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
7. Foci of biological diversity in Queensland (continued)
7.3. Mount Isa Inlier
Area
66,422 km².
Primary land-use
Cattle grazing, mining.
National Parks and Nature Reserves
Lawn Hill National Park (part), Camooweal Caves National Park.
Management problems
Land degradation through over-grazing, particularly of riparian vegetation (Neldner 1991; Cummings et al. 1993; Wilcox and Cunningham 1994).
ANZECC-listed species
Black-footed rock wallabies Petrogale lateralis (V) occur in the Mount Isa area (Eldridge et al. 1993).
Neldner (1991) recorded the plant species Ptilotus maconochiei (V) from the Mount Isa highlands.
Species that are regionally endemic
A gecko Gehyra robusta and a skink Ctenotus striaticeps (Cogger 1992).
Neldner (1991) reported an undescribed species of Heliotropium apparently confined to the Mount Isa highlands.
Relict populations
Neldner (1991) recorded the following rare plants from the Mount Isa highlands: Goodenia angustifolia, Acacia strongylophylla, and Brachychiton collinus.
Other significant populations
The spectacled hare-wallaby Lagorchestes conspicillatus occurs uncommonly across the Region (Johnson and Lyon 1985).
Thomas and McDonald (1989) listed Amaranthus pallidiflorus, Ptilotus royceanus, Ipomoea antonschmidii, Fimbristylis distincta and Croton tomentellus as rare or threatened.
Wetlands
No information.
Refugia
Although the data are limited, it seems highly likely that the Selwyn Range functions as a refuge (see section 13.6).
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