Distribution and Conservation Status of Two Amphipods in the Dandenong Ranges - 'Austrogammarus Australis' (Sayce) and 'Austrogammarus Haasei' (Sayce)

Austrogammarus australis (Sayce) and A. haasei (Sayce) (Amphipoda: Paramelitidae) are two amphipod species of conservation significance located in the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria. Original type localities for the species were in and near the Dandenong Ranges. Subsequent surveys have revealed that both species are no longer found at their type localities (most likely due to impacts associated with urbanisation), however they do occur at other sites in the Dandenong Ranges. As the species have a limited distribution in Victoria, they are listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. The Draft Advisory List of Threatened Invertebrates classifies A. australis as 'Vulnerable' and A. haasei as 'Critically Endangered'.This paper sumarises results from three surveys for both species with additional notes on changes in their distribution over time. A slight increase in the number of sites at which both species were found was evident from surveys for the species in 1995 and 1999. A survey for the species in 2001 in the Yarra Ranges, an area located close by with similar topography, stream types and vegetation, failed to locate any specimens of either species, highlighting the limited distribution of the species. There have been no taxon-specific surveys for either species across the Dandenong Ranges since 1999.