Page 4 - Roper River News Today

Blind shrimps, translucent snails By Jenny Davis, Charles Darwin University; Daryl Nielsen, CSIRO; Gavin Rees, CSIRO, and Stefanie Oberprieler, Charles Darwin University There aren’t many parts of the world where you can discover a completely new assemblage of living creatures. But after sampling underground water in a remote, arid region of northern Australia, we discovered at least 11, and probably more, new species of stygofauna. Stygofauna are invertebrates that have evolved exclusively i...

We discovered 11 (and probably more) new species of stygofauna living in water underground. These animals are usually blind, beautifully translucent and long-limbed.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains images and names of deceased people. In May 2020, the international mining giant Rio Tinto made a calculated and informed decision to drill 382 blast holes in an area of its Brockman 4 mining lease that encompassed the ancient rock shelter formations at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. The Puutu Kunti Kurrama Pinikura people, who are the traditional owners of that land, lost their material conn...