P. M. Johns

Invertebrate survey of a modified native shrubland, Brookdale Covenant, Rock and Pillar Range, Otago, New Zealand

Abstract This is the first published invertebrate survey focusing on a low‐altitude shrubland community in New Zealand. Invertebrates were collected from a remnant native shrubland (450 m) protected by the Brookdale Conservation Covenant, Rock and Pillar Range, Otago, New Zealand in late summer/autumn 1999. Sampling was carried out by beating 30 randomly chosen shrubs of each of two native species: Olearia bullata H. D. Wilson & Garnock‐Jones (Asteraceae) and Coprosma propinqua A. Cunn. (Rubiaceae). Fifty pitfall traps were also set under the same shrubs and on nearby open patches of exotic grassland. Three Phyla, six Classes, 25 Orders and approximately 280 species were recorded. An annotated list of taxa is presented, and plant/host associations plus other observations on the fauna are discussed. Approximately 90% of the identified species were endemic, emphasising the importance of such remnant habitats for the protection of New Zealands biodiversity.

Assessment of the global potential distribution of the predatory land planarian Artioposthia triangulata (Dendy) (Tricladida: Terricola) from ecoclimatic data

Abstract Artioposthia triangulata was originally described from New Zealand in 1895 but was subsequently found to have spread to Northern Ireland in 1963 and Scotland and England in 1965. It is now widespread in both Ireland and Scotland, where it has been shown to reduce earthworm numbers to below detectable levels. Ecoclimatic data were used in the computer program CLIMEX to estimate the potential spread of A. triangulata to Europe and the rest of the world. Results indicated it could establish in agricultural land in most of north‐western Europe, and persist in domestic gardens throughout much of central Europe, east and west North America, Australia, southern South America, and South Africa. It is difficult to assess either the extent to which earthworm numbers and diversity would be decreased or how far the effect of their loss to soil structure, nutrient cycling, or wildlife would be detrimental in these areas.

The proposed synonymy of Parakontikia ventrolineata (Dendy, 1892) and Kontikia mexicana (Hyman, 1939): what is a penis papilla?

Geoplanid land planarians found near Johannesburg, South Africa, and in a hothouse in Liverpool, UK, could be identified either as Parakontikia ventrolineata (Dendy, 1892) or as Kontikia mexicana (Hyman, 1939). Comparison of the specimens with P. ventrolineata type specimens and other material and with published descriptions of K. mexicana shows no significant consistent difference between the species, other than the apparent presence of a penis papilla in K. mexicana. It is suggested that, in this case, the penis papilla is not a well-defined structure and that its presence in some specimens may be the result of differential contraction or eversion of the penial musculature at fixation. Accordingly it is proposed that the two species names are synonymous, and thus Parakontikia Winsor, 1991 is to be considered a junior synonym of Kontikia Froehlich, 1955. This is only the second geoplanid species to be recorded from Africa. It has also been found in Australia, New Zealand and the U.S.A.

Ovarian structure in a millipede, Eumastigonus sp. (Diplopoda; Cambalidae), from New Zealand

Abstract The ovaries of Eumastigonus sp. (Diplopoda; Cambalidae) are arranged in irregularly shaped clusters of oocytes at different stages of development. These are attached to the germarium, and in close proximity to the digestive tract (both mid‐gut and hindgut), or embedded in a liver‐like tissue. Five sizes of oocytes could be distinguished, which represent five different generations of oocytes. This millipede species appears therefore to be iteroparous, capable of reproducing at least five times.