On the Freshwater Crustaceans of the Central Plateau

Ever since the first report by the New Zealander, G .lvl. Thomson in 1892, of the occurrence in Tasmania of a number of freshwater crustaceans of ancient lineage, study of these species has been sporadic and it is only within the last decade that zoologists have begun to study the state-wide distribution of these species. Thomson (1892) described the fresh-water shrimp Anaspis tasmaniae~ later called Anaspides tasmaniae. This represented the first description of a living syncarid, a super-order which prior to this time had been known only as marine Carboniferous fossils with a world-wide distribution. Anaspides tasmaniae has a wide distribution in the elevated regions of Tasmania, being found in permanent cool streams and tarns. The life cycle and embryology of Anaspides tasmaniae has been studied by Hickman (1937) while the general ecology of Anaspides has been reviewed by Williams (1965).