Tasmanian Thipsels

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Failed search with data assist

In the field, when I'm not searching for particular thipsels within their presumed ranges, I'm searching for any thipsels at new sampling sites.

To help me with identifying new "no-thipsels-yet" sites I use a command-line program I wrote called "circle" (runs in a BASH shell) that lists all the millipede records within X km from a given point. The program returns species (or higher taxon) identifications, collection date, and distance and direction from the point. It also returns unique ID codes for the records in my table of millipede occurrences and for the records in my tables of collecting events.

Here's an example. There's a small patch of State forest in farmland on the Flowerdale River with central coordinates approximately -40.9961 145.6038. If I plug those coordinates into "circle" and look for "M" thipsel records within 5 km, I get only one result, namely M17, 4.5 km to the NW, collected 9 years ago:

circle

Hover over image to see scrollbar enabling scroll to right

The full list of IDs from the 5 km circle has 13 species collected between 1995 and 2017:

Asphalidesmus leae
Atrophotergum silvaticum
Dalodesmidae sp. M17
Gasterogramma psi
Lissodesmus latus
Lissodesmus perporosus
Paredrodesmus sp.
Procophorella innupta
Siphonotidae sp. 'HetAus'
Siphonotidae sp. 'NW1'
Somethus tasmani
Tasmaniosoma compitale
Tasmaniosoma hickmanorum

This hints at a shopping list. I could look in that patch of bush for M17 (and other M thipsels), a male Paredrodesmus (to get a species-level record) and any Chordeumatida and Spirostreptida.

Armed with the shopping list I visited the patch today. It's older native forest in excellent condition, with lots of leaf litter and rotting wood. I found Spirostreptida but no Chordeumatida, no Polyzoniida and (alas) no M17 or Paredrodesmus:

Amastigogonus verreauxii
Asphalidesmus leae
Atrophotergum silvaticum
Lissodesmus perporosus
Somethus mesibovi
Tasmaniosoma hickmanorum
Tasmanocambala tasmanica

Frustratingly, the eucalypt + Pomaderris leaf litter in the patch at this time of year was full of tiny juvenile T. hickmanorum (up to stadium 5), which look and behave like adult M thipsels. Such is [millipede] life.

2026-08-23