Bush Blitz

Happy #International_Womens_Day these are just a few of the many wonderful women we have had the privilege to work with 🐸🐞🌱🦋🐚

A new species of land snail, discovered during our 2021 Groote Eylandt Bush Blitz expedition, has been named! doi.org/10.3897/zse.10… Scientists worked closely with the Anindilyakwa community to choose a name - 𝘟𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘢. 📷 Adam Bourke

@MAG_NT @Parks_Australia @bhp @earthwatch_org

This species is known only from 3 small islands of the North East Isles Group. Its future on one island is uncertain, as its habitat is being degraded by feral deer.

Photos 1,3,4 - Dr Rachael King & Dr Remko Leijs sampling bores in South Australia. Photo 2 - One of the new species - Carnarvonis katjae

In other exciting news Dr Rachael King and Dr Remko Leijs from the SA Museum have described 2 new genera and species of subterranean amphipods! (doi.org/10.3853/j.2201…). 📷Rachael King @SAMuseum @Parks_Australia @bhp @Earthwatch_Aus

There are many more species in groundwater habitats across the region yet to be described, so this is important work as stygofauna are particularly sensitive to groundwater environment disturbance. #speciesdiscovery #bushblitz #stygofauna

The specimens were collected on our Carnarvon Station Reserve Bush Blitz in 2014 and the paper brings the total number of known species of stygobiotic amphipods in Queensland to 3!

📸1 - Dr Robert Raven with a trapdoor spider 📸2 - Dr Mark Harvey and Jeremy Wilson on our Wilinggin West Kimberly expedition 📸3 - Dr Barbara Baehr and Joseph Schubert on our Little Desert VIC expedition

Big shoutout to our hardworking Bush Blitz spider scientists (Dr Robert Raven, Jeremy Wilson & Dr Mark Harvey) who have recently published papers describing new species! #speciesdiscovery #bushblitz #taxonomyaustralia #spidersofaustralia #australianspiders

And Jeremy Wilson (@2fangs8legs) & Mark Harvey (along with Michael Rix) described 5 new Aname (wishbone spiders) species (doi.org/10.5852/ejt.20…) with specimens being collected on 3 Bush Blitz expeditions

Dr Robert Raven named 48 new Miturgid (ground-hunting spiders) species (doi.org/10.11646/zoota…). Around 10 of the new species were found on Bush Blitz expeditions, and 2 he named after veteran Bush Blitz scientists Dr Mark Harvey & Dr Barbara Baehr

@2fangs8legs Great illustration Jeremy!

A deep wishbone spider burrow, from an 𝑨𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒆 found on the recent BushBlitz. Left shaft = main entrance, right shaft = escape chute. This was unusual in having the shafts converging so deep, giving the burrow a 'V' shape, rather than the typical 'Y'.

Here's some microscope footage of the new stink bug species, which belongs to the Deroploini tribe of Australian Horn Bugs #newtoscience #speciesdiscovery #bushblitz @unswbees @wamuseum @Parks_Australia @Earthwatch_Aus @bhp @WAParksWildlife

New discovery from Gerry Cassis and colleagues on a recent @BushBlitz2 @EERC_UNSW smh.com.au/national/weste…

The discovery was made by entomologists Dr Gerry Cassis @unswbees, and Dr Nik Tatarnic @wamuseum, with the help of Tjaltjraak Rangers and Senior Cultural Advisor Doc Reynolds at a place of cultural significance to the Wudjari people of the region. #wudjariboodja #speciesdiscovery

Have you heard the news?! A stink bug new to science was discovered on our Wudjari Esperance Bush Blitz! The pea-sized stink bug resembles the spiky leaves of its host plant, a Hakea sp. If you take a closer look, you can see it also has curved horns and bright yellow tusks!

@Earthwatch_Aus @Parks_Australia @WAParksWildlife #wudjariesperancebushblitz

In Port Lincoln & the Eyre Peninsula? Please listen out for a squeaky door noise- it could be a very important #frog! Bibron's Toadlet has only been heard twice in the area. Pls record with @FrogIDAus & help its conservation! #EyrePeninsula #SouthAustralia @DonnellanSteve