Volume 124 (5) 2007, pp. 285-316

Research Report

Impact of the 2002/03 alpine wildfires on Dasyurus maculates in East Gippsland

Chris Belcher

Abstract
Known Spotted-tailed Quoll latrines were searched for the presence of scats after the 2002/03 alpine wildfires burnt through the upper Snowy River area in eastern Victoria. Quolls were detected only at sites that either did not burn or were patchily burnt. Quolls were still not detected in areas that were burnt intensely three years after the fires. The implications of the survey results suggest that the species could have suffered a 35-50% population decline due to the fires. (The Victorian Naturalist 124 (5), 2007, 313-315)
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Contributions

Contributions to the palaeontology of the Yea area, Central Victoria:
I. the fossil coral Pleurodictyum megastoma

Clem Earp

Abstract
The tabulate coral Pleurodictyum megastoma McCoy is one of the most characteristic fossils of the Late Silurian to Early Devonian marine sedimentary rocks of central Victoria, Australia. This is the first record of occurrences of this fossil in the distal turbidite facies of the Yea area, which have previously been controversially dated as Late Silurian. Two of the three localities at which it has been found appear to contain Early Devonian fossil assemblages typical of central Victoria. A lectotype specimen of P. megastoma is designated and assigned a Pragian-Emsian (Early Devonian) age but other specimens have been recorded from Silurian sediments. (The Victorian Naturalist 124 (5), 2007, 288-295)
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Notes on the external anatomy of nine pyramidellid marine snails
(Gastropoda: Pyramidellidae) from Victoria

Platon Vafiadis

Abstract
The live observation of nine species of pyramidellid marine snails from Victorian waters has allowed a report on their external anatomy. Brief notes on the family are also provided. (The Victorian Naturalist 124 (5), 2007, 296-305)
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The diverse land snail community of Bruxner Park on the north coast of
New South Wales, Australia

Michael J Murphy

Abstract
Australia has a diverse land snail fauna of international significance. This short paper presents the results of a study of the land snails of Bruxner Park, a small conservation reserve near Coffs Harbour on the NSW North Coast, and provides information on the range of interesting land snail species found there. Bruxner Park is one of the richest known sites for land snail diversity on the NSW North Coast, with 30 species recorded to date and more likely to occur there. This high diversity is particularly notable given the acidic, calcium-poor nature of the soils present. (The Victorian Naturalist 124 (5), 2007, 306-309)
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