Thaumatoperla alpina

Thaumatoperla alpina is a species of stonefly in the genus Thaumatoperla,[1] and are the largest Australian stonefly.[2] They are endemic to the Bogong High Plains area of the Victorian alps, Australia.[3]

Thaumatoperla alpina
Habitus photograph of Thaumatoperla alpina, Falls Creek, Victoria.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Plecoptera
Family: Eustheniidae
Genus: Thaumatoperla
Species:
T. alpina
Binomial name
Thaumatoperla alpina
Burns & Neboiss, 1957

Description

Large insect, females 36-44 mm (excluding antennae and cerci), males generally smaller.

As adult: Two pairs of wide, black membranous wings, the posterior wings having a dark-blue iridescence.[1] Head and legs black. The prothorax is large, oval-shaped and orange and with a distinct black marking in the centre of the pronotum. The cylindrical abdomen is slightly flattened dorsally and pale yellowish-grey with black markings.[1] Two large black cerci and two long black antennae.

They are incapable of flight.[2]

Distribution

Thaumatoperla alpina are endemic to the Bogong High Plains of the Victorian alpine area in south-eastern Australia.[3] Genetic analyses indicate that there are three sub-populations separated by the three main catchments: West Kiewa, East Kiewa and Mitta Mitta.[3]

Habitat

T. alpina inhabit alpine riparian heathland. Nymphs live in the hyporheic zone of mountain streams.[3] Where introduced rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are absent, T. alpina nymphs are the top-level stream predators.[4]

Life history

T. alpina spend approximately three years as nymphs.[2] They emerge as adults in January - April.[3]

Etymology

From Latin Alpinus, referring to their alpine habitat.

Conservation Status

Listed as Threatened under the EPBC Act 1999 and Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.

References
  1. Burns, A.N., & Neboiss, A. 1957, ‘Two new species of Plecoptera from Victoria’, Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria, vol. 212, pp. 91-242.
  2. McKay, S., Bryce, C. & Papas, P. 2005, Impacts of fire on the distribution of a predatory stonefly (Eustheniidae: Thaumatoperla alpina) in the Bogong alpine region. Freshwater Ecology, Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Technical Report Series (155), Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne; La Trobe University, Wodonga, Victoria.
  3. Mynott, J.H. 2016, Surveying the threatened species Thaumatoperla alpina across the Bogong High Plains. Final Report prepared for the Department of Land, Water and Planning by The Murray–Darling Freshwater Research Centre (117/2016), retrieved from <https://opal.latrobe.edu.au/articles/book/Surveying_the_threatened_species_Thaumatoperla_alpina_across_the_Bogong_High_Plains/8188715/files/15260393.pdf>.
  4. Bryce, C.L. 2001, Predatory stoneflies (Plecoptera: Eustheniidae) of the Bogong High Plains, Victoria: systematics, distribution, ecology and conservation. Honours Thesis. November 2001. Latrobe University, Wodonga, Victoria.
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