grampians, Wilsons Promon- 
tory, East Gippsland as well as suburbs of 
Melbourne. (Because the zoospores of the 
fungus require a saturated soil to assist their 
spread and come in contact with the fine root 
systems of susceptible host plants, artificially 
irrigated areas such as home gardens can also 
be affected particularly if they are over- 
watered). 


The spongy roots of Banksias are par- 
ticularly susceptible to attack; their matted 
roots appear to assist the progress of the 
disease. Anyone reading this article who has 
Banksias in their garden will know the 
number of honeyeaters that rely on this plant 
or may have observed the constant visitation 
of these birds in the bush, Maybe like myself 
you have marvelled at the amount of insect 
life that gathers over some of our flowering 
shrubs, supplying protein as well as nectar to 
the birds’ diet. The Banksias and other native 
plants are essential for the survival of many 
forms of animal and bird life. 


Well what can we do, the outlook is pretty 
gloomy, step one is to be aware of what does 
spread the disease. A senior Melbourne 
University Botanist, Dr Gretna Weste has this 
to say — “‘Cinnamon fungus is most com- 
monly dispersed in soil or gravel. It is spread 
about by roadmaking, earth-moving equip- 
ment and particularly by off-road tracked 
vehicles. Commonly, infected soil or gravel 
carrying the pathogen is deposited in road- 
side heaps. From there it is dispersed in 
water-run-off downhill. Soils which are 
shallow and poorly drained and soils that 
have a clay pan near the surface rapidly 


252 


waterlog, rapidly dry out and contain a dense 
mat of plant roots for the fungus to attack"’, 

In dry conditions, another kind of spore is 
produced, these are called resting spores, they 
have a tough outer layer that helps keep them 
intact for years. Heaps of roadside gravel in- 
fected with cinnamon fungus have been 
found to yield these resting spores after five 
years of inactivity. Once a gravel pit becomes 
infected with fungus, then not only are spores 
deposited with the material wherever it may 
be used, but machinery using the pit will 
transmit the organism to other pits in which 
they may be working. Machinery called up to 
fight fires has carried the infection over long 
distances. Soil cakes around axles and 
wheels. A large bulldozer working in muddy 
conditions may transport up to half a ton of 
soil from place to place. 


Unknowingly, nurseries distribute plants 
growing in contaminated earth. Present 
knowledge seems to indicate that once the 
fungus has become established at a site, it is 
there permanently. 


There is no cure for infections of open 
bushland. Already valuable Flora has disap- 
peared from infected areas and consequently 
so does Fauna, but planting and seeding trials 
in Gippsland by the Victorian Forests Com- 
mission give ground for some optimism that, 
in contrast to the situation in the jarrah 
forest, the original species can be re- 
established on die-back sites there, although 
possibly not on the most severely affected 
sites. However, most of the trials began after 
1971, and only time will tell whether re- 
establishment will succeed in the long run. 
The Commission is trying out various com- 
binations of endemic species, and different 
tree-establishment techniques, in these trials. 
In other experiments, Commission scientists 
are seeing whether genetic variability within 
species can be used Lo assist re-establishment 
of the original species on severely affected 
sites. Seeds from trees that have remained 
healthy-looking in dieback areas have been 
propagated in glasshouses, and the young 
plants tested for susceptibility to 
Phytophthora attack. The results indicate 
that genetic differences do make some plants 
more tolerant of the fungus than others. 
Trials to test this tolerance in the field have 
begun. 


Dr Gretna Weste has these suggestions to 
delay and reduce and possibly prevent this 
destruction of our beautiful bush areas, some 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


of which are our most valuable National 
Parks. ‘1. By transporting and using clean 
soil or gravel. 2, Pressure hosing all vehicles 
and equipment in contact with soil or plant 
roots before these leave a diseased area. 3. By 
planting disease-free nursery stock.”’ 

I suggest you check with your nursery 
before buying plants that his soil has been 
disinfected. Most big nurseries treat their soil 
with steam or fungicides. 

Also before buying soil for your garden 
make sure if possible, where you are buying 
it, that the establishment has obtained the soil 
from a disease-free area or that the soil has 
been disinfected. 

In Victoria there is an urgent need for total 
Government action to prevent Cinnamon 
fungus from reaching dry scherophyll forests 
still free of the disease, and road contractors 
should contact local forest officers for in- 
formation on the known distribution of the 
fungus in an area where they are working. 

The Victorian Government proclaimed 
Forests Regulations in 1973 aimed at preven- 
tion of die-back. Under these regulations 
quarantine zones have been formed to protect 
two areas of valuable forest in Gippsland. 

What can we do? The average person who 
loves his day in the bush and all the joy it 
brings. For a start, don't drive off roads into 
the bush, this causes vegetation damage, ero- 
sion, weed invasion etc. 

Don’t dig up plants for your garden, in do- 
ing so you transmit the organism from one 
spot in the bush to another, and also you may 
ruin your own garden. 

Tell others about the problems the fungus 


is causing. It is only when people are widely 
informed that proper precautions will be 
taken. 

Inquiries regarding the infection of natural 
bushland I found very adequately handled by 
The National Parks Service. They are spen- 
ding a lot of time and effort in making sure 
their own vehicles are not spreading the 
disease and great care is being taken within 
the parks not to make the situation worse. It 
is areas outside of National Parks that are the 
biggest threat, simply because it is not always 
known by the general public where such areas 
are and what to do. 

Inquiries concerning the infection of home 
gardens, nurseries and horticultural plants 
should be directed to the Victorian Plant 
Research Institute, Department of 
Agriculture, Burnley, Victoria. 

The Forests Commission, through its Ex- 
tension Branch, provides a comprehensive 
service to both the metropolitan and rural 
public on all aspects of tree growing, and ad- 
vice can be obtained by writing or phoning 
the Chief Forest Extension Officer. The 
Commission also provides a P.c.soil testing 
service to other Departments, including the 
National Parks Service, and to the public for 
a small fee. 

There is unfortunately no magic cure for 
Cinnamon fungus, only control by regula- 
tions, and our awareness of the problem is a 
positive step toward prevention. 


Acknowledgements: to Dr Gretna Weste and 
Barrie Dexter. 


Naturalist Review 


(Continued from page 247) 


supial but a member of the Carnivora and 
that the flying foxes are not bats but instead 
Insectivores. They perpetuate several old 
myths scientists have been putting to rest for 
years — that marsupials are physiologically 
less advanced than eutherians, that mar- 
supials represent an intermediate stage in 
mammalian evolution and that large 
macropods cool themselves by licking their 
fur. Finally, 1 doubt if the artist has ever seen 
most of the Australian mammals if we are to 
judge her drawings and their lack of similari- 
ty to the true beast. 

R. L. WALLIS 


November/December 


Erratum 


Volume 98 (4) p. 146; line 4, column 2, 
“Hungry Head”’. 

P. 149, line 9, column 1, ‘Table 1’, 

P, 151, after line 7, insert. 


A. australasiae appears to be an active and 
wary insect and flies away at the least distur- 
bance. 


Delete “recorded . . . approx —.”’ (lines 8,9). 
In the same issue it was erroneously 
reported (p. 178) that Mr Ros Garnet had 
been a member of the management commit- 
tee of Wilsons Promontory National Park. 
Mr Garnet wishes to note that this is not so. 


253 


A Short History Of The Discovery And Naming Of 
Banksias in Eastern Australia 
Part V Ferdinand Mueller 


By A. I. SALKIN* 


Of all the botanical collectors so far 
discussed none were permanent 
residents of Australia, though some of 
them like Robert Brown, George Caley 
and Alan Cunningham spent a con- 
siderable time here. It was only Mueller, 
in this early period, who came to 
Australia as a young man and spent the 
rest of his working life in this country. 
One other point is worthy of mention: 
Mueller did not collect in Australia 
primarily to send material to Europe. 
The major part of his collecting was for 
the establishment in Australia of a Na- 
tional Herbarium. In his first report 
(Mueller, 1853) to Governor La Trobe 
his instructions and his intentions are 
quite clear. 

“In accordance with His Excellency’s 
instructions, a collection of dried 
specimens of plants has been commenc- 
ed for the Government. This Herbarium 
will be at all times accessible to the 
public, and will hereafter contribute, I 
trust, to diffuse, more and more, 
knowledge of our vegetable world, and 
excite lovers of natural science to assist 
in my investigations. I began to form, at 
the same time, a similar collection for 
the Royal Gardens at Kew.”’ 

He does not mention here that he was 
also contributing to another European 
collection, that of his friend Dr Otto 
Sonder. 

Mueller’s appointment marks a 
change in the science of Australia. There 
is the obvious intention with this collec- 
ting, to work up the collections and to 


* Science Deparment, 
Brentwood High School, 
Heath St., Glen Waverley, 3150. 


254 


publish in Australia the names of new 
species, indeed in the same report of 
1853 he published the names of 215 new 
species in his first ‘‘Systematic Index of 
The Plants of Victoria’. These were col- 
lected and examined between September 
1852 and August 1853. 

In this first report he details a journey 
he undertook from Mt Buller to Gipps- 
land, As the weather in the Alps was wet 
that autumn, instead of looking at the 
high Gippsland mountains, he proceed- 
ed by way of the Latrobe River to 
Wilsons Promontory where he spent 
several weeks. The systematic index lists 
five Banksia species. These are B. 
australis (B. marginata), B. verticillata, 
B. integrifolia, B. serrata and B. 
prionophylla. Only one is a new species 
name and this is B. prionophylla. The 
National Herbarium of Victoria has a 
specimen (MEL 52602) and this is very 
typical of what was regarded by both 
Bentham (1870) and Ewart (1931) as B. 
collina. 

Mueller was very much aware of the 
problems of phenotypic or environmen- 
tal variation although he did not call it 
such. Commenting on this in his first 
systematic index (1853) he writes — 

“The index might have been increased 
without difficulty to a two fold number 
of names; but through a long continued 
examination of the Australian plants in 
the living state, | had the advantage of 
learning how great is the uncertainty of 
many characteristics, which are deemed, 
even by our greatest authorities in 
science, sufficient for distinction.’’ 

The specimen has a Mueller collection 
slip, as well as a Sonder Herbarium slip. 
The slip in Mueller’s handwriting bears 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


the following inscription — 

*“Banksia prionophylla 

Ferd Mueller 

B. cunninghamii 

Sieber? 

Austra felix’’ 

A second specimen without a Sonder 
label but with a Mueller slip with a Latin 
diagnosis has the species name ‘‘B. cun- 
ninghami’’ (sic) and the location in full 
“Australia Felix’’. ‘‘Australia Felix’’ 
refers to the country that the New South 
Wales Surveyor-General, Major 
Thomas Mitchell had crossed from 
Swan Hill to the Glenelg River in 1836. 
This was the country that Mueller first 
crossed by way of the Futters Range 
near the present town of Glenrowan and 
the May Day Hills near Beechworth. 

The only place in this area where he 
could have collected B. prionophylla 
was on his journey from Melbourne 
north over the divide. He notes in his 
first report (Mueller, 1853), ‘‘I proceed- 
ed at first with deviations from the usual 
road wherever it appeared favourable 
for my pursuit.’’ Banksia prionophylla 
grows in the vicinity of Mt Slide and it 
may have been here where he collected it 
on the edge of Australia Felix. The more 
likely explanation is that he collected it, 
together with B. integrifolia which bears 
the same location, at the end of his 
journey, at Wilsons Promontory where 
both species are extremely common, 
Australia Felix was for him at this 
period all Victoria. 

Mueller was a personal friend of Dr 
Otto Sonder and sent him duplicates of 
his collections. Sonder for his part made 
available, what was probably the largest 
herbarium in Europe to other botanists 
for study. Among these was Carl 
Friedrich Meissner* who specialised in 
the Proteaceae and was the first to 
describe many of the Western Austral- 
jan species of Proteaceae. Meissner 
described B. prionophylla from the very 


* Meissner originally spelt his name Meisner. His 
publications use the spelling with the double s, 


November/ December 


long juvenile leaves of the specimen sent 
by Mueller and as was his practice used 
Mueller’s manuscript name (Meissner, 
1854), 

Mueller by this time had changed his 
mind about the identity of the Victorian 
population. Two further collections, the 
Melbourne collection and the Sonder 
duplicate, from Sealers Cove, Wilsons 
Promontory, are labelled ‘‘Banksia cun- 
ninghami (sic) Sieber’’. This collection 
would have been made in 1854 after his 
abortive attempt to climb Victoria’s 
highest mountains between November 
1853 and April 1854 (Mueller, 1854a) 
and before his third long journey which 
began in November 1854 (Mueller, 
1854b) when he ascended Victoria’s 
highest mountains. 

Mueller was correct in his first 
diagnosis of Victorian populations. 
These, although related to B. cunn- 
inghamii which is a New South Wales 
deme, are sufficiently different and 
isolated from those populations for 
genetic drift to have occurred. These dif- 
ferences only become evident when the 
plants are grown experimentally and 
phenotypic variation is kept to a 
minimum. 

The species that Mueller described as 
B. verticillata could not be that species 
because it only occurs in a few locations, 
notably in the vicinity of Albany W.A. 
but Mueller did recognize that it was a 
species that differed from the coastal B. 
integrifolia. Recent collections from 
Wilsons Promontory show that this 
species is similar to a form that also 
grows in The Grampians mountains of 
Western Victoria. 

Mueller’s second report (1854a) was 
concerned with his second long journey 
covering 4,000km and lasting 54% mon- 
ths. It was on this journey that he at- 
tempted to ascend some of the highest 
mountains in Victoria (Barhard, 1904) 
but was driven back by bushfires. 

He began this journey by first visiting 
The Grampians and the Mallee and col- 
lected Banksia ornata at Mt Zero. This 


255 


species was described in Linnaea 
(Meissner, 1854) by K. F. Meissner using 
Mueller’s manuscript name. Mueller 
had collected B. ornata previously when 
he was in South Australia. Meissner’s 
description is based on material that was 
collected in The Marble Range near Port 
Lincoln S.A. 

From the Mallee, Mueller followed 
the Murray to its junction with the Mitta 
Mitta and this gave him access to the 
highest Victorian mountains. 

At the headwaters of the Mitta Mitta 
he collected a further Banksia species. 
The collection has the original collecting 
slip which described it as ‘‘Banksia in- 
sularis Br,’’ It is recorded as being ‘‘in 
mountains also on slopes Mitta Mitta”’ 
and is signed ‘‘Dr Ferd. Mueller’. A 
later label in clear copperplate writing 
reads ‘“‘Banksia insularis R. Brown 
Mountains on the Mitta Mitta’’. The 
collection consists of adult leaves and a 
flower in bud but does not include a 
cone which is the most important 
diagnostic clue to this species. Mueller, 
like Brown, was aware of the enormous 
variation in B. marginata for in ‘‘Plants 
Indigenous to the Colony of Victoria’ 
(Mueller 1860-1862) which was eventual- 
ly published in Ewart’s ‘‘Plants In- 
digenous to Victoria’? Vol. 2 (Ewart, 
1910) he illustrates 10 leaf forms, one of 
which could be B. canei. 

Mueller brings to an end the early 
phase of collecting. It was his percep- 
tiveness that enabled him to distinguish 
plants that were worthy of collecting. 
Not one of the four new banksias he col- 
lected was described by him. B. ornata 
and B. prionophylla were described by 
Meissner. Banksia canei was described 
in 1967 (Willis, 1967) and the other one 
will probably be described in a revision 
being carried out by A. S. George (per- 
sonal communication), There is how- 
ever, one other species that Mueller was 
aware of, and neither named or describ- 
ed, probably because of his other com- 
mitments at this stage of his enormously 
busy life. 


256 


In 1867 Mueller’s collector Dallachy, 
who collected mainly in the Rockingham 
Bay area near the present township of 
Tully in North Queensland, wrote to 
him about, and later sent him, two 
specimens of a new Banksia species. 
Dallachy regarded them as two variants 
of the same species. His notes on the 
specimens as far as I can translate his 
handwriting are as follows — 

“This is the Banksia I wrote to you 
about in my last letter. It is pale blue 
flower head. It is a dwarf plant about 2- 
3 feet. I only saw a few of it. I only got 
two seed pods of this Banksia. I do not 
know whether it is different from the 
one on the ranges in general, perhaps it 
is because it is more exposed to the cold 
weather. None seem to be in flower at 
present.”’ 

Both specimens have coarsely serrated 
leaves and one specimen has a flower in 
bud. They are like no Banksia species 
that I know, particularly if the height is 
correct. The thought comes to mind that 
this may be a Banksia species that is 
‘Jost’’, and with the destruction of the 
forest in that area may never now be 
found. 


REFERENCES 


Barhard, F. G. A. 1904. Some early botanical ex- 
plorers in Victoria. Victorian Nat, 21: 17-25. 

Ewart, A. J. 1910. Plant Indigenous to Victoria 
Vol. 2. Government Printer: Melbourne. 

Meissner, K, F. 1854. Proteaceae Linneaea 26; 
352-3 

Mueller, F. 1853. First General Report. Votes and 
Proceedings of the Legislative Council of Victoria 
1853-4 Vol.1, Part 2, p. 897, Government 
Printer: Melbourne. 

Mueller, F. 1854a. Second General Report Votes 
and Proceedings of the Legislative Council of 
Victoria 1854-5 Vol. 1 Part 2 (A18), p, 931, 
Government Printer: Melbourne. 

Mueller, F. 1854b. Special dispatch from Omeo, 
Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Council 
of Victoria 1854-5 Vol. 2 Part 1 (A45), p. 233. 
Government Printer; Melbourne. 

Mueller, F. 1860-62. The Plants Indigenous to the 
Colony of Victoria. Government Printer: 
Melbourne. 

Willis, J. H. 1967, Systematic notes on the in- 
digenous Australian flora. Muelleria J; 118-20. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Differentiating the Left-handed Freshwater Snails of 
South-eastern Australia 


By BRIAN J. SMITH AND RHYLLIS J. PLANT* 


South-eastern Australia has a large 
and varied freshwater snail fauna (Smith 
and Kershaw, 1979) ranging from a wide 
series of small black operculates, family 
Hydrobiidae, to planispiral shells, fami- 
ly Planorbidae (part), dextral or right- 
handed high-spired shells, family Lym- 
naeidae and a series of sinistral or left- 
handed high-spired shells belonging to 
the families Planorbidae (part) and 
Physidae. In the helicoid, high-spired 
shells, the direction of coiling can be 
determined by holding the shell with the 
spire up and the aperture facing. Dextral 
or right-hand coiling shells have the 
aperture to the right of the median axis, 
sinistral or left-hand coiling shells have 
the aperture to the left of the median 
axis (Fig. 1). 

The identification of freshwater snails 
has caused naturalist and field ecologists 
a great deal of trouble and confusion 
because the external appearance of the 
animal and shell can be so variable, even 
within a single species. Boray and 
McMichael (1961) showed that in lym- 
naeids environmental factors, such as 
variations in water quality, can affect 


Fig. 1. Direction of coiling (a) sinistral or left-hand 
coiling and (b) dextral or right-hand coiling. 


a b 


* Division of Zoology, National Museum of Vic- 
toria, 


November/December 


changes in the phenotypic appearance of 
the shell. A particularly difficult problem 
is the differentiation of the various 
groups of sinistral or left-hand coiled, 
high-spired freshwater snails. The iden- 
tification to species level of these forms 
will have to await a comprehensive revi- 
sion of these large complex groups. 
However the object of this paper is to 
provide a differentiation guide to the 
four genera in two families that are like- 
ly to be encountered in south-eastern 
Australia. These are (Fig.2.):— 
Family Planorbidae 

genus Physastra 

genus Isidorella 

genus Glyptophysa 


Family Physidae 
genus Physa 


The characters used in the differentia- 
tion of these four genera are shell and 
external body characters, gross structure 
of the penial complex and gross form of 
the radula. The details of the various 
characters in these genera are given in 
Table 1. 

SHELL. Tip of the spire can either be 
rounded or coming to a sharp point. In 
some the spire is high, whilst in others it 
can be very short to almost lost in the 
body whorl. 

The columella may have a twist or be 
simple. This is an unreliable character 
and can be difficult to see in many 
specimens. 

The shell may bear a series of 
periostracal hairs. These are usually ar- 
ranged in rows around the body whorl. 
In some forms these can be so pro- 
nounced that the lines of hairs can be 
produced as carinations or ridges on the 
shell. In extreme forms, such as in 
Glyptophysa, the shell bears pronounc- 


257 


Fig. 2. Shells of (a) Physastra, (b) Isidorella, (c) Glytophysa, (d) Physa. 


Table 1 


Characters used in differentiation of sinistral freshwater snails. 


Character Physastra Isidorella Glyptophysa  Physa 

Spire rounded rounded sharply rounded 
pointed 

Columella twist present absent present present 

Periostracal rare to usually present absent 

hairs absent present 

Body colour reddish reddish grey pale 

Pseudobranch present present present absent 

Digital absent absent absent present 

processes 

Flagellum on present absent present absent 

penis 

Radula entire entire entire bifid 


Fig. 3. Lateral view of Physa animal showing digital processes on the mantle. 


258 Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


ed carinations or ridges around the body 
whorl. 

BODY. The general body colour can 
vary from red to heavily pigmented to 
very pale. The red colour denotes the 
presence of a pigment similar to 
haemoglobin. 

The three planorbid genera posses a 
pseudobranch on the left hand side of 
the mantle cavity. This is not a very ob- 
vious character, particularly in a 
preserved specimen. 

The genus Physa has a series of pro- 
minent digital processes on the mantle 
edge along the columellar margin (Fig. 
3). These are particularly obvious in the 
crawling animal, but can be readily seen 
in the relaxed, preserved specimen. 

PENIAL COMPLEX. The penis car- 
ries a flagellum in Physastra and 
Glyptophysa. This is a large blind- 
ending finger-like process arising from 
the inner end of the penial complex close 
to the point where the vas deferens 
enters the penis. The penial complex is 
situated immediately behind the left ten- 
tacle. It is easily dissected out from a 
relaxed preserved speciment using a 
stereo-binocular microscope (Fig. 4). 


a 


ae. 


aa 


RADULA. The gross shape of the 
radula ribbon is different in the families 
Planorbidae and Physidae. In the 
Planorbidae the radula ribbon is entire, 
being a simple rectangle in shape. In the 
Physidae the radula is bifid in shape at 
the posterior end (Fig. 5). 


The technique for 
radula is as follows: 

1. Cut off the head-foot region or 
dissect out the buccal mass. 

2. Boil in 10 per cent solution of caustic 
soda (sodium hydroxide) in a test 
tube until the tissues disintegrate on 
shaking. 

3. Pour into small dish of water and 
search for radula (small transparent 
structure — shines under oblique 
light). 

4. Transfer to water drop in microscope 
slide with mounted needle. Arrange, 
cover and observe on dark field. 


extracting the 


The genera can be keyed out as 
follows:— 

1, Digital processes on the mantle edge 
and bifid radula with oblique rows of 
teeth — Family Physidae, genus 
Physa. 


ae 


< vd 


cmRaAce 


Fig. 4. Penial complex of (a) Physastra showing flagellum and (b) /sidorella without flagellum. (p — penis; 
pr — penial retractor; fl — flagellum; vd — vas deferens). 


November/December 


259 


Fig. 5. Diagram showing (a) physid radula — bifid, 
(b) planorbid radula — entire. 


1. Mantle edge entire, without digital 


processes; radula simple with 
transverse rows of teeth — Family 
Planor bidder «cass. ent ve teers i ce 


2. Shell with sharply pointed spire, 
usually with pronounced carinations 
— genus Glyptophysa. 

2. Shell with rounded spire, rarely with 
CALIMANICIIS Ss ou cain alerts a 3 

3. Shell with columellar twist, 
periostracal hairs rare or usually ab- 
sent, penis with pronounced 
flagellum — genus Physastra. 

3. Shell without columellar twist, usual- 


ly with periostracal hairs, penis 
without flagellum — _ genus 
Isidorella. 


Work is currently in progress to amass 
collections and distributional data of 
these groups preparatory to undertaking 
taxonomic revisionary work on the 
group. The species currently recognised, 
with their habitat and distributional 
data for south-eastern Australia are 
listed below. 

Many more species names exist in the 
literature for all these species. The ones 
currently in use represent a conservative 
assessment of the genera. Further 
species probably exist but much more 
reference material is needed before the 
extent of the fauna can be gauged. 


Notes On Species 
Physastra gibbosa (Gould, 1847) 
Variable species, probably a complex 
of species, found throughout south- 
eastern Australia in freshwater rivers 
and lakes on weed and algae. 


260 


Isidorella newcombi (Adams and 
Angas, 1864) 

A large, bulbous species found in the 
drier areas of northern Victoria and 
southern N.S.W. and South Australia in 
billabongs and creeks. 

Isidorella hainesii (Tryon, 1866) 

Usually a smaller species with a higher 
spire found in freshwater habitats that 
do not regularly dry out. Though 
previously thought to be found 
throughout south-eastern Australia, re- 
cent work has cast a doubt as to whether 
it occurs in Tasmania (J. Walker — 
pers. comm.). 

Glyptophysa aliciae (Reeve, 1862) 

Medium sized shell with strong spiral 
ridges in rivers and creeks of northern 
Victoria and southern N.S.W. 

Glytophysa cosmeta (Iredale, 1943) 

Small species with large aperture and 
body whorl and low spire, found in nor- 
thern Victoria and southern N.S.W. 
This species was reported aestivating out 
of water as a method of surviving dry 
periods (Smith and Burn, 1976). 

Physa acuta Draparnaud, 1805. 

This is thought to be an introduced 
species, probably from Europe. Found 
in freshwater rivers and ponds in many 
parts of mainland south-eastern 
Australia. As research and collection 
assessment progress this appears to be a 
widespread and common species. 


Acknowledgements 

We would like to thank Mr John Walker 
from the University of Sydney for informa- 
tion and discussions on which this paper is 
based. Thanks are due to Mrs Lyn Anderson 
for typing the manuscript. 


REFERENCES 

Boray, J, C. and D. F. McMichael, 1961, The iden- 
tity of the Australian lymnaeid snail host of 
Fasciola hepatica 1.. and its response to environ- 
ment, Aust. J. mar. Freshwat. Res., 12(2): 150-62. 

Smith, B. J. and R. Burn, 1976, Glyptophysa 
cosmeta (Iredale, 1943) in Victoria (Lym- 
naeoidea: Planorbidae), with notes on aestiva- 
tion. J. malac, Soc, Aust., 3(3-4): 175-6, 

Smith, B. J. and R, C, Kershaw, 1979. Field guide 
to the non-marine molluscs of south eastern 
Australia. AN.U, Press, Canberra 285 pp, 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


The Victorian Field Naturalists Clubs Association 


Excursion Report 
Springtime Get-together at Alexandra (19-20 Sept., 1981) 


The Upper Goulburn Field Naturalists 
Club, led by their President, Peg. LADE, was 
host to the Victorian Field Naturalists Clubs 
Association (President — Alan MONGER, 
Benalla) at their Springtime Get-together held 
on September 19th and 20th at Alexandra. 

The Upper Goulburn Club has been in ex- 
istence three years only, yet the organization 
of the meeting was efficient, interesting, and 
thoroughly enjoyed by the approximately 
seventy people who attended. 

There was Representatives from the Field 
Naturalists Clubs of Benalla, Bendigo, 
Castlemaine, Creswick, Ringwood, and 
Melbourne, and a visitor from N.S.W. 

At 1.00 pm. on Saturday, 19th, Mike 
CUSACK (Ranger), and Leon COSTER- 
MANS led an excursion to the Cathedral 
State Park. The bridge over one of the 
tributaries of the Acheron River had been 
washed away during the recent floods, so that 
it was necessary to take the longer route 
through Buxton, and leaving the bus, to 
trayel in by private car and Land Rover etc. 
to the saddle between The Sugarloaf and the 
foothills of the Blue Range. 

After dinner, a meeting was held in the 
Alexandra High School, where slides were 
shown by Mr Warren GERMAN (Ranger and 
Founder Member of the Upper Goulburn 
F.N.C.), and by Mr Roy SPEECHLEY 
(Crown Lands Ranger), and Mr Leon Coster- 
mans. 

There were displays of Aboriginal artifacts 


collected at Highlands by Mr Neil LADE, in- 
cluding some fine stone axes, pestle and grin- 
ding stones and some axe blanks; also some 
fine fossils and interesting photos from the 
area, were on display. About sixty-three per- 
sons were present. 

On Sunday, 20th Sept., the Ranger, Mr 
Roy Speechley, led a party of about fifty per- 
sons through the McKenzie Flora Reserve, 
which is about one-hundred acres of 
bushland close to the Alexandra township, 
and a fine asset to the townspeople, and a 
tourist attraction. 

The visiting botanists were asked to assist 
the host club by keeping lists of flowers and 
birds — forty-five species of flowering plants 
were seen, including a spectacular clump of 
white Hardenbergia; and thirty-five species 
of birds, of which the King Parrots, Olive- 
backed Oriole, and Rufous Whistlers, seemed 
to be the most popular sightings. 

The weather was delightful — early Spring 
sunshine, with little wind — so that bird 
songs were accentuated and clear. 

After lunch, the bus party from Melbourne 
visited the wild, timbered four-hundred acres 
of the Yarck Flora Reserve, where the Ranger 
asked visitors to look out for koalas, but 
none were seen .. . and so, reluctantly back 
to Melbourne about 5,30 pm. 


Elizabeth K. Turner 
Sec.-Treas. VFNC ASSN 
Royal Children’s Hosp., 3052. 


New Books 
“A Field Guide to the Tracks & Traces of Australian Animals.”’ 
By R. G. B. Morrison 
A long needed guide for the Naturalist and the Bush Walker. 
170 photographs of Skulls, 48 of scats, 126 of trails. 
192 pages. Price $14.95 (Discount to members) 
Postage 90 cents 
Order from Sales Officer F.N.C.V. 


‘A Field Guide to the Marine Life of South Eastern Australia.”’ 
By Neville Coleman 
167 Pages. 200 Color illustrations. 
Price $17.95 (Discount to members) 
Postage 90 cents. Order from Sales Officer F.N.C.V. 


November/December 


261 


Naturalist 


Re view 


‘*Native Trees and Shrubs of South-Eastern Australia”’ 
By LEON COSTERMANS 


Rigby Lid., 1981. 26x 19cm, 

428 pp., 318 col. & 176 B&W plates 
ISBN 0-7270-1403-X 

Price (discount to members) $29.95 


Most regional accounts of woody plants 
are deficient in various ways: they either fail 
to be comprehensive, lack diagnostic detail or 
are too inadequately illustrated to be of much 
use in the field. Such criticisms can certainly 
not be levelled at the present book about in- 
digenous trees and shrubs of south-eastern 
Australia, which is a paragon in every sense. 
No previous botanical work on a large sector 
of the continent has brought together so 
much useful information in more attractive 
or palatable form. 

As delimited, ‘‘South-Eastern Australia’’ 
includes the whole of Victoria, New South 
Wales to a little north of Sydney and 
westward from the Warrumbungle Ranges to 
the South Australian border near Broken 
Hill, and South Australia east of Eyre Penin- 
sula (including Kangaroo Island and more 
southern parts of the Flinders Range) — all 
told, an area nearly three times that of the 
British Isles. A teacher of science, Mr Leon 
Costermans has travelled widely within this 
vast region; his copious high-quality 
photographs are representative of the plant 
communities and species occurring 
throughout, from sea-level to alpine tracts 
and inland to the semi-arid zone. Tasmania 
was deliberately excluded while a wedge- 
shaped area of coastal to tableland country, 
fanning out northward from Nowra, has not 
been fully treated; its many rain-forest 
species lie beyond the scope of this book. 

Virtually all trees of the region are describ- 
ed and illustrated, also the great majority of 
shrubs normally more than one metre tall — 
smaller undershrubs and climbers being omit- 
ted. Thus about 900 species are covered, in- 
cluding special sections on the wattles (130 
spp.) and the eucalypts (120 spp.) for each 
species of which there are drawings of their 
fruits — an invaluable feature for identifica- 
tions. The total number of illustrations is im- 
pressive: 318 colour plates, 176 black-and- 
white photographs, 720 line drawings ac- 
companied by distribution maps, 83 other 


262 


maps and explanatory diagrams — all by the 
author, and, as he lives in Melbourne, it is 
not surprising that most photographs were 
taken in Victoria. 


This volume is designed to satisfy both 
scientist and layman, and its general plan is 
superbly conceived. The first section on 
‘“‘Aims, scope, and presentation’’ devotes 
four pages to explanatory detail. Next comes 
a 17-page account of ‘‘The land and its 
vegetation’? — an outline of geology, 
climate, soils and ecological principles, with 
simplified geological map extending over 
pages 16 and 17. In section 3 attention is 
focussed on eight ‘‘Places of special in- 
terest’’, both scenically and floristically; this 
selection includes the Far South-east Corner 
(contained between Bega, Cape Howe, Cape 
Conran, the Cobberas and Southern 
Tablelands of N.S.W.), Pigeon House area 
near Ulladulla (N.S.W.), Mount Buffalo, the 
High Country, Wilsons Promontory, the 
Grampians, Wyperfeld National Park, and 
Flinders Range (S.A.), each with colour 
plates typifying the land forms and consti- 
tuent vegetation. Section 4 sets out guide-lists 
of conspicuous species for eight major 
regions (€.g. coast, semi-arid inland, taller 
forests in moist valleys), a particularly in- 
structive feature with line drawings for every 
species mentioned. Thus, if one encountered 
in the Little Desert dense thickets of a 
broomy bush with needle-like leaves and little 
knobs of tiny woody capsules, he would turn 
to the region F (on page 109) where an un- 
mistakable drawing identifies the species as 
Melaleuca uncinata and refers one to page 
248 for an ample description with map for 
this plant. 


So we come to section 5 (pp. 141-379), the 
largest and most important part of the book 
— “Description of species’’. Set out 
systematically here, according to the familiar 
Englerian classification, is the descriptive 
detail with accompanying very lucid illustra- 
tions and inset distribution maps for all trees 
and shrubs treated. It is indeed stimulating, 
and a sheer delight, to pore over this galaxy 
of excellent pictures, whether in colour, half- 
tone, or black-and-white drawings. An 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


astonishing clarity is attained in the portrayal 
of 25 species of Pomaderris (pp. 216-221) — 
almost an illustrated monograph on this most 
difficult genus; each drawing incorporates a 
circular hand-lens magnification of the sur- 
face vestiture underneath a leaf — so impor- 
tant diagnostically —, as is also done with 
bipinnate Acacia species on pages 298-301. 
The last section 6 gives interesting com- 
ments on the major plant families and genera 
involved. It is followed by a glossary (with 
some illustrations) of botanical terms, a list 
of abbreviations, and full indices to both 
scientific and vernacular names. Meticulous 
proof-reading is apparent throughout the 
whole text, wherein this reviewer has failed to 
detect a single typographical error. High 
praise is also due to the publishers, Rigby 


Ltd., and printers for a magnificent effort in 
which choice of paper and typography, lay- 
out and good pictorial reproduction leave lit- 
tle to be desired. 

In recommending Native Trees and Shrubs 
of South-Eastern Australia with much en- 
thusiasm, one almost runs out of superlatives 
but fully endorses the final paragraph on its 
dust-jacket: ‘‘The wealth of systematically 
organised information, combined with at- 
tractive illustration, makes this book an in- 
dispensable aid to any field observer — 
naturalist, student, or simply interested 
traveller — who wishes to develop an 
understanding and appreciation of this part 
of the Australian continent’’. 


— J.H. Willis 


Tasmanian Caddis-flies 
By ARTURS NEBOISS 


Fauna of Tasmania Handbook No. 4, 
University of Tasmania, 1981, 180 pages. 
Price Aust. $5.75 (Aust. $6.75 by post). 
Available from: Fauna of Tasmania Office, 
University of Tasmania, Box 252C G.P.O., 
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia 7001. Payment 
should be made in Australian dollars. Che- 
ques, money orders (free of charges) to be 
made payable to “University of Tasmania”’. 

One of the more significant studies of the 
Australian fauna to appear in recent years 
has been ‘‘A Taxonomic and Zoogeographic 
Study of Tasmanian Caddis-flies (Insecta: 
Trichoptera)’? (Neboiss, 1977, Mem. Nat. 
Mus. Victoria, vol. 38, 208 pp, 3 pls.). This 
new handbook is largely a condensed version 
of that earlier work written with a format 
more suitable for rapid identification of 
specimens. This comprehensive treatment of 
the Tasmanian caddis-fly fauna was made 
possible as a result of 7 extensive collection 
expeditions by Dr Neboiss and colleagues bet- 
ween 1965 and 1974 which gathered for 
detailed study about 1600 specimens, approx- 
imately 100 times as many Tasmanian 
Trichoptera as had ever been examined 
before now. The importance of the parent 
volume, and thus of this work, may be ap- 
preciated when one realizes (1) that 40% of 
the included species and 24% of the genera 
are described as new to science, (2) that 74% 


November/December 


of the species are reported as endemic to 
Tasmania, and (3) that, from the total 
number of species recorded from each of 7 
identified biogeographic provinces, the 
highest proportion of Tasmanian endemics 
are found in the western third of the island: 
Neboiss’ northwestern and southwestern pro- 
vinces (73% in each). The latter province is 
presently the subject of considerable con- 
troversy over potential habitat destruction by 
the Tasmanian hydroelectric scheme. Indeed, 
Dr Neboiss’ maps reveal that 63% of the 
Tasmanian caddis-fly species are represented 
in the affected lower Gordon River area. 
Thus this handbook, along with Fauna of 
Tasmania Handbook No. 1 (Tasmanian 
Odonata, 2nd edition, 1981, by P. Allbrook), 
should provide timely assistance in assessing 
the immediate biological implications of the 
contemplated engineering works. 

The introduction is a valuable overview of 
the order, including diagnostic notes with 
reference to their nearest relatives (the 
Lepidoptera), a review of their usual 
freshwater habitats, habits, and life history, 
and a summary of the main features of the 
Tasmanian fauna. The accompanying 
simplified phylogenetic diagram may help the 
reader understand Dr Neboiss’ discussion of 
the historical relationships inferred by Ross 
for the different caddis-fly groups (Fig. 1). 


263 


Following the introduction, a checklist pro- 
vides a classification of the 163 known 
Tasmanian species in 66 genera representing 
21 numbered families. Concerning methods 
for examination of specimens, it should be 
mentioned that smaller specimens especially 
may need to have their wings cleaned of hairs 
and mounted on a microscope slide to permit 
study of diagnostic venation. A specimen’s 
abdomen must sometimes be cleared of soft 
internal tissues or external debris in dilute 
KOH to allow examination of genitalic struc- 
tures. 

The keys are mostly new and untried, in- 
viting users who may encounter difficulties to 
assist in their improvement and the attendant 
advancement of our science. There is a 
generous number of figures accompanying 
the keys, and the distribution maps are up-to- 
date. 

In sum this handbook and the original 
research upon which it is based truly repre- 
sent a major landmark in our comprehension 
of the Tasmanian caddis-flies. As such, it is 
an essential desk volume for freshwater 
naturalists and ecologists in Tasmania and 
will be utilized by them to considerable ad- 
vantage for many years to come. Highly 
recommended! 


W) wn 
of @ § 8 ¢ 
v 
cake Ss eens 
a4 fe} Ss a 
“dO E ce Er 
no E © 
HO ion o i=) 
o | cS yn ov 
GP -d fief n o 
co > oO i) un 
oi) Al I 6) o 
forme! a o 1 Oo 
ny 1 a ov i) 
a) i) n o 
oH o ue) Si 8 
vo 4 o 3 
& WH n ery oo 


the larval 
behaviour patterns of Trichoptera (Modified from 
the scheme of Ross, 1956) 


Fig. 1. Evolution of case-making 


John C. Morse 

Associate Professor 
Department of Entomology, 
Fisheries and Wildlife 

Clemson University 

Clemson, South Carolina 29631 
U.S.A. 


Some Strange Native Orchids 
By NoEL W. GILLAM* 


Hunting for native orchids in areas near to 
Melbourne — say up to 150 km on the north 
to west sides — I occasionally find flowers 
which are different in structure to the stan- 
dard description. For these, I use the term 
‘Oddities’ and include several types — those 
described as rare, such as two flowers in the 
one bract for Chiloglottis gunnii, those where 
segments are joined together, or the flower 
has extra parts, or less than the normal 
number of parts (not including those broken 
or eaten off). 

Considered as the most unusual structure, 
was a single flower of Dipodium punctatum 
growing in the centre of a long inflorescence 
of normal flowers, which was counted to 
score — 7 sepals, 5 petals, 3 labella, and 2 
supplementary ‘petal-like’ segments attached 
to the column, which had a very wide stigma 


* 15/230 Ascot Vale Road, Ascot Vale, Vic, 3032. 


264 


slot, and four, apparently normal, functional 
pollen caps. Orchids are supposed to have six 
parts plus the column, — this had 17 and a 
quadruplicated column, while the remaining 
40 or more siblings were all normal. 

At slightly simpler levels, have you ever 
seen — Eriochilus cucullatus, with two pollen 
caps above a single, slightly wider, stigma slot 
? Twin flowers on Spiculae huntiana where 
the stem is single up to the third bract, and 
then divides into two separate, side by side, 
flowering stems? A double set of pollinia for 
Diuris sulphurea with four pollen tips show- 
ing above the stigma face and single 
viscidium, which showed on examination that 
the two outside pollinia were separate, but 
the middle two were bridged across as 
‘Siamese twins’ pollinia? Caladenia caerulea 
with 5 rows of calli on the labellum, and two 
pollen caps on the single winged column? 
Caladenia carnea with all parts normal in 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


Fig. 1. Dipodium punctatum, the quadruplicated 
column of the 17 segment flower. 


structure, but having 3 labella, one in the nor- 
mal place, and the other two, slightly smaller 
in size, side by side on top of the first? 
Caladenia dilatata with 2 flowers from 2 
bracts together on the stem, in contrast to 2 
flowers (considered itself a rarity) from 2 
bracts at different levels on the stem? 

With a combination of considerable time, 
persistence, good eyesight and controlled 
responses, I now have observed 91 different 
native orchid ‘oddities’ (and 32 duplicates) 


Fig. 2. Eriorchilus cucullatus, the two separate 
pollen caps on one stigma. 


covering 12 genera and 19 species, always 
marking the list with the words — ‘to be con- 
tinued’. This does not include albino orchids 
for 7 species, and a strange looking Caladenia 
carnea with striped petals (No, the one shown 
in Nicholls ‘Orchids of Australia’ has striped 
sepals). 

On a provocative note, I conclude with two 
new laws — ‘Botany belongs to the bush’, 
and, ‘Mother Nature does not read botany 
books’. 


Australian Natural History Medallion Fund 


Amount on hand July 1981 


The Malacological Society of Australia. Vic. Branch 


Miss I. Philips 
Total amount October 1981 


$1613.50 
10.00 
20.00 
$1643.50 


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November/December 


265 


Field Naturalists Club of Victoria 
Reports of recent activities 


General Meeting 
Monday 12 October 

Honorary Membership was awarded 
to Miss Ruth Clark of Bairnsdale who 
came to Melbourne to receive it. It’s 
great when a country member arrives at 
our meeting to mark 40 years in this 
Club. Honorary membership was also 
awarded in absentia to Mr H. V. Milne 
and Mr C. A. Sonsee. 

Gippsland Forests. Dr Smith spoke of 
the Scott report ‘‘Environment Effects 
Statement on Pulpwood Harvesting 
from State Forests in East Gippsland”’ 
published for the Forestry Commission. 
The report has many inadequacies and 
the terms of reference are not wide 
enough. There followed questions and 
discussion. Submissions to the Minister 
of Conservation were required by 9th 
October and a copy of our 16 page sub- 
mission was tabled for members to ex- 
amine. 

Exhibits were few but two marine 
animals under microscopes were very in- 
teresting. A rust-coloured skeleton 
shrimp Caprella species, about 8 mm 
long and very slim, was resting on cor- 
alline seaweed; now and again some tiny 
circular transparent creatures could be 
seen about the shrimp’s mouth, for this 
was a female and she has a brood pouch 
from which the young emerge and cling 
to the mother. Under another 
microscope some Galeolaria were wav- 
ing their feeding tentacles. 


General Meeting 
Monday 9 November 

The meeting did not start until 8.20. 

New Medallion. Because the die of the 
Natural History Medallion is worn out, 
because the old method of reproduction 
is increasingly costly, and because many 
members are not happy about the old 
design, Council had decided to commis- 
sion a new design for reproduction by a 


266 


less costly method. The job was given to 
Mr Matchem Skipper. His final design 
shows a small lizard in a rocky terrain, 
the whole bronze piece being about 7 cm 
long (2%) and mounted on a polished 
opal slab about 15 cm x 10cm (6" x 4"). 
It could be used as a paper-weight or 
desk ornament. 

1981 Méedallionist. This year the 
Natural History Medallion was awarded 
to Dr Elizabeth Marks of Queensland. 
When making the presentation, Dr 
Churchill spoke of Dr Marks’ notable 
work on Australian mosquitoes and her 
contribution to natural history general- 
ly. As well as her many papers on mos- 
quitoes, Dr Marks has _ published 
biographies of several biologists and 
historiea of sundry societies. She is a 
member of 15 societies and has ticked up 
44 years in the Queensland Field 
Naturalists Club; during that time Dr 
Marks was editor for many years of the 
Club’s journal ‘‘The Queensland 
Naturalist’ and President several times. 

Natural History of Mosquitoes was 
the subject of the speaker Dr Elizabeth 
Marks. Dr Marks said that we probably 
disliked mosquitoes but she hoped to 
make us realise that they are also very 
fascinating. There are 260 species in 
Australia, of which 74 occur in Victoria; 
there are only three introduced species. 

Dr Marks showed diagrams of various 
egg shapes and said they might be laid 
singly or in rafts; most mosquito eggs 
float, some sink to the bottom, and a 
few are not laid on water but on damp 
vegetation and drop to the water when 
they hatch. The larvae also vary but the 
comma-shaped pupa is fairly typical of 
all. Dr Marks then talked of some of the 
more important mosquito genera in 
Australia. One species breeds in the 
water of the North Queensland pitcher 
plant. The plant digests the insects in its 
pitcher but the mosquitoes evade that 
fate; nobody knows how. 


Vic. Nat. Vol. 98 


(Continued from page 226) 


GROUP MEETINGS 


FNCV members are invited to attend any Group 
meeting, no extra charge. 


Day Group — Third Thursday. 

January. No meeting. 

Thursday, 18 February. Alexandra Gardens. 
Meet at Princes Bridge on the south side of the river 
at 11.30 a.m. Leader: D. McInnes (211 2427). 

Thursday, 18 March. Port Authority harbour 
cruise. Booking is necessary through the leader, D. 
Gillespie (578 1879). 


At the National Herbarium, 
8.00 p.m. 


the Domain, at 


First Tuesday — Mammal Survey Group. 

January — no meeting. 

Tuesday, 2 February, Longfooted pottooroo. 
Speaker: John Seebeck. 


Third Wednesday — Microscopy Group. 
Wednesday, 20 January. Members exhibit night. 
Wednesday, 17 February. Memories of the 

Microscopical Society of Victoria. Speaker: Mr 

Des. Wentworth. 

Second Thursday — Botany Group. 

Thursday, 11 February. A naturalist in Western 

Australia. Speaker: Mrs Ilma Dunn. 

Thursday, 11 March, Mistletoes and mistletoe 
mythology. Speaker: Dr Malcolm Calder, Universi- 
ty of Melbourne. 


At the conference room, the Museum, at 8.00 p.m. 
Good parking — enter from Latrobe St. 
First Monday — Marine Biology and Entomology 
Group. 
January — no meeting. 
Monday, 1 February. Specimens and observa- 
tions by members — insect or marine. 


GROUP EXCURSIONS 
All FNCV members are invited to attend group excursions 


Mammal Survey Group 


January — Australia Day weekend. Saturday to Monday. Howqua. 
Saturday, 13 — Sunday, 14 February. Enterprise Plateau, Eildon. 
Saturday, 6 — Monday, 8 March. Mt Alexander. 


(Continued from page 266) 


Exhibits. Silky Hakea H. sericea had 
grown to about 6 metres (20ft) and died; 
its owner showed a cross section of the 
trunk, diameter 6-8cm (2'%2-3"), very 
pale in colour with distinct dark concen- 
tric lines at varying intervals; the tree 
was 15-17 years old. A small, biscuit- 
colour, woolly caterpillar, a bit longer 
than a centimetre (up to 2) had made 
a definite bite like an ant bite that caus- 
ed arash and weals. 

Under a microscope was a mosquito 


head showing the biting parts and, 
under low power, were four different 
species. Several pieces of rock carried 
the question ‘‘fossil wood or not?’’ Sec- 
tions under microscopes helped some 
people to find the right answers. 


Nature Notes. A stock insect about 15 
cm long (6”) was found in a Balwyn 
garden. Little Grebes are breeding in 
stock tanks in the Robinvale area. A 
plucky Plover refused to leave her nest 
although within touching distance of the 
observer. 


Field Naturalists Club of Victoria 


Established 1880 


OBJECTS: To stimulate interest in natural history and to preserve 
and protect Australian fauna and flora. 
Members include beginners as well as experienced naturalists. 


Patron: 
His Excellency the Honorable SIR HENRY WINNEKE, KCMG, KCVO, OBE, KStJ, QC. 


Key Office-Bearers 1981-1982 


President: 
Miss WENDY CLARK, 27 Rangeview Grove, North Balwyn, 3104 (859 8091 A.H.) 
Secretary: 
Correspondence to: FNCV, National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141 
Treasurer: Mr. D. DUNN, 3 Allfrey Street, East Brighton, 3187 (578 5753) 
Subscription-Secretary: Miss H. MALCOLM C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South 
Yarra, 3141 


Editor: Mr. R. WALLIS, C/- State College of Victoria — Rusden, Blackburn Road, North 
Clayton, 3168, 544 8544. 

Librarian: Mr. P. KELLY, C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141 

Excursion Secretary: Miss M. ALLENDER, 19 Hawthorn Avenue, Caulfield, 3161 
(527 2749) 

Book Sales Officer: Mr. D. E. McINNES, 129 Waverley Road, East Malvern, 3145 (211 2427) 


Group Secretaries 


Botany: Mr. MICHAEL MCcBAIN, 19 Foster St, St Kilda, 3182 (534 2293) 

Day Group: C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141. 

Geology: Mr. T. SAULT, C/- National Herbarium, The Domain, South Yarra, 3141 

Mammal Survey: Mr. A. FAITHFUL, 67 Athelstan Road, Camberwell, 3124 (29 5 108 A.H.) 

Microscopical: Mr. M. H. MEYER, 36 Milroy Street, East Brighton (596 3268) 

Entomology and Marine Biology: Mr. D. E. McINNES, 129 Waverley Road, East Malvern, 
3145 (211 2427) 

FNCV Kinglake Nature Reserve: McMahons Road, Kinglake. 

Bookings and keys: Mr. 1. F. MORRISON, 788 Elgar Road, Doncaster (848 1194) 


MEMBERSHIP 


Membership of the F.N.C.V. is open to any person interested in natural history. The 
Victorian Naturalist is distributed free to all members, the club’s reference and lending library 
is available and other activities are indicated in reports set out in the several preceding pages of 
this magazine. 


Subscription rates for 1981 


Subscription to Victorian Naturalist 
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