Gondwana
Guides
Anillina
A subtribe of minute ground beetles (Carabidae: Bembidiini) characterized by reduced eyes, elongated appendages, and adaptations for subterranean or cryptic habitats. Members exhibit convergent morphological traits associated with life in soil, leaf litter, or caves. The subtribe includes genera distributed across southern Gondwanan landmasses including New Zealand, Madagascar, and Australia, as well as the Northern Hemisphere.
Anostostomatidae
wētā, king crickets
Anostostomatidae is a family of large, nocturnal orthopterans in the superfamily Stenopelmatoidea, distributed across the southern hemisphere in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of the Americas. Members are commonly known as king crickets in Australia and South Africa, and wētā in New Zealand. The family exhibits considerable size variation, with some species exceeding 8 cm in length. Many species are flightless, though winged forms occur in some Australian and Asian genera. The family is notable for diverse feeding strategies including herbivory, scavenging, predation, and specialized fungal feeding.
Petaluridae
petaltails, graybacks
Petaluridae is a relict family of dragonflies (Anisoptera) representing one of the most ancient lineages of extant dragonflies, with fossil records dating to the Jurassic period over 150 million years ago. The family comprises 11 extant species in five genera, divided into two major clades: a Laurasian clade (Tachopteryx, Tanypteryx) distributed in eastern and western North America and Japan, and a Gondwanan clade (Petalura, Phenes, Uropetala) found in Australia, New Zealand, and Chile. Petaltails are notable for their specialized larval habitats and extended development times, with most species persisting as independent lineages for 70–75 million years.
Scaritinae
Pedunculate Ground Beetles
Scaritinae is a large, cosmopolitan subfamily of ground beetles (Carabidae) containing over 2,400 species in more than 140 genera. Members exhibit considerable ecological diversity, with many species adapted to specialized habitats including caves, riverbanks, and deep soil layers. The subfamily includes tribes such as Scaritini, Clivinini, and Salcediini. Several genera show disjunct distributions that have contributed to biogeographic understanding of continental drift and faunal exchange.
Streptocephalus
Rams-horn Fairy Shrimps
Streptocephalus is a genus of fairy shrimp (Anostraca) found in temporary freshwater habitats across Africa, Australia, Eurasia, and the Americas. Its distribution reflects an ancient Gondwanan origin. The genus is characterized by distinctive mandibular morphology adapted for processing diverse food sources. Species in this genus are obligate inhabitants of ephemeral aquatic environments, with life cycles synchronized to the temporary nature of their habitats.