Aquatic Zoology's research

  • CSIRO research vessel Investigator

    Valuing Australia’s new Gascoyne Marine Park

    Research Projects | Updated 1 years ago

    The Aquatic Zoology team is collaborating with CSIRO, Australia's national science agency and Parks Australia to undertake a comprehensive biodiversity survey of one of Australia’s newest marine parks. Established just four years ago, the Gascoyne Marine Park covers 81,766 km2 of marine habitats to the west of Cape Range Peninsula and extends protection from the Ningaloo Marine Parks all the way out to Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone, some 370 km offshore.

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  • 30 Jun 2021

    New research discovering new species of fussy barnacles

    Three new species have just been described as part of an ongoing research project between the WA Museum and Curtin University, which has been examining the diversity of a symbiotic group of barnacles found embedded in the tissues of sponges. There were approximately 20 named species of sponge-inhabiting barnacles in Australia and this latest publication from the project adds an additional six species to the Australian fauna, including the three new species.

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    Blog entry
    Andrew Hosie

  • 12 Apr 2019

    New name for a tropical whip sponge

    By Jane Fromont

    The enigmatic body shape of a tropical whip sponge collected in Western Australia has resulted in the creation of a new family and genus of sponges.

    The species was first described from Indonesia as Dendrilla lacunosa by Hentschel in 1912 and 100 years later found in abundance in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions of Western Australia during fieldwork funded by the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI). This is where the puzzle begins.

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    Blog entry
    Andrew Hosie

  • A micro-CT scan of a sponge barnacle inside its host sponge. most of the sponge tissue has been removed from the image revealing the barnacle within.

    10 Aug 2018

    Australia's Diverse Sponge Barnacles

    When people think of barnacles they normally picture a small, conical shell clinging to rocks at low tide or to ships’ hulls and normally thought of as being a nuisance. What most people don’t realise is that barnacles are crustaceans (so closely related to crabs and shrimps) that have specialised and adapted to almost every marine environment, from the depths of over 5000m to being exposed at low tide for hours a day.

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    Blog entry
    Andrew Hosie

  • The crucifix crab Charybdis feriatus (Linneaus, 1758)

    13 Apr 2017

    Creature Feature: Holy Crab! The crucifix crab Charybdis feriata (Linneaus, 1758)

    This large and colourful species of swimming crab is wide ranging in the tropical Indo-West Pacific from East Africa the Persian Gulf through to Indonesia and Japan, and throughout most of Australia. The crucifix crab lives in shallow sandy or rocky areas. In parts of its range, such as India, the crucifix crab forms a substantial commercial and recreational fishery but in Australia this species is quite rare and isn’t caught in large numbers by Australian crabbers.

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    Blog entry
    Western Australian Museum

  • 13 Jul 2016

    A new species of spider crab in northern Australia

    Spider crabs are members of the superfamily Majoidea. Not your average-looking crab, many of them possess long thin legs (hence their name) and weird body shapes. Majoids are also known as decorator crabs because they camouflage themselves by attaching other organisms, such as seaweeds and sponges, to the spines and hairs on their legs and carapace. One of the largest species of spider crabs found in Australia is from the genus Paranaxia.

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    Blog entry
    Andrew Hosie

  • Beneath the Waves interactive online documentary

    5 May 2016

    Beneath the Waves

    One of the biggest marine biodiversity surveys in the world, led by researchers from the Western Australian Museum, has been turned into an interactive online documentary with multiple layers of learning thanks to production company Periscope Pictures and funding from ScreenWest.

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    Online Exhibition
    Katherine Jeffries

  • #1 This freshwater crayfish belongs to the species Cherax preissi which is usually dark coloured, ranging from brown-black to blue-black.

    9 Mar 2015

    A behind-the-scenes look at our crustacean collection

    Lobsters, crayfish, rock lobsters, slipper lobsters, blind lobsters… The Crustacean group hosts many species which are very similar in shape. However, they do not all live in the same environments and some of them have very divergent ecologies. This photo gallery shows several species that could be easily mistaken. Would you be able to recognise each crustacean?

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    Photo Galleries
    Jessica Scholle

  • Baler shell specimens collected in Indonesia; species Melo aethiopica

    23 Feb 2015

    A behind-the-scenes look at our volute collection

    The common name Volutes refers to the taxonomic family Volutidae, a family of predatory sea snails. These marine gastropod molluscs mostly occur in tropical seas, though some species inhabit the cold polar waters. Of the 200 species of volutes distributed worldwide, around 70 are known from Australia; many of those from Western Australian are endemic, found nowhere else in the world. Their glossy and large shell adorned with attractive patterns make this family very prized in shell collections.

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    Photo Galleries
    Jessica Scholle

  • Fossil shell which belongs to the extinct species Miltha hamptonensis

    9 Feb 2015

    A behind-the-scenes look at our Roe Calcarenite fossil collection

    About 3 million years ago the Leeuwin Current flowed strongly, warming the waters along the south-west Australian coast to such an extent that mangroves flourished and corals grew. This warm sea also supported rich molluscan faunas. Nearly 600 species are known from a thin limestone called the Roe Calcarenite which outcrops on the Roe Plains. Because of their recent age about two-thirds of the species are still living today, although some are now found in warmer waters to the north.

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    Photo Galleries
    Jessica Scholle

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