Common_Wallabygrass_02

Common Wallaby-grass

Species: 
Common Wallaby-grass
Common Wallaby-grass

Common Wallaby-grass

Rytidosperma caespitosum

Perennial. Mostly grows in sunny habitats, from grassland to desert to heathlands. Most wallaby grass species are rapid colonisers of disturbed ground, particularly dry, poor soils. They can survive heavy grazing and drought. 

Details Description
Type
Graminoid
Group
Grass
Former Scientific Name
Austrodanthonia caespitosa
Identifying Characteristics

Erect tufted grass that can grow to 1 m high. Narrow leaves up to 25 cm long and up to 2 mm wide. Flowers September-November.
Distinctive Features

The seed heads of all wallaby grasses look fluffy as they age.
Life Form Group
Graminoid
Life Form Codes
Medium to Small Tufted Graminoid (MTG)
EVC types
EVC 132_61: Heavier-soils Plains Grassland
EVC 132_62: Lighter-soils Plains Grassland
EVC 175: Grassy Woodland
EVC 649: Stony Knoll Shrubland
EVC 68: Creekline Grassy Woodland
EVC 803: Plains Woodland
Native Status
Native to Australia
Taxonomy
Phylum
Charophyta
Class
Equisetopsida
Order
Poales
Family
Poaceae
Genus
Rytidosperma
Species
caespitosum
Common Wallaby-grass
Widespread across southern Australia.

Distribution maps indicate current and historic locations where species have been sighted.

Source: Atlas of Living Australia

Endangered Status
DEPI Advisory List
Not listed
FFG Act
Not listed
EPBC Act
Not listed

The conservation status of species is listed within Victoria and Australia.

The Department of Environment and Primary Industry (DEPI) Advisory List consists of non-statutory advisory lists of rare or threatened flora and fauna within Victoria.

The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (FFG Act) lists threatened species in Victoria. Under the Act, an Action Statement is produced for each listed species.

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) is the Australian Government’s key piece of environmental legislation, listing nationally threatened native species and ecological communities.

Image Key: 
Common_Wallabygrass_02
Enemies: 
Photo(s): 
Smoky Buzzer
Smoky Buzzer

Smoky Buzzer

Cicadetta waterhousei

The female pierces plant stems and inserts eggs into the slit produced. Eggs hatch into wingless nymphs that drop to the ground and burrow beneath the surface. The lives of nymphs are spent underground. As they grow they shed their skin at intervals. Adult cicadas live a few weeks only.

Details Description
Type
Invertebrate
Group
Insect - Cicada
Other Common Names
Grass Cicada
Identifying Characteristics

Adults possess stout bodies with two pairs of wings and three pairs of legs. The wings have a dark smoky tinge, hence the common name. There are large compound eyes on one side of the head and three small simple eyes on the top of the head.
Distinctive Markings

Antennae are small and bristle-like.
Diet

Herbivore. Plant sap from eucalypts, native herbs and grasses.
Habitat

Inhabits native and exotic plants including tall trees, coastal mangroves, suburban lawns and desert shrubbery.
Native Status
Native to Australia
Sounds
A metallic buzzing call.
Taxonomy
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Hemiptera
Family
Cicadidae
Genus
Cicadetta
Species
waterhousei
Smoky Buzzer
Found through much of the eastern half of Queensland stretching south from Laura, through the eastern half of New South Wales, most of Victoria and into South Australia as far west as the Eyre Peninsula.

Distribution maps indicate current and historic locations where species have been sighted.

Source: Atlas of Living Australia

Conservation Status
DEPI Advisory List
Not listed
FFG Act
Not listed
EPBC Act
Not listed

The conservation status of species is listed within Victoria and Australia.

The Department of Environment and Primary Industry (DEPI) Advisory List consists of non-statutory advisory lists of rare or threatened flora and fauna within Victoria.

The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (FFG Act) lists threatened species in Victoria. Under the Act, an Action Statement is produced for each listed species.

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) is the Australian Government’s key piece of environmental legislation, listing nationally threatened native species and ecological communities.

Photo(s): 
Australian Painted Lady

Australian Painted Lady

Vanessa kershawi

Females lay single green eggs on food plant leaf. The whole lifecycle is approximately 53 days. 

Details Description
Type
Invertebrate
Group
Insect - Butterfly
Other Common Names
Blue-spotted Painted Lady
Identifying Characteristics

Pale brown underwings and orange and brown upper wings. Tiny blue eyespots on hind wings. Larvae are brown and spikey with a pale yellow stripe along each side. A long proboscis is used to extract nectar from flowers. The adult wingspan is up to 5 cm.
Distinctive Markings

The forewing has four white dots near the apex and a white bar running inward from the edge.
Diet

Herbivore. Native Everlasting daisies, other daisy species, grasses and introduced Capeweed, Scotch Thistle and Lavender.
Habitat

Urban areas.
Native Status
Native to Australia
Taxonomy
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Nymphalidae
Species
kershawi
Australian Painted Lady
Occurs from Christmas Island through to New Zealand including New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.

Distribution maps indicate current and historic locations where species have been sighted.

Source: Atlas of Living Australia

Conservation Status
DEPI Advisory List
Not listed
FFG Act
Not listed
EPBC Act
Not listed

The conservation status of species is listed within Victoria and Australia.

The Department of Environment and Primary Industry (DEPI) Advisory List consists of non-statutory advisory lists of rare or threatened flora and fauna within Victoria.

The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (FFG Act) lists threatened species in Victoria. Under the Act, an Action Statement is produced for each listed species.

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) is the Australian Government’s key piece of environmental legislation, listing nationally threatened native species and ecological communities.

Photo(s): 
Golden Sun Moth
Golden Sun Moth
Golden Sun Moth

Golden Sun Moth

Synemon plana

Active only during the hottest part of hot, sunny, and relatively still days. The adult moths live for 1-4 days. Larvae spend 2 or more years underground. Adult moths emerge from underground between November-December. Females lay 100 to 150 eggs; they rarely fly and mostly walk. Males can make long flights but do not travel more than 100 m away from suitable habitat patches. This means it is difficult for them to colonise new areas at a distance. 

Details Description
Type
Invertebrate
Group
Insect - Moth
Identifying Characteristics

Medium sized, day-flying moth with a wing span up to 34 cm. Females have a slightly smaller wingspan of 31 cm and a long tapering body. The upperside of the forewings of females is grey patterned; their hindwings are bright orange with black spots along the edges. The male's upperside forewings are grey and and hindwings are bronze-brown. Both have clubbed antennae.
Distinctive Markings

Day flying moth. Clubbed antennae. The female's upper hindwing is bright orange with black spots along the edges; the male's is bronze-brown.
Diet

Herbivore.  Larvae feed on the roots of native grasses. 
Habitat

Native grasslands and grassy woodlands, especially those with wallaby grasses (Rytidosperma spp.), but also grasslands with native red-leg grass (Bothriochloa macra), spear-grasses (Austrostipa spp.), weeping grass (Microlaena stipoides var. stipoides) or kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra). They prefer grasslands with bare ground between tussocks, probably so males can more easily find females.
Native Status
Native to Australia
Taxonomy
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Castniidae
Genus
Synemon
Species
plana
Golden Sun Moth
This moth was widespread in south-eastern Australia at the time of European settlement. Now found only in a few small sites in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. Most of these sites are railway or roadside reserves or private land.

Distribution maps indicate current and historic locations where species have been sighted.

Source: Atlas of Living Australia

Conservation Status
DEPI Advisory List
Not listed
FFG Act
Listed as threatened
EPBC Act
Critically endangered
FFG Action Statement
PDF icon Golden Sun Moth

The conservation status of species is listed within Victoria and Australia.

The Department of Environment and Primary Industry (DEPI) Advisory List consists of non-statutory advisory lists of rare or threatened flora and fauna within Victoria.

The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (FFG Act) lists threatened species in Victoria. Under the Act, an Action Statement is produced for each listed species.

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) is the Australian Government’s key piece of environmental legislation, listing nationally threatened native species and ecological communities.

Fungi

Diet: 

Decomposer - breaks down dead and organic matter.

Fungi do not produce their own food. We generally observe the spore-producing fruiting bodies of fungi, however the majority of the organism lives underground, consisting of a network of microscopically thin threads called hyphae. This network, called a mycelium, spreads throughout the soil and decomposes organic matter in the soil.

Photo(s): 
Southern Brown Bandicoot
Southern Brown Bandicoot
Southern Brown Bandicoot
Southern Brown Bandicoot

Southern Brown Bandicoot

Isoodon obesulus obesulus

Mostly active at night; spends the daytime sheltering in a hollow log or a well hidden shallow hole in the ground lined with leaf litter. Digs narrow, cone-shaped holes in the soil in search of food. Prefers to stay close to cover when in search of food. Breeding can occur between winter and autumn, usually 2-4 young per litter, with up to three litters per year. Survival depends on finding and defending an adequate territory; a large adult may need 7 hectares. They usually live alone and can live up to 3 years.

Details Description
Type
Mammal
Group
Marsupial
Other Common Names
Short-nosed Bandicoot
Identifying Characteristics

Body fur brown-grey on back and paler underneath. Face cone-shaped. Short forelegs and long hind legs. Body up to 35 cm, tail up to 13 cm.
Distinctive Markings

Cone-shaped nose. Short tail.
Diet

Omnivore. Insects including cicadas, moths and butterflies, also worms and other invertebrates. Plant roots from native grasses and herbs, tubers including the Yam daisy and fungi.
Habitat

Lives in woodland and forest with heath or shrub understorey, also coastal heath and scrub. Prefers a mosaic of areas including some burnt areas as regenerating vegetation after fire supports more abundant insect food.
Native Status
Native to Australia
Taxonomy
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Peramelemorphia
Family
Peramelidae
Genus
Isoodon
Species
obesulus obesulus
Southern Brown Bandicoot
"Southern coastal parts from central New South Wales to eastern South Australia. Also Tasmania and south-west Western Australia. "

Distribution maps indicate current and historic locations where species have been sighted.

Source: Atlas of Living Australia

Conservation Status
DEPI Advisory List
Near threatened
FFG Act
Listed as threatened
EPBC Act
Endangered

The conservation status of species is listed within Victoria and Australia.

The Department of Environment and Primary Industry (DEPI) Advisory List consists of non-statutory advisory lists of rare or threatened flora and fauna within Victoria.

The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (FFG Act) lists threatened species in Victoria. Under the Act, an Action Statement is produced for each listed species.

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) is the Australian Government’s key piece of environmental legislation, listing nationally threatened native species and ecological communities.

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