BIRTH, DEATHS & MARRIAGES

Of the 49 new Australian species published between 1 December and early February, a new type of gall fly sounds like a candidate for the “least exciting” list – until you start to consider context.

As Taxonomy Australia director Kevin Thiele reports, Fergusonina nodulosa is “pretty tiny”, and develops in galls (abnormal growths) of only a few millimetres diameter.

“The interesting thing is that the discovery of this one species involves a whole host of relationships with other species,” says Thiele. “For a start there’s the iconic river red gum [Eucalyptus camaldulensis] that the fly lays its eggs in to form the galls. Then there’s an obligate nematode that lives in the fly. Then there are three species of moths that lay their eggs in the galls produced by the fly. Then there are 13 species of wasps that parasitise either the gall fly larva or the larvae of the moths.”

The 49 newcomers include three arachnids, two crustaceans, a flatworm, two fungi, 21 insects, 12 new plants and eight new vertebrates.

Alongside F. nodulosa, Thiele pointed to five new types of earless dragon (Tympanocryptis spp) in South Australia, and the rare guinea-flower Hibbertia tuberculate, which was first collected more than 30 years ago in the West Australian goldfields.

Thiele says that it’s important to recognise new species in areas disturbed by such things as mining or land clearing to ensure that endemic species are adequately conserved.

“The guinea-flower wasn’t recognised as distinct or named until this year, when more specimens were collected for surveys of potential new lithium mines,” he says. “Now that the species has a name… its conservation will need to be taken into account when new mines are planned and approved.”

On the other hand, acts of nature – particularly bushfires – have produced less thrilling outcomes for native species.

In early February, the Federal Department of Environment released a provisional list of 113 animal species identified “for urgent management intervention” in the wake of the 2019/20 Australian bushfires. The list includes 13 bird, 19 mammal, 20 reptile, 17 frog, five invertebrate, 22 crayfish and 17 fish species.

Included are species not currently listed as threatened under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 or by the IUCN – but which mostly have more than 30% of their range within the burnt areas. The new analysis incorporates each species’ potential vulnerability to fire.

A worldwide eucalypt species assessment in the latest IUCN Red List update reveals that almost 25% are threatened with extinction. More than 800 w the world’s 826 known eucalypts – comprising the Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora groups – occur only in Australia. Species identified in the assessment include the koala food tree (E. moluccana), the striking rose mallee (E. rhodantha), and the critically endangered Bandalup silver mallet (E. purpurata), which is threatened by mining in its restricted range.

An ancient spider species found only on Kangaroo Island, SA, could be extinct as a result of recent fires. The assassin spider Zephyrarchaea austini is only known to occur in KI’S Western River Wilderness Protection Area. Queensland Museum’s Mike Rix, who first described the spider, told the ABC that the area was “significantly impacted” by fire and that Z. austini “may have been gravely impacted if not wiped out”. It’s feared other species may have been burnt to extinction in the massive fires, but much remains unknown: site assessments and analysis will stretch over months. – IAN CONNELLAN