Entire Fauna Research Articles

Raising the prospects for a forgotten fauna: a review of 10 years of conservation effort for New Zealand reptiles

The native terrestrial reptile fauna of New Zealand comprises the last representatives of the Sphenodontida — two species of tuatara ( Sphenodon) — and about 60 species of lizards in four endemic genera: Hoplodactylus and Naultinus (Gekkonidae), Cyclodina and Oligosoma (Scincidae). The entire fauna is strictly protected by legislation, but both species of tuatara, one quarter of the geckos and half of the skinks are now regarded as requiring urgent conservation action. The most widespread problem appears to have been predation by introduced mammals. Tuatara and many resident species of lizards on islands now have prospects of expanding in range and abundance following successful campaigns to eradicate introduced predatory mammals, especially rodents. In addition, 12 species of lizards and both species of tuatara have been reintroduced to islands within their former range once predators were eradicated. Habitat destruction and introduced predators remain as particular problems to lizards in the mainland North and South Islands. Solutions to habitat loss and predation may come from targeted predator control and innovative new approaches to ecosystem management.

Butterflies of Australia. Their Identification, Biology and Distribution

Butterflies of Australia. Their Identification, Biology and Distribution

Lowermost Silurian graptolites from the Kurama Range, eastern Uzbekistan

An unusually diverse fauna of biserial graptolites has been recovered from the Kajrak and Urubulak formations in the Kurama Range of eastern Uzbekistan. The fauna consists of 26 distinct taxa, 24 of which are systematically described and illustrated. The entire fauna can be assigned to theAkidograptus ascensus–Parakidograptus acuminatusBiozone, which is earliest Rhuddanian (early Llandovery) in age. Within this biozone, however, three regionally distinguishable subzones can be recognized, theN. lubricus, A. cuneatusandH. sinitzinisubzones. New taxa described areNormalograptus larini, Normalograptus skeliphrus, “Paraclimacograptus” kiliani kuramaensis, “Glyptograptus” jerini, and“Glyptograptus” ugurensis.New combinations described areNormalograptus acceptus(Koren’ and Mikhaylova, 1980),Normalograptus bicaudatus(Chen and Lin, 1978),Normalograptus jideliensis(Koren’ and Mikhaylova, 1980),Normalograptus lubricus(Chen and Lin, 1978),Normalograptus mirnyensis(Obut and Sobolevskaya, 1967), andSudburigraptus illustris(Koren’ and Mikhaylova, 1980).

LOWERMOST SILURIAN GRAPTOLITES FROM THE KURAMA RANGE, EASTERN UZBEKISTAN

An unusually diverse fauna of biserial graptolites has been recovered from the Kajrak and Urubulak formations in the Kurama Range of eastern Uzbekistan. The fauna consists of 26 distinct taxa, 24 of which are systematically described and illustrated. The entire fauna can be assigned to the Akidograptus ascensus–Parakidograptus acuminatus Biozone, which is earliest Rhuddanian (early Llandovery) in age. Within this biozone, however, three regionally distinguishable subzones can be recognized, the N. lubricus, A. cuneatus and H. sinitzini subzones. New taxa described are Normalograptus larini, Normalograptus skeliphrus, “Paraclimacograptus” kiliani kuramaensis, “Glyptograptus” jerini, and “Glyptograptus” ugurensis. New combinations described are Normalograptus acceptus (Koren’ and Mikhaylova, 1980), Normalograptus bicaudatus (Chen and Lin, 1978), Normalograptus jideliensis (Koren’ and Mikhaylova, 1980), Normalograptus lubricus (Chen and Lin, 1978), Normalograptus mirnyensis (Obut and Sobolevskaya, 1967), and Sudburigraptus illustris (Koren’ and Mikhaylova, 1980).

Biotic response to late Quaternary rapid climate switches in Santa Barbara Basin: Ecological and evolutionary implications

Benthic foraminiferal assemblages from Santa Barbara Basin exhibit major faunal and ecological switches associated with late Quaternary millennial- to decadal-scale global climate oscillations. Repeated turnovers of entire faunas occurred rapidly (<40--400 yr) without extinction or speciation in conjunction with Dansgaard-Oeschger shifts in thermohaline circulation, ventilation, and climate, confirming evolutionary model predictions of Roy et al. Consistent faunal successions of dysoxic taxa during successive interstadials reflect the extreme sensitivity and adaptation of the benthic ecosystem to the rapid environmental changes that marked the late Quaternary and possibly other transitional intervals in the history of the Earth`s ocean-atmosphere-cryosphere system. These data support the hypothesis that broad segments of the biosphere are well adapted to rapid climate change.

Molecular biogeography of the Pacific

Species-range information forms the empirical data base for much of biogeography, but even with a huge amount of data on species occurrences, many of the ecological and evolutionary processes generating biogeographic patterns remain obscure. Molecular genetic data from closely related, widely distributed species can help address biogeographic mechanisms by (1) providing independent evidence for genetic boundaries between cryptic species, (2) estimating species divergence times, (3) providing phylogenetic reconstructions of species divergence patterns, and (4) allowing us to examine the geography of allelic variants within species and ask if intra-specific alleles show the same biogeographic patterns as do species. Data from mitochondrial DNA variation in Pacific sea urchins and butterfly fishes show that congeneric species diverged within the Pleistocene. Thus, the processes that generate species diversity patterns probably have been acting throughout the recent past, and are ongoing aspects of Pacific marine biology. Phylogenetic analysis of mtDNA variants suggests that sea urchin species arise throughout the Pacific, with some originating by peripheral speciation and some evolving in the high diversity center of the Indo-West Pacific. Clines of mtDNA variation within species are similar to diversity clines in the entire fauna. Similar biogeographic patterns for species and for alleles within species may provide unique clues about the processes that generate biological diversity both within and between species.

Patterns of Nestedness and Species Association in a Pond-Dwelling Amphibian Fauna

The pattern of nested species subsets has been reported for many taxa in naturally or anthropogenically fragmented habitats. Of continued interest to ecologists is whether nestedness is more frequently and strongly associated with either selective extinction or selective colon, We studied patterns of amphibian incidence at 118 ponds in southwestern Ontario from 1992 to 1994. Our objectives were to determine if individual species, groups of species, or the entire fauna was nested, and at what spatial scale, to examine patterns of species association, and to evaluate causal hypotheses. The entire fauna was signiticantly nested at the geographic. region and sub-region scales. Most species were highly nested, but differences occurred among regions for some species. Species grouped by their requirement for woodland habitat or susceptibility to fish predation showed a high degree of nestedness. Historic deforestation and introduction of predatory, fish are the likely mechanisms of extinction in this fauna. Species grouped as good dispersers were less nested than spoor disperse. Species incidence was positively correlated with potential dispersal abilities. Our results suggest the importance of both selective extinction and selective colonization in contributing to the degree of nestedness in this fauna. Nested patterns may be the rule for faunas having high turnover on mainlands. Species poor sites were dominated by the same assemblage of three species, suggesting that single large reserves are preferable to several small reserves for conservation of temperate zone pond-dwelling amphibian assemblages.

Faunal stability during the Early Oligocene climatic crash

Abstract Traditional Neo-Darwinism views species as highly flexible entities which adapt to climatic change by gradually evolving new morphologies. Of the 177 species of mammals from the upper Eocene-lower Oligocene (37-30 Ma) White River Group in the High Plains, most species are static for 2.4 million years on average, and some persist much longer. Only three examples of gradualism can be documented in the entire fauna, and these are mostly size changes. Contrary to expectations, most mammalian species show no change during the earliest Oligocene climatic crash (33.2 Ma), in spite of the fact that the vegetation changed from dense forests to open forested grassland, mean annual temperatures dropped 13°C, and conditions got much drier and more seasonal. Only a few mammalian lineages speciated, a few more went extinct, and the vast majority (62 out of 70) persisted through this climatic event with no observable response whatsoever. This evidence shows that organisms are much less responsive to the environment than short-term neontological studies suggest.

Ecological structuring and evolution of deep sea agglutinated foraminifera — a review

Recent agglutinated foraminiferal communities exhibit both simple and complex ecological structuring within habitats. Simple ecological structuring (i.e. a limitation of the entire fauna at or close to the sediment-water interface and absence of erect suspension feeding forms) is mainly observed under low oxygen conditions and high organic flux or after severe substrate disturbance. Oligotrophic deep sea conditions with low vertical particle flux and little substrate disturbance as in the central areas of the modern oceans lead to the development of complex ecological structuring with various highly adapted “specialists” (i.e. mobile infaunal forms, a variety of epifaunal suspension feeders, and epifaunal deposit feeders with special mechanisms to avoid energy loss and use food resources not exploitable by other organisms). The paleontologic record of species diversity and habitat preferences since the late Jurassic exhibits two trends: (1) a general trend from simple to complex ecological structuring within habitats leads to an overall increase in diversity; (2) fluctuations in this trend coinciding with major paleoceanographic events, i.e. changes in deep water oxygenation and paleoproductivity. From a comparison of Recent and fossil communities from various trophic situations we conclude, that the ecological structuring of agglutinated foraminifera within habitats may have been one of the most important driving forces (selection mechanisms) in the evolution of this special group of protists.

What can molecular genetics contribute to marine biogeography? An urchin's tale

The high marine species diversity in the Indo-West Pacific declines sharply to the east and west of the Indonesian Archipelago. This biogeographic pattern has attracted attention for over a century, but the mechanisms generating such diversity gradients remain uncertain. Molecular genetic data can help address biogeographic mechanisms in at least 4 ways. They can provide (1) independent evidence for genetic boundaries between cryptic species, (2) a temporal framework for species divergence times, (3) phylogenetic reconstructions of species divergence patterns, and (4) information about the geography of allelic variants within species. Data from mitochondrial DNA variation in Pacific sea urchins show that (1) congeneric species are of recent origin, having diverged within the Pleistocene, (2) populations are genetically heterogeneous despite high dispersal potential, and (3) clines of mtDNA variation within species are similar to diversity clines in the entire fauna. Phylogenetic analysis of mtDNA variants does not support the center-of-overlap or center-of-accumulation models for biogeographic patterns in the Indo-West Pacific, but instead suggests that genetic differentiation and perhaps species formation can occur throughout the Indo-West Pacific.

Winter Diet of the Small Indian Mongoose, Herpestes auropunctatus, on an Adriatic Island

The diet of the small Indian mongoose, Herpestes auropunctatus (Carnivora: Herpestidae), was studied by analysis of feces in winter 1992–1993 on a northern Mediterranean island, at the northern limit of distribution of the species. Vertebrates (46% by volume, mostly murine rodents) and plant matter (43%, mostly fruit) dominated the diet. The entire small-mammalian fauna of the island, except for shrews, was represented in the diet. The diet differs significantly from what has been reported previously. We suggest this species be classified as a generalist rather than as an insectivorous or a vertebrate feeder, as has been done previously.

Extinction selectivity and ecology of Neogene Caribbean reef corals

We analyze a new compilation of Neogene to Recent (22-0 Ma) Caribbean coral occurrences to determine how ecological and life history traits at the population level affect long-term evolutionary patterns. The compilation consists of occurrences of 175 species and 49 genera in one continuous (&gt; 5 m.y.) sequence and 22 scattered sites across the Caribbean region. Previous study of evolutionary rates using these data has shown that both extinction and origination were accelerated between 4 and 1 Ma, resulting in large-scale faunal turnover. Categories for three morphological and two reproductive variables (colony size, colony shape, and corallite size; and sex, and mode of embryonic development; respectively) are assigned to each species in the compilation. Comparisons of the ecological variables with evolutionary rates using randomization procedures and modified analysis of variance show that only colony size was strongly related to rates of extinction and origination during either normal background times or times of accelerated extinction. Extinction rates were lower in species with large colonies, because species with small massive colonies tend to live in small, short-lived populations with highly fluctuating recruitment rates. During turnover, extinction rates increased disproportionately in species with small colonies. Origination rates are found to be less related to ecological variables, although species with small massive colonies originated at higher rates prior to turnover.Accelerated turnover may have therefore involved an increase in local population extinction rates that caused increased rates of both species extinction and origination across the entire fauna. Since extinction rates accelerated disproportionately with respect to colony size, the overall result was a relative increase in species with large colonies. After severe disturbance, one might expect that populations of species with large colonies and high rates of fragmentation would be more likely to escape extinction, because of larger population sizes, longer generation times, and more constant rates of population increase. The modern Caribbean reef-coral fauna is therefore structured by large, long-lived colonies that are robust to regional environmental change. Many of the very taxa that allowed reef communities to escape collapse in the past are declining today in response to anthropogenic disturbances, suggesting that Caribbean reef communities may be less resilient in the future in response to ongoing environmental perturbations.

Inferring biome associations of recent mammals from samples of temperate and tropical faunas: Paleoecological considerations

Reconstruction of past faunal assemblages is of primary concern to paleontologists because it yields important information concerning patterns of community structure, biogeography, and paleoclimatology. Unfortunately, the process of fossilization is serendipitous at best, resulting in fossil beds that only contain a sample of the extant fauna that existed at the time of fossilization. Herein, we examine the degree to which incomplete sampling of four well‐known small mammal faunas gives rise to uncertainty concerning the biome association of each site using neontological data from two tropical (Brazilian Cerrado and Gallery Forest) and two temperate (Kansas Prairie and Kentucky Mixed Deciduous‐coniferous Forest) areas. Two simulation approaches (variable and fixed sample sizes) were applied to each set of data to ascertain what proportion of the mammal fauna must be sampled before inferring the correct biome to which the fauna pertained. In the variable sample size approach, species were selected at random from the species pool until the sample correctly identified the biome from which the sample was obtained; this was repeated 200 times for each of the 4 sites. In the fixed sample size approach, a series of simulations were conducted in which each simulation had a fixed number of species, beginning at 2 and increasing at regular intervals until the entire fauna was included in the sample. The number of species required to correctly associate a site with the proper biome was highly variable for three of the four sites. As a result, the number of species required in a sample to be 95% certain of the biome association of Mixed Deciduous‐coniferous Forest, Prairie, and Gallery Forest sites represented a large proportion of the fauna in each case (78%, 88%, and 89%, respectively). In contrast, only 23% of the fauna needed to be sampled from the Cerrado site to obtain the same level of confidence. Adjusting the Cerrado analysis for the effect of endemic species only resulted in an inflation of this value to 33%. The effects of endemics in reducing the certainty of biome associations are only pronounced when sample sizes are small compared to the total species pool. The accuracy of estimating the correct biome association of a fauna is predicated upon the proportion of the fauna in the sample as well as the particular distributional patterns of the species that compose the fauna. Caution should be exercised when inferring the biome association of fossil sites because neither of these features of the sample are usually known. Moreover, even when these features are know, as in the neontological analyses, a large proportion of the fauna frequently is required to be confident of the correct biome association of the fauna. Results indicate that the body size of species found in a fossil assemblage or their ordinal taxonomic affinities can affect the probability of accurately deducing paleoenvironments. Smaller species, and members of the orders Rodentia or Insectivora, are more stenotopic than larger species, or members of the orders Artiodactyla and Carnivora. Fossil assemblages containing only members of the latter groups will consist of wide‐ranging species of broad habitat tolerance. Thus the paleoenvironment of such a fossil assemblage will be difficult to discern.

Environmental Stability and Community Persistence: A Multivariate Perspective

Six physical and hydrological variables were used to assess environmental stability at sites on 10 contrasting streams in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. Five of the streams were spring-fed and initially designated "stable", and the others, which were predominantly catchment-fed, were designated "unstable". At each site, depth, current velocity, and water temperature were measured monthly for 19 mo, and the distances moved by marked stones in three size groups were determined over 18 mo. Stone invertebrate communities were sampled at each site at three monthly intervals. Tractive force measurements and the Pfankuch stability index were also calculated. Monthly depth and current variability, temperature range, Pfankuch stability scores, and substrate movement were all greater at the five "unstable" sites, but the rank order of sites obtained with each measure was not consistent. Tractive force was the only stability measure that did not differ significantly between "stable" and "unstable" streams. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to combine values for all six variables into single multivariate instability scores (PCA scores for Axis 1). These scores were strongly correlated with all individual stability variable scores with the exception of those for tractive force. We suggest that the effects of environmental stability on community structure should be assessed using a measure that is representative of all the physical characteristics at a study site, and we believe the multivariate instability score goes some way towards achieving this. Such a procedure, however, does not negate the use of individual measures for examining specific environmental relationships as well. Although differences in the persistence of some community characteristics could be detected using the initial "stable/unstable" groups, others could only be seen when plotted on a more continuous scale using the multivariate instability scores. Persistence of the dominant invertebrate taxa was high at all sites, but persistence of the entire fauna was higher at the stable sites.

The role of environment in the diversity and evolutionary turnover rates of the Foraminiferida

Taxonomic databases are important tools in the study of faunal diversity and evolution. The usefulness of the inferences drawn from these databases is diminished when the role of environment is not considered. Analysis of the foraminiferal database at the genus and family levels is used to demonstrate the effect of water depth on presumed changes in taxonomic diversity and evolutionary turnover rates.This paleoenvironmental effect is particularly noticeable when foraminiferal faunas of the late Paleozoic and the Mesozoic and Cenozoic intervals are compared. The late Paleozoic fauna is dominated by the Fusulinina and shallow-water (0–200 m) Textularuna. Standing diversity fluctuates greatly, and evolutionary turnover is high. This reflects short-term fluctuations in sea level which led to the rapid formation and destruction of narrow ecological niches. Evolutionary turnover appears to be related to reef growth during this time. This trend may also reflect an increased number of k-selected specialists which serve as proxy indicators for a slow-circulating oligotrophic ocean system. Shallow-water taxa may also be predisposed to extinction due to their reliance on symbiotic algae. The extinction event at the end of the Permian resulted in the loss of almost 70% of the standing generic diversity. This included the complete loss of the Fusulinina as well as a number of shallow-water textularids. Cohort survivorship curves are steep and taxon ages short during this time.The diversity increase over the past 245 million years has largely been due to the addition of deep-water (200-10,000 m) taxa. This was particularly true during the Late Cretaceous and early Eocene, and may reflect the relatively high eustatic sea level during those intervals. The relationship between reef development and evolutionary turnover rates is less clear during this time interval. Although the extinction event that marked the end of the Cretaceous resulted in a greater loss in absolute taxonomic diversity than occurred at the end of the Permian, the relative loss in generic diversity was only about 21% due to the large number of deep-water taxa. When the entire fauna is considered, cohort survivorship curves are less steep and taxon ages are longer than in the late Paleozoic, but when only the shallow-water taxa are considered, the results are similar to those for the late Paleozoic.

Isotopic evidence for climatic, ecologic, and faunal change in the Siwaliks of Pakistan

The biggest replacement of fauna in the Siwaliks of Pakistan takes place between 7.5 and 7.0 million years (Ma) ago. By 5 Ma, almost the entire fauna that existed at 8 Ma had been replaced by a different fauna. Although other important faunal changes occurred at about 13.5, 12, and 9.5 Ma those changes are small compared to that between 7.5 and 7.0 Ma. What event caused the wholesale local extinction of fauna which was replaced by another?The stable isotopic composition of paleosol carbonate shows two important “events” in the Siwalik sequence. First, at 8 Ma a big shift in the δ18O of soil carbonate indicates that a major shift in climate occurred. We have found a similar change in Europe and East Africa in soil carbonates on those continents, suggesting a major change in global circulation patterns. The second event is a change in the isotopic composition of carbon-bearing phases which shows that the pre-7.5 Ma vegetation was dominated by C3 plants which were completely replaced by C4 plants between 7 and 6 Ma. This is most likely a replacement of woody plants by tropical (C4) grasses.The carbon isotopic composition of tooth enamel from Siwalik mammals shows that prior to 7.5 Ma they consumed C3 plants, and by 5 Ma consumed only C4 plants. While it comes as no surprise that animals eat local vegetation, this study shows that isotopic reconstruction of paleo-diets can be traced back into the Tertiary.Global climatic change in the late Miocene resulted in the invasion of tropical grasslands into the Indian subcontinent. The resulting change in habitat and diet caused the migration of many species of mammals, which is manifested as an almost complete turnover in the fauna fo the Siwaliks.

Devonian bryozoan extinction and diversification

The names proposed world-wide for Devonian bryozoans have been evaluated with respect to replaced names, synonyms, and nomina dubia [Horowitz and Pachut (1993), Journal of Paleontology, in press]. The resulting list contains 1738 specific names assigned to 199 genera in 45 families. Approximately 75% of Devonian bryozoan species are reported from a single stage. Not more than 10%, and usually 4–6%, of the species reported in any Devonian stage are also reported in the succeeding stage.The largest decrease in observed bryozoan diversity occurs between the Givetian and Frasnian stages, reducing the number of species by 77%, genera by 64%, and families by 42%. These values are less than those reported for the range-through method for the entire fauna of the Permian mass extinction (Raup, 1979) but larger than percentage extinctions (presumably based on range-though data) for four other Phanerozoic mass extinctions tabulated by Valentine and Walker (1987).The range-through method dampens the observed differences in taxonomic diversity among Devonian stages at all taxonomic levels. The range-through number of species/stage is based upon both direct applications of the range-through method and on the assignment of ranges known only to early, middle and late Devonian to include appropriate Devonian stages. Generic and familial diversity increases monotonically from Lochkovian through Givetian stages. Thereafter (Givetian to Frasnian), range-through values for specific (69%), generic (31%), and familial diversity (10%) decrease. Specific and familial decreases across the Givetian-Frasnian boundary are comparable to those reported for non-Permian mass extinctions by Valentine and Walker, but the generic decrease is not as great. These results are consistent with Valentine and Walker's random mass extinction model.Observed bryozoan diversity across the Frasnian-Famennian boundary increases while values calculated using the range-through method decrease by approximately 5–15%. This does not suggest a major bryozoan extinction event. Conversely, the decrease in bryozoan diversity across the Givetian-Frasnian interval is similar to an important Devonian extinction among rugose corals. The reason(s) for these extinctions is not yet clear. With respect to Devonian bryozoans, our inadequate understanding of the cause(s) of mass extinctions and the relatively coarse resolution of the stadial timescale does not permit differentiating between gradual or catastrophic scenarios.

A plot study of forest floor litter frogs, Central Amazon, Brazil

ABSTRACTAbundance and distribution of frogs inhabiting the litter layer of an area of primary lowland rain forest in Central Amazonia were studied over a period of 15 months by sampling 498 plots each 5m × 5m. The litter frog fauna of the area consists of 23 species, but only 12 of these were encountered in the plots, and 84% of the frogs encountered belonged to only six species. Total abundance and diversity within the plot data are strongly seasonal and peak in the late wet season. Both are positively correlated with litter volume and moisture. Most of this variation is due to seasonality of reproduction, as indicated by patterns of occurrence of juveniles of the most abundant species.These results indicate that the plot sampling method docs not sample the entire fauna adequately. Since this technique has been used to study other tropical forest litter herpetofaunas, however, comparison with other studies may be useful. Species diversity of litter frogs appears to be approximately the same in lowland primary forest sites studied, averaging around 20 ‘regular’ species. Abundances, however, vary widely. Central American communities contain 14–15 frogs (100m)-2, African 9–10, South American 4–6, and South-east Asian 1–2. These differences may be due to differential nutrient availability in forests of different ages and/or on different soils.

Biodiversity Loss in the Temperate Zone: Decline of the Native Fish Fauna of California

AbstractIn proportion to the entire fauna, loss of species may be as great in temperate regions as in tropical regions. To test the validity of this statement we analyzed the status of the native fish fauna of California, using a methodology that quantifies expert knowledge. Of 113 native taxa, 6 percent are extinct, 12 percent are officially listed as threatened or endangered 6 percent deserve immediate listing I7 percent may need listing soon, 22 percent show declining populations but are not yet in serious trouble, and 36 percent appear to be secure. Much of the faunal decline has taken place in recent years; it has included unexpectedly rapid declines of once abundant species. Fish taxa in serious trouble are most likely to be (1) endemic to California, (2) restricted to a small area, (3) occupants of just one drainage basin, (4) part of a fish assemblage of less than five species, and (5) found in isolated springs, warm water streams, or big rivers. Water diversions and introduced species, acting in concert, seem to be the principal causes of the decline of the native fauna, although other types of habitat degradation have contributed as well. The situation in California, with its high degree of endemism (60 percent), may be regarded as extreme but fish faunas in other temperate regions show signs of being nearly as stressed. It is likely that the situation with fish reflects a more general decline of the biota of temperate regions of the world.

A taxonomic revision of the long-tailed wasps of the genus Megalyra Westwood (Hymenoptera : Megalyridae)

The genus Megalyra Westwood, comprising the entire Australian megalyrid fauna, is revised. Eleven new species are described and sixteen species are redescribed. A key to the species and information on their relationships, distribution, and biology is presented. New synonyms are as follows: M. eiythropus Cameron, M. szepligetii Bradley, M. kalgoorliensrs Froggatt. M. puncrara Froggatt, M. punctata rufina Fahringer. M. fasciipennis io Girault, and M. nigricorpus Girault are newly synonymised under M. farciipennis Westwood; M. variegara Froggatt, M. fivnchi Froggatt, M. lyelli Froggatt, and M. hirsuta Froggatt are newly synonymised under M. rufipes Erichson; M. fahrei Girault is newly synonymised under M. viridescens Froggatt; and M. rnutilis Westwood, M. melanoptera Schletterer, and M. mastersi Froggatt are newly synonymised under M. shuckardi Westwood. Lectotypes are designated for M. fasciipennis Westuood, M. caudata Szepligeti, M. puncrata Froggatt, M. lyelli Froggatt, M. variegata Froggatt, M. frenchi Froggatt, M. lilliputiana Turner, and M. restaceipes Turner. A neotype is designated for M. wagneri Fahringer. Characters supporting the monophyly of Megalyra are discussed, and the species are classified into species-groups.