12 
The Queensland Naturalist 
Feb., 1942 
occupied by open forest has been planted to Rhodes grass. 
General Note. — The valley of Christmas Creek has 
been hurriedly examined on an earlier occasion from about 
its junction with its tributary, Gap Creek, to a little above 
the junction of the North and South Branches, also on the 
North Branch. On that occasion a traverse was made 
across the divide down to Running Creek. The vegetation 
of the two valleys appear to be very similar, except that 
there is relatively a greater area of cleared or partly 
cleared country in the valley of Christmas Creek, and 
Eucalyptus crebra was noted there in the Eucalyptus 
forest. 
REPORT ON ZOOLOGY ( ARTHROPODA ) 
EXCURSION TO RUNNING CREEK, EASTER, 1941. 
By E. F. Riek. 
The most notable find was a number (14 in all) of 
“Peripatus”, Peripatoides Icuckarti Sanger, on the river- 
flat just below the camp. It is interesting to record that 
these somewhat rare animals were sheltering under stones 
on the raised river-flat where the conditions were not at 
all moist. It is said that they prefer moist conditions. 
On the trip to Running Creek Falls a number of 
spiny crayfish, Euastacus sulcatus Clark, similar to those 
occurring at Binna Burra, were collected. Some were 
taken in the water, others in the rain-forest, but quite 
close to the creek. When removed from the water the 
crayfish makes a hissing noise resembling that of a scarab 
beetle. They were most abundant at and around the falls 
and were not seen below 1,500 feet. The same species was 
collected from the small creeks at the top of Mt. Gipps. 
In the lower reaches of the creek their place was taken 
by the fresh-water prawn, Palaemon danae (Heller). 
The crayfish were surprisingly parasitised. Four 
distinct species of parasite were collected, but three of 
these were really only mess-mates. Two of the com- 
mensals are very much alike. They are leech-like but have 
tentacles. The larger form, Temnocephala fasciata Has- 
well, grows to half an inch in length and has five tentacles. 
The smaller form, T. comes Haswell, has six tentacles. 
There may be up to one hundred of these commensals on 
the one crayfish. These species of Temnocephala are dis- 
tinct from those occurring on the crayfish around Bris- 
bane. The third commensal is a worm, an oligochaete, 
