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Spiny Katydid (Swan Coastal Plain) (Austrosaga spinifer)

The spiny katydid is a poorly known Western Australian invertebrate recorded at a small number of places, including the Swan Coastal Plain and nearby Perth Scarp. It is reported to hide in shrubs and sing at night, so retain and carefully check suitable shrub cover during development works. It is listed as Priority 2 on the WA DBCA Threatened and Priority Fauna List, a DBCA priority category rather than a listing under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.

Conservation status

Western Australia, WA Threatened and Priority Fauna List: Priority 2.

Seasonal guidance

Seasonal activity and breeding months are not known for this species. The row below is a planning window only, not a species-specific seasonal claim.

Seasonal information: No species-specific months are recorded.

No breeding, emergence or seasonal activity period has been established.

  • Survey and works planning: Planning window only. No species-specific seasonal pattern is known; plan surveys and precautions around site conditions and works timing.

Identification: Appearance and size

Field identification information for the species is limited.

No description of colour, body form, distinguishing structures or size has been documented. Do not identify an individual from assumed features; seek confirmation from a suitably experienced orthopterist when needed.

Identification: Similar species and field signs

Similar species and diagnostic field signs have not been described. The reported night-time singing may help prompt a targeted search, but no call description or identification criteria are known.

  • Record photographs, precise location, date, time and the vegetation where an individual or sound was detected.
  • Avoid treating an unverified night-time sound as a confirmed record.

Distribution: Known range

The species is known from few records, and its distribution remains poorly documented.

Records and reports name Boya on the Perth Scarp, Neerabup and Melaleuca Park near Wanneroo, and the Pinnacles near Cervantes, which is the type locality. A desktop assessment reports that few records exist and gives Boya as about 25 km from the Thornlie-Cockburn Link development envelope.

Atlas of Living Australia records show three Western Australian records at three distinct 0.1-degree locations, between latitude -30.7 and -29.6 and longitude 115.1 and 115.4. These records indicate a restricted set of records, not a complete range.

Distribution: WA regions and status

The DBCA list flags the Midwest and Swan regions. The species is listed as Priority 2, meaning poorly known and known from few locations, some on conservation lands. This is a DBCA priority category, not a listing under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. No national listing is given.

Habitat: Documented habitat information

Habitat information is sparse, and a full habitat description is not available.

The species is reported to hide in shrubs. A desktop assessment also identifies potential habitat within a development envelope but does not describe the vegetation or other habitat features there.

Habitat: Habitat uncertainty

A required woodland, soil type, plant community or degree of vegetation condition has not been established.

  • Record the vegetation structure and condition at any detection or potential habitat area.
  • Include shrub cover in site checks, while treating other habitat suitability judgements as provisional.

Foraging habitat: Diet and feeding

Foraging habitat and diet have not been documented.

Food plants, prey, feeding behaviour and feeding period have not been recorded for this species.

Foraging habitat: Site observations

During surveys, note any observed feeding behaviour and the plant or substrate involved, but do not infer a diet from vegetation alone.

  • Photograph observations where possible and record the plant or substrate without disturbing it.

Breeding habitat: Known information

Breeding biology and breeding habitat are poorly known.

Information on eggs, egg-laying sites, nymphs, mating, breeding season and reproductive habitat has not been recorded.

Breeding habitat: Precaution

Do not assign a breeding season or identify a breeding site without direct evidence. If eggs or immature individuals are found, document them in place and seek specialist advice before disturbance.

Sheltering habitat: Reported hiding place

Shrubs are the only shelter feature identified in species-specific information.

The species is reported to hide in shrubs. Shrub species, shrub structure and any other shelter used are unknown.

Sheltering habitat: Checks in shrub cover

Where shrubs are present, check them carefully before removal. Use a controlled visual search and avoid rough handling or unnecessary damage to vegetation.

  • Record the shrub type and structure associated with any detection, without assuming that it is a required host plant.

Threats: Evidence and uncertainty

Specific threats to this species have not been identified.

The Priority 2 listing reflects limited knowledge and few known locations. A desktop assessment considered the species to have a moderate likelihood of occurrence in a development envelope, but no species-specific threat or impact is established.

Threats: Development precautions

Clearing may remove shrub cover that could be used for hiding. Treat potential shrub habitat cautiously, and base impact decisions on site-specific survey and assessment. Do not assume the species is absent because no records are mapped.

Survey methodology: 1. Desktop assessment

Plan surveys with the limited species information in mind, including its reported night-time singing and use of shrubs.

Check the project area against the named records at Boya, Neerabup, Melaleuca Park and the Pinnacles, and review current DBCA information. Confirm whether the proposed works overlap shrub cover or other potential habitat; detailed habitat preferences are not established.

Survey methodology: 2. Field checks

Undertake targeted night-time listening in and around shrub cover because the species is reported to sing at night. No call description, detection rate or validated survey protocol is known, so listening alone cannot confirm absence.

Use careful visual checks of shrubs where safe and appropriate. Record survey effort, conditions, locations and any uncertain detections, and obtain expert verification where needed.

Vegetation associations

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

No species-specific vegetation association has been indexed or source-checked in this evidence library. This is an evidence gap, not evidence of no association.

Ecosystem associations

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

No species-specific ecosystem association has been indexed or source-checked in this evidence library. This is an evidence gap, not evidence of no association.

Soil and substrate associations

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

No species-specific soil association has been indexed or source-checked in this evidence library. This is an evidence gap, not evidence of no association.

Water and wetland associations

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

No species-specific water association has been indexed or source-checked in this evidence library. This is an evidence gap, not evidence of no association.

Fauna records and mapped habitat: Not yet analysed

Record locations can be overlaid with mapping, but record frequency alone does not measure habitat preference. No species is excluded from desktop assessments by this analysis.

No quality-controlled record-to-map analysis has been completed for this species. The existing generalised distribution dots and indicative range polygons have not been treated as precise occurrence coordinates.

A defensible run needs dated, independently attributable records, coordinate uncertainty, duplicate and captive-record checks, layer versions and regional scope. Preference and absence require additional survey-effort and detection evidence.

Habitat limitations and contrary evidence: No supported exclusion recorded

Not recorded is not the same as cannot occur. Low suitability, resident habitat, breeding habitat and occasional movement are different conclusions.

This library has not established a vegetation, ecosystem or soil-type exclusion for this species. This does not mean all habitat is suitable; the evidence needed to justify an exclusion has not been assembled.

Habitat limitations and contrary evidence: Before using a negative association

  • Confirm the taxon, geographic region, life stage and habitat function covered by the evidence.
  • Check survey methods, season, repeated effort and detectability before interpreting non-detection.
  • Investigate credible contradictory records and microhabitats absent from broad mapping.
  • Do not convert a missing map class, low record count or failed data request into species absence.

Before habitat disturbance: 1. Confirm and map

Plan works to avoid preventable loss of potential shrub shelter and resolve uncertainty before clearing.

Review known records and survey available shrub cover before works. Map confirmed detections, potential habitat and areas to be retained or avoided.

Before habitat disturbance: 2. Brief the crew

Brief spotter catchers, ecologists and clearing crews that the species is poorly known, may hide in shrubs and is reported to sing at night. Explain the stop-work and notification process for a suspected detection.

During habitat disturbance: 1. Control clearing

Use staged, cautious work practices where shrub cover may be present.

Keep clearing within approved limits and retain mapped avoidance areas. Where shrub removal is authorised, have the fauna spotter catcher check the vegetation progressively using safe, low-impact methods.

During habitat disturbance: 2. Respond to detections

If a suspected individual is found, pause work in the immediate area, protect it from injury and obtain identification advice. Follow the project approvals and fauna handling procedures; do not assume that an animal can be relocated safely.

After habitat disturbance: 1. Check and report

After works, document outcomes and maintain agreed protection measures.

Record cleared areas, retained shrub cover, survey effort, detections and any fauna response. Report findings through the project’s environmental reporting process and update site records.

After habitat disturbance: 2. Maintain protection

Keep exclusion areas and retained vegetation protected from follow-up works, vehicle access and material storage. Escalate any new detection or unplanned vegetation loss to the project ecologist.

Rehabilitation actions: 1. Restore vegetation structure

Where required by the project, rehabilitation should retain or re-establish suitable shrub cover without claiming a species-specific planting prescription.

Use locally appropriate rehabilitation plans and protect existing shrubs where practicable. Plant species and a particular vegetation structure required by the spiny katydid have not been identified.

Rehabilitation actions: 2. Monitor and adapt

Monitor rehabilitation against project objectives and record any spiny katydid observations. Use verified site findings to inform future management; do not treat planted vegetation as confirmed habitat without evidence.

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