Aquatic invertebrates of rockholes in the south-east of Western Australia

Twelve flooded rockholes located to the east of the Yilgarn Craton, in the Western Australian sector of the Great Victoria Desert, were sampled for aquatic invertebrates. The fauna was depauperate in comparison with that of pan gnammas on the Yilgarn Craton. Only three crustacean species (Lynceus sp. nov., Moina australiensis and Sarscypridopsis sp. nov.) and one insect family (Culicidae) occurred in more than half of the rockholes. Although deep rockholes like pit and pipe gnammas typically have a longer hydroperiod than pan gnammas they have few, mainly eurytopic, species.