An Extremely Rare and highly endangered Species

Bundera Cape Range Remipede

Micky K!

1 Cover

2 Index

3 Cape Range Remipede

4 Remipede Photos

5 Habitat Bundera Sinkhole

6 Bundera Sinkhole Photos

7 Remipede Diet

8 Remipede Food Photos

9 Remipede Size

Index10 Remipede Photos

11 Interesting Facts

12 Bundera sinkhole Aquatic Animals

13 Interesting Facts Cont

14 Interesting Facts Cont

15 References

16 Thankyou

The Cape Range Remipede’s scientific name is Lasionectes exleyi.

It can only be found in one place in the southern hemisphere, the Bundera Sinkhole.

The remipede community that has been found has been classified as a threatened ecological(protect the environment) community and is critically endangered.

The Remipede is a invertebrate (a animal with no backbone) and a crustacean (an aquatic animal with several pairs of legs like a prawn).

The Cape Range Remipede

Cape Range Remipede

Habitat the Bundera Sinkhole

The Bundera Sinkhole is a anchialine cave (an under ground water-filled cave) with water that is low in oxygen and has toxic layers of water in it (like rotten eggs) that comes from the water being stagnate (old).

The water that flows into the sinkhole comes from the sea and surrounding ground water levels, seeping into it. No animals can get in or out of the cave.

there is a single entrance to the cave which is 20m wide and 33m deep.

Bundera Sinkhole

Remipede Diet

The diet of a remipede has only just been discovered in the last month and has not been released to the public.

I have been lucky enough to have a E-mail from Bill Humphreys Senior Curator,Terrestrial Invertebrates Western Australian Museum

There has only been three Remipede’s caught and studied from the bundera sinkhole They have discovered that they are predators and they eat special little crustaceans like isopods, copopods, shrimp etc that also live in the sinkhole.

Remipede’s foods

shrimp

copopod

Isopod

Size of a RemipedeThe remipede is a free-swimming crustacean about 7-15 mm in size

The body is made up of 24 parts, each part has a pair of paddles shaped appendages (a joined body part ). The head is small and it’s antennae is around the size of it’s body.

The larvae (babies) have not be found yet, but it is believed that they would look like the adult remipede.

The life cycle and reproduction of the remipede is not known at this stage.

Parts of a Remipede

Interesting Facts about the Remipede

The sinkhole that the remipede community live in has only been dived and explored 6 times because it is such a fragile environment.

The other aquatic animals that share the sinkhole environment are a blind shrimp, a blind gudgeon (a fish) isopods, copopods, scientist believe that they will find more new species in the future. The interesting thing about the Shrimp and the gudgeon is that they have lost their eyes because the sinkhole has little to no light in it.

Other Bundera Sinkhole’s aquatic animals

Blind Shrimp

Blind Gudgeon

The sinkhole is constantly under threat of disturbance from diving, dumping of rubbish, toxic waste, introduction of exotic fish, water pollution, feral goats in the area and the marine tides changing.

An Action and recovery plan has been made up to protect and monitor the sinkhole environment by the Australian government, CALM (Conservation and Land Management) and the Natural Heritage Trust.

There are a total of 12 species of remipede around the world. We are lucky enough to have one in Australia the only one in the Southern Hemisphere.

Interesting Facts Cont

The remipede is found in the saline waters (salt water) in the bottom of the cave 33m down in complete darkness.

There is little to no filtration in the sinkhole to remove any contaminants (poisons)

The water of the sinkhole does not mix, it sits on top of each type of water in layers. The types are fresh water, sea water and the toxic water.

Interesting Facts Cont

Australian Non-Marine Invertebrates (Book) Geoffery M Clarke Fiona Spier-Ashcroft

Cape Range Remipede Community (Bundera Sinkhole) and Cape Range Remipede Interm Recovery Plan 200o-2003 (Document)

Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia W F Humphreys (Paper)

Personal Email from Bill Humphreys -Senior Curator Terrestrial

Invertebrates WA Museum

References

Emails and personal Richard Karniewicz

www.wikapedia.com/remipede/bundera sinkhole

google Pictures .com/Remipede/Crustaceans

Thank You

By Micky (Year 5)