Refugia for biological diversity in arid and semi-arid Australia
Biodiversity Series, Paper No. 4
S.R. Morton, J. Short and R.D. Barker, with an Appendix by G.F. Griffin and G. Pearce
Biodiversity Unit
Department of the Environment, Sport and Territories, 1995
10. Refugia in Western Australia (continued)
10.27. Reference number WA27
Refuge area: Tunnel Creek
Biogeographic region: Dampierland
Type of refuge: Gorge/wetland
Lat./Long. 17°37’S / 125°09’E
Quality of refuge: Significant (2)
Area (km²): <100
Chief refuge value
Habitat for ANZECC-listed species.
General description
Tunnel Creek passes under the Napier Range via a cave. The cave is 500 m long. Cave pools are permanent (up to 2 m deep in the dry season), although the Creek is seasonal3.
ANZECC-listed species
One of the most important roost sites in the Kimberley for the ghost bat Macroderma gigas (V)3.
Regional endemics
None identified.
Relict species
None identified.
Key threats
Possibly excessive tourism.
Other significant species
The orange horseshoe-bat Rhinonicterus aurantius and another bat Eptesicus douglasi, which is endemic to the north-west Kimberley, roost in the cave system.
An undescribed Rainbow Fish Melanotaenia sp. occurs. See also Williams for freshwater fauna of the area4.
Land tenure
Tunnel Creek National Park.
Key references
1. Australian Heritage Commission (1989)
2. Burbidge et al. (1991)
3. Jaensch and Lane (1993)
4. Williams (1979)