SPECIALISED GRAPHIC TOOLS.

. prn/4 Australian NaturalHistory Published by EDITORIAL The Australian Museum Trust 6-8 College Street, A question I am often asked as Editor of lies in defining the boundaries of this Sydney, N.S.W. 2000 A.N.H. is 'what is natural history?'. At these diverse subject. I wonder how you per­ Phone: (02) 339 8111 times I falter because to my mind the sub­ ceive natural history? Why not write and Trust President: Robyn Williams ject is limitless: from unusual geological let us know! Museum Director: Desmond Griffin structures like those in the Pinnacles Fiona Doig, Editor EDITOR Desert (see page 12) to the colourful Fiona Doig nudibranchs (p. 2), intricate insects (p. 36) SCIENTIFIC EDITOR and pathology research (p. 27). These sub­ Georgina Hickey, B.Sc. jects all come under the natural history CIRCULATION umbrella. However, most people want a John McIntosh simple, concise, dictionary-style definition ART DIRECTOR such as 'the study of nature'. Rather dry. Sue Oakes Such simplicity can't grasp the intricacies, TYPESETTING Rochester Communications Group Ply Ltd beauty and changing moods of natural FILM WORK history-to properly define it would fill a F.M.F. Colour Creations Ply Ltd book. Yet the problem is not one of ex­ PRINTING plaining what natural history is-instead it RodenPrint Ply Ltd ADVERTISING Jean Barnet (02) 939 6263 (02) 339 8234 Contents SUBSCRIPTIONS ARTICLES Annual subscription (4 issues) Within Australia $A 13.00 Nudibranchs: Nature's Thieves 2 Other countries $A 15.00 Bill Rudman Two-year subscription (8 issues) The Emperor's New Clothes 7 Within Australia $A25.00 Pamela and David Maitland Other countries $A30.00 The Pinnacles Desert 12 Ken McNamara For renewal or new subscription please forward credit card authority or cheque Eastern Snake-necked Turtle 24 made payable to: Pamela and David Maitland The Australian Museum Taronga Park Zoo's Pathology Register 27 P.O. Box A285 Sydney South Roff Smith N.S.W. 2000, Australia Eungella: The Land of Cloud 39 John Winter and Keith McDonald Subscribers from other countries please note that money must be paid in Dangerous, Poisonous and Deadly 44 Greg Keith Australian currency. All material appearing in Australian FORUM Natural History is copyright. Plant Variety Rights 17 Reproduction in whole or in part is not Margaret Brown permitted without written authorisation POSTER ARTICLE from the Editor. Opinions expressed by the authors are Boyd's Forest Dragon 26 their own and do not necessarily Georgina Hickey represent the policies or views of the RARE & ENDANGERED Australian Museum. The Editor welcomes articles or The Dibbler 33 photographs in any field of Australian Chris Dickman natural history. WILD FOODS

Published 1986. Riches from the Rainforest 34 Tim Low ISSN-0004-9840 PHOTOART

Front Cover A Close-up on Insects 36 Otto Rogge Amidst the shifting sands, the Pinnacles Desert in Western Australia is a REGULAR FEATURES remarkable geological feature. It is the Letters 19 topic of an article in this issue which Quips, Quotes & Curios 20 explains the formation processes and Densey Clyne 22 discusses the desert's transient nature. Books 30 Photo: W.A. Photo Index. Robyn Williams 32

AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY

mong the gastropods, or snails, there have been many

evolutionary experiments in both reducing the size of the shell and losing it altogether. Land slugs illustrate well the greatest disadvantage of being shell-less-drying out. They solve this problem by staying in shady places and by exuding copious quantities of sticky, slimy mucus when crawling. This essential protective coating, how­ ever, ensures that the word 'slug' engenders a feeling of repugnance in all but the most dedicated naturalist. Despite this unfortunate drawback, no common name other than sea-slug is available for the beautiful nudibranchs. They are only distantly related to land slugs and have evolved from a group of marine snails that, many millions of years ago, embarked on an independent-and highly

successful-evolutionary experiment in becoming slugs. The order Opisthobranchia encom­ passes not only the nudibranchs, in which all trace of the shell is lost in adults, but also the bubble-shells, sea­ hares and sacoglossans. The opisthobranchs include species show­ ing all stages in the evolution of slugs from snails. They have successfully populated an enormous variety of marine environments, with species thriving from the deep sea to the inter­ tidal zone and from the tropics to the poles. They range in size from microscopic, worm-like animals that live in the gaps between sand grains to giant sea-hares half a metre long. A great diversity in diet is exhibited, with sacoglossans and sea-hares feed­ ing on seaweeds, while most bubble­ shells and all nudibranchs are carni­ vores. Individual species are usually very specific in their dietary habits, eat­ ing only one, or perhaps a few, differ­ The common but seldom seen aeolid Fiona pinnata feeding on goose barna­ ent foods. An economical way to look cles. A careful search of freshly beached barnacle-encrusted logs or fishermen's for nudibranchs under water is to floats will often uncover large colonies of these specialised nudibranchs. locate their food source as most spe­ cies rarely venture far from their next energy that are required to build and phores which detect or 'smell' chemi­ meal. continually enlarge the shell as the ani­ cals in the water. The dorid body plan The loss of a protective shell in mal grows. Also, having a shell restricts is quite simple. It consists of a long nudibranchs incurs several disadvan­ the size and the shape of the animal body with a pair of anterior rhino­ tages. It restricts them to marine and the elimination of this encum­ phores and a circle of gills on the back environments where they won't dry brance in nudibranchs has been in the posterior midline. The back can out and it has forced them to evolve accompanied by the evolution of a be smooth, rough, ridged or covered more subtle means of defence against great diversity of shapes. in tubercules and species may be dull predators. However, there are advan­ Within this vast diversity there are or brightly coloured. Some may have tages in becoming shell-less and the two basic body plans, well-illustrated short or long processes on the back ingenious nudibranchs have fully by the dorids and the aeolids. All but a circle of gills is a sure sign of a exploited them. For a start, they don't nudibranchs have a pair of anterior dorid nudibranch. Molluscs in general need to use the enormous amounts of chemosensory tentacles called rhino- have an all-purpose 'digestive gland' AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY 3 Found around southern Australia from Western Australia to New South Wales, Ceratosoma brevicaudatum is a typical dorid nudibranch with a pair of chemosensory head tentacles (rhinophores) and a ring of bushy gills. It has poisonous mantle glands which are concentrated in the bright red lump just behind the gills. that produces digestive enzymes and absorbs digested food before being passed into the blood. In dorids, this digestive gland constitutes one large mass in the body cavity. In the second major group of nudibranchs-the aeolids-the pair of anterior rhinophores is retained but the circle of gills has been replaced by groups or rows of blood-filled tubular processes down each side of the body called cerata. These cerata act as gills and each ceras has a branch of the digestive gland inside it. The develop­ ment of these gut branches into cerata has been an important step in the evo­ lution of defence mechanisms in aeolids. Aeolids feed mainly on coelenter­ ates: sea-anemones, hydroids, soft­ corals and hard reef corals. One interesting exception, however, is Fiona pinnata. This species feeds only on goose barnacles and is found through­ out the world on barnacle-covered driftwood and old floats. Other exceptions are species of Favorinus which feed almost exclu­ sively on the egg masses of other opisthobranchs. These egg masses occur in a wide variety of colours and, when eaten by Favorinus, give colour to the aeolids' cerata. This is one of the rare cases where the colour of the nudibranch results directly from the colour of its last meal! Nudibranchs have developed an amazing diversity of defence mechan­ isms. Among the aeolids we find one of the most fascinating and intricate examples of theft in the animal world. Coelenterates, the main food of aeolids, have evolved special stinging

The white, granular band inside the red and yellow border of Chro­ modoris daphne contains a range of noxious chemicals which it obtains from the sponge it eats. These are used to deter attack by predators because, like many related chro­ modorids, the bright colours probably warn fish that this juicy slug is poi­ sonous. VOL. 22 No. 1, WINTER 86 structures called nematocysts. These occur in a variety of different shapes and sizes. Some are used for poisoning and killing, and others are used to entangle their prey so that it may be drawn to the mouth. The agonising sting of the Portuguese Man-o-war, or Blue Bottle, and the often fatal sting of the northern Queensland Box Jellyfish are two well-known examples of the power of coelenterate nematocysts. At the end of last century, some Euro­ The pink veins in the cerata of this Tas­ pean biologists realised there was a manian aeolid (Phyllodesmium sp.) special sac at the tip of most aeolids' are branches of its gut. Its colour cerata containing stinging cells remark­ results directly from the colour of the ably similar to those of coelenterates. food it is eating. It soon became clear that the aeolids, on eating their coelenterate food, for its own nutrition. This process of were removing undamaged nema­ two organisms living together for tocysts and storing them in the tips of apparently mutual benefit is loosely their cerata for future use. When termed 'symbiosis'. Coral reef scientists attacked, the aeolid discharges these also believe that without these symbi­ stinging cells through a pore at the tip otic dinoflagellates, most tropical of each ceras. To day, almost 100 years corals would not have sufficient energy since this fascinating form of theft was to produce the calcium carbonate discovered, it is still not clear exactly skeletons that form the building blocks how the aeolid is able to remove the of coral reefs. nematocysts from the coelenterate Some aeolids actually take the liv­ In colour, texture and shape, the chro­ and maintain them in working order. ing zooxanthellae from the coelenter­ modorid Verconia verconis cam­ ates they feed on and move them to ouflages itself on its food, the pink One aeolid, Glaucus at/anticus, special 'gardens' inside their bodies. sponge Aplysilla rosea. As an added feeds exclusively on the Portuguese Here the plants have sufficient sun­ defence, it stores poisons from the Man-o-war and often remains unno­ light, oxygen and nutrients to grow, sponge in the tips of the papillae ticed on the sand alongside them reproduce and photosynthesise. In around the edge of its body. when they are washed up on surf some species, the farming of these kid­ beaches. But beware! Its sting can be napped zooxanthellae is so efficient worse than that of its food, for it stores that the nudibranchs never or seldom only the most virulent and poisonous need to feed again. They obtain all of the nematocysts. There have been their nutritional requirements from the cases reported in New South Wales of sugars and oils produced by the symbi­ children being severely affected by Por­ otic zooxanthellae. Therefore, it is no tuguese Man-o-war stings-not from exaggeration to describe these self­ the Man-o-wars themselves, but from sufficient organisms as 'solar-powered' inadvertent handling of the aeolid nudibranchs. Glaucus. Dorid nudibranchs have not been as In the last five years we have discov­ adventurous in trying out new shapes ered that some groups of aeolids are as the aeolids, but many display spec­ involved in another type of theft from tacular colour patterns and are pro­ Chromodoris tasmaniensis is a com­ coelenterates-one that can literally tected from predators by distasteful mon intertidal nudibranch in Tasmania feed them for life. In tropical waters, and noxious chemicals stored in glands but is normally only found by scuba most reef-forming coral and soft-coral in their skin. One of the simplest divers in New South Wales. The bold colonies contain in their tissues defence strategies used by dorid colour pattern probably serves to microscopic, unicellular, plant-like nudibranchs is camouflage. Most warn fish of its poisonous nature. organisms called dinoflagellates. Some dorids feed exclusively on encrusting dinoflagellates, known generally as colonial organisms such as sponges, However, the appropriately named zooxanthellae, have adapted to life in bryozoans or ascidians. Being either of chromodorids, a group of brilliantly animal tissues where not only are they similar colour to their food or translu­ coloured dorids, are an exception to living in a safe environment but they cent offers these dorids a simple the rule. Their colours are so bright also have all the necessary require­ method of hiding in the open. More and spectacular that-at least to the ments for growth and reproduction. As elaborate camouflages have also human eye-they not only make no long as they maintain contact with sun­ evolved, such as developing bristles or attempt to hide but appear to posi­ light, they are able to photosynthesise tubercules on the back to mimic the tively advertise their presence. and produce excess sugars and oils texture of their sponge or other prey Although this mystery has yet to be which are removed by the animal host colony. completely unravelled, in recent years 5 AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY The three colour forms of this 'solar-powered' aeolid (Pteraeolidia ianthina) il­ ing to deter predators? Probably for the lustrate its life history. As a juvenile, it is white and devoid of unicellular symbiot­ same reason that butterflies are often ic plants. The brown specks in the middle animal are recently acquired plants brightly coloured and apparently open which it can now cultiviate. As the plants grow and reproduce, the animal will to attack by birds. Like chromodorids, eventually turn a dark blue-brown. At this stage, most of its nutritional require­ many butterflies build up a supply of ments will be provided by these symbiotic plants. noxious chemicals from the plants they feed on during their larval stage. When we have discovered several clues as to the caterpillars metamorphose into why these brightly coloured chro­ butterflies, these chemicals are usually modorids can be so brazen and yet concentrated into those parts of the remain uneaten! One explanation wings and body that are most vulnera­ appears to fit the bill. Chromodorids ble to bird attack. In simple terms, the feed on a group of sponges that, for predatory birds quickly learn to avoid their own protection, produce distaste­ these noxious butterflies by avoiding ful chemicals, some of which are their associated colour patterns. extremely toxic to fish. Fish learn Although a few butterflies may die as quickly not to eat certain sponges. By each new generation of birds learns to using a technique that mirrors the avoid the same patterns, a bright and aeolids' tricks with coelenterate distinctive colouring clearly protects nematocysts and zooxanthellae, the the species at the population level. A chromodorids are able to isolate these number of different species of noxious noxious chemicals without ill effects butterfly may evolve similar colour pat­ and then place them in special 'mantle terns and, in doing so, spread their glands' on their backs. Different chro­ small-but inevitable-burden of loss. modorid genera arrange their mantle This mimicry has been studied glands in different ways; some form a intensively in the insect world but little band around the body, others are con­ information is available on chro­ centrated in a single, conspicuous modorid predation. However, because spot. When disturbed, the chro­ their situation is so similar to that of modorids discharge the chemicals as a butterfly mimicry, we can be reasona­ white, sticky substance that deters bly sure that these nudibranchs are potential predators. advertising their noxious mantle But why advertise your presence glands to potential predators. with such bright colours if you are try- Australian waters abound with sea­ slugs, but we still have little more than This typical aeolid of the genus Flabel­ a superficial knowledge of their biol­ lina is wrapped around the stalk of a ogy and ecology. Some species are colony of hydroids on which it feeds. unique to Australia while others have a From these tiny sea-anemone-like wider distribution in the tropical Pacific animals, the aeolid removes the sting­ and Indian oceans. With a possible ing nematocysts which it stores in the 2,000 species to be found in Australia, orange sacs at the tip of each ceras. many fascinating discoveries are yet to When attacked it can fire these stolen be made. D weapons in its own defence.

6 VOL. 22 No. 1, WINTER 86 THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAMELA AND DAVID MAITLAND From egg to caterpillar, caterpillar to pupa and pupa to adult moth, the dramatic metamorphosis of the Emperor Gum Moth is marked by complete changes in form - the Emperor's ·new clothes'. The long-spined, colourful caterpillar eats leaves, storing the food as fat. Within its body it carries a great potential for change which is realised at pupation. During this outwardly quiet period, great metabolic activity takes place and, from a simple, lumbering caterpillar, a majestic moth emerges.

The eggs of the Emperor Cum Moth (Antherea eucalypti) are about two millimetres 1 round and are laid on the underside of gum leaves. They are a common sight throughout Australia in January and February. Within a week, small, dark caterpillars, about five millimetres in length, emerge and immediately begin feeding, first on the egg­ shell and then on the leaf. The caterpillar is the relatively unspecialised, grub-like feeding stage during which reserves of tissue are built up for the eventual transformation into the highly specialised structures of the adult moth. 1111- 1

2 Caterpillars go through several growth stages called instars. Belying its softness, the skin of a caterpillar is not very elastic. At the 2 end of each instar the caterpillar forms a new, larger skin and sheds the old one which it may then eat. The new skin unfolds like a concertina as the caterpillar grows. Because caterpillars are slow, soft and fat, they are ideal.food for many animals, particularly birds. The Emperor Gum Moth caterpillar is not defenceless, though, for along its back and sides are rows of conspicuously-coloured stubs bearing spines that deter birds. These spines, although they discourage some animals, offer no defence against microscopic predators such as viruses. AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY 7 '· 3

The Emperor Gum Moth caterpillar 3 eats vast quantities of vegetable matter and produces commensurate amounts of hard, hexamerous droppings which are fragrant with gum oils. Their unusual shape reflects the invaginations (hence the increased surface area) of the posterior gut wall where water is ab­ sorbed. Although considered a nuisance because they stain patios and pools, if swept up they make wonderful fertilizer! t

The two large, vertical hemispheres of the head, which look like enormous eyes, are in fact regions of strengthened cuticle. They 4 form a firm base to which the muscles powering the strong jaws are anchored. The caterpillar has tiny, black, simple eyes just above the jaws that detect only light from dark. Caterpillars have two kinds of lr;gs: the dark tapering ones at the front of the body, which correspond to the six legs in the adult moth, and the 'prolegs' that include the larger, fleshier ones along the bulk of the body and the broad clasping pair at the tail end. The prolegs are armed with a ring of small hooks designed to help grip the smooth surfaces 4 of leaves and stems.

6 Having attained its maximum size after a few weeks 5 of eating and growing, the caterpillar becomes rest­ less, stops feeding and is ready to pupate. Its colour changes to a purple-brown for camouflage because it usually moves from the green,/eaves onto the red-brown trunk to spin its cocoon. �

Before pupation, the Emperor Cum Moth caterpillar 6 makes itself a hairy cocoon woven from silk spun from glands near its mouthparts. The cocoon dries as hard as a rock and provides some protection from ants, wasps and other predators. Inside the cocoon the cater­ pillar sheds its last skin to reveal a soft, white pupa, the outside of which soon hardens into a brown shell. VOL. 22 No. 1, WINTER 86 7

An enormous amount of development occurs within the pupa's hard exterior. 7 Much of the caterpillar tissue is liquefied except for the vital organs and a few clumps of special, dormant cells. These are the imaginal discs-the formative adult tissues that grow into specialised adult features. The pupal shell effectively acts as a mould for the body, and the head, antennae, wings and legs can be seen sculptured on its surface. The head capsule and shrivelled-up skin of the last moult lie in the bottom of the cocoon... .

After about a month, the Emperor 8 Cum Moth is ready to emerge. The pupal case splits open and the moth must now contend with its cocoon. First it wets a patch of the cocoon with special fluid from its mouth, thus dissolving it. Then, with special teeth at the base of its fore­ wings, it makes a hole in the cocoon. The damp and crumpled adult moth can now push its way out of the cocoon. After clambering up the nearest twig or just hanging onto its cocoon, it pumps blood into its wings before they harden. When dry, the moth vibrates its wings to warm the flight muscles, which must reach a cer­ tain temperature before the moth can fly. The male moth flutters away in search of a mate while females often remain close to where they emerged and use special chemicals - pheromones - from scent glands to attract males. A

5 AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY 9 In contrast to the head of the caterpillar being predominantly jaws, the adult moth's head is mostly eyes and antennae. 1 0 Although adult moths do not have jaws, they are usually equipped with a long tongue to feed on nectar. But not the Emperor Cum Moth. All its energies are directed towards finding a mate. The male bears enormous feathered antennae that are covered with extremely sensitive chemoreceptive organs. These can detect female pheromones over long distances downwind. The male flies towards the source of the scent, mates with the female who then flies off to lay her eggs on the leaves of a suitable gum tree ... And the tale of the Emperor's new clothes begins again. D 10 VOL. 22 No. 1, WINTER 8fr © :ii m •=� � «J n1!2' !BACK ISSUES

�© ... of the NaturalAuthority ,,@ <1#» @ dl m !!fm � � � .@ (10) @) di w � � � © Jg � @ � (?!ill Drought • Possums Raptors • Rat-catching Kangaroo Harvesting '"""'YJ'o • Rare Tortoise • Wasp Invasion • Mantids • Simpson � • Death of the Murray • Opal Fossils 3 Desert • Forestry «l) • Bullants tgJ 1 c@ iWiJ @) Australian %�,� :1) � Natural History� � DAINTREE RUIN• CURIOUS PLATYPUS• DENSEY €LYNE RAINF0REST BIRDS• DR 808 BROWN •TIGER SNAKES � ({J ©! .@ qffi) ® � (!?i) iWiJ � (1,J) © .@ � VoL21h'11.6 @ SpmgHM � � • Daintree The Franklin Whales: Song Platypus • Tasmanian Devils • Stranding • Migration ·= 4• TigerRainforest Birds 5 • Magpies • Killer Whales "ij Snakes • Atoll Animals Au�trr@H@n BACK ISSUES ORDER FORM J Back issues are available for $4 each or $20 for six, including postage and handling. Please send me: D copies of No. 1 D copies of No. 3 D copies of No. 5 ! ��fYf©]i ��$f@ry D copies of No. 2 D copies of No. 4 D copies of No. 6 Total number of magazines: D � The above A.N.H. back issues can Cheque or card authorisation must accompany order. Make cheques payable to 'Australian � be ordered by completing this cou­ Museum'. � pon (or a copy) and returning with NAME ...... ADDRESS ...... [ !Ql payment, post-free, to: ...... SUBURB ...... P/C0DE ...... Please debit my DBankcard OAmerican Express Ovisa � 10 DOD DDDDDDDDDDD � AustralianFREEPOST Museum � P.O. Box A285 �gned ...... Expiry Date ...... S � Sydney South NSW 2000 Cheque/card authority enclosed for ...... <0i) � tl) � HE PINNACLES DESERT A Geological Masterpiece

by Ken McNamara

Schematic cross-sections illustrating how pinnacles might have developed.

A. Dune being stabilised by vegetation. Tap roots penetrate deep into the de­ veloping limestone, which hardens preferentially around the roots. The groups of parallel lines represent dune bedding. B. A hard layer of calcrete has developed. In this and the underlying limestone, solution pipe·s have developed. The insoluble residue from the dissolution of the limestone accumulates in the pipes. C. Following prolonged subsurface weathering, only a few residual stumps of limestone are left, swathed in quartz sand. After the wind has blown this sand away the residual limestone stumps jut into the air as pinnacles, a few capped by the remnants of the old calcrete layer. again by dune movement, before be­ ing exposed relatively recently. No evi­ dence for recent Aboriginal foot to Perth, having been ship­ occupation of the area has been wrecked near Kalbarri (100 kilometres found. Nor have any Aboriginal north of Geraldton) in 1839. Like the legends about the pinnacles survived. earlier Dutch explorers, Grey made no Indirect evidence to support the mention of the pinnacles. It seems view that the last exposure of the pin­ possible that they were only swept nacles occurred relatively recently in­ clear of sand within the last 100 years. cludes the lack of historical records One persistent story is that early from the last 300 years. The existence Dutch navigators, on sighting the pin­ of the Pinnacles Desert was generally nacles, thought that they were the re­ unknown until James Turner, in the mains of an ancient city. However, early 1960s, explored the area and there is no written evidence to sub­ recommended its inclusion in the stantiate this claim. Nambung National Park. The Pinnacles Desert forms a strik­ Earlier explorers of the area did not ing contrast to the richly-vegetated record these strange limestone struc­ surrounding area of the Nambung Na­ tures. Abraham Leeman, a Dutch navi­ tional Park. As already discussed, the gator stranded on an island off the vegetation types within the Park Western Australian coast adjacent to played an important role in the forma­ the Pinnacles Desert in 1658, makes tion of the pinnacles. The types of no mention of the pinnacles in his di­ vegetation are controlled by both the ary, despite the fact that he and others • topography and the character of the explored that part of the coast and sand on which they occur. Immediate­ even recorded the two large hills, ly inland from the sparsely-vegetated North and South Hummock, which lie foredunes that line the ocean is a ser­ Exposed in a quarry at Mandurah, very close to the Pinnacles Desert. ies of white, lime-rich sands of the Western Australia, these pinnacles sur­ Perhaps at that time the pinnacles Quindalup System. The type of vege­ rounded by quartz sand are in the were not exposed. tation occurring here is strongly con­ process of formation. The dune bed­ Another explorer who must have trolled by the relief of the dunes. On ding shows them to be the remnants passed extremely close to the area of the windward side, the daisy Olearia of an eroded bed of limestone. Photo: the Pinnacles Desert was George axillaris is a dominant species, while in K. McNamara. Grey. He made his epic journey on the more sheltered leeward thickets, 14 VOL. 22 No. 1, WINTER 86 Set in a sea of quartz sand, the pinna­ cles in the Pinnacles Desert represent the deeply eroded remnants of a thick bed of limestone which once covered the region. Photo: W.A. Photo Index.

NEW several Acacia (wattle) species grow. NORCIA c, Further inland, the yellow quartz sand of the Spearwood System occurs. i

The vegetation here consists of Tuart :Tl (Eucalyptus gomphocephala) wood­ � land in the valleys and Banksia and :,: cg: Casuarina species on the more ex­ posed heaths. Here, dense aggrega­ I tions of pinnacles are often interspersed with stands of the bright orange flowering Banksia prionotes. The Pinnacles Desert itself supports a very sparse mammal fauna. This is INDIAN hardly surprising as the Nambung Na­ OCEAN tional Park as a whole, like much of Western Australia, supports an im­ poverished native mammal fauna. Ex­ cavations of cave deposits in the Pinnacles Desert region have revealed that a much richer fauna existed im­ mediately prior to the arrival of Eu­ -- Sealed road ropeans. • • • • • • • Unsealed road Species that originally inhabited the area but are no longer recorded here 100km include the Western Quall (Dasyurus geoffroii), Mulgara (Dasycercus

AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY 15 One of the more bizarre-shaped pin­ nacles. The hard cap is a remnant of the calcrete layer. Photo: K. McNamara.

McNamara. shortridgei), Mitchell's Hopping Mouse (Notomys mitchelli), Pale Field-rat (Rat­ tus tunneyi) and the Ghost Bat.(Macro­ derma gigas). Species that still persist include the Honey-possum (Tarsipes rostratus; although rather rare), Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus Fossil pupal cases of the weevil Lep­ fuliginosus), Western Brush Wallaby topius from ancient soil horizons in (M. irma), Ash-grey Mouse (Pseudo­ the Tamala limestone. Photo: K. mys albocinereus), Bush Rat (Rattus McNamara. fuscipes), five species of bats and the Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus). ing sand, thus preventing the emer­ European introduction of the House gence of the adult weevil. Mouse, Fox and Cat has possibly had The most common fossils occurring a substantial impact in halving the both within and beneath the old soil numbers of native mammal species in horizons in the Pinnacles Desert are the region. those of plant roots. These are the Older fossil vertebrate remains rhizoliths or rhizoconcretions. Plant have turned up in some of the old soil roots penetrating into the dune horizons of the Tamala Limestone. provided an easy downward passage These include the skull of an extinct for water. An increase in local acidity species of wombat and the jaw bone around the roots, dissolution of adja­ of an extinct kangaroo, Protemnodon. cent sand and its reprecipitation in a Also occurring, in clusters of many very localised band resulted in the hundreds, are egg-shaped objects roots' eventual replacement by about five centimetres in length. redeposited calcium carbonate. When These are the fossilised pupal cham­ softer sand surrounding these bers of the weevil Leptopius. During rhizoliths is eroded away by wind, periods when the ancient dunes were these brittle ancient roots stand up out Banksia prionotes, one of the com­ stabilised by vegetation, the larvae of the desert sand looking like forests monest plants in the vegetated areas would burrow into the sand and form of petrified twigs. Much of the sandy around the Pinnacles Desert. Photo: K. a chamber in which they metamor­ area between the pinnacles is covered McNamara. phosed into adult weevils. The larvae by these amazing structures, some appear to have secreted a substance standing 15-20 centimetres high. cristicauda), Dibbler (Parantechinus around them which increased the Although much work remains to be apicalis), White-tailed Dunnart (Smin­ acidity of the chamber watls. Water done on unravelling the mysteries of thopsis granulipes), Grey-bellied Dun­ seeping through the sand, then, would the Pinnacles Desert, its spectacular nart (5. griseoventer), Southern Brown have resulted in a thin layer of sand appearance will remain a source of Bandicoot (lsoodon obesulus), Com­ being cemented around the pupal wonder to the many who visit the mon Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus chamber. Fossilised chambers with a area. In terms of geological time, vu/pecu/a), Brush-tailed Bettong (Bet­ hole at one end indicate successful however, the pinnacles are transient tongia penicillata), Western Mouse metamorphosis prior to fossilisation. features. Wind will determine their ul­ (Pseudomys occidentalis), Shark Bay However, the intact nature of others timate fate-either through erosion or Mouse (P. praeconis), Heath Mouse (P. suggests inundation of the soil by shift- inundation with another sand dune. D

16 VOL. 22 No. 1, WINTER 86 PLANT VARIETY RIGHTS: A QUESTION FOR AUSTRALIA by Margaret Brown

With the release in April of the Although all schemes have the velopers in the United States, Europe report on Australia's plant breeding same fundamental objectives, they and New Zealand were said to be needs by Professor Alec Lazenby, the differ in their administrative proce­ reluctant to sell new types to Aus­ question of Plant Variety Rights (PVR) dures. Most European countries (in­ tralian propagators without PVR pro- legislation once again becomes an im- eluding the United Kingdom) require tection. ,11 portant issue. This is a type of legisla- field trials of new varieties to prove However, the Senate report stated tion that allows a plant breeder DUS characteristics. United States that there was little evidence to sup­ (individual or corporate) exclusive breeders are only required to produce port the claim that useful varieties are propagation and distribution rights written descriptions. When New being withheld for this reason. Lazen­ over a newly-discovered or newly- Zealand first introduced PVR, field tri­ by, quoting the same Senate report, developed variety of plant. It is virtual- als were required, but recently the ex­ claimed there was "overwhelming evi­ ly the same as taking out a patent on pense and delays involved have led to dence that, for a number of reasons, a plant type. To qualify for this 'pa- the acceptance of varieties on the ba­ many overseas plant varieties which tent', a new variety must be shown to sis of written descriptions only. Lazen­ could substantially benefit Australian be distinct, uniform and stable (DUS by recommends that determination of agriculture are not being made availa­ characteristics). The original breeder DUS characteristics be based on ble speedily for commercialisation". or subsequent owner then collects breeder descriptions for crops and The fact that the Senate report con­ royalties on each plant propagated pastures, and field trials for any over­ tained such conflicting evidence was from the patented variety. seas applications and ornamentals. neither recognised nor discussed. The Lazenby report has concluded Lack of merit testing could result in Lazenby's strong support for PVR that "the total resources presently in- poor varieties being promoted, with legislation has several disturbing vested in plant breeding in Australia testing effectively occurring in the aspects which have not been ade­ are insufficient'', recommending "that market place. However, merit testing quately addressed in his report. While legislation for a Plant Variety Rights. is costly, time consuming and labour­ recognising that a PVR scheme needs Scheme be enacted in Australia and intensive and, to Lazenby, un­ to be financially self-supporting, it fails that it should be framed such that no necessary. to come to grips with the fact that PVR crops are excluded from potential The effect of PVR legislation over- can only operate successfully on the coverage." seas is difficult to evaluate. However basis of royalties from a large and Who would control such a scheme? Australian plant breeders who have re­ predominantly commercial trade in Suggestions have been made that the cently travelled overseas report in­ seeds and other propagating matter Australian Patent Office could incor- creasing pressures under the present produced for farmers. porate the administration of a PVR United States administration for public Broad-acre agriculture in Australia is scheme as it has already granted pa- plant breeding institutions to with­ unlikely to provide these conditions in tents in respect of three varieties (two draw from practical plant breeding the foreseeable future for reasons of roses and an orchid). However Lazen- and concentrate on basic research to crop type, environment, geography by's report identifies problems with us- support private sector breeding. and economics. Many varieties deve­ ing current patent legislation and Lazenby's report concedes that the loped overseas would be unsuitable recommends that PVR legislation advent of PVR will place increasing for local conditions, especially among should be separated from patents "for pressure on quarantine facilities and the field and pasture crops that form as long as possible". Lazenby con- recognises that quarantine restrictions the backbone of our agriculture. eludes that a small PVR Office should are an impediment to some breeding The reason for this is that Australian be created within the Department of programs, delaying access to overseas soils, in their virgin state, are generally Primary Industry to administer the varieties, in particular horticultural infertile when compared with those of scheme assisted by an Advisory Com- crops. The possibility of PVR for hor­ North America, Europe and New mittee representing breeders, grow- ticultural varieties was considered at Zealand. Plants that perform well must ers, seed industry, government and the 1984 Senate Standing Committee be especially developed to make the consumers. on National Resources (which inves- most of soil and climatic conditions in lntroduction of a PVR scheme tigated the issue of PVR for Australia) the particular part of Australia in which would bring Australia into line with a but no special consideration was given they are to be grown. Because of this, number of other developed nations. to the problems created by our strict Departments of Agriculture in all PVR legislation has been in force for quarantine regulations. States have long-running breeding pro­ many years in the United States, Rus- During the 1984 enquiry the hor­ grams for all major broad-acre crops sia, United Kingdom and many E.E.C. ticultural lobby, which includes fruit­ and some horticultural varieties. countries, and has operated in New growers and propagators of ornamen­ Australian farmers also buy very lit­ Zealand for about ten years. Canada tal plants, claimed many potentially tle seed compared to farmers over­ and Australia (so far) have resisted im- useful plant varieties are being with­ seas for the simple reason that they plementing PVR schemes for a variety held from Australian growers because don't need to. Farmers can generally of reasons. of our lack of PVR protection. De- grow up their own seed stocks for

AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY 17 several years and/or exchange seed vigorously for the introduction of PVR Agriculture, and Mark Cole, a with neighbours. This makes our com­ to Australia have commercial interests researcher into the Australian seed in­ mercial seed trade relatively small­ in both seed production and agricul­ dustry. Gladstones' scheme is aimed insufficient to support a flourishing tural chemicals. primarily at broad-acre crops, such as PVR scheme. Additional funding The report does not address the wheat, barley, rice and fodder and would be required. fact that the availability of chemicals pasture crops. It aims at providing a The situation could be different has allowed breeders to concentrate form of payment to breeders and pub­ with horticultural crops, which are more on yield, neglecting natural lic breeding programs, which is based generally restricted to the wetter, resistances to disease, insects and on the usefulness of their varieties in more fertile coastal belt and irrigation weed infestations. Profits from in­ agriculture and does not necessitate areas. Some overseas varieties creased yields have far outweighed patent rights or involvement of the (although not all by any means) have the costs of fertilisers and other chemi­ commercial seed trade. proved to be suitable. cals. The fact that overuse of chemi­ Coles' plan is aimed at horticultural Some additional problems associat­ cals is likely to become ecologically crops and seeks to integrate an impor­ ed with PVR schemes have not been dangerous does not even rate a tation scheme into the existing Com­ fully addressed. A number of bodies, mention. monwealth Fruit Variety Foundation including the Plant Diversity Protec­ PVR is also seen as encouraging Committee which co-ordinates the im­ tion Committee, have claimed that secrecy in research and restricting the port of overseas material. PVR legislation would encourage free flow of information and plant Several private horticulturalists selective breeding for appearance and materials between breeders through­ have also set up importation schemes handling characteristics rather than for out the world. Commercial interests through private treaty arrangements. nutritional benefits or flavour. They predispose patent owners to protect An example is the Flemings chain of are concerned that many traditional their breeding processes and plant nurseries in Victoria, the directors of fruit and vegetable varieties would be materials. There have also been claims which negotiate with breeders over­ neglected or lost. PVR legislation has that PVR encourages the one-way flow seas for propagation rights to patented tended to hasten this selective breed­ of genetic material from the Third varieties. To date, Flemings has suc­ ing, although it was. already occurring World countries, where most of our cessfully imported a number of varie­ in the absence of PVR. food crops developed, to private cor­ ties of fruit and, after field trials to Recognition of the problem has led porations in the developed world. prove their suitability for local condi­ to the establishment of seed libraries Third World countries can seldom af­ tions, released some to Australian in some countries (the most famous ford to set up and maintain gene growers. being in the United Kingdom) to pro­ banks in which to store seeds and Lazenby's report appears to give a tect traditional varieties and their in­ other propagating materials-this is very one-eyed support to PVR. In a herent natural diversity. However the generally done in industrialised 196-page document only six-and-a-half threat of withdrawal of government nations. pages discuss opposition to PVR and support hangs over some institutions, Large corporations tend to keep there is no examination of alternatives. and with it the risk that many old varie­ only materials immediately relevant to However alternatives do exist, and ties may be lost. their breeding programs, expecting schemes to reward plant breeders for The Plant Diversity Protection Com­ public bodies to carry a wide range of their efforts can be implemented mittee has also expressed concern genetic lines. Gene banks are costly to without recourse to PVR legislation. that newly discovered Australian na­ maintain-another drain on the public Many people would agree that it is tive plants could be patented and be­ purse. However, as pressure for in­ preferable for Australia to follow come the property of overseas creasing farmlands to feed hungry Canada's example and avoid adopting interests. Lazenby's report specifically people in the Third World increases, PVR for the foreseeable future, rather excludes "genuine native flora" from natural pockets of genetic diversity are than involve the government in the es­ PVR coverage but states that "any cul­ threatened and gene banks assume tablishment and maintenance of a PVR tivated varieties derived from native great importance. Plant breeders in scheme, which will contribute little plants" will be covered. This means developing countries are in danger of benefit to the average Australian and that hybrid wattles, grevilleas, eu­ becoming dependent on genetic probably create a considerable drain calypts and other 'natives' may be­ materials which, although originating on the public purse. D come the property of large overseas in their own area, are held by the Unit­ corporations. ed States or other developed coun­ PVR is also blamed by some for the tries, and as such may be withheld if production of crops dependent on a these governments see fit to do so. complex and expensive regime of pes­ The United States Government has, on ticides, fertilisers and herbicides. occasions, restricted access to genetic Lazenby claims that much public materials for political reasons. breeding aims at reducing our depen­ A number of experts in the field of dence on chemicals. While this may plant breeding have put forward alter­ be true, it nonetheless must be natives to PVR, notably Dr J.S. Glad­ remembered that many of the large stones, principal plant breeder with transnational corporations lobbying the Western Australian Department of

18 VOL. 22 No. 1, WINTER 86 A Question of Lerps Lerps containing sugar be­ The Emu and the In the matter of transmit­ Australian psyllids (lerps) long to only three genera: Mango ting form, I believe that Wil­ have been extensively Eucalyptolyma, Cometop­ Mr H.J. Pollock's letter liams' supposed implication studied during recent years, sylla and Clycaspis, the lat­ (A.N.H. Vol. 21, No. 11), and of the hypothesis-that all and the species illustrated ter originally placed particularly the illustration other languages will eventu­ on the leaves of Eucalyptus incorrectly in Spondyliaspis. regarding the grapefruit­ ally be suppressed in favour tereticornis in Tim Low's I suspect that the framework eating Cassowary, vividly of Chinese-is inconsistent Wild Foods article (A.N.H. of these lerps, and the recalled one of the delights with it. Whereas, that we Vol. 21, No. 11) do not be­ whole of the lerps in other of my boyhood. could learn Chinese if we long, as stated, to the genus genera, although mostly At that time the Botanic tried-because a strong Spondyliaspis or to the fami­ starches, is on1y partly Gardens in Townsville had Chinese language 'field' has ly Psyllidae. digestible; and that early an Emu in a large enclosure. already been established­ During 1960, psyllid tax­ writers such as Peter On our way home from may well be consistent with onomist K.L. Taylor of Beveridge in 1884 confused school in the mango season, the hypothesis. Similarly, the C.S.I.R.O. erected a new ge­ lerps with manna, which is we would collect one or form of a growing foetus (or nus Clycaspis (Greek glycos exuded by many eucalypts. two large ripe mangoes to even a growing idea) may =sweet, aspis=a shield) to Incidentally, the exudation throw over the fence. The well be controlled by a mor­ contain many species previ­ of manna is possibly stimu­ Emu's technique differed phogenetic field set in place ously erroneously referred lated by the feeding of sap­ from that of the Cassowary by the species it belongs to. to Signoret's genus Spon­ sucking insects. I have seen in that the skin of the fruit A general morphogenetic dyliaspis (Aust. J. Zoo/. heavy deposits of similar was removed piece-by-piece field might be locally adjust­ 8: 383). The genera material on the trunks of by pecking and vigorous ed by the genetic and so­ Clycaspis Taylor and Spon­ gum trees following oviposi­ shaking, each piece being matic material of egg, dyliaspis Signoret are now tion by cicadas. Hopefully eaten as removed. Only sperm, mother and environ­ placed in the family Spondy­ Tim will mention manna in a when the mango was com­ ment, just as our all­ liaspididae, subfamily Spon­ later article in his series. Un­ pletely peeled would the pervasive gravitational field dyliaspidinae, of the Psyl­ like lerps, it seems to be to­ Emu take it in its bill, look is locally over-ridden by a loidea. tally digestible. skywards, and a fascinated magnetic field or the strong The Clycaspis species on Honeyeaters and parde­ audience of small boys force in an atomic nucleus. E. tereticornis could be C. lotes certainly feed on psyl­ would watch the descent of With an idea as pregnant struicis, C. brimblecombei, lids. I think the immature the bulge and throw as that of morphogenesis, I C. pratensis or possibly C. nymphs (larvae) under the another mango over the feel that we would have australoraria. lerps comprise their main fence for a repeat per­ much to gain by giving up Clycaspis lerps are sweet, food, although they could formance. -Don McDonald our habit of 'de-legitimating' with only a trace of starch or also partly utilise the lerps. I Wulguru, Qld notions that do not fit the wax. have often seen the lerps of conventional wisdom simply -ICM. Moort- Cardiaspina, which contain for the sake of preserving Y cppoon, Qld 'Wondering' in no sugar, prised up from the Morphogenetic Fields convention. Which is not to leaf surface so that the Tim Low informs us that the Just as Robyn Williams' say that we should not try to nymph could be removed. lerp was identified by the heart sank when he saw refute new ideas that con­ I look forward to seeing Entomology branch of the Sheldrake's work, mine sank flict with existing ones. It future articles in Tim Low's Department of Primary In­ as I read his article The Gulli­ seems to me that if science series. is to retain its currency as dustry in Queensland -Keith L. l aylor bility Factor in the Winter which has admitted its error. being synonymous with wis­ C.S.I.R.O., Hobart, Tas. 1985 issue of A.N.H. (Vol. Glycaspis is correct. He does 21, No. 9). In addition to dom, it must remain a dy­ insist, however, that the lerp Papers that refer to lerp on conducting a kind of self­ namic concept ever aware tastes very waxy. mulga include J.B. Cleland censorship around what he of the relativity of its bases and N.B. Tindale {1959} "The perceives as 'science', Wil­ and the seamlessness of the The first of Tim Low's in­ native names and uses of liams demeans Sheldrake reality it purports to explain. teresting series of articles on plants at Haast Bluff, Central himself and, by inference, In other words, its tools Australian Wild Foods in­ Australia" (Trans. R. Soc. S.A. those who support his (mechanisms and formula­ cludes lerps, and I would 82: 123-40}; and }.F. O'Con­ efforts. tions) may well be distinctly like to add my comments. nell, P.K. Latz and P. Barnett The hypothesis of forma­ bounded but science itself is The only Australian spe­ (1983) 'Traditional and tive causation is not unique not. Thus, science is de­ cies that build lerps belong modern plant use among to Sheldrake. The mechan­ meaned when treated as if to the Spondyliaspidinae, the Alyawarra of Central ism by which the mor­ science is as science does. and all of them feed on Eu­ Australia" (Econ. Bot. 37: phogenetic fields are -Frank fisher calyptus or Angophora spp. 80-109). established, and by which Environmental Science Monash University, Vic. I have not heard of a red ...... ,...��� form is transmitted to the lerp on mulga, and would factor being formed, is cer­ l;>e glad to have a reference tainly in the realm of specu­ or see some specimens. lation.

AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY 19 QUIPS, QUOTES & CURIOS Owen-Dedicated paper bag, I sallied forth "As soon as I was outside rushed through an inner Nah.oralist ...to secure my specimen I began to hurry down the door; the room was empty; Richard Owen (1804- of the Ethiopian race ...Tak­ hill; but the pavement was the ghastly head at my feet. 1892), a leading naturalist of ing my lantern and keys, I coated with a thin sheet of I seized it and retreated, his time and author of many opened every door and ice, my foot slipped, and, wrapping it in my cloak. I fossil and modern species gate, duly locking them being encumbered with my suppose I must have closed (including the now extinct again after I had passed cloak, I lost my balance and the door after me, but I Marsupial Lion, Thylacoleo through ...The gloom of fell forward with a shock never stopped till I reached carnifex) could perhaps be the apartment was just which jerked the negro's the surgery." regarded as Australia's pre­ made visible by the light of head out of the bag, and mier vertebrate palaeontol­ the lantern, but it served for sent it bounding down the Paterson's Curse ogist. few people interested the business immediately in slippery surface of the steep The controversy over in natural history would not hand. The various instru­ descent. As soon as I reco­ the proposed introduction have heard about his ments had judiciously been vered my legs I raced des- of insects for the biological achievements or, least of all, control of the introduced his name. He truly was a Paterson's Curse (Echium dedicated naturalist and plantagineum) has led to dis­ would go to almost any cussion of the costs and lengths to increase the size benefits of the plant, mainly of his collections and further in terms of its infestations of his quest for kno01ectge. pastures and value to the The following story (related honey industry. Much less in his 1894 biography The discussed and understood is Life of Richard Owen, Lon­ its toxicity to grazing don) is proof of his some­ animals.An article in Search times dangerous dedication: (1985, Vol. 16, Nos 7-8) ex­ "My zeal and skill at assisting plains that Paterson's Curse at post-mortems had gained contains pyrrolizidine alka­ me the rarely bestowed loids. Most plant alkaloids commendation of the doc­ are poisonous, exerting an tor our preceptor. I had al­ effect on the mammalian ready begun to form a small nervous system (e.g. strych­ anatomical collection, and nine and nicotine), but the had lately added a human pyrrolizidine alkaloids cause cranium to my series of the chronic liver disease. The skulls of dogs and cats and main alkaloid (echimidine) in the skeletons of mice and Paterson's Curse may also 'such small deer'. It hap­ increase the risk of cancer to pened also that on the day the liver and other organs. when a negro patient in the field evidence implies that gaol hospital had died, a Paterson's Curse is quite treatise on the Varieties of toxic to horses, pigs and, to the Human Race fell into my a lesser but significant ex­ hands, and greatly increased tent, sheep and cattle. my craniological longings. Humans are also sus­ The examination of the ceptible to pyrrolizidine body was over and the hur­ alkaloid poisoning. In the ried inquest performed, United States, deaths have when, slipping some silver left behind; and when I perately after it, but was too been reported due to home into the hand of the old returned through the gates late to arrest its progress. I treatment with herbal medi­ turnkey as we left the room, -the bag under my cloak­ saw it bounce against the cines and teas containing I told him I should have the intimation that all was door of a cottage facing the pyrrolizidine alkaloids. In to call again that evening to now ready for interment descent, which flew open Australia, the greatest risk of look a little further into was received with a nod of and received me at the alkaloid poisoning is proba­ the matter, before the cof­ intelligence by the old turn­ same time, as I was unable bly through the consump­ fin was finally screwed key, which assured me that to stop my downward tion of Russian Comfrey down ... no inquisition nor discovery career. I heard shrieks, and (Symphytum x uplandicum). "[That evening], provid­ was to be apprehended on saw the whisk of the gar­ As a home-grown salad ed with a strong brown- that side of the castle walls. ment of a female, who had plant or in tablet form from VOL. 22 No. 1, WINTER 86 20 Compiled by Georgina Hickey health food shops, Comfrey the effects. With the rise and year-old male White Leg­ The pearl had lost about a is thought to cause liver dis­ expansion of angiosperms horns. The results are pub­ tenth of its cultured layer and ease and may increase the during the Cretaceous, per­ lished in Gems and Cem­ was much cleaner yet still re­ risk of cancer of the liver and haps the taste-deficient ology (Winter .1985). tained an excellent lustre and possibly the lung. In Victoria dinosaurs simply 'tripped' The recipes don't seem so orient (rainbow sheen). Al­ and New South Wales, the out of existence? However, strange when we understand though it necessitates sacrific­ sale of Comfrey has been despite its appeal, this a chicken's digestive process. ing a thin layer of culture, it restricted by its declaration hypothesis doesn't explain Normal digestion takes three seems that the second recipe as a poison. the simultaneous extinction hours. Food goes via the represents a valid method for Honey prepared from of many other groups in­ oesophagus into the mildly cleaning pearls. Paterson's Curse has also cluding marine plesiosaurs acidic crop, where it stays un­ Nassau and Hanson then been shown to contain pyr­ and pterosaurs. til there is room in the stom­ put pearls in laboratory hy­ rolizidine alkaloids (/. Agric. ach. It passes through the drochloric acid. These pearls Food Chem. 1981, Vol. 29: proventriculus, the first part lightened in colour but lost 958). Paterson's Curse The Chicken and the of the stomach, where gastric much of their lustre and ori­ honey is estimated to make Pearl juices (hydrochloric acid and ent. Their surface was pitted up 10 to 15 per cent of the Around 200 BC, Bolas of pepsin) are added and hold­ and loose shreds of conchio­ total Australian honey pro­ Mendes, an Egyptian chemist, ing time is short, and then lin were present. Although duction. The rates of intake compiled a multivolume set into the gizzard (second part the same basic reaction be­ of alkaloid from honey of papyrus rolls that dealt of the stomach). Here condi­ tween the acid and calcium would most likely be very with, among other things, tions are very acidic and the carbonate is occurring in viva low, but the probable car­ gemstone-treatment process­ food is ground up by the in the chicken and in vitro in cinogenicity of the main es. An excerpt (called Papyrus strong muscular contractions the test tube, it seems that alkaloid (echimidine) gives Holmiensis), copied by a of the gizzard wall acting on the specific conditions of the cause for concern. This is scribe sometime in the third ingested pebbles, which stay gizzard (such as the presence currently being evaluated by or fourth century, contains in the gizzard for a week or of enzymes, which would the National Health and several recipes for cleaning more. From here, the digest­ break down the conchiolin Medical Research Council. pearls. Two of them involve ed food moves into the intes­ shreds, and the grinding ac­ Although there is no feeding the pearls to tine for absorption and tion) help keep the pearl cause for alarm, pyrrolizi­ chickens: neutralisation with pancreatic smooth. dine alkaloids present in 'Whenever a real pearl be­ juices before passing out as Today's jewellers place Paterson's Curse do have comes dirty and has lost its faeces. grimy pearls in a warm, soapy implications for the health of lustre, the Indians clean it in Nassau and Hanson found solution; and some use a very animals and humans and this way: they cast the gem that pearls fed to chickens fine powder ('jeweller's this, therefore, calls for the as food to a rooster in the were treated like pebbles and rouge') in conjunction with a plant's rational management evening. In the morning they retained in the gizzard. They fast-spinning, soft flannel. in Australia. search the droppings and dis­ were not passed overnight as However, they all shun acidic While on the subject of cover it has been cleaned in­ is specified in the first recipe. solutions for fear of losing alkaloids, these plant chemi­ side the bird and that it On examination they also any of the nacre. cals have been used in a possesses in addition a white­ found that the grinding and Although many of the somewhat unserious at­ ness not inferior to the acidic conditions of the giz­ 2,000-year-old recipes given tempt to explain the demise original." zard had split the pearls and in Papyrus Holmiensis repre­ of the giant reptiles at the and removed all the cultured na­ sent valid gemstone-treat­ end of the Cretaceous "A pearl which has be­ cre layer. The first recipe is ment processes, many do (about 65 million years ago). come encrusted is made therefore clearly unsuc­ not. For example, other pearl Alkaloids are present in white in this way: give it to a cessful. recipes relied on the 'law of many angiosperms (flower­ chicken to swallow, there­ A pearl was then given to a similarity', which states that if ing plants) and, in small upon cut it [the chicken] well-fed chicken, so that you wish something to be doses, may cause hallucina­ open and you will find it has holding time in the crop was white, then it must be placed tion in animals or, in large become white." increased, and cut out after in contact with a white sub­ doses, death. To mammals Drs K. Nassau and A.E. Han­ an hour. The pearl had not stance. This would explain they taste bitter and most son decided to test these lost weight but was no clean­ the use of milk, particularly animals (some humans recipes using cultured salt­ er either. In another experi­ the milk from a white dog, excepted-remember nico­ water pearls (the cultured na­ ment, however, a pearl was and mercury (for lustre) in tine?) would shun plants cre layer consisting of tiny fed to a chicken that had fast­ several of these recipes. 0 with a high alkaloid content. crystals of the aragonite form ed overnight, so that it would Reptiles, however, are ap­ of calcium carbonate, held move quickly through the parently insensitive to the together by the organic sub­ crop. After two hours it was taste of alkaloids-but not stance conchiolin) and one- recovered from the gizzard. AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY 21 f you ever feel the urge to run up an dependence on a particular kind of � outback sand dune without your spinifex and their use of the sticky re­ shoes on, don't! The first time I ever sin it produces. got close to one, those smooth slopes The ants live in underground nests glowing red in the sun lured me to in the middle of the spiky spinifex climb and I was halfway up before my clumps. They build their nests by brain received a scream of protest gathering the soft resin, drop by drop, from my feet. (You know how long it from the spinifex leaves and mixing it takes to feel pain when you stub your with sand. Like cement, the resin soon toe!) sets firm. The same mixture is used to Instinct said shuffle, so I shuffled. seal and roof-over the permanent run­ Ankle deep, the sand must have been ways between the ants' nest and other at least 20° C cooler. I shuffled ankle spinifex clumps. deep all the way down the dune and But the most intriguing use of the put my shoes on. There were blisters resin mixture is in the ants' building of on my soles the next day. shelters over clusters of tiny scale in­ Well; it taught me a lesson about sects, which are then 'milked' for their life in the sandy desert. No wonder honeydew. Extending along the ex­ most of the small animals there stay posed spinifex spikes, these shelters al­ underground by day and are active by low the ants to visit their charges right night. However, some do venture out, through the heat of the day. And it's in the early morning and late after­ quite likely that the scale insects noon, and a few brave the searing would perish without their protection. heat from dawn to dusk ... which is Ants of various kinds are the main what wildlife cameraman Jim Frazier food for dragons on the dunes and and I did for a few weeks recently one of our briefs was to find and film when filming for a documentary about that heraldic-looking Thorny Devil, wildlife in the outback. Maloch horridus, (an animal surpris­ Life here was centred around scat­ ingly easy to handle) demolishing a Over scale insects that they 'milk' for tered clumps of spinifex, Triodia, column of ants. Although we were honeydew, the Spinifex Ants build which provided food and shelter for a lucky enough to find a Thorny Devil shelters of resin and sand. wide range of animals. Linking some of not far from the dune, finding the these clumps we found the runways of column of ants was the problem. A few other insects were seen the remarkable little Spinifex Ant. Spinifex Ants were just too well pro­ (with difficulty) around the dune: stick Spinifex Ants may look like tected by their covered runways. insects, striped katydids and common-or-garden 'little black ants' There was, however, one other spe­ mantids-all of them coloured and but they only live in the outback. The cies of ant- small ones that could be shaped to blend with the spinifex. special thing about them is their close relied on to form exposed columns The most amazing example of de­ along their well-worn tracks. But life is ception was a small grasshopper, stip­ A covered runway takes foraging never easy for wildlife cameramen­ pled to match exactly the Spinifex Ants safely between clumps these ants came out only in the late af­ multi-coloured sand grains. At rest on of spinifex. ternoon when shadows were creeping the sand, a fringe of hairs concealed its across the dune. For the shots of the shadow. For further security it had dragon eating the ants, Jim needed only to do a quick shuffle and kick a lit­ strong light. tle sand over its back and-hey We found a solution. I fooled the presto-grasshopper gone! Next to ants by holding an umbrella over the ants, these were the most common runway and nest well before the ants animals around the dune. normally emerged, whipping it away But back to the dragons. A Thorny as soon as they were up and running. Devil's tongue is the fastest thing Our Thorny Devil, which we set down about it. No need for speed with all beside the trail, went to work on the that well-protected covering and food outriders with his tongue, zapping provided on a conveyor belt. By con­ them up so fast the eye missed the ac­ trast the Military Dragon (Ctenophorus tion. By the time the ants got hot feet isolepis) that shares the same habitat and raced for home, we had our shots. seemed almost jet-propelled. One of

22 VOL. 22 No. 1, WINTER 86 LIFE ON AN OUTBACK SAND DUNE

A perfect match for the sand grains, this desert grasshopper can add to the deception by kicking sand over itself. these, a male holding a territory on our dune, was surprisingly tolerant of our daily invasion. Out on the sand all day, this dra­ gon spent his time resting or moving about from one patch of shade to another, with an occasional dash after a stray ant. Late in the day he would settle near an ant trail for a proper meal. I think most of the time he was just 'showing the flag', because there were repeated border skirmishes with neighbouring dragons. Every time this happened, we lost him-his speed across the sand between and around obstacles was unbelievably fast. There was no fighting, just a brief confronta­ tion before the intruder fled. There's always a special thrill when a wild animal volunteers trust. With his remarkable eyesight, the dragon would spot our daily arrival from afar, yet always carry on as usual. It wasn't long before he was hunting ants be­ tween the tripod legs, and with care we could bend down and scratch his head. In the proprietorial way of hu­ mans, we came to think of him as 'our' dragon, looking forward to our daily rendezvous with him on the dune. Military Dragons were not written into the script...but we soon changed that. For wildlife film-makers, time at any one location seems to run out just when you've settled down to a com­ fortable relationship with the locals. Now once again, and all too soon for Jim and me, it was up tripods and away. We had an appointment to keep with some termites in Arnhem Land. D This Military Dragon cools off regularly in the shade while patrolling its territory.

AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY 23

D

BOYD'S Forest Dragon

Boyd's Forest Dragon (Cono­ cephafus boydii), also known as Boyd's Angle-headed Dragon, is one of only two forest dragons (genus Conocephafus) occurring in Australia. It is restricted to tropical rainforest areas of north-eastern Queensland and, despite its limited distribution, is apparently not uncommon, as was previously considered. A very high nuchal (neck) crest, consisting of three large, flattened, yellowish-white spines and several Al"'\"TI \Y00 D LA ... "'\ruS small ones, and a lower dorsal (back) Ed. A. Keast, H. Recher, H. Ford and D. Saunders crest, are the most prominent features of Boyd's Forest Dragon. A pronounced gular (throat) sac with Many of Australia's most distinctive birds: sharp spines on the front edge, is also lyrebirds, kookaburras, parrots and honey­ well-developed in males. eaters are birds of eucalypt forests and wood­ This lizard has the ability to change lands and depend upon eucalypts for their survival. This book evolved from RAOU colour under stress. When two males Congress 1982. meet, they turn pale, displaying a The editors solicited a number of papers number of dark, transverse bars. They representing research not presented at the inflate their gular sacs, erect their ·Boyd's Forest Dragon, .Gonocephalus Congress to ensure a complete coverage of nuchal and dorsal crests, and bob their boydii. Photo: Leo Meier, Weldon current and recent research on the ecology, heads up and down, until one of the Trannies. conservation and management of eucalypt forest and woodland birds. males retreats. Reaching a length of about 30 For the firsttime a total body of research on a major component of Australian avifauna centimetres, the tail of Boyd's Forest comes together in a single volume. Important Dragon is nearly twice the length of its reference material for students, teachers, body. The hind legs are also very long. birdwatchers, research biologists, forest Although long hind legs are usually managers and conservationists is contained in considered to be an adaptation for this book. swift running, this species is reported Available leading natural science bookstores to be rather clumsy on the ground. in all states or direct from publishers With its green-brown colouration and Detailed brochures available from publishers ability to keep perfectly still, it appears to rely more on camouflage than swift Price $54.00 Incl. Certified post in Australia retreat when threatened. Forest dragons are diurnal and Forward name, address and remittance to: generally arboreal. Their diet consists of insects, snails, grubs, worms and SURREY BEATTY & SONS small vertebrates. Two to five eggs are 43-45 Rickard Road, Chipping Norton NSW 2170 Australia laid per clutch. These_ hatch after an incubation period of three to four months. D "A milestone in Australian Ornithology" -Georgina Hickey

26 VOL. 22 No. 1, WINTER 86 Taronga Park Zoo's PATHOLOGY REGISTER by RoffSmith Too often, in the past, research has been delayed or needlessly repeated simply because of a lack of communication between researchers. Taronga Park Zoo is now set to change all that with the establishment of a pathology register-the only one in the world dealing with Australian native animals.

"C (:I -. C 0 .... -0 111 N ::,; 0Ill 0::, ? ()'Q �::,; 0 -· �- - ::r .�� < ':-�

Ill:c � -

�-� --<� -· . "'0::,

::r -� 3 C n"' C iir" -....C � c.. �C 0- Ill "' "C �n "'�- r

� Bird with mycotic infection in lungs. Photo: W.J. Hartley.

AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY 27 major obstacle to pathology /J. research of native Australian fauna has been the inaccessi­ bility of scientific material gathered by earlier workers. All too frequently when researchers finish one project and move onto another, materials such as microscope slides or paraffin blocks that are of no further use are shunted aside and left to gather dust in a forgotten corner of the laboratory. There has never been any serious effort to collate these scattered bits of information and laboratory materials into one centralised reference collec­ Lion cub with bacterial liver disease. Photo: W.J. Hartley. tion ... until recently, that is. Funds were set aside by the Zoo­ logical Parks Board of New South Wales in October 1985 to establish a native fauna pathology register at Syd­ ney's Taronga Park Zoo. It should take about three years to set up this facility and, when completed, will house a large collection of microscope slides, paraffin blocks and colour transparen­ cies, together with a comprehensive library of articles and reports pertain­ ing to diseases of native animals from around Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. This pathology register will be the first of its kind in Australia and one of the very few in the world that deals exclusively with the diseases of non­ domestic animals. Material in the reg­ ister will be catalogued for quick retrieval and made available, on loan, to any interested researcher or Lace Monitor with subcutaneous abscess over thigh region. Photo: W.J. Hartley. research organisation. This type of lending facility will save researchers valuable time and money by cutting down on needless duplication. As things have stood in the past, researchers often had to begin each project from scratch­ rather like re-inventing the wheel. It will also enable researchers around the Pacific to co-ordinate their efforts. Our understanding of native animal pathology should be enhanced signifi­ cantly. There are many examples where a lack of co-ordination between scien­ tists has hampered research efforts. The recent publicity given to the epi­ demic of Chlamydia psittaci-related i'nfections among Koalas is a case in point. After six and a half years of research, Steve Brown of the Veteri­ nary Anatomy Department at the Uni­ versity of Queensland has reported that, as a result of chlamydia! infec­ tions, some Koala populations are Antipodes Island Parakeet with a probable viral disease associated with liver plagued by widespread infertility, lesions and anaemia. Photo: W.J. Hartley. VOL. 22 No. 1, WINTER 86 28 blindness and a host of other poten­ It started in 1959 when Dr W.J. records of the Taronga Park Zoo and tially fatal infections*. Up to 45 per Hadlow, an American veterinarian, Dubbo's Western Plains Zoo. Taronga cent of such Koala populations may be noticed similarities in the brain pathol­ is the only zoo in Australia to have infected-and this figure is drastically ogy of sheep suffering from scrapie complete, documented medical higher in some areas. and victims of 'kuru', a nervous disease records of its past and present animal Despite its world-wide publicity, known only in the Fore tribe in the populations extending back nearly veterinarians confronted with a upper New Guinea highlands. two decades. The zoo's collection of Chlamydia-infected Koala can do little Kuru (from the Fore word meaning over 11,000 microscope slides will more than try to ease the animal's 'shivers') had been discovered two form the backbone of the register.' suffering. Marsupial medicine, at this years earlier by another American, Dr Although the emphasis will be placed stage, is largely extrapolated from D. Carleton Gajdusek. The disease, on Australasian natives, material on domestic animals, but drugs that are invariably fatal, is transmitted by the non-domestic exotics will also be used to combat chlamydia! infections Fore's custom of eating the brains and included. in these - tetracyclines and erytho­ other tissues of their dead friends and For the register to be a complete mycin - may have side effects in relatives. As adult men rarely took part success, however, the zoo's collection Koalas. Another enigma is the Koala's in the funeral feast, kuru was confined must be supplemented with material suppressed immune system. In most mostly to the women and children in gathered from all over the Southwest animals, if an infection occurs, the the tribe. In fact, during the 1960s it Pacific. Hundreds of letters have been body produces antibodies within a was estimated that as many as 90 per sent out to diagnostic labs, veterinary fortnight. In Koalas, there is a lag cent of female deaths could be clinics, universities and wildlife between infection with Chlamydia and attributed to kuru. research stations throughout the a detectable antibody response. This The connection drawn by Dr Had­ region asking for contributions. process could take up to four months low between kuru and scrapie Most of the material will be in the and by then the damage is done. intrigued Dr Gajdusek and convinced form of microscope slides or paraffin Scientists are beginning to realise him to continue his observations on blocks although photomicrographs, that if they are to help animals such as Chimpanzees that he had inoculated electron microscope photos and the Koala, they will need to know a with brain tissues from kuru victims. 35mm colour transparencies will also great deal more about them and what His patience paid off. Although it took be welcomed. The register's needs are makes them tick. At the moment there several years, the Chimpanzees even­ eclectic. Material should depict are some large gaps in basic marsupial tually came down with kuru and Dr lesions, either gross or microscopic; biology. These gaps could be most Gajdusek succeeded in identifying a ranging from slight, almost inconse­ efficiently filled if there was a co­ previously unknown type of cell quential symptoms to long-term, ordinated research effort. A centrally invader called a 'slow virus'. chronic illness to severe, peracute located pathology register provides a Dr Gajdusek's work on kuru stages. focus-a clearinghouse of information opened up an entirely new area of A wide selection of healthy, nor­ and pathology materials. neuropathology-one which may help mal tissues from animals at all stages The register could have applica­ solve medical riddles such as Parkin­ of development-foetuses to very old tions in human medicine as well. son's disease, multiple sclerosis and adults-will be included as well. This "Medics are very specialised", explains perhaps even senility. In 1976, Dr Gaj­ will provide researchers with a broad Dr William Hartley, a comparative dusek was awarded a Nobel Prize for data base of what is 'normal' in Aus­ pathologist and Fellow of the Royal Medicine for his discoveries. tralian native fauna. College of Pathology, who is currently Closer to home, a chance encoun­ All incoming slides are examined setting up the register. "They tend only ter between a medical pathologist and by Dr Hartley. A protocol is then writ­ to look at the human side of things. A a veterinarian in Western Australia ten up on each and stored on a card veterinarian, on the other hand, is resulted in the discovery of a rare index computer for instant recall. expected to have a general knowledge enzyme deficiency in children that Should zoos, veterinarian or post­ about many species. Often a compari­ caused deterioration of the spinal graduate students require background son of pathology changes between cord. The veterinarian, backed by data on a particular disease or pathol­ species can be quite useful." years of experience in treating sheep, ogy topic, they will be able to contact Useful indeed. Amalgamating a noticed a similarity in the pathology of the register and obtain quick, easy variety of information on a particular lambs suffering from copper defi­ access to any relevant material avail­ topic has often led to important dis­ ciency and that of children with the able. coveries, even if the cases are seem­ spinal affliction. Later it was deter­ Plans are also in the pipeline to cre­ ingly unrelated or obscure. mined that an enzyme deficiency in ate another register for domestic ani­ A nervous disorder in sheep and a the children was inhibiting their cop­ mal pathology as well as initiating an bizarre disease affecting cannibals in a per absorbtion. exchange program between Aus­ few scattered villages in the remote tralian facilities and other similar insti­ Hopefully, similar kinds of seren­ Papua New Guinea highlands could tutions around the world, including dipitous discoveries would be fostered hardly be expected to be linked, or the giant Armed Forces Institute of by having a wide range of pathology indeed have world-wide medical Pathology in Washington. In the materials at the register 'on call' for ramifications. Yet this was recently the meantime, this efficient reference researchers to work with. case. library will benefit researchers here in The bulk of material for the *See Koala Disease Breakthrough by Steve Australia who wish to study our Taronga pathology register will initially Brown and Frank Carrick, A.N.H. Vol. 21, No. 8, unique native fauna. D Autumn 1986. come from the extensive medical AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY 29 The Kangaroo cate diagnostic characters as eastern New South Wales of the lack of guides to na­ Michael Archer, Tim F well as arousing interest in despite references to extant tive species in Australia, but Flannery, Graham Bicknell, the species portrayed. In this populations in both species until very recently I could, Cordon C. Grigg. Weldon company, Gould's illustra­ descriptions. Confusion of and did, grumble about the and Associates Pty Ltd, tions lose none of their Port Macquarie with Mac­ lack of books to help me N.S.W, 1985. 263pp. charm. quarie River in early records identify the creatures I saw $35.00. The book is divided into of a specimen of the Red far more frequently than Access to a novel fauna five sections. These are Kangaroo may account for Emus and Richmond Bird­ followed European settle­ preceded by a foreword by the authors' dubious claim wings-namely the bugs in ment of Australia, when Gerald Durrel and followed that the species formally oc­ my backyard. As many of genera and species new to by a table listing the species, curred east of the Dividing these were, like myself, non­ science were actively col­ their current status and Range. Dorsal measure­ indigenes, I found American lected and described. Much changes since European set­ ments have been acknow­ and English books far more was accomplished during tlement, plus an adequate ledged as being after useful than any published the initial 30 years. This was index. Strahan (1985) but then un­ here. Now, at last, we have followed by desultory activi­ Preparation of the first critically accepted as ventral Judy McMaugh's excellent ty until a virtual explosion of section with its up-to-date 'nose-vent' lengths. Total publication. There is even ic­ interest some 130 years summary of the fossil record dorsal lengths in grey kan­ ing on the cake-she covers later. The resulting vast ex­ reflects the professional ex­ garoos and wallaroos, if not garden diseases as well. pansion of knowledge finally pertise of the primary others, have been trans­ This book not only provided detailed accounts authors. Examples of the fa­ posed as 'nose-vent' lengths! describes the major pests of the life history amd habitat mily of kangaroos, number­ Anecdotal species accounts and diseases of garden or­ needs of many groups of ing some 62 species, are may stimulate a reader's in­ namentals, fruits and vegeta­ marsupials-in particular, introduced in the second terest but the facts should bles and their control (with kangaroos. section, which discusses be correct. Naval surgeon Lt. hundreds of good colour their amazing diversity and Alex. Collie (discussed on plates for identification), but adaptation to a wide range page 187) of HM Sloop Sul­ also gives sound advice on of habitats. The third section phur certainly examined the cultivation of a host of covers the interaction of peri-partum Tammars. He plants so that pest damage man, both Aborigines and did not himself observe par­ can be avoided. There are Europeans, with kangaroos turition, but reported the also sections on non-chemi­ as a subject of myths and a observations of a fellow cal control and sensible source of food and clothing; officer on HM Sloop advice on chemicals when the effects of habitat change Success. these cannot be avoided. I and the introduction of exot­ The fifth and final section am extremely thankful that ic vertebrate competitors summarises management of the author carefully pro­ and predators. kangaroo populations and vides scientific names as Section four provides includes a balanced account well as common names, but Karigaroo illustrations, distribution of public and government I must be allowed one little maps, comment on status, attitudes to the control of grumble. The organisms are Not only did publication measurements and descrip­ those few but common spe­ set out in alphabetical in the scientific literature tions of individual species. cies which impinge on order-"painted vine moth, stimulate more research but Much of this detail is based agricultural and pastoral paper bark sawfly, passion­ the many studies awakened on identical sources to those pursuits. vine hopper''. That's fine if the interest of the general utilised by Strahan (1985), There were other errors you already know the name public. The present book is but fails to attain similar high noted in legends to plates one of the latest in a notable standards. Illustrations are and scattered spelling errors series of such publications in first rate despite lack of ac­ mar the text. Despite these recent years. knowledgement of one of lapses, the book is of value The prolific writing team Gould's plates (page 148) to the professional wildlife is responsible for an excel­ and attributing a photo­ biologist, student and gener­ lent book notable for quality graph (page 132) to Gould! al reader. of production, clear, reada­ Distribution maps at the -W.E. Poole ble text and particularly the scale provided are accepta­ illustrations highlighted by ble notwithstanding occa­ What Garden Pest or artist Rod Scott's three sional lapses such as Disease is That? plates featuring impressions omission of Kangaroo Is., By Judy McMaugh. of some of the earliest kan­ the type locality of the Lansdowne, Sydney, 1985. garoos. Over 100 superb Western Grey Kangaroo and 312pp. $39.95. JUDY McMAUGH photographs, most pub­ Aepyprymnus figured as For some years I have lished for the first time, indi- 'formally present' in north- not been able to complain

30 VOL. 22 No. 1, WINTER 86 WILDFLOWER }Q_URNEYS With p.timings, drawingsand diar id� B1NwtteDimon �-.4-'r.

of the beast, but grouping disposal. All the plant en­ by main host plant, or by the tries are clearly illustrated by organism's place in the excellent line drawings animal or vegetable king­ mostly by the author and doms, would seem better, even though the cross­ referencing works. -Arthur Woods ically rich regions through­ Wild Herbs of Austra­ ment it is edible. Even when out the continent. lia and New Zealand it is not over-ripe it smells She opens her book with "like a mixture of onions, an informative and enter­ By Tim Low. Angus and drains and coal gas" and taining introduction which Robertson, New South tastes, according to Alfred sets the tone throughout the Wales, 1985, vii + 160pp. Wallace, of "custard passed book of her love for the $14.95 through a sewer". We country and dedication to This book is an excellent couldn't grow it here as we her work. guide to the recognition and lack the necessary pollinat­ The book is divided into culinary uses of the edible ing bat. 40 entries, each illustrated weeds commonly found in The durian and its wild by a colour painting, line Australia and New Zealand. relatives are only a few of drawings and pen and wash It effectively fills the gap be­ the fascinating plants that drawings. The beautiful tween the several books reference is made to confus­ Veevers-Carter discusses. treatment of colour, and the available on edible native ing species. Several Appen­ Some of the families are sensitive selection of wild­ plants and the kitchen dices give further help with represented in Australia's flowers representing each garden. identification. rainforests but, despite our region, reflect the great care A map of Australia show­ Near the end of the book closeness to Malesia, we and planning taken through­ ing locales cited in the text is a selection of recipes in­ have no dipterocarps-the out the artist's journeys. The provided. Unfortunately a cludes such culinary delights giant, emergent timber trees pen and wash drawings, map of New Zealand is not. as Weed Quiche, Dock Cas­ of the region, which spread where one colour is used to Many New Zealand locales serole and, for the chronical­ only one kilometre per cen­ highlight a botanical feature, are cited in the text, for ex­ ly curious, Sorrelade. tury and refuse to cross nar­ are particularly pleasing. For ample Southland, Marl­ -Peter Hind row creeks in Borneo. each species depicted there borough, Canterbury, Ota­ Indeed, what can we offer is a brief botanical descrip­ go (all of these are districts (apart from the macadamia tion. Interesting colour pho­ in the South Island). Riches of the nut) to compare with the tographs sbowing the terrain "The few toxins found in Rainforest cloves, nutmegs, bread­ are included with each en­ weeds are usually countered By W Veevers-Carter. fruits, jackfruits, rambutans, try, together with a diary by the processes of cooking. Oxford University Press, kapulasans and versatile rat­ that records her impressions This unique stratagem is + Singapore, 1984. 103pp. tans of this unfortunately of the places visited, the Homo sapiens' special adap­ xi col. plates. $29.25. rapidly-disappearing forest? wildflower search, battles tion against plant defen­ Veevers-Carter has done Veevers-Carter's delightful with the all-important light, ces... Most poisonous plants the rainforests of Malesia book rouses our interest, and anecdotal snippets taste very bitter and others too proud, for if you wish to and envy, and the plates about the people and are intensely acidic or pun­ retain or preserve some­ add to the charm with their animals encountered. A gent". These statements thing you value, you evocation of the jungles of map is given showing the from the chapter on the shouldn't praise it too highly! Alfred Russel Wallace. area where the specimens "Dangers of Poisoning" sum Malesia embraces, of were found. up how unlikely it is to be -Arthur Woods course, the Spice Islands, This lovely book would poisoned by weeds. and the Dutch, French and appeal to a wide audience­ Detailed accounts of the British long exploited Male­ from artist, plant person to major plant toxins and their sia's forest for its products, Wildflower Journeys armchair traveller-the flow­ effects are given. often battling to prevent its By Ninette Dutton. Macmil­ ing narrative style making it The chapter titled "Herbs more prized species from lan Australia, Melbourne, enjoyable reading in one as Medicines" is more or less being exported and grown 1985, 162pp. $29.95. gulp and the beautiful art­ a continuation of the previ­ elsewhere, or contriving to This bbok represents the work for browsing at ran­ ous one on toxins with em­ steal them to do so. culmination of 40,000 dom for one's pleasure. phasis on their usefulness in Unfortunately its most kilometres travelled and two moderation. delectable product, the duri­ years searching for, selecting -Denise Greig A simple key to identifica­ an, seems doomed never to and painting or drawing Aus­ tion of 12 broad groupings leave for, as the writer tralian wildflowers. During within the 74 plant entries makes clear, the seeds can­ this time the artist, Ninette should make it easier to find not be preserved and the Dutton, made a number of out which weeds are at your fruit begins to rot the mo- journeys to the many botan-

AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY 31 (Q)n my last trip to New York I throughout, as well as a clear and obvi­ The mammals were then left with wanted, above all, to see one ous love for science. Here was a man an empty stage. They took the centre man. Professor Ken Galbraith­ with limited time and none to waste. not because they were the realisation why not? Isaac Asimov-with a bit of In his lecture he talked about punc­ of any 'higher' purpose, but because luck. Arthur C. Clarke - 'twould be tuated equilibria, how most animals the territory was vacant. The same nice once more to hear the West and plants stay the same as any altera­ could be said for people. There is no Country vowels. But absolutely essen­ tion is usually disastrous. Sharks, cock­ 'life force' or evolutionary goal, accord­ tial: Professor Stephen Jay Gould. The roaches and lampreys have kept their ing to Gould. others would have to wait or be seen basic design because it works. Nature He also likes the idea that a regular another time. Gould, professor of is conservative, not driven to change. comet strike occurs every 25 million everything at Harvard, had a terminal But sometimes there is upheaval. It years or so, causing some new catas­ disease. It had to be now. may be a drought, ice age, giant mete­ trophe and consequent punctuated I wanted to meet the man who had orite or even a comet crashing to recasting on the global stage. beaten the creationists in their legal Earth. In each case the environment is To get a proper gauge of the sub­ case to restrict the teaching of Dar­ drastically disturbed. Sunlight may tlety of these concepts you must read winism in some parts of the United dim, temperatures plummet, seas rise. Stephen Jay Gould's books. Most are States. I wanted to talk to the man that And some species are wiped out. Not collected essays from Natural History was able to write an enthralling essay because they're inferior but because magazine (the American cousin of about earthworms! And I wanted to they're unsuited to the new conditions. Australian Natural History): Ever Since swap jokes with the guy who even Gould pointed to the dinosaur obliter­ Darwin, The Panda's Thumb, Hen's dared write about the natural selective ation 65 million years ago. "They were Teeth & Horses To es, and The processes governing the size of choco­ fantastically successful'; he said, as if Flamingo's Smile. late bars! As someone who opposed crea­ He said 'Yes!--despite some tionism for so long in the United groans-and suddenly there he was States, I'm sure Gould would be coming towards me in the lobby of the pleased with the New South Wales New York Hilton. Short, carrying a Minister for Education Mr Rod huge briefcase, and wearing clothes as Cavaliers statement: "just as it's unac­ does someone with cancer (as if cho­ ceptable to teach sun spots as an sen too large). Gould was brisk, no explanation for the French Revolution, touch of whimsy here. ''.After the lec­ it is unacceptable to teach creationism ture you can have five minutes''. I sud­ as an explanation for biology''. This was denly dreaded the scrummage that said in opposition to creationism being follows talks at big conferences, when part of the New South Wales science celebrities are carried off. But he curriculum. Gould avers that evolution promised, grimly. is a fact. Only its precise mechanism is The lecture was on evolutionary open to argument. theory. They had to take the connect­ I was delighted to hear that his lec­ ing walls down to double the size of ture tour of New South Wales and the big hall. (That afternoon, when Queensland in 1985 went so well. We Gould spoke again, they faced facts broadcast two of his lectures on the and moved everything to the ball­ Science Show. As for his health, I was room!) He lectured with waving arms, told his weight was back and his face scintillating verve and masterful full (although his impatience with jour­ fluency. There was no hint of his nalists remains undiminished). You mesothelioma (an asbestos-related dis­ may be wondering why I feel free to ease and invariably fatal) until he had mention his prognosis? Because he finished. We met after his admirers had actually wrote a learned article about been shooed away and were sped to Stephen Jay Gould. Photo: National Times. it last year for Discover magazine-on my interview room. He found the the statistical theories of being told whole process quite irritating. Signs of you've a short time to live! D short temper had occurred during the the whole argument were a statement talk as attendants fiddled with the of the obvious. ''.And what's more, they doors. He had leapt from the platform didn't die because the mammals came and slammed the partitions shut. along. The mammals had been around This was not the person I knew as small shrew-like creatures running from the books, the impish iconoclast 'round the feet of dinosaurs for a hun­ who displayed humour and humanity dred million years!"

32 VOL. 22 No. 1, WINTER 86 RARE 1 RETURN OF THE PHANTOM DIBBLER UNIVERSITYofi�rT��� tSJ���ti� !though the Dibbler {Paran­ Dibblers at Hassell Beach have been Although their decline was perhaps al­ techinus apicalis) was first dis­ recorded climbing flowering Banksia ready in motion before the arrival of covered by Europeans in 1838, attenuata to obtain nectar but there is Europeans, there is little doubt that it remains one of the most elusive of so far no evidence of this behaviour clearing of land for farming, increased Australia's small carnivorous marsupi­ on Boullanger Island. Indeed, use of a disturbance by fire and the introduc­ als. In the years following its discovery, fluorescent pigment tracking tech­ tion of Cats and Foxes have drastically Dibblers were collected sporadically nique has shown that the Boullanger hastened the Dibbler's demise. The from several localities on the southern Dibblers are strictly terrestrial (that is, mainland populations at Hassell Beach coast of Western Australia but by 1884 not arboreal) and spend up to eight and the Fitzgerald River National Park, they had virtually disappeared. The per cent of their foraging time in sea­ although tenuous, may continue to species was not seen again until 1967 bird burrows or in tunnels excavated persist in areas of heath, or heath with when three specimens were trapped among the roots of sand dune shrubs. mallee scrub if the present manage­ in a patch of Banksia heathland at Has­ In summer, animals forage almost as ment policy of minimising fire and sell Beach (then called Cheyne Beach) much by day as by night, moving jerk­ other disturbance is continued. The 50 kilometres east of Albany. By ily and noisily among the leaf litter. No island populations, numbering November 1985, the Dibbler was nests of Dibblers have yet been dis­ perhaps no more than 300 individuals, known to be extant, but in .very low covered. However, Aboriginal ac­ should also be secure if they remain numbers, in only two further counts state that animals use small unburnt and kept free of introduced localities-at Jerdacuttup and the Fitz­ depressions in the ground, covering predators. gerald River National Park. Its chances these with mounds of grass and twigs. Current work on Boullanger Island of survival at this time appeared slim. Sub-fossil deposits indicate that is designed to more thoroughly inves­ However, in December 1985, zool­ Dibblers were once widespread in tigate the biology and conservation ogists working for the Department of Western Australia, occurring in an arc status of the Dibbler and is being sup­ Conservation and Land Management along the coast from Shark Bay in the ported by a grant from Australian Geo­ discovered a number of Dibblers on north to Israelite Bay in the east. graphic Pty Ltd. D two small islands not quite two kilometres offshore from Jurien Bay (200 kilometres north of Perth). Boul­ langer, the larger island (25.9 hec­ tares), yielded 24 Dibblers, Whitlock Island (approximately eight hectares) yielded another 14. In just three days of trapping, the number of wild Dib­ blers seen this century had more than trebled. Further trapping on Boullanger in February and March 1986 has con­ firmed that Dibblers are present on all parts of the island. The population comprises equal proportions of males and non-productive females, and a smaller proportion (0.2) of females which have previously reared a litter. Breeding probably occurs once a year, in autumn, which is three or four months earlier than for other small carnivorous marsupials. After a gesta­ tion period of one-and-a-half months and a four month period of depen­ dency on the mother, young Dibblers are weaned very early in spring when insect prey become active. Examination of droppings has re­ vealed that the Boullanger Island I Dibblers eat a wide variety of inver­ tebrates, small birds, reptiles and oc­ casionally House Mice (Mus musculus). A surprisingly high percentage (40%) of droppings collected in February 1986 also contained green plant parts.

AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY RICHES F OM THE RAI BY TIM LOW ustralia's rainforests are rich environments for wild foods. The Aborigines once harvested over 200 kinds of edible rainforest plants, mostly fruit-bearing vines and trees. Fruits are especially abundant in rainforests. Indeed, rain­ forests contain more kinds of fruits than all other habitats combined. This variety reflects the close bonds between the rainforest trees and vines and the fruit-eating birds and bats which disperse their seeds. Aborigines in northern Australia still use many of the tropical rainforest foods, but in subtropical and temperate Australia the Aboriginal relationship with rainforest was destroyed a century or so ago, long before their way of life could be recorded. Some of the subtropical rainforest fruits - like Walking­ stick Palm (Linospadix monostachyus) and Pepper Tree fruits (Tasmannia insipida) - are well-known bushman's foods, yet there is no known record of their use by Aborigines. No doubt the information has been lost. The best-documented of all Aboriginal foods are the widespread species such as the Lilly Pilly {Acmena smithii) found from northern Queensland to Wilson's Promontory. This species is often referred to in old historical records. The Lilly Pilly bears clusters of purplish to white (some­ times pink) fruits about eight to 12 millimetres wide. Each fruit has a charasteristic depressed disc at one end and con­ tains a single large seed. The Lilly Pilly's fruits are crisp, aro­ matic and slightly acidic. Despite their alluring appearance, they tend to dry the palate and take some getting used to. They are not as flavoursome as the related Lilly Pilly fruits of the genus Syzygium, which are also common in rain­ forests. The Lilly Pilly tree has dark green, glossy leaves about four to seven centimetres long. It flourishes in warm-temperate rainforests, especially along streams, and sometimes grows close to the sea. It is common in gullies in the Blue Mountains, where its fallen fruits litter the stream banks in winter. 1. Both the pith and the curled shoots of treeferns are edible but there is considerable variation in flavour between different species. Photo: T.J. Hawkeswood.

2. The shiny Red Bopple Nut is related to the cultivated macadamias. Photo: T. Low. 3. The pretty Lilly Pilly is found in warm-temperate rainforests. Photo: T. Low.

34 VOL. 22 No. 1, WINTER 86 Rainforests provided Aborigines with some staple foods SPIRIT MASK•SMILING HEADS• TYRANNO - mainly yams, lily tubers, large starchy seeds and pith from S•BELEMNITES•PLESIOSAURS•Z the trunks of treeferns. These foods were prolific in northern oks•PENIS GOURD•. rainforests, but large seeds and lillies only occurred south to DIDGERIDOQ central New South Wales, and yams to Botany Bay, just south of Sydney. In the cooler rainforests of Victoria and •DI Tasmania, only the treefern was available. This was an espe­ cially important food source, as the historical record attests. In 1843 the Quaker missionary James Backhouse recalled passing through a Tasmanian forest and seeing "many of the tree ferns, with the upper portion of the trunk split and one half turned back. "This had evidently been done by the aborigines to obtain the heart for food, but how the process was effected I could not say. It must certainly have required considerable skill." Backhouse elsewhere remarked that the heart was as thick as a man's arm and tasted like Swedish turnip. Some kinds of treefern were evidently tastier than others. Accord­ ing to one early writer, the Tasmanian natives had a maxim - that the pith of one kind of treefern had to be eaten with kangaroo flesh, while that from another was so good "it might be partaken of alone". Treefern pith is starchy. A sample of one species - Man Fern or Soft Treefern (Dicksonia antarctica) - tested in Tas­ mania scored 256 kilojoules (61 Calories) per 100 grams, whch is about twice that of turnips, although rather lower than potatoes (at 336 kilojoules or 80 Calories per 100 grams). The harvesting of treefern pith kills the trees and should not be contemplated today. Apart from the pith, treeferns have edible curled shoots, called croziers or fid­ dles, which were once eaten by Aborigines. The crisp, juicy shoots taste rather like celery but sometimes irritate the throat. Australia has about 14 treefern species in the rainforests and wetter eucalypt rainforests of eastern Australia. The principal genera include Oicksonia and Cyathea. Most of Australia's wild nuts grow on rainforest trees. The Red Bopple Nut (Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia) is one of these. It is found on a slender tree with a small crown of frond-like leaves and bearing strings of scarlet fruits in sum­ mer and autumn. Each shiny fruit measures two to four cen­ timetres long and has a leathery rind enveloping a large edible seed. Red Bopple Nut trees, sometimes called Mon­ key Nut trees, grow in the rainforests between Bellinger River and southern Queensland, although an isolated popu­ lation occurs in northern Queensland. The tree is closely related to the two cultivated macada­ mias (Macadamia integrifolia and M. tetraphylla), which are also called bopple or bauple nuts, for in colonial times they grew on Mount Bauple in southern Queensland. Like the macadamias, the Red Bopple Nut is an uncommon rain­ forest tree with leathery leaves and pendulous flower and fruit clusters. However, the seeds of the Red Bopple are rela­ tively low in fat (about 13 per cent) and, although tasty, can­ not compare with the exquisite macadamias. They are, Write or phone for our free nonetheless, under consideration as a commercial crop and colour catalogue: are being studied at Macquarie University. The tree is The Australian Museum Shop becoming popular as a garden ornamental, for its fruit P.O. Box A285, Sydney clusters are a striking spectacle and the seeds they contain South, NSW 2000 are well worth eating, especially when roasted over a high 6-8 College St, Sydney heat. � Phone: (02) 339 8350 Happy eating... __,,-----k-, ,---�

35 �

PROSERPINE EUNGELLA•• NATIONAL which occurs in two distinct colour PARK I forms-a dark reddish form found in the rainforest and the standard grey MACKAY animal of the eucalypt forests, the Red-legged Pademelon, which for some unknown reason appears on the v Clarke Range to be restricted to the / rainforest south of Eungella township, CONWAY RANGE and the Long-nosed Bandicoot. Other mammals include several species of bats-a colony of about 15,000 Com­ / mon Bent-winged Bats has been located in a cave in the northern part of the park-and a rodent, the Fawn­ footed Melomys. Broken River at the drier southern end of the park is also famous for the good views that can be obtained of Platypuses swimming under the road bridge. Rather surprisingly the Bush Rat and Brown Antechinus are absent from the rainforests of Eungella and the Conway Range. Both are common in the rainforests north and south of the region, so why there is a gap in their distribution in the Eungella area is a mystery. Among the birds of the rainforest, one species is unique to Eungella. This MT DALRYMPLE is the Eungella Honeyeater (Lich­ �����==:::,.._ PIONEER VALLEY enostomus hindwoodi). For many years it was considered an isolated MACKAY population of the Bridled Honeyeater, a bird of more northern rainforests, until 1977 when it was recognised as a distinct species. An isolated popula­ tion of treecreeper was found to be a subspecies of the White-throated Treecreeper of more southerly forests, and the Brown Thornbill is recognised Crediton as a distinct subspecies. The Brown Warbler and Eastern Whipbird also National Ra;nfo,est occur as isolated populations. Park Unlike the mammals, a few birds have the limits of their geographical ii D range on the Clarke Range. The most spectacular of these is the black and 0 5 10 15 20 25 km golden Regent Bowerbird, a bird of the southern forests, whose northern limit is Eungella. It can most readily be similar habitat. They are the Yellow­ Reptiles are represented by two seen in the Crediton area. Examples of throated Scrubwren, Pale-yellow skinks that are unique to the area. The northern species extending south to Robin, Satin Bowerbird and a catbird Orange-sided Rainforest Skink Eungella are the Buff-breasted Paradise of which there are two closely related (Sphenomorphus luteilateralis) is res­ Kingfisher and the White-browed species, one to the north and one to tricted. to upland rainforest above 900 Robin. The Yellow Robin and White­ the south. The paucity of fig trees metres in altitude, preferring moist browed Scrubwren are found in the (Ficus spp.) and stinger trees (Dendroc­ areas with rotting palm stems and rain­ rainforest at Eungella, as they are to nide spp.) in the Eungella rainforests, forest logs. The female gives birth to the south, but further north they occur both important food plants for cat­ three to five young in late January and only in tall open forest or on the very birds, may explain the absence of this early February. The larger Rock Skink fringes of the rainforest. bird. (5. amp/us) is found in rocky areas in Like the Bush Rat and Brown A breeding colony, one of the few the park above 150 metres in altitude. Antechinus several birds are conspicu­ known to exist, of the White-rumped Its range does not overlap that of the ous ·by ·iliei·r absence at Eungella, as Swift (Collocalia spodiopygia) is found Orange-sided Rainforest Skink except they occur both north and south in in the Finch Hatton Gorge. at Mt Dalrymple. A small population

40 VOL. 22 No. 1, WINTER 86 of this large skink is also found on the secretion of a prostaglandin. The Conway Range. The Banded-tailed Eungella Gastric-brooding Frog differs Leaf-tailed Gecko (Phyllurus caudian­ in that there is no major structural nulatus) found at Eungella, has black change to the stomach wall and, as and white bands on its broad tail, as its yet, it is not known what chemical name implies, but differs from the changes take place. The female other population of the same species becomes very distended and finally found at Bulburin, near Miriam Vale, gives birth through the mouth and, in which has a cylindrical tail. the only record of this being seen, a­ Reptiles that reach their northern female gave birth to 22 developed limit at Eungella include two small young frogs, each approximately 15 nocturnal snakes-the Golden Crown­ millimetres in length. ed Snake (Cacophis squamulosus) and The smaller adult male Eungella Dwarf Crowned Snake (C. krefftii)-and Gastric-brooding Frogs, up to 58 mil­ four skinks-Anama/opus verreauxii, limetres in length, have been heard The bluey-brown Northern Banjo Frog, Calyptophis temporalis, C. lepidoros­ calling at night from September to Limnodynastes terraer iginae, with its trus and an undescribed species of early December, which is presumably yellow and red thighs, is a burrowing Lampropholis. However, only one the mating season. The females are frog from the open forest. It has a northern species, the skink Lam­ ready to give birth in January and poss­ loud plonk call. propholis basiliscus, reaches its south­ ibly in February. The diet of the frog ern limit at Eungella. includes small crayfish, caddisfly lar­ The Rough-scaled Snake and the vae, terrestrial and aquatic beetles, rainforest dragons of the genus and even Eungella Day Frogs. It is both Conocephalus are examples of rep­ an aquatic and stream edge feeder. tiles that occur to the north and south, but are apparently absent from The two day frogs are found in the Eungella. same streams as the Eungella Gastric­ The frogs of Eungella have the brooding Frog, but have a slightly wider highest proportion of species res­ geographical range. Liem's Day Frog tricted to the area of any vertebrate prefers seepage areas adjacent to the group, with three of the seven rain­ creeks, while the Eungella Day Frog is forest species found there being found on rocks in streams or in the unique to the region. Both day frogs, splash zone of cascades and water-falls. Liem's (Taudactylus liemi) and the The former has a very fast tapping call, Eungella (T. eungellensis), are unique but the call of the Eungella Day Frog can to the area, the former calling during barely be heard above the rushing the day and night, while the latter is water with which it associates. It also Liem's Day Frog, Taudadylus liemi, is more active during the day. However, communicates by visual cues, which unique to the rainforest streams of the best known of the three unique include flicking and waving of the legs, Eungella. species is the Eungella Gastric­ head bobbing, and 'Charlie Chaplin'­ brooding Frog (Rheobatrachus vitelli­ type hops. This additional mode of nus), which was discovered in January communication is perhaps not surpris­ 1984 and is one of only two species in ing for a frog that is active during the the world (both in Queensland) day in very noisy surroundings. known to brood its young in its Much attention is being directed stomach. by scientists at the gastric-brooding The Eungella Gastric-brooding Frog frogs because of their extraordinary has a very limited geographical range. method of breeding. The Southern It is found only in fast-flowing, peren­ Gastric-brooding Frog, found only in nial streams in rainforests above 400 south-eastern Queensland, has caused metres in altitude, in the wetter north­ some consternation because it has ern half of the Park. Generally, it is a inexplicably disappeared. The last one dull brown frog but golden on the found in the field was in 1979. The underside of the legs, arms and lower Southern Day Frog, in the same genus abdomen, hence its specific name as the day frogs at Eungella, lives vitellinus meaning egg yolk. The alongside the Southern Gastric­ female, up to 83 millimetres in length, brooder in a similar fashion to the day broods the young in her stomach. In frogs and gastric-brooder at Eungella. the Southern Gastric-brooding Frog It too seems to have disappeared over (the only other known gastric brooder) its entire range. The disappearance of The Eungella Gastric-brooding Frog, the mother swallows the eggs or early these two frogs is presently consid­ Rheobatrachus vitellinus, lives in larval stage. Her stomach undergoes ered to be a natural fluctuation in their streams above 400 metres in altitude, structural changes and her digestive populations, albeit of unusual ampli­ at the northern end of the National juices are inhibited, probably by the tude and duration, and it is hoped that Park. AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY 41 genera. Twelve species were recorded from the Eungella area. Six of these occur in rainforests both to the north and south of the Clarke Ranges; five have their southern limit at Eungella, including the White and Red Eungella Satinashes; and one,_ the Weeping Satinash, has its most northerly record in the Eungella area. Like the animals, there are unexpected absences from Eungella. Two species that occur to the north and south but have not been recorded from the Clarke Range are the Killarney and Cherry Satinashes. Like the mammals, none of the satinashes are unique to the Eungella area. Eungella National Park is predominantly a rainforest park, with 64 per cent of its area under that type The brightly coloured Eungella Spiny Crayfish, Euastacus sp., is found only in of habitat. The remaining 36 per cent the creeks of the Clarke Range. is mostly relatively dry eucalypt forest and woodland, with only 200 hec­ the frogs have not taken a nose-dive tions of the gastric-brooding and two tares, or 0.4 per cent, of the area as into extinction. day frogs at Eungella are being care­ the distinctive tall open forest abutting The Eungella Gastric-brooding Frog fully monitored by the Queensland the rainforest. Even the total area of has also undergone an inexplicable National Parks and Wildlife Service. tall open forest on the Clarke Range is decline in its population. Since its dis­ Two southern frogs, the Tusked small with a rough estimate of no covery in January 1984, two sites have Frog and the Great Barred Frog, have more than 8,400 hectares. been visited from time to time-one isolated populations in the rainforest A few animals are confined to the on the periphery and one in the centre of the Clarke Range. Lesueur's Ground tall open forest and, because of the of its known range. When the sites Hylid is a frog commonly found in a insular occurrence of that habitat, the were visited in July 1984, the gastric­ variety of habitats, but in the Eungella animals also occur as isolated popula­ brooder and both day frogs were pre­ area is restricted to the rainforest and tions in much the same way as the sent. The peripheral site was next immediately adjacent tall open forest, rainforest species. The Greater Glider visited in January 1985, by which time although not in the same sections of {Petauroides volans) likes the tall for­ the gastric-brooder and the Eungella streams as the Eungella Gastric­ est, but apparently the most restricted Day Frog had disappeared, although brooding Frog. The bright green and species is the Swamp Rat (Rattus they were still present at the central yellow Red-eyed Green Tree Frog can lutreolus). In the Eungella area and fur­ site. All were still present at the central be found in the streams on warm ther north, the rat's common name is site when visited in February and humid nights. It is found both to the a misnomer in that it does not live in March, but when it was next visited, in north and south, but the mid-eastern swamps but in dense Blady Grass June 1985, neither the gastric-brooder Queensland populations at Eungella {lmperate cylindirica) on well-drained nor adults of the Eungella Day Frog and Bulburin are distinctly smaller and soils in tall open forest. The Blady could be found, although Liem's Day differ from the northern populations Grass provides cover for the rat and Frog was still present. At the time of by having deep blue rather than the rhizomes of the grass are a staple writing, attempts have been made to orange thighs. item in the diet. The presence of the locate the disappeared frogs in July, The large bright blue and red rat can often be detected by the shal­ August, September, October and Eungella Spiny Crayfish {Euastacus sp.) low sloping scrapes it makes when dig­ December 1985, but without success. is unique to the creeks on the Clarke ging for rhizomes at the base of grass This suggests that the Eungella Gastric­ Range. It favours feather palm areas clumps. At Eungella this type of habitat brooding Frog and the Eungella Day and on wet days may be seen wander­ is extremely scarce and the rat is Frog are undergoing population fluctu­ ing among the palms in broad day­ presently known from only one small ations similar to those of their south­ light. Closely related species are found population at Broken River. ern relatives. Fortunately, the Eungella on the Atherton and Carbine Another species, whose presence Gastric-brooding Frog has nearly all of Tablelands to the north, and to the has been reported at Eungella but the its known range within the National south in the Canondale-Blackall sighting requires confirmation, is the Park; the headwaters of the creeks it Ranges and other more southe!ly Yellow-bellied Glider {Petaurus aus­ inhabits also rise within the Park. One localities. tralis). Further north the glider is res­ can assume, therefore, that it is rela­ The rainforest trees have similar tricted to the tall open forest on the tively free of any unnatural distur­ geographical patterns to those of the western edges of the rainforest in the bances that might lead to a population animals with respect to the Clarke Cairns hinterland. To the south the decline, but it is with some interest, Range. This is well illustrated in the glider is widespread in the taller and much trepidation, that the popula- satinashes {Syzygium spp.) and related forests of south-eastern Australia. Both VOL. 22 No. 1, WINTER 86 42 the Swamp Rat and Yellow-bellied Glider are examples of species that are widespread in south-eastern Australia but in northern Queensland occur only in isolated pockets of tall open forest, which grows at higher altitudes and is itself predominantly a south­ eastern forest.

Looking up through the rainforest canopy at Eungella. ' ing at the township of Eungella has effectively divided the rainforest into northern and southern halves. With such a narrow band of rain­ forest, it means that much of the area is close to either open forest or cleared land and comes within the influence of the 'edge effect'. Although an edge or transition zone between open forest and rainforest is often rich in animals, there may only be small discontinuous areas suitable for those plants and animals that are truly res­ tricted to rainforest and require to be beyond the influence of the edge effect. Unfortunately we know little about the requirements of rainforest � Dark colour phase of the Common plants and animals, and which plants The Orange-sided Rainforest Skink, Brushtail Possum found in the and animals might come within this Sphenomorphus luteilateralis, is re­ Eungella rainforest. category-the Eungella Gastric­ stricted to Eungella rainforest above brooding Frog might be an example. 900 metres in altitude. EUNGELLA 'UNDER A CLOUD' All we can do is limit our disturbing The disturbing pressures on this activities, such as road building and may need to be taken to ensure that fascinating and important island of development of camp sites, to the knee-high dense Blady Crass areas rainforest and tall open forest at rainforest edge in the hope that we abound. These measures may include Eungella are several. On the eastern can leave core areas in their pristine fire as Blady Crass is a natural stage slopes of the Clarke Range, fires that condition. following burning, but not cattle often originate in the cane fields at the The tall open forest occurs as a grazing, which reduces the cover time of harvesting sweep up the steep narrow band on the western edge of provided by the Blady Crass. ridges, eating deeper into the rain­ the rainforest, and only a small pro­ As the evening mists close in, forest each time, leaving grassy ridges portion of it is included within the Eungella, the land of cloud, is many largely devoid of trees, which are ideal National Park. Attention has previous­ things to many people. It is a cool conditions for future fires. The rain­ ly been focused on the rainforest and retreat from the humid lowlands, a forest on the range is extremely nar­ the Park's tall open forest has been place to watch Platypuses swimming row in places, partly due to natural seen as a convenient place for camp­ in the river, a beautiful tropical rain­ climatic causes, but accentuated by ing grounds and other facilities. This forest with palm trees and birds, and a clearing for dairy farms on its western focus, however, is being reappraised. place of tall gum trees and possums. It edge and for fires on the east. In some Also the 'effective' boundary of the is a 'half-way house' between the wet places the rainforest band is less than National Park has been the rainforest tropical forests of the north and the a kilometre wide. There is a real dan­ edge, and the tall open forest has cooler forests of the south, and a place ger that fires coming up the eastern been managed as part of the adjacent of extreme scientific interest because ridges will break through the rainforest State forest by default, where cattle of the presence of its unique animals band, fragmenting the rainforest into grazing and fire are standard manage­ and unexpected absences of others. smaller areas, each less capable of ment practices. If species such as the Like all such places it must be maintaining its present complexity of Swamp Rat are to survive in the managed thoughtfully, particularly if it plants and animals. Already the clear- Eungella area, then special measures is to survive for future generations. D

AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY 43 First Aid Every Australian Should Know

BY GREG KEITH ustralia is indeed a lucky coun­ try, for extensive tracts of unspoilt bushland remain within reasonable proximity to our capital cities, giving all Australians the opportunity to savour an untamed land. Yet Australia is also host to one of the world's greatest assemblages of 'nasties', all of which seem intent on making a trip into the bush an expedi­ tion into purgatory. Our land is home to probably the world's most venomous creature, the Box Jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri) and over ten species of deadly snakes. We also have the world's most venomous spiders, the funnel-webs, and giant man-eating crocodiles. So who in their right mind would want to venture out­ side their front door? Of course the truth of the matter is that, although these creatures should command the utmost respect, they most certainly should not be objects Atrax robustus, one of the 13 described species of funnel-webs found mostly of fear. You see, we have ways of along the eastern coast of Australia. An antivenene is now available for their poi­ combating their nastiness. sonous bites. Photo: K. Atkinson. Snakes are probably the most com­ monly encountered of our dangerous Rule number one is 'don't panic'. If The bitten area should not be creatures. Some years ago, snakebite attending someone who has just been washed or cleaned in any way. Once caused an average of 14 deaths per bitten, reassure them. Let them know you arrive at a hospital, a sample of year across Australia. Now, with the the odds are well and truly in their the venom will be required to identify advent of specific antivenenes and favour. Having done that, it's time to the species of snake. The skin sur­ venom detection kits, the fatalities put the first aid to work. Thanks to a rounding the bite is a likely place from have dropped to about one each year. lot of work done by Dr Struan Suther­ which to take this sample .. With the Most snakes will not attack if given land from the Commonwealth Serum advent of venom detection kits, the

half a chance to escape. They seem to Laboratory, the old 'cut and suck' and need to kill the snake for identification believe in the old adage that 'discre­ tourniquet methods are now com­ (thereby risking further bites) is tion is the better part of valour'. Unless pletely redundant. Far more effective negated, unless, of course, the snake you deliberately provoke a snake, the means are now at our disposal. poses further danger. most likely cause of being bitten is that First, locate the exact area that has There are some cases where peo­ you have inadvertently trodden on it. been bitten. In most cases, there will ple have been bitten by snakes and Generally, the first sign of snake­ be two small puncture marks but, if not realised for some time afterwards. bite is a sharp pinprick felt on or about the snake has lost a fang, some scratch The first signs generally appear within the ankle. You look down and there at marks or only one puncture site may half an hour of being bitten. Specific

your feet is a slithery creature, satiat­ be present. Apply a crepe bandage symptoms vary, but nausea, dry retch­ ing itself on your flesh. (In fact, what firmly over the site of the bite. Con­ ing and headaches are all associated it's really doing is asking you to tinue to bandage toward the fingers or with the early stages of envenoma­ remove your foot from its back.) Don't toes, then back along the full length of tion. If you feel any of these and sus­ try to jump on it, beat it or in any way the limb, using an equivalent amount pect snakebite, check all exposed provoke it further-the snake will only of pressure as if bandaging a sprained areas and areas protected only by thin continue making life as uncomfortable ankle, that is, firm but not tight. Once clothing for tiny puncture marks and for you as it presently is for itself. the limb is securely bandaged, it swelling. Once again, the same first Instead, back away (need I say should be splinted so as to minimise aid applies. quickly ?) and prepare for phase one of movement. The patient should be The same treatment also applies to Operation Snakebite. rested as much as possible. bites from sea-snakes and funnel-web This procedure is known as the spiders. However, the effects of a bite A Portuguese Man-o-war or Blue Bot­ pressure-immobilisation method. It from the latter are quite different to tle is actually a group of individual effectively prevents the venom from those from snakebite. There is usually organisms, each with a specialised pur­ spreading beyond the bitten area, great pain at the bite site, followed by pose such as feeding, reproduction because it both compresses the tissue nausea and abdominal pain. Breathing and bladder inflation. They can inflict and slows (but does not stop) the flow difficulties and muscle fatigue are painful stings via their long tentacles of blood. Unlike the tourniquet common, as are profuse sweating and and are a hazard for surfers. Photo: K. method, it does not cause tissue dam­ saliva production. ..._Atkinson. age due to lack of circulation. Dr Merlin Howden, from Mac-

AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY 45 "I

Scorpions eat only live prey. Not con­ sidered fatal to humans, the venom of Australian· species usually only causes swelling, intense pain and numbness. Battles between scorpions and Red­ back Spiders are unlikely to occur in nature. In this set-up situation, the scorpion won. Photo: B. Cropp. the fangs, followed by pain at the bite -site, swelling, quickening pulse, nau­ sea, dizziness and varying degrees of n:iuscle failure. First aid is generally best left to the hospital but a cold compress should be applied to the wound and the patient rested and reassured. (Under no circumstances should the wound be frozen.) An effective antivenene is carried by most hospitals in Australia, reflecting the Red-back's national distribution. Usually associated with dogs and cats, ticks are also at home on humans. Quite often they go unno­ ticed, until the host experiences a general weakness of the face, eyelids and upper body, and difficulty in breathirig. If the tick is accessible, it should be killed with a drop of kerosene or mineral turpentine. If the tick is in an ear, a doctor should be consulted immediately, as extraction may be dif­ ficult. Once the tick has been killed, it should be removed by placing the open blades of a pair of scissors under the shoulders of the tick and levered out. Check also for any others that may be concealed on the body. If in any doubt about your ability to remove the whole tick, or if the tick is on a young child or elderly person, a doctor should be consulted. Moving from the land to the water, we come to a band ·of creatures that are sometimes difficult to avoid. How, for instance, do you avoid a stinging jellyfish (let alone realise that it is a stinging variety) when quite often you can't even see it coming? With diffi­ culty. However, the risks can be The excellent camouflage of this· stonefish (Synanceia verrucosa) can prove to minimised. When strong onshore be a trap for unwary swimmers and divers as its sting is extremely painful and winds are blowing, jellyfish (including sometimes fatal. Photo: K. Atkinson. Portuguese Man-o-wars) tend to be more prevalent, since they are blown quarie University in Syd_ney, has devel­ There are certain instances when towards beaches. Also, stings from fish oped an effective antivenene for the pressure-immobilisation method or octopuses can be avoided by wear­ funnel-web bites. It is available at all is either impractical or undesirable. ing sturdy shoes when walking on major hospitals in 'funnel-web coun­ Such is the case with the Red-back Spi­ roc,ks and by not picking up anything try '. This antivenene, coupled with · der. Because its venom travels very that looks the least bit 'fishy'. immediate use of the pressure­ slowly; the use of a compression Deadly creatures likely to be found immobilisation method, has greatly bandage only aggravates local pain. on rock platforms are the blue-ringed reduced the risk of serious injury from The signs of a bite from the Red­ octopuses. Their near-painless bite funnel-web bites. back begin with a sharp pinpric� from and cryptic habits make these danger- 46 VOL. 22 No. 1, WINTER 86 ous animals indeed. The casualty is bly, the world's most deadly creature, Although rarely dangerous, a stingray often unaware of the bite but within treatment is virtually the same. Flood can inflictsevere, painfulwounds witfr minutes the lips and tongue become the affected area with vinegar, allow the spine at the base of its tail. Photo: numb. Breathing difficulties may be 30 seconds or so for all stinging cells B. Cropp. experienced soon after and, in to be neutralised before removing extreme cases, complete bre�thing . them, then apply a firm compression should be gently extracted. Medical failure occurs. bandage as for snakebite. A sting from advice must be sought, regardless of First aid involves the pressure­ a Box Jellyfish is excruciating. Instant how minor the wound appears, as immobilisation method and correct pain and red marks occur along the sec�ndary infection may occur. This application of expired air resuscitation line of the sting. An antiveneneis avail­ holds true for all bites and stings. (EAR or mouth-to-mouth). If the able but breathing difficulties may be Probably the most feared of patient is attended to quickly, EAR is experienced before reaching a hospi­ marine creatures are sharks and croco­ all that is usually required. Provided tal. Someone trained in CPR should diles. Unlike the cryptic stonefishes or that an adequate supply of oxygen is therefore remain with the casualty at near-invisible Portuguese Man-o-war, maintained, the heart should continue all times. In summer, lifesavers along these large creatures represent an al!­ to beat, making external cardiac com­ the northern Australian coastline too-tangib(e threat to life and limb. pression (ECC) unnecessary. (Cardio­ cover their bodies with pantyhose to The most obvious way to avoid them pulmonary resuscitation or CPR is a protect themselves from the deadly is not to swim in their likely haunts. combination of EAR and ECC.) When Box Jellyfish. The Saltwater Crocodile {Crocody­ performing EAR, the patient's pulse Treatment for stinging fish, includ­ lus porosus), despite its name, does should be checked every twominutes ing Australia's twospecies of stonefish not restrict itself to salt waterand may to ensure the heart is still beating. (Synanceia verrucosa and 5. horrida) travel large distances upstream. In Creatures that many of us are likely and the Butterfly Cod {Pterois voli­ northern Australia, particularly in to come into contact with at some tans), involves placing the affected secluded areas, it should not be con­ stage of our lives are jellyfish, particu­ area, generaHy the foot, in hot (but not sidered safe to swim in any part of a larly the Portuguese Man-o-war o·r scalding) water. This tends to inacti­ river unless there lies an obstruction, Blue Bottle. Favoured remedies for vate and disperse the venom, thus such as a dam or waterfall, between jellyfish stings include rubbing sand spreading the effects over a larger the swimming hole and the · coast. into-or pouring methylated spirits area. If the spine is still embedded-in Even then, Saltwater Crocodiles are over-the wound. However, both the wound, it should be gently capable of overland travel. these remedies are now outdated and removed. Medical aid should be Sharks are restricted to salt water serve only to aggravate the sting,. so sought immediately as breathing but at certain times may travel up to they should never be used. The most difficulties may be experienced, along the transition area between salt and· simple and effective treatment is to with intense pain. fresh water. The safest places to swim flood the affected area with house­ Stingrays are marine creatures that are those beaches dose to major cities hold vinegar. Methylated spirits should are not· often encountered and are that are subject to regular patrols and not be used because it actually acti­ rarely dangerous. However, at least shark netting. If you swim away from vates more stinging cells, whereas one person has died after being stung these areas, you should accept that vinegar kills them. If no vinegar is avail­ on the chest. Breathing difficulties may there is a chance, albeit a small one, able, carefully remove any remaining follow a sting in this area but intense that you will encounter a shark. Two tentacles with tweezers-not with bare local pain is usually the total result. rules and one old wives' tale are worth hands. This may be relieved by bathing the remembering. Avoid murky water; In the case of the Box Jellyfish, our affected area in tolerably hot water don't splash around too much (this most dangerous jellyfish and, argua- and the sting, if present in the wound, duplicates the sound of a disabled

AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY 47 A seemingly inoffensive creature, this blue-ringed octopus has a highly venom­ ous bite and has caught many rock-pool enthusiasts unaware. Photo: K. At­ kinson.

The highly venomous Box Jellyfish in recent years), may make a meal of (Chironex fleckeri) occurs along the a human, presenting problems for northern coastline of Australia. In sum­ national park administrators in north­ mer, lifesavers cover their bodies with ern Australia. pantyhose to protect themselves from In the event of an attack• by a shark <11111 its fatal sting. Photo: B. Cropp. or crocodile, first aid centres around stemming the flow 0f blood from the wound. The extent of injuries dictates the procedure to be followed. In the case of 'controlled' bleeding, direct pressure should be applied to the wound either in the form of a pad and firm bandage or, if these are not avail­ able, by using bare hands until impro­ vised materials, such as towels and clothing, can be obtained. Where uncontrolled bleeding is encountered, such as in an amputation or where an artery has been cut, a constrictive bandage is usually the only effective form of first aid and should be applied above the joint. The time of applica­ tion should be noted and relayed to hospital staff, as constrictive bandages cause tissue damage when left in place for extended periods of time. At one time, early colonists may have carried first aid kits containing a bush knife, strong cord and rum, whereas today's bushwalker or day­ tripper should carry at the very least a firm bandage and, for beach areas, some household vinegar. It is very lit­ tle to take with you and it may mean the difference between life and death. You should also acquaint yourself with the correct application of CPR The deceptively delicate Butterfly Cod (Pterois volitans) found mainly along the and the pressure-immobilisation Great Barrier Reef can inflict severe stings. Photo: K. Deacon. method. These techniques, both fairly recent developments in the world of fish); and don't swim with the family of sharks, most will not try to eat you first aid, have saved countless lives. dog. The latter adage has been neither once they realise what you are. The First aid courses are conducted by the satisfactorily proven nor disproven, so typical shark attack involves an initial St John Ambulance Association which until confirmation comes either way it 'tasting bite', which is not normally fol­ operates in all States and can be con­ is probably worth believing. lowed by more aggressive bites. tacted on {02) 212 1088. These Contrary to popular op1rnon, Unfortunately, this tasting bite causes courses are extremely useful. Remem­ attacks by sharks or crocodiles do not considerable damage. Crocodiles, on ber: the next life saved could be your necessarily result in death. In the case the other hand (as has been evidenced own. D

48 VOL. 22 No. 1, WINTER 86

.. .j

TheOriginal

Since 1935 the Kodachromename has stood forthe best in color transparency film. Today it remains the favouritefilm of amateurs and professionals alike. Bring the original colorsof Australia to life on Kodachrome color slide films.

RememberKODAKand KODACHROMEare registeredcolor trademarks. with336P5lll )WTKodak KA 135·36P

36exP. 35mm