The Thirlmere Lakes National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Macarthur region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 629-hectare (1,550-acre) national park is situated approximately 70 kilometres (43 mi) southwest of the Sydney central business district, and just to the west of Thirlmere. It was gazetted in 1972 as Thirlmere Lakes State Park, before being subsequently reclassified as a national park.
The Australian pelican is a large waterbird in the family Pelecanidae, widespread on the inland and coastal waters of Australia and New Guinea, also in Fiji, parts of Indonesia and as a vagrant in New Zealand. It is a predominantly white bird with black wings and a pink bill. It has been recorded as having the longest bill of any living bird. It mainly eats fish, but will also consume birds and scavenge for scraps if the opportunity arises.
Thirlmere is a small semi-rural town in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, in Wollondilly Shire. Popularly known for its railway origins, the town is located 89 km south west of Sydney, one third of the distance from Sydney to Canberra. At the 2016 census, Thirlmere had a population of 4,046.
The hairpin banksia is a species of woody shrub, of the genus Banksia in the family Proteaceae, native to eastern Australia. Widely distributed, it is found as an understorey plant in open dry forest or heathland from Victoria to northern Queensland, generally on sandstone though sometimes also clay soils. It generally grows as a small shrub to 2 metres (7 ft) in height, though can be a straggly tree to 6 metres (20 ft). It has long narrow leaves with inflorescences which can vary considerably in coloration; while the spikes are gold or less commonly yellowish, the emergent styles may be a wide range of colours – from black, purple, red, orange or yellow.
The Tasmanian whitebait, also known as the Australian whitebait or Derwent whitebait, is a semi-anadromous osmeriform fish of the family Galaxiidae, found only in Tasmania and southern Victoria, Australia.
Spongilla is a genus of freshwater sponges in the family Spongillidae found in lakes and slow streams. Sponges of the genus Spongilla attach themselves to rocks and logs and filter the water for various small aquatic organisms such as protozoans, bacteria, and other free-floating pond life. Unlike marine sponges, freshwater sponges are exposed to far more adverse and variable environmental conditions, so they have developed gemmules as a means of dormancy. When exposed to excessively cold or otherwise harsh situations, the sponges form these gemmules, which are highly resistant "buds" that can live dormant after the mother sponge has died. When conditions improve, the gemmules "germinate" and a new sponge is born.
Polymastia lorum is a species of sea sponge belonging to the family Polymastiidae. It is only known from a single specimen found attached to a dead Glycimeris valve on a reef near Ohinau Island, one of the Mercury Islands off North Island, New Zealand.
Halichondria panicea, commonly known as the breadcrumb sponge, is a species of sea sponge belonging to the family Halichondriidae. This is an abundant sponge of coastal areas of the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea ranging from the intertidal zone to a recorded depth of over 550 m. It is also found in the intertidal zone of the coast of the northern part of the North Island of New Zealand. It is very tolerant of a wide range of coastal habitats, including strong currents, high salinity and exposure to powerful wave action. Its only requirement is a rocky substrate which can include small cobbles.
Acanthopagrus australis, the yellowfin bream, also known as sea bream, surf bream, silver bream or eastern black bream, is a species of marine and freshwater fish of the porgy family, Sparidae. It is a deep-bodied fish, occasionally confused with Acanthopagrus butcheri, but is generally distinguished by its yellowish ventral and anal fins. It is a popular target for recreational fisherman due to its capacity to fight well above its weight coupled with its table quality.
Telopea oreades, commonly known as the Gippsland-, mountain- or Victorian waratah, is a large shrub or small tree in the family Proteaceae. Native to southeastern Australia, it is found in wet sclerophyll forest and rainforest on rich acidic soils high in organic matter. No subspecies are recognised, though a northern isolated population hybridises extensively with the Braidwood waratah (T. mongaensis). Reaching a height of up to 19 metres, T. oreades grows with a single trunk and erect habit. It has dark green leaves with prominent veins that are 11–28 centimetres (4.3–11 in) long and 1.5–6 cm (0.6–2.4 in) wide. The red flower heads, known as inflorescences, appear in late spring. Each is composed of up to 60 individual flowers.
Penaeus esculentus is a species of prawn which is widely fished for consumption around Australia.
Persoonia levis, commonly known as the broad-leaved geebung, is a shrub native to New South Wales and Victoria in eastern Australia. It reaches 5 m (16 ft) in height and has dark grey papery bark and bright green asymmetrical sickle-shaped leaves up to 14 cm (5.5 in) long and 8 cm (3.2 in) wide. The small yellow flowers appear in summer and autumn, followed by small green fleshy fruit, which are classified as drupes. Within the genus Persoonia, it is a member of the Lanceolata group of 58 closely related species. P. levis interbreeds with several other species where they grow together.
Spongilla lacustris, also commonly referred to as freshwater sponge, is a species of sponges from the family Spongillidae. They inhabit freshwater rivers and lakes, often growing under logs or rocks. Lacustris is a Latin word meaning "related to or associated with lakes". The species ranges from North America to Europe and Asia. It is the most common freshwater sponge in central Europe. It is the most widespread sponge in Northern Britain, and is one of the most common species of sponges in lakes and canals. Spongilla lacustris have the ability to reproduce both sexually and asexually. They become dormant during winter. The growth form ranges from encrusting, to digitate, to branched, depending upon the quality of the habitat.
Spongilidae is a family of sponges that live in freshwater lakes and rivers. The following genera are recognized in the family:
Radiospongilla is a genus of freshwater sponges in the family Spongillidae. It was defined by Penney and Racek in 1968. The type species is Radiospongilla sceptroides.
Racekiela is a genus of freshwater sponges in the family Spongillidae.
Acacia ausfeldii, commonly known as Ausfeld's wattle or whipstick cinnamon wattle, is a shrub species that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It grows to between 1 and 4 metres high and has phyllodes that are 2 to 7 cm long and 2 to 6 mm wide. The yellow globular flowerheads appear in groups of two or three in the axils of the phyllodes in August to October, followed by straight seed pods which are 4 to 9 cm long and 2 to 4 mm wide.
Arthur Dendy was an English zoologist known for his work on marine sponges and the terrestrial invertebrates of Victoria, Australia, notably including the "living fossil" Peripatus. He was in turn professor of zoology in New Zealand, in South Africa and finally at King's College London. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society.
The flathead gudgeon is a species of fish in the family Eleotridae endemic to eastern Australia.
Anheteromeyenia is a genus of freshwater sponge. It has been recorded in the Nearctic, the Neotropics. This taxon was initially a subgenus of Heteromeyenia when K. Schöder circumscribed it in 1927, but W. M. de Laubenfels made it a genus in its own right in 1936.
