The subterranean fauna of Barrow Island, north-western Australia: 10 years on

WA Museum Records and Supplements | Updated 8 years ago

ABSTRACT – Barrow Island, situated off the north-west Australian coast, is well recognised for its subterranean fauna values. Sampling for both stygobitic and troglobitic fauna has taken place on the island since 1991, and Humphreys (2001) summarised the then current state of knowledge of the island’s subterranean fauna. Sampling for impact assessment purposes on the island over the past decade has substantially increased the recorded species richness of Barrow Island. The number of documented stygal taxa has more than doubled since 2001, from 25 to 63 species now known. Troglobitic diversity has also substantially increased, with six species known in 2001 and 19 troglobitic taxa known today. The total recorded subterranean species richness for Barrow Island at this time stands at 82 species. It is likely that considerably more species remain to be recorded, as even the additional surveys of the past decade leave many areas of the island unsampled.

The distributions and minimum area of occupancy for many species known from Barrow Island in 2001 have also been significantly expanded by the sampling efforts of the last decade. This includes specially protected species listed under State and Commonwealth Government legislation. The available data suggest the fauna of the island may number in the hundreds of species, many of which are endemic, confirming its status as internationally significant for subterranean biota.