Ancient invertebrates of the Porongurup

Relicts from the Gondwanan supercontinent

Formed around 1.2 billion years ago, the Porongurup Range is one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world. The original large mountains have eroded away to the rounded granites we see today, but the range still holds ancient lifeforms, including velvet worms, giant earthworms and trapdoor spiders. The ancestors of these species existed before the separation of the Gondwanan supercontinent, around 180 million years ago. Velvet worms are thought to have changed very little since they emerged some 500 million years ago. They have outlived many other animal groups, including dinosaurs which appeared about 230 million years ago and were extinct by around 66 million years ago. 

The Beutelius rutherfordi beetle, found in 2021 during a fauna survey in bush just north of the Porongurup Range, has ancestral roots that date back almost 200 million years.

Our film ‘Long Before the Dinosaurs: Ancient Invertebrates of the Porongurup’ gives rich insights into a number of invertebrate groups that first emerged when life left the oceans – and are still with us! This film stars the very knowledgeable and passionate Loxley Fedec of the Friends of the Porongurup Range.

Sincere thanks to film maker Josephine Hayes.