Elected representatives in government are in charge of the policy and funding that can make or break saving threatened species. Their decisions and actions matter.
Monash has or used to have 33 threatened animals within its boundaries. One of them is me, the Giant Gippsland Earthworm.
We took care to attach appropriate images that are as close to representative of each species as our resources and the availability of images allowed. However, we could not ensure perfect accuracy in every case. Some images show species that share the same genus but not at the species or subspecies level.
Giant Gippsland Earthworm
Megascolides australis
Status: Vulnerable
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) lists threatened species under six categories:
Extinct, Extinct in the wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Conservation dependent. Read more about these categories
Megascolides australis has greater than 80% of its range within Monash
The Giant Gippsland Earthworm is one of the largest earthworms in the world. It grows to 80–100+ cm long and is 2 cm in diameter. It has 300 to 400 body segments. The front third of the body, including the head, is dark purple and the remainder is a pinkish-grey. Weight's of up to 400 g have been recorded with an average weight of 200 g.¹
Explore more about this species on the Atlas of Living Australia
Changed surface and groundwater regimes
Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation
Explore more about the threats facing species on our Resources page.
- River Swamp Wallaby-grass (Amphibromus fluitans)
- Tall Astelia (Astelia australiana)
- French Island Spider-orchid (Caladenia insularis)
- Eastern Spider Orchid (Caladenia orientalis)
- Thick-lipped Spider-orchid (Caladenia tessellata)
- Matted Flax-lily (Dianella amoena)
- Strzelecki Gum (Eucalyptus strzeleckii)
- Purple Eyebright (Euphrasia collina subsp. muelleri)
- Clover Glycine (Glycine latrobeana)
- Round-leaf Pomaderris (Pomaderris vacciniifolia)
- Maroon Leek-orchid (Prasophyllum frenchii)
- Dense Leek-orchid (Prasophyllum spicatum)
- Alpine Leafy Liverwort (Pseudocephalozia paludicola)
- Green-striped Greenhood (Pterostylis chlorogramma)
- Leafy Greenhood (Pterostylis cucullata)
- Swamp Greenhood (Pterostylis tenuissima)
- Swamp Fireweed (Senecio psilocarpus)
- Austral Toadflax (Thesium australe)
- Swamp Everlasting (Xerochrysum palustre)
You are in federal electorate Monash.