Halosbaena tulki

Collection Highlights | Updated 10 years ago

A tiny, translucent shelled animal
Halosbaena tulki
Photo by Douglas Elford

Halosbaena tulki was described from a cave on the Ningaloo Reef side of Cape Range National Park. It was collected in a freshwater channel that forms the upper part of an anchialine system (landlocked body of water with a underground connection to the ocean).

This specimen belongs to the crustacean Order Thermosbaenacea (no common name) that is characterised by the females brooding their eggs in an expanded carapace, like a backpack, instead of beneath the body. Halosbaena tulki is the only member of the order known from the Southern Hemisphere.

There are about 34 species in the order that is found in the Caribbean region, Mediterranean, Somalia, Cambodia and Australia.

Subterranean Biology Collection