The George Gill Range (24�S,132�E) 220 km south west of Alice Springs in the
Northern Territory, lies within one of the driest regions of Australia. Diel and
seasonal temperature differences are extreme and the average rainfall is
250 mm per annum. The streams of the Range are the largest group within
the Central Ranges and are relatively pristine. Their flow regimes are episodic
but deep rock pools appear to act as reservoirs of surface runoff and may also
receive groundwater from the Mereenie aquifer.
The waterbodies of the Range and some nearby areas were sampled in July and
December 1986 to determine the composition of the macroinvertebrate communities
and biogeographical relationships with the fauna of lotic systems elsewhere in Australia.
Macroinvertebrate species richness at the Range was comparable with that of
other Australian streams but no Plecoptera, Isopoda or Amphipoda were collected.
The almost complete absence of shredders may reflect low allochthonous inputs,
because riparian vegetation in the arid zone is generally sparse. A small proportion of
the fauna of the Range appears to be a relictual stream fauna. Species of low vagility such
as the waterpenny, Sclerocyphon fuscus, would not be capable of dispersal across the large
tracts of arid land that now separate the Range from southern Australia, where it is also found.
The occurrence of new species at the Range suggests that it is also a site of allopatric
speciation within some groups. The conservation values of the streams of the George
Gill Range and other sites, such as Giles Springs in the Chewings Range, are extremely high.
They represent unique aquatic communities of both ecological and evolutionary importance in the arid zone.
Amphipods of the family Talitridae form an important part of the cryptozoa of Tasmanian forests .. The terrestrial amphipod fauna of the Tasmanian mainland consists of fifteen species. The previously widely used grouping of land amphipods into the genera Orchestia and Talitrus is considered unsatisfactory and consequently a number of genera are created to receive the Tasmanian species. Three new genera, Neorchestia, Orchestiella and Tasmanorchestia, are described, and Mysticotalitrus, Arcitalitrus and Keratroides are raised to generic status. Twelve new species, Austrotroides longicornis, A. leptomerus, A. maritimus, Neorchestia plicibrancha. Mysticotalitrus cryptus, Arcitalitrus bassianus, Keratroides albidus, K. rex, K. pyrensis, Orchestiella neambulans, O. quasimodo and Tasmanorchestia annulata, are described. Mysticotalitrus tasmaniae is redescribed, and a description of the male is given. Keratroides vulgaris and K. angulosus are also recorded from Tasmania, and Protaustrotroides victoriae from King Island. Talitrus assimilis is considered a doubtful species. Among the Tasmanian fauna (excluding P. victoriae), four of the seven genera, but only one of the fifteen species also occurs on the Australian mainland. Examination of geological and paleoclimatic data suggests that this is due to the conditions which prevailed on the Bassian isthmus during Tertiary and late Quaternary times. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 2 Key to the terrestrial amphipods of Tasmania 4 SYSTEMATICS The Simplidactylate Group Protaustrotroides Bousfield ; Protaustrotroides victoriae Bousfield Austrotroides Friend Austrotroides longicornis n.sp 7 Austrotroides leptomerus n.sp.. 11 Austrotroides maritimus n.sp Neorchestia n.gen.. Neorchestia plicibrancha n.sp.. 21
Descriptions of two new genera including five new species of Australian landhoppers are presented. Two new species are recorded from south-west Western Australia (Austrotroides pectinalis and A. occidentalis) and one each from the Adelaide area (A. crenatus), southern Victoria (Agilestia hyperocha) and southern Queensland-northern New South Wales (A. hylaea). Notes on the life history of Austrotoides crenatus are provided.
Although the pathogenesis of renal oxalosis in these cases was not clear, the biochemical findings of elevated urinary oxalate and glycolate excretion indicate an abnormality of oxalate metabolism. The familial pattern of disease suggests it could be an inherited condition.
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