Some land slater (Isopoda: Oniscoidea) records for Banks and Eastern Bass Straits, and Wilsons Promontory

2011·1.6 MB·English

by  John Whinray

Contribution
Some land slater (Isopoda: Oniscoidea) records for Banks
and eastern Bass Straits, and Wilsons Promontory
John Whinray
FlindersIsland,Tasmania,7255
Abstract
Nineteen speciesoflandslaters (Isopoda: Oniscoidea),twoofwhichareexotics,arerecorded forTasmanian
islandsofBanksandeasternBassStraits.Specimenswereobtainedfrom37ofthe100visitedislands.Sixofthe
nativespecieshavebeenfoundonlyon theeastern islandstodate. Onetaxonisknown fromjust Deal Island
andWilsons Promonlory. Another is knownwith certaintyfrom two islands and there is a possible record
ofit forWilsons Promontory. Twoslaters, formerly thoughtto beTasmanianendemics,are recordedforthe
hrsttimeontheAustralianmainland,atWilsons Promontory.Commentsaremadeonthe habitatofsomeof
the species, andtherangeandextentofthecollecting.'Ihedistributionofseveralspecies,and theirprobable
origins,arediscussed.Atableoftheknowndistributionofthe 19taxaispresented.(TheVictorianNaturalist128
(6),2011,266-271)
Keywords:nativelandslaters,exoticlandslaters: BanksStrait, easternBassStrait, WilsonsProm-
ontory,Isopoda, Oniscoidea.
Introduction
The first species ofland slater recorded for the found. So they are dealt with below under their
eastern Straits was the Ranga Cave SlaterEchi- genericorfamilynames.Latertheyshallbenomi-
nodillo cavaticus Green which was described natedforentryontheschedulesoftheTasmanian
from specimens obtained on Flinders Island ThreatenedSpeciesProtectionAct1995.
(Green 1963). The siteisthelargestcalcarenite
TheSlaters
cave ofthe eastern Straits and the species has
notyetbeen found elsewhere. The exotic species are prefixed by an asterisk.
TheauthorsfirstcollectionwastakenatKillie- Two taxa, the Shore Slater and the Garden
crankieBayon thenorth-westcoastofFlinders Slater *Porcellio scaber, already have common
Islandin1966.ThespecimenofShoreSlaterLigia names. Suitable names have been assigned to
australiensisDana,wasnotacknowledgedwhen thebalanceofthespecies (Table 1).
forwarded to the then National Museum of ShoreSlaterLigiaaustraliensisDana, 1853
Victoria. Thislargeslaterlivesontheshoreatandjustbe-
Some slaters were collected in 1972 at The lowhighwaterlevel.Itislikelytooccuronmost
Stacks duringa visit for the collection ofcave- ofthe eastern islands and islets, not just those
crickets. They were forwarded to the Tasma- of the table. However, several of the smallest
nian Museum because AJA Green, theCurator spots, such as Pyramid Rock and Round Islet
ofInvertebrates,haddescribed theRangaCave (HogansGroup), are iron-bound and maylack
Slater. Her prompt reply stated that the speci- enoughhabitat tosustain a population.
mens were an undescribed species that did
not occur on the Tasmanian mainland, A new CoastSlaterStyloniscussp.
species was exciting and so the collecting was TheCoastSlaterislikelytobemorewidespread
within the currently-known range from Long
continued. Eighty-seven lots were taken that
year and they included five or six undescribed IsletatHogansGroupdownto CapeBarrenIs-
species. By the end of 1979 a total of224 col- land. It was generally found in wrackat about
lections had been gathered on 34 islands of high water level or just below it and did not
Banks and eastern Bass Straits, and atWilsons extendout onto the stonycoast with the Shore
Promontory. AllwerelodgedattheTasmanian and Slow Slaters. It is endemic to the eastern
Museum andArtGallery, Launceston. islands.
Thecollectinghasonlybeenspasmodicsincethe SlowSlaterDeto marina (Chilton, 1884)
endof1981. Notevenoneofthenewspecieshas This species occurred on the coast in the same
yetbeennamed,almost40yearssincethefirstwas zone as the Shore Slater. It, too, is likely to
266 TheVictorianNaturalist
Contribution
col- papers pUB|UIB]AJ SBJ[ 6 6 g a a a g a a a a
first UBAYS x x X X
UOiqE3S X X
theGreen’s
in urnSuod X X
S3WD
of x X X X
given UOIJBAJ3SOJJ X X XXX X X X
four
/tone8 X X X
are
Straitsfrom U9JJBQOjagdBeOje X X X X XXXX X XX X X X
are 8uoq X
tJBlJISUBA X X X X
Easternmainland u!i X X X
Xpoo^v X X
the P^
of BpoqBSI X X X X
Tasmanian §oa §ia X X
species U33JQ3l«n XXXX X X
§oq amn X
the
3SOOQ X X X X X
endemicfor SSOOQspin X X X
jaSpug X X X X X X
records
The 9ipdeq3 X X X X
U99JQSiq X X X X
The
OOJE§UE>I X X X X X
Promontory. siwn X
Gallery. ejpqesi X
3\m X X X
Art
^IEMD X X
Wilsons
and pas9UIUJ X X X X
uapo^i X X X
and
Museum pupuas X X X
XXX
Straits, sjapuqj X X X X X X X
>pO}JpiiuBjAg X X X
BassTasmanian s>pe)Saqi X X X X
tsegqjJON X
XXX XXX
P9Q X X
Easternthe W3
X X X X X X
at
}9jsjSuoq X X X X
and
sue§oh X X X X X
lodged
Banks •ujojjsuosjpvv X cv. X
Diuiapug
<D <D <U <U
forspecimens
records or 1 2
No. No. vulgare
slaterspecimenReferences. 2 2
2 >3 sp. sp.
Land a ^3 ^3 sp. scaber
1. x= under £ ^ >3 $o S1' ^ SphaerilloidesSphaerilloides *Armadillidium
o § -3 IMerulana *Porcellio
Table umn.listed ^ Q ^ Q. ~ ^'•o ^<o u3 oS u3
Vol 128 (6) 2011 267
Contribution
occur, not just where recorded so far, but on Slender Slater Plymophiloscia ulverstonensis
nearly every island and islet right across the Green, 1961
easternStraits. The Slender Slater occurred right across the
RishellSlaterArmadilloniscussp. eastern Straits and was even found in scrub
The Rishell Slater was found at the head of near Tidal River on Wilsons Promontory. Un-
BungsBay,onthefarwestcoastofCapeBarren til the latter record was made, it was known as
Island, when the authors friend, Sarah Rachel a Tasmanian endemic (Green 1961, and AJA
Mgaatnhseerleld(t1h9e08B-1r9o8w8n),RisshhoelwlesdThnimcmatwehlelraevsihne- Gmraedeen,atpaerbso.utco3m4m0.m).aTshleinhitghheemstajroercowredstwearsn
rainforest remnant ofMount Munro on Cape
centiana(Cotton 1942) forherstringsofshells.
The common name results from the elision, in Barren Island.
the Cape Barren dialect ofEnglish, ofpart of Straits Slater ?Trachelipidae No. 1 (A species
the name Rice Shell, given because the shells closetoTrachelipidae No. 1)
looksomewhatlikegrainsofrice.MrsMansells The Straits Slater was collected across the cen-
spot, one apparently used for generations by tralpartoftheStraitsfrom ErithIslandatKents
peopleofAboriginal descent, was deeply-piled Group down to tiny Battery Island in Arm-
weed that was mainly Sea Nymph Amphibolis strongs Channel between Cape Barren and
antarctica. Dunnage and driftwood were bur- Clarke Islands. Ittoo is endemic to the eastern
ied with the Rishells in the rotting weed. The islands.
authornoticed minute slaters on thewoodand
they turned out to be the first record, for the Litter Slater ?Trachelipidae No. 2 (A species
southernhemisphere,ofthegenusArmadillon- closetoTrachelipidaeNo. 2)
iscus. (A)AGreen,pers. comm.). Thisspecieswasfirstfoundamongstleaflitterin
thetall scrubofBlackwoodGullyonthe south-
Later,thespecieswasfoundat thetipofLong
PBorionwtnonRiFslhienldlesr,suIsnldaendr.aItopciceucrereodftdhrerief,twwoiotdh esrpnenstidaeloofngDetailmeIstlraynidnsgcetontfrianldhielln.oTuhgehasulattheorrs
ainbopvielehdigRhibwbatoenrWleeveeld. UPnolsiikdeontthaeoaunsetraatliBsujnugsst Ttohreaacroelalewcatsiobnuarsntthbelaspcekcsieevsewraalswneoevkelstloatehrimi.n
the severe bushfire oflate December 1972 and
Bay, thelocaldeposit wassmalland shallow.
therewasno traceofthespecies there upto the
Furneaux Slater ?.Laevophiloscia sp. (A species endof1974. Flowever,itwasnoticedinatinyun-
closetoLaevophiloscia) burnt remnantofShining PeppermintEucalyp-
Thefirst recordwasmadeat highwaterlevel in tusambiguaandscrubonthesaddleat thehead
PetrificationBayon southernFlindersIsland. It ofaminorgullythatdrainssouth totheheadof
wasunderdampwrackthatwasmainlyRibbon FreestoneBay. ItwaslaterfoundatTownshends
Weed, washed in from the extensive mudflats. Point, on Wilsons Promontory, with thespecies
LatertheFurneauxSlaterwascollectedonceon thatshowssomefeaturesoftheFurneauxSlater.
lCiattpeeruBnadrerrensiImspllaends.crTuhberreegritowotchcuarbroeudti4n00lemaf PlageSlaterActaecia bipleura LewisandGreen,
1994
south ofTheTownship.Onejuvenilemale,very
The sole collection ofthis species was made at
similarto thelocal material, waschancedon in nightonthebaredsandysectionofthewestern
the Foleys Road Camping Ground at Townsh- end of Prickly Bottom Beach on Cape Barren
endsPointonWilsonsPromontory.Thesitewas
under a partly-buried log about 60 m in from Island.
high water level. The remnant local vegetation SandSlaterActaecia thomsoniGreen, 1966
consisted of eucalypts, Coast Banksia Banksia There were thousands ofthese slaters at night
integrifolia and South-eastern Broom-heath onthenorthern partofthesandbeachbaredat
Monotoca elliptica. The species has yet to be BulliBayonErithIsland.Laterafewspecimens
seen awayfromthesetwoorthreespots. were found on recently-bared sand during the
268 TheVictorianNaturalist
Contribution
afternoon ebb on the south-western shore Islandisthefurthestinlandrecordsofar. Itcan
of Penguin Island. The latter is in the south- occur in very large numbers. Many hundreds
easterncorneroftheFurneaux Group. were present when a collection was gathered
from the decaying, lowest haulms ofa hassock
Beach Slater Actaecia cyphotelson Lewis and
of Blue Tussock-grass Poa poiformis on Mile
Green, 1994
Island.
Just one of the 48 slaters taken from the
thousands on Bulli Bay beach at Erith IslandSlaterSphaerilloidessp. No. 1 (Aspecies
Island was a Beach Slater. As the gathering closetoSphaerilloidesNo. 1)
was not done by appearance, this species was This undescribed slater was found only on the
much less common than the Sand Slater inthe north-eastern islands and its sole record away
sampled section ofthe sand beach. Latera few from Hogan and Kent Groups was on the tiny
specimens wereobtainedon thesouth-western and very exposed Pyramid Rock. The veg-
coast ofPenguin Island when the Sand Slaters etation of the latter is mainly succulents and
m
werecollectedthere. covers nomorethanabout60 2
.
Wrinkled SlaterCubanssulcifronsGreen, 1961 FlindersIsland Slater?Sphaerilloidessp. No. 2
This Tasmanian endemic species has been (AspeciesclosetoSphaerilloidesNo.2)
foundonsixislandsoftheFurneauxGroupand All the records of this taxon were made on
twoofthefarnorth-eastern islands. Flinders Island. The first was one slater under
a rotting log in Blue Gum Eucalyptusglobulus
TamarSlaterCubans tamarensisGreen, 1961
subsp.globulus woodland on thenorth-eastern
The Tamar Slater was found on just five is- slope ofthe granite hill known as The Dutch-
lands, including the three largest ones, of the
FurneauxGroup. Green(1961)describeditasa amnana.ncItiewnatsdnuontiecjeudstnenxotritnhooffteHn-afyisreLdasgcoruobnoinn
Tasmanian endemic but its finding, at Tid- the north-east ofthe island. Much later it was
al River, extended its range to mainland collected in Blue Gum forest, with a rainforest
Australia.
understorey, in the mudstone massif near the
Trim SlaterCubanssp. centre ofthe island. Dr Bob Mesibov found it
Thethreelocalitiesofthissmallslaterare strik- further east in the mudstone hills in the early
inglydifferent. Tirefirstrecordwasinscrubon 1990s (R Mesibov, pers. comm.). The author
coastaldunes behindthewestern endofBlyths hasnotlooked for itelsewhereon the island.
Bay on the northern coast ofFlinders Island.
GardenSlater*PorcellioscaberLatreille, 1804
Nextitwascollected on theauthorsbushblock Most ofthe islands where this slater has been
by North Pats River on the same island. The
recorded are still being grazed, orwere grazed
vegetationthereisshrubbyEucalyptusambigua for many decades. Timber lor farm-houses
-Eucalyptusglobuluswoodland. Italsoextends or huts, stockyards, shearing sheds and even
a little onto the contiguous blockofland, with fences, was carted to them. The Garden Slater
similar vegetation, by the western boundary.
could have reached the islands on timber or,
Thefinal record was made nearthefootings of more likely, with fruit trees and garden plants.
the sometime barn on Barn Hill, the western While it is widespread in thesettled districtsof
rise of Deal Island. The calcarenite slope has
Flinders Island, and has spread far from farm-
btoeetnusfsiorcedk-mgraansys tainmdes,DrroeodpuicinnggSihtseovaegkestaAtliloon- houses and dwellings, it has yet to be noted in
undisturbedbush.
casuarinaverticillata.
Shiny Slater *Armadillidiurn vulgare (Latreille,
Spotted Slater?Merulanasp. 1804)
As itwascollectedon 28 islandsandislets,this So far this large slater has been found only at
specieshasthewidestrangeoftheundescribed
four ofthe longest-settled parts ofFlinders Is-
species from the Eastern Straits. It was usually land. These are Trousers Point (about 1890),
found closeto the coast and theoccurrence in Whitemark (late 19th Century), Pats River
the middle part of Lighthouse Gully on Deal
(1880s) and Settlement Point (early 1830s). It
Vol 128 (6) 2011 269
Contribution
seems to spread by slowly expanding its terri- breeze can send water over the dune for some
tories; hundreds were noticed on the first 120 hoursduringhightide. Thesouthernarmlacks
m
ofa minor road just east ofthe Pats River the Salt Snail Salinator fragilis but does sup-
airstrip intheSpringof2000. port the smaller salt-tolerant Coxiella striata
Thescopeofthecollecting (Whinxay2009).This findingofanActaeciasp.
or spp. was a matterofchance. Unfortunately
Most ofthe collecting in the Furneaux Group
thespecimenspoiledand,despitetwolatervis-
was done in the course of travelling some
6500 nautical miles, to islands other than its,hasyettobere-collected.
Although a thorough collection of inverte-
Flinders Island, thelargest island ofthegroup.
brates was made by the author and Maureen
The authors main interest lay in collecting
Christie on Babel Island in four weeks ofthe
lichen specimens, and in recording and col- summerof1966-1967,noneofthematerialwas
lecting plants. While no island or islet was keptbytheNational MuseumofVictoria.
ever visited for the sole purpose of collect-
ing slaters, some ofthe spots as small as Mile StrzeieckiNatmionalPark,includingitssummit,
Islandmighthavebeenworkedadequately.The which at 782 is the highest part ofFlinders
Island, has notbeen searched. Justonerainfor-
time taken forvisitsto more remoteplaces, in- estgullyoftheMountMunro - Big Hillmassif,
cluding Kent Group, totalled up to six months. whichincludesCapeBarren Island’ssummit of
The largest island ofthat group is Deal and it 711m,hasbeensampledhastilyatonelocality.
seemed to have been searched thoroughly. Thoroughcollectingonboth massifs mayyield
However,thefindingoftheTrimSlaterCubans
speciesthat do not occuron the islands’ lower
sp. as late as 1986 showed that, despite several
ground.
days’workovertheyears,atleastonetaxonhad Nomorethan an hourwasspentsearchingat
been overlooked.
Tidal RiveronWilsonsPromontory.
Lessthan20siteswereworkedonFlindersIs-
landandsoitsfaunaislittleknown.Mostofthe Discussion
gaps in the table ofoccurrences, especiallyfor Several ofthe already described native slaters,
islands smaller than Flinders Island, are prob- and most ofthe undescribed noveltaxa, are of
ablythe resultofthelimited time thatcouldbe Tasmanian origin. An exception could be the
sparedforcollectingthere. Spotted Slater 7.Merulana sp. Thisgenusoccurs
The few records ofthe slaters Actaecia spp., on the Australian mainland but has yet to be
largely confined to sea shore sand beaches, foundanywhereinTasmania.TheSpottedSlat-
may be more apparent than real. Specimens erisso widespread in theeasternStraits,thatit
were obtained from three sea beaches but less islikelytohaveevolvedbeforethesealevelrose
than 10 havebeen searched. In late 2000 itwas after the last glacial period. As it has reached
very surprising to find tens of thousands of Swan Island, itis hardto understandwhyitdid
slaters—in broad daylight—on the inner part notcrossthegapofexactlythreekmtotheTas-
oftheeastern beach ofthesouthernarm ofthe manianmainland.Green(1961, 1966, 1970and
Pot Boil Lagoon in south-eastern Flinders Is- 1974) and Lewis and Green (1994) do not list
land. Many did not just work the damp sand anyspecimensnorthofaline from Bridportto
and wrack but went out a little way into the TheGardensontheeastcoast.Collectinginthe
adjacent shallows. They were so common that far north-eastern corner may yet show that it
it was impossible to walk without standing on reached thatpartoftheState.
them. This seems to be thefirst occasion when The author’s sampling at Wilsons Promon-
thegenushasbeenfound awayfromsandysea- tory was very minor. Green (1974) remarked
shores. Lewis and Green (1994) do not record thatmostofthecollectingofslatersontheAus-
Actaecia spp. in any other habitat. However tralian mainlandhad been done in New South
the record may not be as anomalous as it first Wales and Queensland. A thorough survey
seemed because the lagoon receives huge vol- of the species of Wilsons Promontory would
umesofseawater,washedinovertheduneatits establishthefaunaoftheareaandshowwheth-
mouth,during westerlygales. Even a moderate er other taxa described as endemic to Tas-
270 TheVictorianNaturalist
1
Contribution
mania, and the species close to Merulana sp., References
occurthere. GreenAJA(1961)AstudyofTasmanianOniscoidea(Crus-
tacea:isopoda).AustralianJournalofZoology,9,258-364.
The two former Tasmanian endemics, the Green AJA (1963) A new species ofEchinodillo (Isopoda,
WrinkledslaterCubarissulcifronsandtheTrim Oniscoidea,Armadillidae)fromFlindersIsland,Tasmania,
Slater Plymophiloscia ulverstonensis are likely 7P7a-p8e0r.sandProceedingsoftheRoyalSocietyof'ldsmania97,
to have evolved in mainland Tasmania and to GreenAJA (1966) Noteson speciesofActuecia Dana (Iso-
havecrossed tothe Australian mainlandbefore poda,Oniscoidea) fromTasmania and NewZealand, Pa-
thelandbridgewasseveredafterthelastglacial p6e7r-s69a.ndProceedingsoftheRoyalSocietyofTasmania 100,
period. GreenAJA(1970)Styloniscidae(Isopoda, Oniscoidea) from
TasmaniaandNewZealand.PapersandProceedingsofthe
Acknowledgements RoyalSocietyofTasmania,105,59-74.
ATassmtahneiasnomeMtuismeeumCuraantdorArotf GIanlvleerrtye,braAtJeAs aGtretehne GrlWeieanJmusAnWkJ:ADT(h(1eE9d7H)4a)gBuiOeong)iesocgoriadpehay(aTnedrreecstorlioaglyIinsoTpaosdmaa)niian.W(ilD-r
encouraged my collecting and named most of the LewisFandGreenAJA(1994)FourspeciesofAclacciidaceae
specimens.Shealsosuppliedsixoff-printsofherpa- (Isopoda:Oniscoidea),fromAustralia,withareviewofthe
pers. Maureen Christie was very helpful from 1966 Family.InvertebrateTaxonomy8,1421-1442.
to 1972. Catherine Tierneyhelpedon DealIslandin WhinrayJ(2009)Somerecordsofnon-marinemolluscsfor
late 1974. GWG Goodessmallboatwas usedin the NBaatnukrsaliasntd12e6ast2e0r1n-2B0a4s.s Straits, Tasmania. The Victorian
Furneaux Group, and for a visit to Cygnet and Lit- ,
tleSwanIslands, between 1972and 1981. Atleast 20
othershelped with visits to islands.Themanyrecent
drafts ofthis contribution were typedat the Online
AccessCentreonFlindersIsland. Received20May2010;accepted19May201
Eighty-fouryearsago
NotesonthecoleopteraofNorthwesternVictoria. Partxiv
ByJC Goudie
GENUS PAROPSIS
Thisgenuscontainsagreaternumberofspecies than anyothergenusofAustraliancoleoptera. Theyare
robust,veryconvex,smoothbeetlesofrounded oval form,andare foundusuallyclingingto theleavesof
lowbushes, the shoots or suckers ofeucalypts are especiallyfavoured by them. Many ofthe species are
beautifullycoloured,butoftenthebrightcoloursfadeentirelyafterdeath,becomingadullyelloworbrown.
Othersareadorned with spots,barsorstripesoffixed colours. Ihelarvae,which feedonthegum-leaves,
areshort,stout,grub-likecreatures;theydustertogetherwhenyoung,afterwardsseparating.
6736.Paropsisaenipennis,Chp.Underside,partsofhead,andmarginsofprothoraxcastaneous,remainder
darkolivegreen. Quarterinch long.TakenonMyall,nearUltima.
6757.Paropsisbeata, Newm. Asmooth,shiningblackspecies7-16thinchinlength,havingthemarginsof
prothoraxandelytraandthreespotsoneachelytron red.
Paropsisdryope, Blackb. Oneofoursmallestkinds,measuringonlyVrinch.Testaceous,withveryvari-
ableblackmarkings.
6836.Paropsisintacta,Newm.Yellowish -brown,striated,marginsofelytrapaler.Headandprothspotted
black.Paropsismystica,Blackb.Brown,theelytrawith twotransverseyellowmarkings oneach;aboutthe
sizeofintacta.
6880.Paropsisnigroviltata, Chp.Analmosthemisphericalspecies,%inchinlength;Testaceous,elytra
eachwith 10longitudinalblacklines.
6890. Paropsisobsoleta Oliv. Reddish-yellow, elytra withthreetransverserowsofindistinctdarkspots.
,
5-16thinch inlength.
6988.Paropsisvariabilis,Chp.Lightyellow,Ysinch;partsofhead,andalargeblotchonshouldersofelytra,
black.Elytrafinelybutdistinctlystriate-punctate.
Inadditiontotheabove,aboutninespecies,whichhavenotbeenidentified,occur.
From TheVictorianNaturalistXLIII,pp.305-306,February1927
Vol 128 (6) 2011 271