April, 1917. The Queensland Naturalist. 
63 
The lagoon at the entrance of Tooway Creek is really 
partly estuarine, and contains Halophila ovata on its floor, 
and the gastropods Melania venusiula and Pyrazus anguliferus 
side by side in the shallow water. Regarding these two 
molluscs, Mr. Hedley informs me that the former is looked 
upon as fluviatile and the latter as marine. It is of interest 
to note that these were taken together, the Melania being 
the more common (January, 1917). 
We are now in a position to compare and contrast the 
litoral fauna and flora of Caloundra and Sydney districts. 
There are the same zones, though the dominant organisms 
differ somewhat. The Littorinids belong to the same species 
and occupy similar horizons. 
There is at Caloundra a great development of Sargassum 
and an absence of such forms as Cystophom and Hormosira 
hanksii, which are so common in the^ inter-tidal zone in N.S. 
Wales. Eklonia, which is very commonly found on southern 
beaches after storms, is quite uncommon here. The dominant 
cirripede in our district is Tetraclita rosea, while Catophragmus 
does not occur. Cynthia, though not uncommon, is not a 
dominant organism here and Galeolaria is rather rare, whereas 
in the Sydney district the latter is a reef-forming animal. 
Ulva occurs in our rocks far less frequently than Enteromorpha. 
Zosiera is common in both places, but. as far as I am aware, 
Posidonia does not extend as far northward as Queensland. 
The Caloundra mollusca, speaking generally, belong 
to the Australian region, and not to the Indo-Pacific region, 
i.e., they are of temperate origin, and not from a tropical 
home. Of course, certain species are of tropical origin, 
e.g.^ Cymbium, Strombns, Cyprea, etc., but most of the 
common species are identical with those found in abundance 
in the Sydney district. The crabs and hermit crabs are 
mainly tropical forms, as also are the corals. In regard to 
the last-named, Mr. Frank Rooke informs me that there is 
a fine development of corals on the various reefs lying just 
off Moffat and Caloundra Heads, and we know that they 
are common in Moreton Bav, in the vicinity of Moreton, 
Stradbroke and Peel Islands.* Most of the Alcyonaria, 
Holothuria, and anemones appear to be of northern origin. 
The commonest echinoid here is Echinomctra, whereas in 
Sydney it is Heliocidaris. 
We come to the conclusion, then, that this portion of 
Queensland is a meeting ground where the tropical fauna 
and flora mingle with those of southern origin. In some 
groups, the former predominates, while in others, it is the 
latter. On the whole, the southern element is the stronger 
* There are several “dead” cora* reefs in Moreton Bay. e.g^., off the various 
islands (Peel, Moreton, Stradbroke, etc.), more or less covered by a deposit of mud 
and sand. There is good reason to believe that the climate of Eastern Australia has 
altered in recent times, the mean temperature having been lowered. Mr. HedleN has 
referred to the present range of t\\& maWn^c A rcularia dotsata as an example. It 
formerly reached the Hunter estuarv but now does not extend south beyo d Port 
Curtis. The change has evidently aftected the coral reefs also. The Moroton Bay 
islands, or rather their small fringing reefs, no doubt marked the southern limit of 
our Great Barriet Reef. 
