Quick-guides to freshwater flora and fauna

These guides are designed for rapid identification of freshwater flora and fauna, usually to the generic level, for use in biomonitoring. They have been developed with funding from the Biodiversity of New Zealand Aquatic Environments programme and the Terrestrial and Freshwater Biodiversity Information System (TFBIS) programme, administered by the Department of Conservation. Follow this link to the Quick-guides section.

Freshwater invertebrate species checklists

These checklists provide an up-to-date listing of all known species in certain invertebrate groups.

• Groundwater Amphipods
• Caddisflies
• Stoneflies
• Chironomidae (Diptera)
• Blephariceridae
• Thaumaleidae
• Leeches
• Mayflies

Freshwater Identification Guides

• Low risk aquarium and pond plants
  A guide to aquarium and pond plants that are suitable for use in New Zealand.
• High risk aquarium and pond plants
  A guide to aquarium and pond plants that are yet to establish in New Zealand and pose a high biosecurity risk to New Zealand.
• Atlas of New Zealand Freshwater Fish
  includes descriptions, illustrations and distribution maps of native and introduced species
• A Guide to Mature Larvae of Psilochorema (Hydrobiosidae)
  a Lucid-based Identification Key
• A guide to the common genera of freshwater diatoms in New Zealand
  a Lucid-based Identification Key

Ancient isopods: conservation status of New Zealand phreatoicid isopods

These endemic freshwater crustaceans are truly living fossils that originated in Gondwana at least 325 million years ago and have changed little morphologically since that time (they have been around at least 1.5 times longer than tuatara and 100 million years longer than wetas). As modern-day peculiarities occurring on the remnants of ancient Gondwana: Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India (but not South America), they are a special element of New Zealand’s fauna.

Your help in searching for and collecting phreatoicids can make a significant contribution to our knowledge of this fascinating, ancient group of native crustaceans and to knowledge of their conservation status. More details