ABSTRACT Plant communities within many of the world’s waterways are losing diversity where flows are stabilised for security and enriched from land-use intensification. Understanding the phenotypic plasticity of plant species that protect and/or store their below-ground biomass during floods may help to promote them if problematic, overabundant species – like Phragmites australis and Typha domingensis

ABSTRACT Gastrointestinal parasites of 106 red kangaroos, Osphranter rufus (Desmarest), are reported from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Previous studies have been restricted to New South Wales and Queensland. The current study increases the geographical range of studies of the parasites of O. rufus and presents evidence for regional

ABSTRACT Cloacina celata n. sp. (Nematoda: Strongyloidea) is described from the stomach of the black-striped wallaby, Notamacropus dorsalis (Gray) from Queensland. It differs from congeners in possessing bosses lining the anterior region of the oesophagus, a dorsal oesophageal denticle, an inflated cervical cuticle and the excretory pore opening posterior to the oesophageal junction. Cloacina io Beveridge

ABSTRACT During the 1840s European colonists found the naturally preserved body of an Aboriginal man deep within the Naracoorte Caves of South Australia, which were to become a major tourist destination. As an example of a so-called “petrified Aborigine”, the calcified body became a key attraction for nineteenth century tourists to the region, prior to its theft and incorporation into a museum exhibit

ABSTRACT The myxomycetes associated with samples of dead plant material collected from arid habitats in northeastern South Australia were investigated with the use of the moist chamber culture technique. Since myxomycetes are usually associated with relatively moist conditions, one would not anticipate them to be very common in arid areas. However, 69% of the cultures prepared yielded some evidence

(2020). Michael James Tyler AO, MSc, DSc, 1937–2020. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia: Vol. 144, No. 2, pp. 154-179.

Morialta Conservation Park is a scenic protected area that contains important vegetation remnants of the Mount Lofty Ranges. Here we investigate the vegetation ecology, soils and plant diversity of the park. Using a stratified, quantitative survey of woody vegetation and topsoils throughout the park within forty-five 10 × 10 m plots, we identified ten distinct vegetation types, nine being native and

ABSTRACT Morialta Conservation Park is a scenic protected area that contains important vegetation remnants of the Mount Lofty Ranges. Here we investigate the vegetation ecology, soils and plant diversity of the park. Using a stratified, quantitative survey of woody vegetation and topsoils throughout the park within forty-five 10 × 10 m plots, we identified ten distinct vegetation types, nine being

ABSTRACT A complete annotated checklist of all species of birds based on fossil material known as of 2019 from continental Australia is presented. Taxa range from Cretaceous to Holocene in age. It includes synonyms with full bibliographic details and specifics of the type material in all cases, such as specimen or locality data, source local fauna and geological age. Nomina based on fossil material

(2020). Index to the Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, Vol 134 to 143. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia: Vol. 144, No. 1, pp. 109-137.

The complete skeleton and muscular systems of the burrowing microhylid frog, Barygenys maculata, are described and are compared to that of the morphologically similar burrowing African frog, Hemisus marmoratus. Based on morphological similarities it is assumed that their burrowing methods are similar though no direct observations have been made on Barygenys in life. What little is known about other

The halictine bee genus Homalictus (Apoidea: Halictidae) is distributed broadly across south east Asia, Indonesia, Australia and the archipelagos of the Pacific. The group is well represented in the bee faunas of Australia and Papua New Guinea, but Homalictus is particularly important in the Pacific where it plays a keystone pollination role as the only endemic bee group in many islands. Understanding

The discovery and collection of a fragmentary skeleton found in cliffs of the early Miocene Mannum Formation near Blanchetown, on the River Murray in South Australia, are recounted, and the specimen identified as that of a rare squalodontid whale, on the basis of a near-complete mandible retaining two dentate, triangular posterior teeth.

The tortoise-crab Cryptocnemus vincentianus (Decapoda, Brachyura, Leucosiidae) was first described in 1927 based on one specimen, and with only one specimen recorded since, nothing is known about its biology. We document 11 recently discovered individuals of this species from the Gulf St. Vincent in South Australia. The original description was based on a single female, whilst our records comprise

The cestode genus Caulobothrium Baer, 1948 is reported from the Australian region for the first time with the description of C. pedunculatum sp. nov. from the spiral intestine of the stingray Pastinachus ater (Macleay) (Dasyatidae) from the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland. The new species is differentiated from congeners by the presence of 56–62 loculi per bothridium, two rows

The genus of Tripylina is reported for the first time from Australia based on two known species. Identifications were made as follows: Tripylina macroseta was characterized by having a female with a triangular dorsal tooth posterior to the subventral teeth, body length 832–1064 μm, a = 19–33, b = 4.4–5.5, c = 11–15, c’ = 2.3–4.2 and V = 57–69%; and Tripylina sheri was characterized by having a female

Four new species of strongyloid nematodes belonging to the genus Cloacina von Linstow, 1898 parasitic in macropodid marsupials are described and a poorly known species is redescribed from new material. Cloacina elegans Johnston & Mawson, 1938 is redescribed from the black-flanked rock wallaby, Petrogale lateralis Gould, from central Australia. Cloacina hylas sp. nov. from the stomach of the black-stripe

Beginning in 1953, under the inspired leadership of R.A. Stirton, in just over one decade, a systematic program to discover new fossil sites and specimens of Australian terrestrial mammals, dramatically increased the knowledge of their Neogene history on this continent. At the beginning of this program, only a single incomplete skeleton and a handful of isolated teeth of terrestrial mammals were known

(2019). Correction. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia: Vol. 143, No. 2, pp. ii-ii.

Parasitism is a very common life strategy and although it results in harm to the host, it plays a vital ecological role in host population and community dynamics. The sleepy lizard, Tiliqua rugosa, is one of the best studied lizard species in Australia, to a large extent due to studies involving ticks that infest these lizards. In spite of this, little is known about most of the parasites that are

The extinction of species not only contributes to the loss of biodiversity but also the disruption of ecological interactions, processes and functioning. This is particularly true with the loss of keystone species where considerable ecological shifts are anticipated. Strongly justified and well-managed translocations are increasingly employed in an attempt to mitigate the loss of species. Once widespread

Filarinema chiltoni sp. nov. is described from the pyloric stomach of the western scrub wallaby or black-glove wallaby, Notamacropus irma (Jourdan) from Western Australia. The new species differs from most congeners in possessing two rather than three branches of the distal spicule, and from the few species that possess two spicular branches, in the morphology of the spicules and the inflation of the

River red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) is the dominant floodplain tree of the River Murray in south-eastern Australia. Drought and over-allocation of water have seen tree condition decline and environmental water is being used to aid recovery. An eight-variable visual assessment method is widely used to assess river red gum condition. These variables have been combined into a single aggregated index

The relationship between nest site characteristics and nest success is likely to be important in the conservation management of threatened cavity-nesting birds. The vulnerable eastern Regent Parrot (Polytelis anthopeplus monarchoides) is declining in South Australia, but there is little information on the behavioural ecology of its cavity-nesting habits. The aim of this study was to quantify parental

An experimental flooding with freshwater was used to evaluate the biogeochemical impacts of freshening in a semi-arid floodplain wetland that had undergone severe secondary salinisation (Loveday Disposal Basin, Australia). Filling the wetland with freshwater lowered electrical conductivity (EC) from ~60 to 13 dS m–1. This freshening was accompanied by substantial declines in total P (TP), filterable

Unmanaged, or feral, honey bees can be abundant in Australian agricultural landscapes and provide substantial, but unquantified, crop pollination services. This makes these production systems vulnerable to ecological disturbances. Quantifying the densities of feral honey bees is key to determining the reliance of free pollination services and system vulnerability. Current methods for estimating densities

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a hypervariable gene family that plays an essential role in the recognition of pathogens and immune response. Research on the reptilian MHC has lagged behind other vertebrate groups. Here, we genotyped individuals of an Australian agamid lizard species at MHC class I loci using a recently developed clustering method and family group data. Our method allowed

This paper is a literature-based study concerning avian nomenclature of the Ngarrindjeri language formerly spoken in the Lower Murray River region of temperate South Australia. Ngarrindjeri and modern European Australian classification systems for birds were structurally different. There was no single Ngarrindjeri word that covered all birds. Some species were clustered together under a single term

The extent to which scleractinian coral inhabited southern Australia during the warm intervals of the Quaternary is poorly understood because identifiable corals from interglacial sedimentary records are scarce. Here we document the presence of a sub-tropical coral, Goniopora lobata, recovered together with warm water mollusc species from a raised cobble and boulder beach conglomerate at Kingscote

Klug [J.C.F.] has been rediscovered in the mid-north of South Australia. The species was thought to be locally extinct from South Australia since 1948 when it was last seen flying by F.M. Angel and N.B. Tindale near Two Wells, 20 km north of Adelaide. We compared adult males and females from the mid-north population with S. selene from the type locality, and also to the parthenogenetic populations

In theory, interpretation and transferability of species distribution models (SDMs) should be improved by including abiotic and biotic factors that directly influence a species’ fundamental niche. We investigated whether adding topographic, soil and vegetation variables to a climate-only model improved model performance and predictive capacity for four coastal small mammal species. Adding landscape

Robert Langdon Crocker was the first scientist to investigate the separate fields of desert dunes that, now stabilised by vegetation and relic, extend over much of southern South Australia. Though he considered their origin, he was particularly concerned with their age or ages, and hence their significance for climatic change. As no physical dating methods appropriate to dune sand were then available

Light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is regarded as the key insect pest in Australian vineyards and it is also an important pest of apples and citrus. E. postvittana is indigenous to Australia and has a wide geographical distribution. Recent observations suggest that leafroller species other than E. postvittana may be causing damage in grapevine canopies. A study

Three species of Parastrongyloides previously described from the small intestine of Australian marsupials are reviewed and redescribed from new material and in some instances new host species: P. australis Mawson, 1960 from Isoodon obesulus and Perameles gunnii; P. peramelis Mackerras, 1959 from I. macrourus, Perameles nasuta and Perameles gunnii; and P. trichosuri Mackerras, 1959 from Trichosurus

Cestodes, including Hymenolepis cf diminuta, the acanthocephalan Moniliformis moniliformis and 13 species of nematode, were collected from the digestive tracts of 22 individuals of Rattus verucundus (Murinae: Rattini) from Papua New Guinea. Missimstrongylus oweni n. gen., n. sp. differs from all other genera in the Heligmonellidae in the characters of the synlophe. Nippostrongylinae sp. 1 differs from

Alluvial sequences proximal to coastlines offer opportunities to establish associations between terrestrial, sea-level and climatic events. South Australia hosts a globally significant Pleistocene interglacial sea-level record and numerous terrestrial sediment sources. However, only fragmentary evidence of pre-Last Interglacial alluvium has been identified. This paper presents the first definitive

Passerine song has many functions including mate attraction and territory defence. When songs across populations diverge, this can lead to changes in conspecific recognition and barriers to gene flow, which affect evolutionary processes that could lead to speciation. Two subspecies of thick-billed grasswren (Amytornis modestus) have a parapatric distribution characterised as a narrow region of high

Parasitoid wasps of the subfamily Hyptiogastrinae (Gasteruptiidae) are known to lay eggs in the nests of solitary bees and wasps. Their larvae are considered predator-inquilines, consuming the host’s eggs and larvae and then the nest provisions. Pseudofoenus extraneus is endemic to Fiji, and the only member of the subfamily Hyptiogastrinae known to have colonised the archipelago. The host relationships

Two new species of Cloacina (Nematoda: Strongyloidea) are described from the stomach of the red kangaroo, Osphranter rufus. Cloacina xericola sp. nov. is described from a single locality, Menzies, in Western Australia. It differs from all congeners in having a highly recurrent vagina, six leaf crown elements, a lack of bosses in the lining of the oesophagus and extremely long spicules. Cloacina eris

(2018). Corrigendum. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia: Vol. 142, No. 2, pp. 237-237.

Litoria cyclorhyncha is a hylid frog native to southwest Western Australia (WA). It was first recorded in South Australia (SA) in 2000 and has established a breeding population in Streaky Bay on the western Eyre Peninsula since at least 2011. L. cyclorhyncha is a relatively large predatory frog that presents a potential threat to fauna and ecosystem processes in SA and eastern Australia. This study

Temperatures in South Australia have risen 0.5–1.5°C post-1950, a trend expected to drive ecological change. However, climate sensitivity, landscape resilience and management priorities vary among regions. We classified the vulnerability of South Australian plant assemblages to climate change in a framework that combines climate sensitivity and resilience. Generalised Dissimilarity Models (GDMs) of

A new species of the Subuluridae (Nematoda: Ascaridida) Labiobulura lengguruensis n. sp. is described from the caecum and colon and two new species of the Chabertiidae: Cloacininae (Nematoda: Strongylida) Paralabiostrongylus tuberis n. sp. and Dorcopsinema amplum n. sp. are described from the stomachof the macropodid marsupial Dorcopsis muelleri (Lesson, 1827) (Mammalia: Macropodidae) in Papua Indonesia

This paper is a literature review of the use of birds in the Indigenous material culture of the Lower Murray River region in temperate South Australia, as observed in the early years of British colonisation. This record is augmented with additional data from fieldwork in the 1980s and early 1990s. It was found that Aboriginal people in this region made artefacts incorporating avian materials based

This paper is an ethnographic study of Indigenous bird foraging post-European settlement of the Lower Murray in rural temperate South Australia. The Aboriginal people of this region have developed unique relationships with the landscape, reflecting the retention of some pre-European Indigenous practices and the development of new traditions. Aboriginal bird foraging practices after British settlement

Solanum inaequilaterum is a perennial shrub, endemic to the evergreen subtropical rainforest of southern Queensland and northern New South Wales, Australia. An undescribed species of gall midge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) was found to cause numerous round hairy galls on leaves, leaf stalks and stems. The new species is described and named Dasineura inaequilaterae Kolesik sp. nov. It is the first Dasineura

(2018). Lee Parkin 1916–2013. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia: Vol. 142, No. 1, pp. 102-103.

(2017). Advances in the study of River Murray ecology and the legacy of Keith Forbes Walker (1946−2016) Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia: Vol. 141, River Murray Ecology, pp. 87-91.

River regulation has degraded the River Murray’s riverine ecosystems. Environmental flows are now being delivered to restore these ecosystems to a more natural, pre-regulation state. To guide the development of environmental flow recommendations, I calculated 28 Environmental Flow Components for the River Murray in South Australia, comparing simulated flow data for natural and present conditions. Regulation

(2017). Thanks to Reviewers. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia: Vol. 141, River Murray Ecology, pp. 267-267.

The hydraulic characteristics of lotic systems are fundamental to ecological processes and patterns. In the lower River Murray, Australia upstream dams and diversions have altered hydrology, whilst sequential low-level weirs have fragmented and homogenised a once lotic system. In this paper we (1) use modelling and empirical data to quantify changes to riverine hydraulics (i.e. river level and water

Dryland rivers are differentiated from other rivers by high flow variability. They are also particularly important for river regulation to secure supplies for irrigation agriculture and to meet other human demands. The dilemma is that river regulation not only has considerable benefits for human societies in achieving water security and providing flood protection but also represents perhaps the greatest

The natural flow regime of the Murray River in south-eastern Australia has been fundamentally altered through regulation and extraction, with fewer, shorter floods, changing seasonality of flows and reduced floodplain connectivity. Ecosystems which evolved over millenia show serious stress and decline under the regulated regime. Environmental water allocations being returned to Murray Valley ecosystems

Shell shape varies markedly in freshwater mussels in the order Unionoida. Freshwater mussels belonging to the genus Velesunio (Family Hyriidae) are distributed widely in the rivers and wetlands of Australia, with recent molecular evidence suggesting at least three more species within the genus Velesunio than previously described using shell morphology. This study explored differences in shell morphology

This paper summarises Keith Walker’s contribution to the understanding of aquatic, littoral and floodplain understorey vegetation in inland arid, semi-arid and Mediterranean aquatic ecosystems. The work undertaken by Keith and his Ph.D. students included the vegetation dynamics of lower River Murray weir pools, wetlands and floodplains, Darling River floodplain lakes and adaptations of plants to these

River banks are an important transition zone between aquatic and terrestrial environments. This ecotone is highly vulnerable to natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Bank erosion is a common occurrence along the River Murray. Morphological features reflecting river bank instability form a near-continuous pattern along large tracts of the river. This study investigates the character and extent of

Regulation has profoundly altered the ecological character of many rivers in the world, with pronounced effects in dryland systems subject to competing demand for water between the environment and society. Pervasive changes to flow regimes have cascading effects on ecological processes and biota attuned to natural variability. The Lower River Murray in south-eastern Australia occupies a curious landscape

Two new species of Parastrongyloides Morgan, 1928 (Nematoda: Rhabditoidea: Strongyloididae) are described, P. tachyglossi, from the small intestine of the short-beaked echidna, Tachyglossus aculeatus (Shaw, 1792) from southeastern New South Wales and northern Queensland and P. caenolesti from the small intestine of the common grey or dusky shrew opossum, Caenolestes fuliginosus (Tomes, 1863) from Parames

The parasitic nematode communities are described from the oesophagi and stomachs of eastern grey kangaroos, Macropus giganteus (Shaw), red-necked wallabies, Notamacropus rufogriseus (Desmarest) and swamp wallabies, Wallabia bicolor (Desmarest) (Marsupialia: Macropodidae) from coastal and montane habitats in southeastern New South Wales. The number of nematode species recorded for each macropodid species

This study describes the basic morphology and structure of the dermal denticle from Trygonorrhina dumerilii, and assesses its utility as an ageing structure for rhinobatids. No banding patterns were identified on the surface or in sections of enlarged dermal denticles, which may indicate that these structures are not suitable for estimating age in rhinobatids.