An expedition to the Sir Joseph Banks Group of islands, South Australia: vertebrate fauna

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe vertebrate fauna of the Sir Joseph Banks Group includes 6 native (2 now extinct) and 7 introduced mammals, 76 native and 4 introduced birds and 15 native and 1 introduced reptile. The determination of the total mammal fauna includes examination of sub-fossil bone collections from both Reevesby and Spilsby Islands. Tammar wallaby, bush rat and greater stick-nest rats were only recorded from sub-fossils, but the successful reintroduction of the stick-nest rat to Reevesby Island begun in 1990, is described. Two species of bat are recorded from the two large islands, Spilsby and Reevesby. An Australian sea lion haul-out site on Blyth Island is described for the first time. Counts of the number of pairs of Cape Barren geese now breeding on Spilsby Island are also published here for the first time. The islands of the Sir Joseph Banks Group are very significant for the conservation of species with large and important breeding populations there such as Cape Barren geese, black-faced cormorants, white-faced storm petrels, little penguins and the black form of eastern tiger snakes while the successfully established greater stick-nest rat population on Reevesby Island is critical for the ongoing conservation of this threatened species.