Sometimes the frogs don’t happen .... (sound) ⁦Jodi Rowley⁩ ⁦Bush Blitz⁩ #bushblitz

Stoked to have found a jumping spider species I have been looking for for a couple of years now on the Little Desert #bushblitz Bush Blitz! After reviewing old literature and examining historic type specimens, we have concluded that this is indeed a new (undescribed) species.

A deep wishbone spider burrow, from an 𝑨𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒆 found on the recent BushBlitz. Left shaft = main entrance, right shaft = escape chute. This was unusual in having the shafts converging so deep, giving the burrow a 'V' shape, rather than the typical 'Y'.

Try as i might, I can not deny that pygmy possums are completely lovely. Was brilliant to have Ben Holmes from Wimmera CMA on the BushBlitz trip to wrangle the little beastie. #bushblitz , #museumsvictoria , #pygmypossumcuteness , #littledesert ,

Next up from Wilinggin country are the freshwater snails, with some species only a few mm in size. Excited to look at connectivity across the top end in select species and contribute to improving taxonomy in these groups #bushblitz #speciesdiscovery

Rotten swamp isn’t nearly so rotten. ⁦Jodi Rowley⁩ ⁦Bush Blitz⁩ #bushblitz #frogs

Another interesting find from the last BushBlitz in Western Australia. I found this intriguing burrow - the entrance had a soil encrusted 'tent', drawn up to a point in the centre by threads of silk that were anchored to overhanging grass. I've never seen anything like it!...

An amazing two weeks on Wilinggin country in the Kimberley (my first time!) with wonderful teams helping to sample some exciting molluscs. First up, culturally important freshwater mussels, as well as Corbicula clams hand collected from Bell Gorge #bushblitz #speciesdiscovery

Haven’t had time to go out to deck to look for whales on #WhaleDay , but here’s a video of a little one that joined us on a surface interval while diving in #Mallacoota a while back #humpback #Bushblitz

And here's a video of it in the #bushblitz lab:

My face says it all! Thanks Jessica Fenker (she/her) for capturing the moment :D #fieldwork #mutillidae #velvetants #Birrigai #Namadgi #BushBlitz #Hymenoptera #biodiversity #WomenInSTEM #WomeninScience

Awesome ⁦Bush Blitz⁩ community day at the ⁦Australian National Botanic Gardens⁩. I have to go to learn about all the cool moths! #bushblitz

Big shoutout to our hardworking Bush Blitz spider scientists (Dr Robert Raven, Jeremy Wilson & Dr Mark Harvey) who have recently published papers describing new species! #speciesdiscovery #bushblitz #taxonomyaustralia #spidersofaustralia #australianspiders

The shimmering Western Rainbowfish Melanotaenia australis is one of the most common freshwater species in NW Australia and parts of the Northern Territory. It is hyper-variable in colour across its range. These are from Charnley River on Wilinggin Country, Kimberley. #Bushblitz

What an amazing 24hrs! First ever ride in a helicopter, camped on the spectacular #CapeRange , awaking to dew covered landscape #BushBlitz

Today we searched through a car graveyard for herps #BushBlitz

So lucky to be part of a Bush Blitz survey of the Australian Alps, surveying for #frogs and #reptiles with the aim of discovering new species! 🐸🦎🐍

Bush Blitz is an innovative partnership between the Australian Government, BHP and Earthwatch.

#bushblitz #speciesdiscovery

Amazing cook Charlotte packed us a Tasmanian cheese tasting platter for our evening out spotlighting during the Little Desert #bushblitz . Yum! Also a Mitchells short-tailed snake. #museumvictoria

🕷️ This gorgeous male 𝑴𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒎𝒂 was collected by Bentomologist at a light trap, on the last BushBlitz. I've seen them before, but their identity remained a mystery...until Rob Raven's recent monograph in which he described the genus, along with 48 new species 🤯

What an amazing trip with Erinn Fagan-Jeffries and Ethan Beaver on the Yalata + Fowlers Bay #Bushblitz , lots of cool specimens and some wonderful wasps! Bush Blitz Earthwatch Australia Parks Australia