Congratulations to Mary Koolhof OAM
This paper contains a species checklist of the ants of Tasmania and an overview of their discovery including contributions of visiting and resident biologists since the earliest records from 1777 during Cooks third expedition to the Pacific. Tasmania has about 10% of the described ant fauna of Australia including almost half the genera and nine of the 13 Australian subfamilies. Our search of literature records and databased collections revealed 116 species, including two exotic species, and 25 species that have Tasmanian type localities. Alpine habitats and temperate rainforests have poor diversity while coastal heaths and lowland grassy woodlands are much richer in ants; sampled sites in natural environments yield between three and 34 species. Although Tasmania spans only four degrees of latitude and longitude, there is evidence of a moderate north-south and east-west gradient in species distributions, the latter associated with a strong gradient in rainfall, insolation and soil type.
Published Papers
The Royal Society of Tasmania acknowledges, with deep respect, the traditional owners of this land, and the ongoing custodianship of the Aboriginal people of Tasmania. The Society pays respect to Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge that Tasmanian Aboriginal Peoples have survived severe and unjust impacts resulting from invasion and dispossession of their Country. As an institution dedicated to the advancement of knowledge, the Royal Society of Tasmania recognises Aboriginal cultural knowledge and practices and seeks to respect and honour these traditions and the deep understanding they represent.
On 15 February 2021, the Royal Society of Tasmania offered a formal Apology to the Tasmanian Aboriginal people. Read more
