Millipede salvage in south-western Victoria

Robert Mesibov

Abstract
Millipedes and other litter invertebrates were sampled in forest patches scattered over approximately 3000 km2 of southwest Victorian farmland, mainly between the Eumeralla and Hopkins Rivers. Three new, geographically restricted species of Somethus (Polydesmida: Paradoxosomatidae) were collected. Litter fauna in the sampled patches, apart from Framlingham Forest, included few species that are poor dispersers. Absences may be the historical legacy of past habitat fragmentation, subsequent local extinctions and a very low probability of patch recolonisation.
(The Victorian Naturalist 125 (4), 2008, 96-104)

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Monthly variation in observed activity of the
Platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Lyn Easton, Geoff Williams and Melody Serena

Abstract
Visual surveys for Platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus were carried out in the Melbourne area along the Yarra River at View Bank (41 months) and at Toorourrong Reservoir near Whittlesea (8 months). The frequency of sightings peaked at both sites in winter, which is also the season when Platypus were most frequently captured in live-trapping surveys carried out in the Yarra catchment. The number of Platypus seen at Toorourrong Reservoir increased with cloud cover, though this relationship accounted for only 4% of the total daily variability in the frequency of sightings.
(The Victorian Naturalist 125 (4), 2008, 104-109)

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Contributions

Range extension of the Millewa Skink Hemiergis millewae in the Murray-Sunset National Park, Victoria

Dale G Nimmo, Lisa M Spence-Bailey and Sally Kenny

Abstract
This article reports a range extension for the critically endangered Millewa Skink Hemiergis millewae in Victoria. An individual H. millewae was found approximately 85 km east of its former known range in mature mallee vegetation, near the eastern edge of the Murray-Sunset National Park on 27 March 2007. Site characteristics are described, and a list of other reptile species found at the same site is provided. Further research into the habitat associations and distribution of H. millewae is recommended in order to guide the management of this species.
(The Victorian Naturalist 125 (4) 2008, 110-113)

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A note on a recently discovered outlying population
of the skink Hemiergis peronii

Peter Homan

Abstract
On 22 July 2007 a specimen of the threatened skink Hemiergis peronii, was found near Jeparit in north-western Victoria, on the edge of the Mallee region. This is the second occasion on which the species has been recorded at this location and the record confirms the existence of an outlying population at this site. This secretive skink exists in similar habitat in neighbouring areas of South Australia, but has not previously been recorded from this habitat in Victoria.
(The Victorian Naturalist 125 (4) 2008, 114--116)

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