North-eastern Queensland Research Articles

Contribution to the knowledge of the endemic Australian genus Binburrum Pollock, 1995 (Coleoptera: Pyrochroidae: Pilipalpinae), with description of three new species

AbstractBinburrum Pollock, 1995 is a small group of fire-coloured beetles (Tenebrionoidea: Pyrochroidae: Pilipalpinae) endemic to Australia with five described species. Herein, three new species of Binburrum – B. articuno (southeastern South Australia), B. moltres (northeastern Queensland, Australia), and B. zapdos (northeastern Queensland) – are described based on comparative anatomy, highlighting the underestimated diversity of this genus. Binburrum angusticollis Pollock, 1995 is newly recorded from New South Wales, Australia. Descriptions of new species are supplemented with digital photographs and scientific illustrations of habitus and salient structures. A key for the identification of Binburrum is provided.

Rapid expansion of meso-megathermal rain forests into the southern high latitudes at the onset of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

Abstract Current knowledge of terrestrial ecosystem response to the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM; ca. 56 Ma) is largely based on the midlatitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. To more fully reconstruct global terrestrial ecosystem response to the PETM, we generated vegetation and biomarker proxy records from an outcrop section on the southern coast of Australia (∼60°S paleolatitude). We documented a rapid, massive, and sustained vegetation turnover as a response to regional PETM warming of ∼1–4 °C, abruptly transitioning from a warm temperate to a meso-megathermal rain forest similar to that of present-day northeastern Queensland, Australia. The onset of this vegetation change preceded the characteristic PETM carbon-isotope excursion (CIE) by several thousand years. The reconstructed ecosystem change is much stronger than in other Southern Hemisphere records, highlighting the need for consideration of regional paleoceanographic, paleogeographic, and biogeographic characteristics to fully understand the global terrestrial ecosystem response to PETM climate forcing.

A New and Critically Endangered species of Phebalium (Rutaceae) from north-eastern Queensland, Australia.

Phebalium cicatricatum A.J.Ford & Duretto is formally described and illustrated. Notes on habitat, distribution and conservation status are provided, as are detailed information how to distinguish it from P. longifolium, the only other species of the genus in north-east Queensland.

Studies in Australian Tettigoniidae: New Fully-winged Agraeciini From North-eastern Australia (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae; Conocephalinae; Agraeciini).

Four new genera including five new species are described. All are from north-eastern Queensland. Barbaragraecia comprises two new species. B. unicorn Rentz Su, gen. et sp. nov. (the type species) and B. richardsoni Rentz Su, sp. nov. Geoffagraecia is known from a single species, G. gwinganna Rentz Su, sp. nov. the type species. Greenagraecia Rentz Su, gen. et sp. nov. is known from two species, G. attenuata Rentz Su, gen. et sp. nov., the type species and G. cooloola Rentz Su, gen. et sp. nov.. The unrelated genus Nicsara Walker 1869 is discussed and species with falcate ovipositors are removed and placed in a new genus, Larifugagraecia Rentz Su gen. nov., with Nicsara spuria Redtenbacher 1891 designated as the type species. Two species are removed from Nicsara and placed in Larifugagraecia. These are N. cornuta (Redtenbacher 1891) and N. spuria. Other species remain in Nicsara until they can be further assessed. Biological and ecological notes accompany detailed descriptions of the new species along with many morphological illustrations. Illustrations also are provided for L. spuria gen. nov. A key to the described fully-winged Australian agraeciine genera is provided at the end of the paper.

Australian Melolonthini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae): a second species of Hypolepida Britton, 1978.

The genus Hypolepida Britton, 1978 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Melolonthini), is reviewed and a second species, H. braes new species, is described and differentiated from H. wilsoni Britton, 1978. Both species occur in northeastern Queensland, with the former in dry-tropical open forest and the latter in wetter areas closer to the coast.

A review of vegetation associated with records of the Masked Owl Tyto novaehollandiae in north-eastern Queensland

. In north-eastern Queensland, the Masked Owl Tyto novaehollandiae is a rare and taxonomically complex species in apparent decline. It has typically been recorded in open sclerophyll forest and woodland, often adjacent to cleared areas, but current records suggest a patchy distribution. We used all available high-veracity records of the Masked Owl in north-eastern Queensland to examine habitat associations based on regional ecosystem data, and present a spatial model of its potential distribution within the Cape York Peninsula, Wet Tropics and Einasleigh Uplands bioregions. We conclude that the currently disjointed distribution is probably because of a lack of systematic surveys and that this species might be more widespread than previously thought.

A geochemical investigation into the resource potential of the Lawn Hill Platform, northern Australia

The Lawn Hill Platform (LHP) is a sedimentary province in north-eastern Northern Territory and north-western Queensland that hosts a significant Paleoproterozoic–Mesoproterozoic sequence, often referred to as 'the ‘Isa Superbasin’, and includes the overlying South Nicholson Group. Shale gas resources and base-metals mineralisation are known in north-west Queensland, but the larger basin is underexplored. The Australian Government’s Exploring for the Future (EFTF) 2016−2020 program aims to boost resource exploration in northern Australia. New precompetitive geochemical data obtained in this program includes source rock geochemistry, kerogen kinetics, bitumen reflectance, biomarker and δ13C n-alkanes for understanding the petroleum potential, organic geochemistry of source rocks and fluids, stratigraphic correlations and mineralogy to determine the brittleness of shales. All data and derived reports are accessible on the EFTF portal (www.eftf.ga.gov.au), providing a central location for informed decision making. The results in this study demonstrate fair to excellent source rocks in multiple supersequences that are brittle and favourable to hydraulic stimulation. A comparison to the greater McArthur Basin demonstrates, that although there are many similarities in bulk geochemistry, LHP mudstones are largely heterogeneous, reflecting local variations that may be inherited from variations in contributing biomass, microbial reworking, depositional environment, sediment input and paleoredox conditions.

Introgression between non-sister species of honeyeaters (Aves: Meliphagidae) several million years after speciation

AbstractWe reassessed whether two parapatric non-sister Australian honeyeater species (Aves: Meliphagidae), varied and mangrove honeyeaters (Gavicalis versicolor and G. fasciogularis, respectively), that diverged from a common ancestor c. 2.5 Mya intergrade in the Townsville area of north-eastern Queensland. Consistent with a previous specimen-based study, by using genomics methods we show one-way gene flow for autosomal but not Z-linked markers from varied into mangrove honeyeaters. Introgression barely extends south of the area of parapatry in and around the city of Townsville. While demonstrating the long-term porosity of species boundaries over several million years, our data also suggest a clear role of sex chromosomes in maintaining reproductive isolation.

Caridina malanda, a new species of freshwater shrimp (Crustacea: Decapoda: Atyidae) from the Wet Tropics World Heritage area, north-eastern Queensland, Australia.

Integrated molecular and morphological studies of newly collected and curated specimens of the genus Caridina from the Atherton Tablelands, Wet Tropics World Heritage Area in north-eastern Queensland, Australia indicated the presence of an undescribed species belonging to the Caridina zebra Short 1993 complex. This species is somewhat intermediate, although distinct on the basis of molecular data and morphology, from two known sympatric species, Caridina zebra and C. confusa Choy Marshall 1997, and an allopatric species, C. spinula Choy Marshall 1997, from the Cape York Peninsula, about 500 km north. It is described here as a new species, C. malanda sp. nov., and compared with similar congeners. A key for the identification of the species, as well as notes on its distribution, ecology, and conservation, are provided.

New genera, species and records of rhinebothriidean cestodes (Platyhelminthes) parasitic in Australian stingrays (Elasmobranchii: Batoidea).

Collections of rhinebothriidean cestodes (Platyhelminthes) from Australian batoid elasmobranchs revealed the presence of a number of new genera and species. Ruptobothrium louiseuzeti n. g., n sp. is described from the reticulate whipray, Himantura australis Last, Naylor & Manjaji-Matsumoto, from off the Northern Territory and Mixobothrium queenslandense n. g., n sp. is described from the green sawfish, Pristis zijsron Bleeker, from off north-eastern Queensland. Two new species of Rhabdotobothrium Euzet, 1953 are described: Rhabdotobothrium meridionale n. sp. from the southern eagle ray Myliobatis tenuicaudatus Hector from off South Australia and Rhabdotobothrium anoxypristidis n. sp. from the narrow sawfish, Anoxypristis cuspidatus (Latham) from off north Western Australia. A new species of Scalithrium Healy & Reyda, 2016, Scalithrium australiense n. sp., is described from the reticulate whipray, Himantura australis Last, Naylor & Manjaji-Matsumoto, from off northern Western Australia. Scalithrium smitii (Shinde, Deshmukh & Jadhav, 1981) n. comb. is reported from Australian waters for the first time in the black spotted stingray Maculabatis toshi (Whitley) from off northern Western Australia. New host and geographical records are provided for Stillabothrium jeanfortiae Forti, Aprill & Reyda, 2016 from the brown whipray Maculobatis toshi (Whitley) and the black-spotted whipray, Maculabatis cf. astra (Last, Manjaji-Matsumoto & Pogonoski) from Moreton Bay in southern Queensland.

Relative sea-level records preserved in Holocene beach-ridge strandplains – An example from tropical northeastern Australia

Northeastern Queensland is a far-field site from ice caps formed during the Last Glacial. However, the region has experienced glacio-hydroisostatically driven coastal elevation change during the Holocene that generated a distinctive relative sea-level record. We tested whether this subtle vertical movement of the coast is recorded in the morphology and stratigraphy of the beach-ridge strandplain at Cowley Beach, which comprises a series of 36 prominent and several subdued or truncated beach ridges. Previous studies have shown that the strandplain records the long-term progradation of the coast, with the ridges comprising coarse-medium sand that was deposited during both fairweather (foreshore and berm facies) and tropical cyclone events (erosional unconformities; storm-surge deposits) over the past approximately 7 ka. We utilised a fine-scale digital elevation model of the strandplain to examine beach ridge morphology and to compare the elevation pattern with published Holocene sea-level data for the region. The overall elevation pattern of the strandplain surface is consistent with the regional sea-level history, that includes a highstand at around 6 ka BP generated by isostatic uplift, and the elevation of the berm facies matches well robust coral sea-level indicator data. We also modelled the strandplain topographic patterns that would result under stable and continually rising Holocene sea-levels. The frequencies of elevation classes across the strandplain are normally distributed when the strandplain is deposited during a period of stable sea level, and negatively skewed with a continually rising sea level, consistent with the expected patterns. The results indicate the sensitivity of the elevation of the top of the berm facies preserved in beach ridges to subtle changes in sea level (tens of cm over a thousand years). Our results further underline the utility of beach-ridge strandplains, a globally distributed coastal landform, for building relatively detailed regional records of sea level during the Holocene at sites currently lacking this information.

Foliar ontogeny in Gymnostoma deplancheanum and its evolutionary and ecological significance for scleromorphy and xeromorphy in Casuarinaceae (Fagales)

The phylogenetically basal genus of the Casuarinaceae, Gymnostoma, from relatively mesic environments, shows morphological and anatomical structures that are precursors to xeromorphic modifications in the derived genera Casuarina and Allocasuarina. Gymnostoma is the basal genus of the Casuarinaceae with a long evolutionary history and a morphology that has changed little over many millions of years. From a wide distribution in the Tertiary of the southern hemisphere, it is now restricted to islands in the Pacific Ocean, the Malesian region and one small area of northeastern Queensland where it occurs in mesic climates, often on poor soils. The unique vegetative morphology it shares with other more derived genera in the family appears to be xeromorphic. Its distribution combined with the fossil evidence that early Tertiary Gymnostoma occurred with other taxa whose morphology indicated they grew in mesic environments implies that the reduction in the photosynthetic organs was not specifically related to growing in xeric environments. It may be related to evolutionary adaptation to growing on nutrient poor substrates that may also suffer from seasonal water deficit. The foliage reduction then served as a pre-adaptation for derived species to help them cope with the aridity that developed on the Australian continent through the later part of the Tertiary. The fusion of the leaves to the stem to form phyllichnia was a precursor which enabled the development of specific adaptations in the derived genera Casuarina and Allocasuarina to improve water conservation, such as stomata restricted to furrows between the phyllichnia and proliferation of structural sclerenchyma that helps prevent cell collapse under drought conditions.

Value of seasonal climate forecasts in reducing economic losses for grazing enterprises: Charters Towers case study

Seasonal climate forecasts (SCFs) have the potential to improve productivity and profitability in agricultural industries, but are often underutilised due to insufficient evidence of the economic value of forecasts and uncertainty about their reliability. In this study we developed a bio-economic model of forecast use, explicitly incorporating forecast uncertainty. Using agricultural systems (ag-systems) production simulation software calibrated with case study information, we simulated pasture growth, herd dynamics and annual economic returns under different climatic conditions. We then employed a regret and value function approach to quantify the potential economic value of using SCFs (at both current and improved accuracy levels) in decision making for a grazing enterprise in north-eastern Queensland, Australia – a region subject to significant seasonal and intra-decadal climate variability. Applying an expected utility economic modelling approach, we show that skilled SCF systems can contribute considerable value to farm level decision making. At the current SCF skill of 62% (derived by correlating the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) signal and historical climate data) at Charters Towers, an average annual forecast value of AU$4420 (4.25%) was realised for the case study average annual net profit of AU$104000, while a perfect (no regret) forecast system could result in an increased return of AU$13475 per annum (13% of the case study average annual net profit). Continued improvements in the skill and reliability of SCFs is likely to both increase the value of SCFs to agriculture and drive wider uptake of climate forecasts in on-farm decision making. We also anticipate that an integrated framework, such as that developed in this study, may provide a pathway for better communication with end users to support improved understanding and use of forecasts in agricultural decision making and enhanced sustainability of agricultural enterprises.

A new species of velvet gecko (Diplodactylidae: Oedura) from sandstone habitats of inland north Queensland, Australia.

We describe a new species of velvet gecko (Diplodactylidae: Oedura) from the sandstone ranges of central-north Queensland, Australia. Oedura argentea sp. nov. is a medium-sized (SVL 61-80 mm) gecko that is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of its relatively small size, a pattern of 5-6 dark-edged pale transverse bands from neck to pelvis, a silvery iris, a slender tail, a single cloacal spur, and in possessing 14-22 pre-cloacal pores in males. Oedura argentea sp. nov. is a sandstone specialist currently known only from the Gregory Range and nearby sandstone outcropping at Bulleringa National Park. Further surveys are required to determine the limits of distribution through this region. Oedura argentea sp. nov. is the fifth described species of Oedura in north-eastern Queensland. We also assess the name O. fracticolor De Vis, 1884 because it is an unresolved name pertaining to this general region. Based on colour-pattern and locality in the original description, we conclude that O. fracticolor is a senior synonym of O. castelnaui (Thominot, 1889); however, we propose that priority be overturned under Articles 23.9.1.1 and 23.9.1.2 of the ICZN (1999) and that the name O. fracticolor be regarded as nomen oblitum and O. castelnaui a nomen protectum.

Short-tailed mice with a long fossil record: the genus Leggadina (Rodentia: Muridae) from the Quaternary of Queensland, Australia.

The genus Leggadina (colloquially known as ‘short-tailed mice’) is a common component of Quaternary faunas of northeastern Australia. They represent a member of the Australian old endemic murid radiation that arrived on the continent sometime during the late Cenozoic. Here we describe two new species of extinct Leggadina from Quaternary cave deposits as well as additional material of the extinct Leggadina macrodonta. Leggadina irvini sp. nov. recovered from Middle-Upper (late) Pleistocene cave deposits near Chillagoe, northeastern Queensland, is the biggest member of the genus, being substantially larger than any other species so far described. Leggadina webbi sp. nov. from Middle Pleistocene cave deposits at Mount Etna, central eastern Queensland, shares features with the oldest species of the genus, the Early Pleistocene L. gregoriensis. Based on the current palaeoecological interpretation of the type locality, L. webbi, represents the only member of the genus that inhabited rainforest. The succession of Leggadina species through the late Quaternary suggests an ecological replacement of the extinct large-bodied L. irvini with the extant, small-bodied L. lakedownesis at Chillagoe. At Mt. Etna, the extinct rainforest species L. webbi is replaced with the extant xeric-adapted L. forresti during the latest Middle Pleistocene. This replacement is associated with a mid-Pleistocene shift towards progressive intensifying seasonal and arid climates. Our study adds to the growing list of small-bodied faunal extinctions during the late Quaternary of northern Australia.

Disentangling causes of seasonal infection prevalence patterns: tropical tadpoles and chytridiomycosis as a model system.

Identifying the factors that affect pathogen prevalence is critical to understanding the effects of wildlife diseases. We aimed to examine drivers of seasonal changes in the prevalence of infection by the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in tadpoles. Because tadpoles may be important reservoirs for this disease, examining them will aid in understanding how chytridiomycosis affects entire amphibian populations. We hypothesized that temperature is a strong driver of prevalence of Bd in tadpoles, and the accumulation of infection as tadpoles become larger and older also drives prevalence in this system. We studied Litoria rheocola, a tropical rainforest stream frog with seasonal recruitment of annual tadpoles, and surveyed 6 streams in northeastern Queensland, Australia. Comparisons among models relating infection status to stream type, season, their interaction, tadpole age, and water temperature showed that age explained a large portion of the variance in infection status. Across sites and seasons, larger, older tadpoles had increased mean probabilities of infection, indicating that a large component of the variation among individuals was related to age, and thus to cumulative infection risk. Our results indicate that in systems with annual tadpoles, seasonal changes in infection prevalence may be strongly affected by seasonal patterns of tadpole growth and development in addition to stream type, season, and water temperature. These effects may then influence prevalence of infection in terrestrial individuals in species that have relatively frequent contact with water. This reinforces the need to integrate studies of the drivers of pathogen prevalence across all host life history stages.

Revision of the Australian Wet Tropics endemic rainbowfish genus Cairnsichthys (Atheriniformes: Melanotaeniidae), with description of a new species.

The freshwater melanotaeniid genus Cairnsichthys is endemic to a relatively small area of specialised habitat within the Wet Tropics bioregion of north-eastern Queensland, Australia. It was previously considered as monotypic, including only a single species, C. rhombosomoides (Nichols Raven, 1928). The recent discovery of an apparently-isolated population in the Daintree rainforest, approximately 120 km north of the known range extent, prompted a detailed investigation of its taxonomic status using a combined lines of evidence approach. We provide compelling evidence from multiple nuclear genetic markers (52 allozyme loci), mitochondrial DNA sequence data (1141 bp cytochrome b) and morphology (examination of a suite of 38 morphometric and meristic characters) that supports north-south splitting of C. rhombosomoides. Accordingly, we describe the northern population as a distinct species, C. bitaeniatus sp. nov., on the basis of 25 specimens, 34.7-65.6 mm SL. The new species differs morphologically primarily by having a more slender and narrow shape, featuring a flatter, straighter predorsal profile and shorter second dorsal fin base; possession of slightly smaller scales, reflected in higher counts of lateral scales and predorsal scales; typically more vertebrae; and colour differences including a more robust, short black stripe across the upper operculum, a pronounced yellow patch on the anteroventral body and usually a more conspicuous second dark stripe on the lower body, with adult males generally having yellowish compared to reddish fins. We also provide a generic diagnosis for Cairnsichthys and a redescription of C.rhombosomoides. Information on the known distribution, habitats and conservation status of species in the genus is summarised, the new species being of particular concern as a narrow range endemic with specific environmental requirements.

New radiocarbon dates from Kirriri 4: extending the 2,500 BP signature for the onset of the Torres Strait Cultural Complex to south Western Torres Strait, Northeast Queensland

This paper presents new radiocarbon dates from an excavation undertaken on the island of Kirriri in Kaurareg Country in south Western Torres Strait (northeastern Queensland). AMS radiocarbon determinations for the Kirriri 4 site places an early phase of major cultural activity to c. 2,700 to c. 2,300 cal. BP, and a more recent phase to c. 500 cal. BP. The earlier phase corresponds with the timing of the establishment of the Torres Strait Cultural Complex c. 2,500 years ago. The Kirriri 4 dating results are significant as they represent the southern-most island distribution of this cultural complex and play a key role in better understanding the nature and timing of settlement, maritime specialisation and other cultural transformation occurring in the broader region.

Are there two species of Graceful Honeyeater in Australia?

Two subspecies of Graceful Honeyeater Meliphaga ( Microptilotis ) gracilis are recognised in north-eastern Queensland: imitatrix inhabiting the Wet Tropics and gracilis inhabiting northern Cape York Peninsula. Vocalisations differ greatly between the two, so the strong possibility emerges that they are distinct species. The ranges of these taxa are separated by ~140 km in the vicinity of Cape Flattery–Princess Charlotte Bay on the eastern coast of Cape York Peninsula. Significantly, a thorough search confirms that there have been no specimens collected from this geographical gap between the two populations and previously suspected intergradation does not occur. This paper describes the considerable differences between the two, especially with respect to vocalisations, and suggests that these taxa represent distinct species.

Tecomanthe burungu (Bignoniaceae), a new species from northern Queensland

The new species, Tecomanthe burungu Zich & A.J.Ford (Bignoniaceae) from the Wet Tropics bioregion of north-eastern Queensland is described, illustrated and differentiated from similar and closely related taxa.