Ellura Sanctuary, Swan Reach, SA, 5354
                      
It's possible 20 different species can look identical (needing dissection to differentiate); as such many id's here don't go to species level
Stat'
Notes
Thumbnails: 214.   42 native species (7 introduced) listed, with 28 natives (5 introduced) from Ellura
Animals (Animalia) - Segmented Worms (Annelida) - Earthworms (Oligochaeta) - Earthworm (Crassiclitellata); 1 species, none from Ellura - Giant Worm (Megascolecidae); 1 species, none from Ellura
Giant Mt Lofty Earthworm
Gemascolex cf stirlingi
Na
a
Our id here is based on location and size of worm.
There's a whole science based on identifying worms, much of which involves dissection.
We noticed these in Lobethal in heavy rain periods. They came up onto the concrete verandah as when the soil gets too sodden they can drown.
Imaged 3 in Sep(1), Oct(1) & Dec(1)
Size Perspective
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Centipedes (Chilopoda) - Centipedes (Scolopendromorpha); 2 species, 1 from Ellura - Centipede (Scolopendridae); 2 species, 1 from Ellura
Giant Centipede
Ethmostigmus rubripes
Na
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Thank you Cael Gallery for helping with the id of this species for us

A large (~90mm) common centipede with 4 simple eyes (per side), that hides under rocks, etc.
Imaged 3 in Jan(1), Oct(1) & Nov(1)
Dorsal
Profile
Breathing hole + eyes
Face
Posterior
"Teeth"
Anal
Ventral
Giant Centipede
Scolopendridae sp
Na
a
Imaged 1 in Jul
Photograph yet to be loaded.
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Centipedes (Chilopoda) - House Centipedes (Scutigeromorpha); 1 species from Ellura - House Centipede (Scutigeridae); 1 species from Ellura
House Centipede
Allothereua maculata
Na
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Imaged 5 in Mar(1), May(3) & Dec(1)
Dorsal
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Springtails (Collembola) - Hairy Springtails (Entomobryomorpha); 2 species, 1 from Ellura - Hairy Springtail (Entomobryidae); 2 species, 1 from Ellura
Hairy Springtail
Entomobryidae sp ES01
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Very small, ~3mm long. They have a very scaly like surface. Similar to silverfish. There are two different body shapes here, which may be due to gender differences; or different species.
Imaged 6 in Jul(5) & Aug(1)
Long Body
Dorsal
Profile
No Flash
White-spotted Hairy Springtail
Entomobryidae sp ES02
Na
a
Found in a Helmet-hood Orchid leaf.
As with other springtails, very small.
Imaged 1 in Aug
Dorsal
Profile
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Springtails (Collembola) - Plump Springtails (Poduromorpha); 1 species from Ellura - Plump Springtail (Poduromorpha); 1 species from Ellura
Plump Springtail
Hypogastrura sp


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Thank you Thomas Mesaglio for confirming the id of this species for us

They are small (~2 to 3mm long) and have 6 legs, 2 stumpy feelers & 2 eyes (made up of 8 ocelli).
Not true insects as they lack wings and have soft bodies.
Dark pink underneath with dark purple backs. When walking around they look like ash from a campfire on the ground. Then you notice the ash moving!
There are millions on the ground around Ellura at the moment. Unfortunately you can't walk outside without stepping on them.
They eat fungi & rotting matter. They are part of the clean up crew, gobble up the tiniest scraps and turn it into chemicals that the plants need

We don't see them often. The latest photo's are from the 3rd mass aggregation event we've witnessed at Ellura in 11 years.
Prof' Ian Gibbins said, in relation to how springtails have such hydrophobic (water-repelling) cuticle ("skin"). " It's super complicated and involves fluctuations in the orientation of cholesterol molecules that effectively prevent other molecules sticking to them. The main ecological consequence of this is that the cuticle of the springtails stays clean in their damp habitat, which is full of small particles and micro-organisms. This is critical to their survival, since they respire ("breathe") through their cuticle so they need to keep it free from contamination. But it also lets them float on water should they end up in such a situation."
Imaged 8 in May(1), Jun(2), Jul(2), Aug(1) & Sep(2)
Individuals
🔍Individuals
🔍Hundreds
🔍Thousands
Camouflage
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Springtails (Collembola) - Globular Springtails (Symphypleona); 3 species, 2 from Ellura - Globular Springtail (Symphypleona); 3 species, 2 from Ellura
Brown Globular Springtail
Symphypleona sp ES01
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Similar Species: Varied Carpet Beetle (Anthrenus verbasci)
Imaged 2 in May(1) & Sep(1)
Dorsal
Green Globular Springtail
Symphypleona sp ES02
Na
a
Not a true insect. They are small (we've measured under 2mm) and have 6 legs, 2 feelers & 2 eyes (made up of 8 ocelli). Look more like a spider with a distinct head and abdomen; unlike the other springtails.
Imaged 2 in May(1) & Jun(1)
Dorsal, ~1.3mm
Profile
Front
Globular Springtail
Symphypleona sp ES03
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Eating a bracket fungi. These are tiny at <2mm long. We didn't realise it was there until publishing the bracket fungi photo

Imaged 1 in Jul
Dorsal
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Millipedes (Diplopoda) - Millipedes (Polydesmida); 1 species, none from Ellura - Millipede (Paradoxosomatidae); 1 species, none from Ellura
Native Brown Millipede
Somethus castaneus


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Thank you Dr Bob Mesibov & Tony and Jenny Dominelli for confirming and Cael Gallery for helping with the id of this species for us

Bob said it could either be S. castaneus or S. lancearius based on location.
DaBugBoi said "They differ in distribution, and size. Judging by his paper, S. castaneum is found in the Adelaide metro region and the south and eastern MT. lofty ranges, while S. lancearius is smaller (from memory) and found typically north of adeladide"
Imaged 3 in Apr(1), May(1) & Oct(1)
Dorsal, ~34mm
Face, no eyes
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Millipedes (Diplopoda) - Juliform Millipedes (Spirostreptida); 1 species from Ellura - Juliform Millipede (Spirostreptida); 1 species from Ellura
Juliform Millipede
Spirostreptida cf sp


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Thank you Dr Bob Mesibov for identifying this species for us

Of this specimen, Bob said "Very interesting, and probably a (native) spirostreptidan - never seen this patterning before, though!"

The legs on the 1st-5th segments are diagnostic, as are the eyes & genetalia. So it's important to try and photograph these areas clearly for id. As you can see, we weren't able to. Everytime we turned it over, it turned back and ran.
In terms of colour (ie darkness & amount of orange coming through); this specimen varied considerably depending on the camera settings.
Imaged 2 in May
Twisted, darker
Size
5 Segment legs
Eyes
Fast
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Earwigs (Dermaptera); 3 species from Ellura - Earwig (Forficulidae); 1 species from Ellura
European Earwig
Forficula auricularia


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Thank you David Muirhead for confirming the id of this species for us

~14mm long plus pincers are a further ~7mm.
Found in the kitchen, so most likely came from produce (fresh vegetables).
Imaged 3(2M,1F,1J) in Feb(1M), Aug(1:1F,1J) & Nov(1M)
Male, dorsal
Juvenile Female, dorsal
Male, profile
Male, Pincers
Male, Head
Male, Abdomen Segment Hairs
Male, ventral
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Earwigs (Dermaptera); 3 species from Ellura - Striped Earwig (Labiduridae); 2 species from Ellura
Brown Native Earwig
Labidura riparia


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SynonymLabidura truncata

Thank you Matthew Connors & Stephan Kleinfelder for confirming the id of this species for us

~17mm long, pincers ~5mm long.
S1, S2 & S3 = female, S4 = male.
S3 was larger at 19mm, but doesn't have any visible wings behind the elytra; neither does S4. Stephen said "some individuals develop hind wings and some don't." A similar situation occurs with grasshoppers.
These have a very distinctive orange "V" on the thorax; and a very parallel sided abdomen.
Males are differentiated by have a spur on the inside edge of their pincers (cerci), and the join of the pincers to the body is noticibly thicker.
S1 & S2 came to a night light sheet.
The taxon associated with these is a mess. Mark Hura said "The taxonomy is interesting on this one - only Labidura riparia (Pallas, 1773) recognised in Australia on AFD with no fewer than 44 synonyms! :-/ BioLib lists 7 species worldwide, but looks like only L. riparia from Aust". And followed up with "Weird - L. truncata was resurrected from synonymy by Giles & Webb, 1972. Revalidated by Stuart et al 2019, although they acknowledge not all authors accept it as valid. McLean & Horridge, 1977 list it as L. riparia truncata just to confuse the situation even more!". Matthew said "I'm pretty sure the accepted name is still L. truncata, it's just that not all databases have updated with the new name for some reason. I think Dermaptera Species File missed one paper and then everyone else has copied them".
As we use Atlas (AFD) as our reference database (which currently considers them synonyms) we'll keep using Labidura riparia, with L. truncata as a synonym. We aren't making any opinions about which is right or wrong.
Imaged 4(1M,3F) in Feb(2:1M,1F) & Mar(2F)
🔍S2, dorsal
🔍S3, dorsal
🔍S4, dorsal
🔍S2, profile
🔍S3, profile
🔍S4, profile
🔍S3, anterior
🔍S3, Pincers
🔍S4, Pincers (Cerci)
🔍S3, ventral
🔍S4, ventral
Black Bush Earwig
Nala lividipes


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Thank you David Muirhead & Konstantinos Kalaentzis for confirming the id of this species for us

Both male & female were measured at ~11mm long, excluding ~2.5mm pincers.
The genders can be separated as the male pincers are much further apart than the female.
Imaged 6(2M,4F) in Feb(2:1M,1F), Mar(1F), Oct(2F) & Dec(1M)
Male, dorsal
Female, dorsal
Female, Tegmina
Male, ventral
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Web-spinners (Embioptera); 1 species from Ellura - Web-spinner (Embioptera); 1 species from Ellura
Winged Web-spinner
Aposthonia gurneyi


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Thank you Matthew Connors for identifying this species for us

Matthew said: "There are several subspecies and specimens from Adelaide are apparently intermediate between A. g. gurneyi and A. g. centralis"
"The principle difference between the families is the structure of the male left cercus, which is heavily modified in the Notoligotomidae and Australembiidae (so that makes this one Oligotomidae - take a look at site)."
"From there we have two genera - Oligotoma, which is introduced and currently only known from Qld and NSW (and with slightly different proportions), and Aposthonia which is widespread. Two species are restricted to WA and a third to Qld, with A. gurneyi widespread. Full details of subspecies are at this site (although still under genus Oligotoma)"
Not all web-spinners are winged.
Imaged 2 in May
🔍Male, dorsal
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Mayflies (Ephemeroptera); 2 species, none from Ellura - Mayfly (Baetidae); 2 species, none from Ellura
Mayfly
Centroptilum elongatum


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Thank you Asaph (Asaph01) for confirming the id of this species for us

1st Live Photo on-line:
This male was ~5mm long (head & body). The tail cerci are just under 9mm. The specimen we found keyed out to Centroptilum, and C. elongatum is the only one in this genus found in SA.
Notice the weird overhead eyes of the male; used for searching for a female (thank you to Ian Gibbins for confirming this assumption
When we mentioned we couldn't think of another invert' with a 2nd pair of compound eyes, Ian also told us that they are not strictly a 2nd pair of eyes; but a genetic situation where the normal eyes split during development. This is a similar trick to the way mantids, eg, have striped eyes; and other insects have different zones in their eyes for varying purposes. Pretty fascinating stuff

Imaged 1M in Mar
Male, Dorsal
🔍Male, Profile
🔍Male, Iso
Male, Upper Eyes
Male, Lower Eyes
Male, Oscelli
Male, Face
Male, Hindwings
Male, Wing Venation
Male, Lower Wing Venation
Male, Abdomen
Male, Antenna
Male, Thorax, dorsal
Male, Thorax, ventral
Male, Anal Pincers
Male, Ventral
Mayfly
Cloeon cf paradieniense
Na
a
This female was ~6mm long, with 10mm long tail cerci, found dead. Notice it has no hind wings (a species trait), nor the strange eyes of the male.
To re-iterate, Mayflies are the only insects other than Flies (Diptera order) where some species have 2 wings not 4.
Imaged 1F in Mar
Female, Dorsal
Female, Profile
Female, Lower Wing Venation
Female, Wing Venation
Female, Thorax
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Stick Insects (Phasmida); 5 species from Ellura - Stick Insect (Diapheromeridae); 2 species from Ellura
Rough Pachymorpha Stick Insect
Pachymorpha squalida


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Thank you Aidan Beutel for confirming the id of this species for us

Between ~41mm & ~45mm long males.
Range extensions of the species.
It is quite orange compared with other specimens; which tend to be grey-brown.
We've since found one at Ellura that has the typical grey colour. We actually miss-ided our grey one at Ellura as Hyrtacus tuberculatus. They are similar, but looking at the antennae length, tubercle size and posterior shape you can see there a significant differences.
Imaged 2M in Feb(1M) & Dec(1M)
🔍S1, Male, dorsal, Released
🔍S2, Male, dorsal
🔍S2, Male, dorsal, close
🔍S1, Male, profile
🔍S2, Male, profile
🔍S2, Male, profile, close
🔍S1, Male, Head, dorsal
🔍S2, Male, Head, profile
🔍S2, Male, Antennae
S2, Male, Face
S2, Male, Mouth
🔍S1, Male, posterior, profile
🔍S1, Male, posterior, ventral
S1, Male, posterior, ventral
🔍S1, Male, ventral
🔍S2, Male, ventral
White's Stick Insect
Sipyloidea whitei


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Thank you Matthew Connors & Aidan Beutel for confirming the id of this species for us

~60mm long. Found at a night sheet.
When looking into what species it was we discovered that the shape of the anal segment, & whether it has wings or not, splits our stick insects into major groups.
The other thing that makes this one easy to identify is the black stripe running the full length down it's back ... well we couldn't check that exactly as the wings covered a lot of it

Imaged 2(1M,1F) in Mar
🔍Male, dorsal
🔍Male, profile
🔍Male, close up
🔍Male, Head
🔍Male, Anal Segment
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Stick Insects (Phasmida); 5 species from Ellura - Stick Insect (Phasmatidae); 3 species from Ellura
Spur-legged Stick Insect
Didymuria violescens


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Other Common NameSpur Legged Phasmid

Thank you Ethan Beaver & Aidan Beutel for confirming the id of this species for us

The only one we measured was S4, Adult Female, on Ellura at only ~57mm long (excluding appendages).
This is very small compared to the expected 75-110mm.
As can be seen from the mating shot (S2 & S3), they can be quite brown, but still with green highlights; or they can be completely green. The colour isn't gender specific (ie you can get brown females & green males).
In regards to the Male nymph, Aidan said "One moult until adulthood"
Imaged 4(2M,2F,1J) in Feb(2:1M,1F,1J) & Mar(2:1M,1F)
🔍S4, Adult Female, dorsal
🔍S4, Adult Female, profile
🔍S1, Male Nymph, profile
🔍S2 & S3, Mating
🔍S4, Adult Female, Wings
🔍S4, Adult Female, Head, dorsal
🔍S4, Adult Female, Head, profile
🔍S4, Adult Female, Anal Appendage
🔍S4, Adult Female, ventral
Dog-eared Stick Insect
Hyrtacus tuberculatus


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Other Common NameLobed-Abdomen Stick Insect

Thank you Matthew Connors & Aidan Beutel for confirming the id of this species for us

The adult male was ~55mm long, the adult female was considerably larger and just over 80mm.
The body parts of stick insects are a little harder to work out than most insects. It looks like they have 5 main parts rather than 3.
This is because the thorax is broken up into 3 distinct parts, where it often looks like one. The head is obvious, then the thorax starts with the pronotum (looks like a collar behind the head). The 2nd part of the thorax is the Mesonotum & the 3rd part is the Metanotum, followed up by the abdomen from the hindlegs back.
Imaged 5(2M,3F) in Jan(2:1M,1F), Mar(1F) & Dec(2:1M,1F)
S1 Male, dorsal
S1 Male, head
S1 Male, abdomen spines
S1 Male, abdomen "tail"
S1 Male, ventral
🔍S3 Female, dorsal
🔍S3 Female, profile
🔍S3 Female, Head & Forearm
🔍S3 Female, Thoracic Tubercles, dorsal
🔍S3 Female, Thoracic Tubercles, profile
🔍S3 Female, Metanotumic Tubercles
🔍S3 Female, Abdominal Tubercles
🔍S3 Female, Camo
S3 Female, posterior, profile
🔍S3 Female, posterior, ventral
🔍S3 Female, ventral
Orange Stick Insect
Lysicles sp


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Thank you Aidan Beutel for identifying and Ethan Beaver & Matthew Connors for helping with the id of this species for us

Originally thought to be Children's Stick Insect (Tropidoderus childrenii), named after zoologist John George Children, not because children like them.
More details about him can be found here John George Children
Thank you to Frank Prinz & Martin Lagerwey for the link; via Bowerbird.
Imaged 1M in Jan
🔍Male, dorsal
🔍Male, profile
🔍Male, Body
🔍Male, Head & Neck
🔍Male, Wings (closed)
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Bark Lice (Psocodea); 3 species, 2 from Ellura - Bark Louse (Ectopsocidae); 1 species, none from Ellura
Bark Louse
Ectopsocus sp
Na
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To separate Bark Lice from Psyllids, Dr Francesco Martoni said "the shape of the head (quite "detached" from thr body), the very long antennae that look very sinuous and almost appear not segmented, as well as the wing veins, which tent to generate more than one cell per vein towards the margin of the wing."
Imaged 1 in Oct
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Bark Lice (Psocodea); 3 species, 2 from Ellura - Bark Louse (Psocidae); 2 species from Ellura
Bark Louse
Clematostigma cf maculiceps


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~3mm long.
Not quite sure on this one. It looks very close to C. maculiceps in terms of markings and wing venation. But the wings are cloudy and it just seems too small.
Imaged 1 in Oct
Dorsal
Profile
Wing Venation
Face Markings + Antennae
Bark Louse
Trichadenotecnum enderleini


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SynonymPtycta enderleini

1st Live Photo on-line:
At only 2.5mm body & head length, it wasn't the easiest animal we've tried to photograph
It seems to be a relatively common species but isn't described in Smithers (1990) that we can see. However, it matches very closely Ptycta enderleini, in the paper "Systematic Position of Trichadenotecnum enderleini" by Yoshizawa & Smithers. We use the ALA for naming, which still uses the old name; Trichadenotecnum enderleini, not Ptycta enderleini as described in the above paper.
Imaged 8 in Apr(3), May(3), Aug(1) & Sep(1)
Dorsal
Profile
Anterior
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Thrips (Thysanoptera); 2 species from Ellura - Thrips (Phlaeothripidae); 2 species from Ellura
Giant Thrips
Idolothrips spectrum


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Thank you Tony and Jenny Dominelli for confirming the id of this species for us

~8mm from the front of the eyes, to the base of the abdomen; not including antennae nor tail.
This is a bit of a scientific joke we think
"Giant" as in much bigger than others, but still tiny.
Note the hairy wings.
Imaged 2 in May(1) & Oct(1)
🔍Dorsal
🔍Close
Head & Antennae
Body, dorsal
Tail (hairy end)
Thrips
Phlaeothripidae sp
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A strange note on the English language - it seems it's one thrips or two thrips, not one thrip.
Imaged 5 in Feb(1), May(2), Nov(1) & Dec(1)
Dorsal
Profile
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Caddisfies (Trichoptera); 2 species from Ellura - Tubecase Netspinning Caddisfly (Ecnomidae); 1 species from Ellura
Small Caddisfly
Ecnomus sp


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Body & head are only ~4mm.
Often surprises us we find water born insects on Ellura given we don't have any standing water & it's semi-arid. But they keep turning up, to our wonder & enjoyment


These look a lot like brown lacewings. Superficially the long palps separate them out.
Imaged 4 in Jan(2) & Feb(2)
S1, dorsal
S1, profile
S1, ventral
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Caddisfies (Trichoptera); 2 species from Ellura - Long-horned Caddisfly (Leptoceridae); 1 species from Ellura
Long-horned Caddisfly
Leptoceridae sp


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Came to night light.
We didn't realise but we still didn't get the entire antenna into the shot. The other antenna seemed shorter, perhaps snapped off. It also seems to be split.

These look a lot like brown moths. Officially the difference is that moths have "scales", caddisflies have "hairs". However, it's very difficult to differentiate. Superficially the long, jointed palps separate them out.
Imaged 13 in Jan(2), Mar(6), Apr(1), May(2), Sep(1) & Oct(1)
🔍S11, profile
🔍S11, Antennae
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Silverfishes (Zygentoma); 4 species from Ellura - Silverfish (Lepismatidae); 4 species from Ellura
Striped Silverfish
Lepismatidae sp ES01
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Imaged 1 in Dec
Dorsal
Silverfish
Lepismatidae sp ES02
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Imaged 4 in Nov(2) & Dec(2)
Dorsal
Ventral (Silvery)
Silverfish
Lepismatidae sp ES03
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Imaged 2 in Apr(1) & Dec(1)
Orange Spotted Silverfish
Lepismatidae sp ES04


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Imaged 1 in Apr
🔍
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Crustaceans (Malacostraca) - Crustaceans (Amphipoda); 1 species, none from Ellura - Landhoppers (Talitridae); 1 species, none from Ellura
Terrestrial Amphipod
Talitridae sp


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Other Common NamesLandhoppers, Landshrimps, Scuds or Lawn Shrimps

~6mm long. Found in the front lawn of our place in Lobethal, in January on the shady side of a large tree. There's one here with different coloured antennae & legs to the others. They were all collected at the same time in the same location. This variation is possibly due to different species/gender/age.

Thomas Mesaglio said "They need moisture/water to prevent drying out, but will drown with too much water. I think there are a few different genera/species as you'd expect, but the most common one in Australia is Arcitalitrus sylvaticus, which has also been introduced to the US, UK, NZ, etc".

Chris Lambkin said "Yes we get lots of these on occassions when pan trapping as Thomas described. Even get them in Malaise Traps in moist environments. Interestingly when they die they turn orange, especially in alcohol!"

Ian Gibbins said "Amphipods are terrestrial crustaceans. They are probably related to another group of terrestrial crustaceans, the Isopods, which include slaters and so-called pill bugs". "They are not especially closely related to true shrimps, prawns, etc. Amphipods are common in our garden in Belair - turn over a long standing pot or old brick, and they will spring out."
Imaged 1 in Jan
Dorsal
Profile
Legs
Ventral
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Crustaceans (Malacostraca) - Peracarid Crustaceans (Isopoda); 4 species, 3 from Ellura - Terrestrial Crustacean (Armadillidae); 1 species from Ellura
Grey Slater
Buddelundia sp


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Thank you Agapakis Nikos for confirming and Grant Schiermeyer for helping with the id of this species for us

Those we have found vary between 10 to 16 mm long. We photographed the 5th, dead, specimen to highlight the hour-glass shape
We thought this was a Pill Bug (Armadillidium vulgare).
It's difficult to see here but the Telson (last posterior plate) has an hour-glass shape.
Grant spotted our mistake and also noted: "You can tell the families apart by the telson and the front of the head.
Armadillids will have an hourglass telson and Armadillidiids have a triangular or trapezoidal telson.
The front of an Armadillid head is usually one smooth line that may be broken in the center while an Armadillidiid will have a nose-like projection in the middle of the head."
Imaged 10 in Mar(1), Apr(3), May(2), Jun(1), Aug(1) & Nov(2)
S1, dorsal
S1, Eyes + pill shape
S5, Telson hour-glass shape
S1, Face
S1, ventral
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Crustaceans (Malacostraca) - Peracarid Crustaceans (Isopoda); 4 species, 3 from Ellura - Terrestrial Crustacean (Armadillidiidae); 1 species, none from Ellura
Pill Bug
Armadillidium vulgare


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Other Common NamesPill-bug, Pillbug, Roly-poly, Slater or Woodlouse

Thank you Grant Schiermeyer for confirming the id of this species for us

Interestingly, Atlas only has 2 species described in this family and they are both introduced.
Notice the trapezoidal telson of this family mentioned by Grant above.
We think the colour variation is due to the specimen #4 recently moulting. Specimen #7 is the colour of an older specimen.
Imaged 7 in Jan(1), Mar(3), Sep(1), Oct(1) & Dec(1)
S7, dorsal
S4, dorsal
S7, profile
S4, pill
S4, ventral
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Crustaceans (Malacostraca) - Peracarid Crustaceans (Isopoda); 4 species, 3 from Ellura - Terrestrial Crustacean (Philosciidae); 1 species from Ellura
Slater
Laevophiloscia yalgoonensis


iNaturalist
Na
e m
Other Common NameWoodlouse

Thank you Agapakis Nikos for confirming the id of this species for us

Imaged 1 in Jun
Dorsal
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Crustaceans (Malacostraca) - Peracarid Crustaceans (Isopoda); 4 species, 3 from Ellura - Terrestrial Crustacean (Porcellionidae); 1 species from Ellura
Common Rough Woodlouse
Porcellio scaber


iNaturalist
If
e m
Thank you Matt Campbell for confirming the id of this species for us

~10mm long
Imaged 1 in Nov
🔍Dorsal
🔍Profile
Anterior
🔍Ventral
Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Ostracods (Ostracoda) - Ostracods (Ostracoda); 1 species, none from Ellura - Ostracods (Ostracoda); 1 species, none from Ellura
Ostracod
Ostracoda sp
Na
m
Imaged 1 in Mar
Animals (Animalia) - Molluscs (Mollusca) - Bivalves (Bivalvia) - Cockles (Cardiida); 1 species, none from Ellura - Tellins and Allies (Tellinidae); 1 species, none from Ellura
Little White Tellen
Tellinota albinella


iNaturalist
Na
c
Thank you Ben Travaglini for identifying and Thomas Mesaglio for confirming the id of this species for us

~60mm wide.
Found on the beach by our little 16m old grandson.
We thought it was a cockle or pipi, but we've never seen one this salmon colour before. It turns out it's in a totally different taxon family! Even Pipi's are in a different order to cockles.
Imaged 1 in Jul
🔍Top
Animals (Animalia) - Molluscs (Mollusca) - Bivalves (Bivalvia) - Venus Clams (Venerida); 1 species, none from Ellura - Trough Shells (Mactridae); 1 species, none from Ellura
Reddish Trough Shell
Austromactra rufescens


iNaturalist
Na
c
Thank you Ben Travaglini for identifying this species for us

~55mm wide.
Found on the beach by our little 16m old grandson.
We thought it was a cockle or pipi, but it's in a totally different taxon order!
Ben said "Almost definitely has to be this species, just haven't seen one with ribs this far towards the umbo."
The umbo is the raised bit at the top of the photo; near the hinge.
Imaged 1 in Jul
🔍Top
Animals (Animalia) - Molluscs (Mollusca) - Gastropods, Slugs, And Snails (Gastropoda) - Marine Snails & Slugs (Hypsogastropoda); 1 species from Ellura - Large Sea Snails (Buccinidae); 1 species from Ellura
Predatory Sea Snail
Cominella cf sp


iNaturalist
Na
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Thank you Ben Travaglini for identifying this species for us

~15mm long.
We're pretty sure this is a calcified fossil we dug up when installing our septic tank. Didn't find it then, only the other day on the ground.
We weren't sure if it was Terrestrial or not, but Ben's id pointing to Marine species confirms it's a fossil.
Ben said "Definitely a marine species, potentially in the genus Cominella"

We were an ocean here millenia ago, and the floor is supposed to be ~60m below us. But we're pretty sure that's incorrect as we've found fossils here on the surface before. Shell Hill at Black Hill is only 10 or so km to our South.
All the limestone (calcrete actually) rocks on the surface out this way were formed from leaching of the limestone table/ocean floor below. The calcium came from sea shells.
Imaged 1 in May
🔍S1
🔍S1
🔍S1
🔍S1
🔍S1
🔍S1
🔍S1
Animals (Animalia) - Molluscs (Mollusca) - Gastropods, Slugs, And Snails (Gastropoda) - Land Snails & Slugs (Stylommatophora); 5 species, 4 from Ellura - Typical Snail (Helicidae); 2 species, 1 from Ellura
Garden Snail
Cornu aspersum


iNaturalist
If
e m a
Thank you Thomas Mesaglio & Dr Kevin Bonham AM for confirming the id of this species for us

The shell was ~28mm long & ~23mm high. 4 eye stalks. They don't seem to have an obvious umbilicus (centre hole).
They are very variable in colour & pattern making id difficult.
We normally mirror some images to always have the head point to the left. Kevin said "As snails and slugs are not symmetrical it is best not to reverse photos of them as genuinely reversed specimens are very rare natural freaks." As such, we have now put them all in there natural orientation.
Imaged 3 in Apr(2) & Dec(1)
Dorsal
Profile
Eyes
Ventral, retracted
Ventral, "foot"
White Italian Snail
Theba pisana


iNaturalist
If
c
Thank you Dr Kevin Bonham AM for identifying this species for us

~18mm across.
These are easily confused with another introduced snail, the Common White Snail (Cernuella virgata). The centre hole (the umbilicus) is covered, or nearly covered, here.
Kevin said "Theba - partly closed umbilicus, this colour pattern is very characteristic of Theba and also spiral micro-sculpture (absent on Cernuella) just visible in some images."
Imaged 1 in Jul
🔍S1, dorsal
🔍S1, profile
🔍S1, Umbilicus
Animals (Animalia) - Molluscs (Mollusca) - Gastropods, Slugs, And Snails (Gastropoda) - Land Snails & Slugs (Stylommatophora); 5 species, 4 from Ellura - Small Land Snail (Hygromiidae); 1 species from Ellura
Common White Snail
Cernuella virgata


iNaturalist
If
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Other Common NamesCommon Garden Snail, Maritime Gardensnail or Vineyard snail

Thank you Mike Burrell, Kevin Huang & Dr Kevin Bonham AM for confirming the id of this species for us

~6 across.
These are easily confused with another introduced snail, the White Italian Snail (Theba pisana). The centre hole (the umbilicus) is covered, or nearly covered, with T. pisana. So a photo of the umbilicus is requred for definate identification. It was how we were able to id these specimens.
Matt Parr from iNaturalist says that T. pisana has a flatter top/spire and more inflated shell than Cernuella virgata. Thanks Matt

Imaged 4 in Jun(1), Jul(1), Oct(1) & Dec(1)
S1, profile
S3, Dead, profile
S1, Umbilicus
S3, Dead, Umbilicus
Animals (Animalia) - Molluscs (Mollusca) - Gastropods, Slugs, And Snails (Gastropoda) - Land Snails & Slugs (Stylommatophora); 5 species, 4 from Ellura - Keelback Slug (Limacidae); 1 species from Ellura
Threeband Slug
Ambigolimax sp


iNaturalist
If
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Thank you Dr Kevin Bonham AM for confirming the id of this species for us

It's not possible to separate these into species with dissection.
We asked Kevin if this might be native. He said "All Ambigolimax in Australia, and anything else that looks like them, are introduced."
When we querried the hole in it's side he said "That hole is the pneumostome or breathing pore. Normal feature."
It's so weird that it's only on one side!

On another obs, when comparing Limax sp to these, Kevin said "Limax often have well-defined stripes on the tail end but typically not on the mantle. There are a few here and there where the spotting on the mantle forms into irregular stripe-like markings, generally broader than on Ambigolimax. Some other differences include that the end of the tail in Limax tends to be sharply keeled and also the tubercles (ridges) on the tail end of Limax tend to be serrated-looking."
Imaged 1 in May
🔍Dorsal
🔍Profile
🔍Pneumostome
Animals (Animalia) - Molluscs (Mollusca) - Gastropods, Slugs, And Snails (Gastropoda) - Land Snails & Slugs (Stylommatophora); 5 species, 4 from Ellura - Chrysalis Snails (Pupillidae); 1 species from Ellura
Bronze Pupasnail
Omegapilla australis


iNaturalist
Na
e m
Thank you Dr Kevin Bonham AM, Frank Walther & Ben Travaglini for identifying this species for us

~3mm long. Woo Hoo, our first native snail! It does get disconcerting to only find introduced species.
Notice there are different colour forms, which is not diagnostic.
They look remarkably like Gecko/small reptile scats. At first we didn't even recognise them as animals. Gently removed them from the wall and they stayed motionless. After catching 10 or more over the last month, one of them started moving and we were lucky to get a shot of the animal (well outside it's shell)
Kevin said "This is what they look like when adult - the outer lip is thickened"
We noticed the darker one became pale around the 1st whorl within hours, which really surprised us. We suggested the colour difference was perhaps due to the animal inside retreating further in. Ken responded with "Yes the shell is paler than the live animal. These multi-whorled species can retreat a long way into their shell when not active for whatever reason."
This indicates how translucent the shell is.
Imaged 2 in Jun
🔍S2
🔍S2
S2
S2
S1
S1
Animals (Animalia) - Flatworms (Platyhelminthes) - Free-living Flatworms (Rhabditophora) - Planarians (Tricladida); 1 species, none from Ellura - Flatworm (Geoplanidae); 1 species, none from Ellura
Adelaide's Planarian
Artioposthia adelaidensis


iNaturalist
Na
a
Other Common NamesPretty Land Planarian or Flatworm

Thank you Dr Leigh Winsor for identifying and Reiner Richter for confirming the id of this species for us

1st Live Photo on-line
1st Record on Atlas

Very variable in size, ~45mm, as they can easily stretch out or compress. Weight would be a much more useful measure.
Imaged 1 in Nov
Animals (Animalia) - Sponges (Porifera) - Demosponges (Demospongiae) - Demosponges (Demospongiae); 1 species, none from Ellura - Demosponges (Demospongiae); 1 species, none from Ellura
Demosponge
Demospongiae sp


iNaturalist
Na
c
Thank you Ben Travaglini for identifying and David Muirhead for confirming the id of this species for us

~120mm wide.
Found on the beach by our little 16m old grandson.
Ben said "As far as I can ID, sponges can be tricky."
Dave then said "Many, sometimes most of the sponges found beach washed (anywhere in the world AFAIK, but certainly here in southern Australia) are very different in appearance, slightly reduced in size and much lighter (density/weight). And when they are very degraded like your grandkid's example, they have lost basically all their living colour. They usually look light brown or grey, even white, when they've been degraded (by natural processes of decay) to this extent. Really they are just the mineral skeleton at this stage. Your sponge might have been grey, orange, mauve, pink, red or just about any colour of the rainbow when alive and attached to substrate.
Imaged 1 in Jul
🔍Profile

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