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Obtaining accurate counts that do not cause harm to the animals being studied are important for assessing a species' conservation status. A single evening exodus of ghost bats (Macroderma gigas) was recorded using a thermal imaging camera placed outside the entrance to a cave on Alwal National Park (CYPAL) in September 2022. At least 463 bats were counted, making it the largest known ghost bat colony in Queensland. Further work is required to determine the extent to which this colony is related to other nearby colonies in Cape York Peninsula. Work is also required to identify and reduce threats to this population and ensure its conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypolimnas antilope (Cramer) is recorded from mainland Australia for the first time based on the collection of a single male from Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) National Park (NP), Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. In Australia, the butterfly was previously known from Dauan, Masig, Erub and Mer Islands in Torres Strait, Queensland. Thus, our new record extends the species' distribution approximately 350 km south of Torres Strait (Masig) to Iron Range. The Australian specimen is provisionally assigned to H. antilope mela Fruhstorfer based on its geographical proximity. The recent destruction and regeneration of the rainforest in Kutini-Payamu NP following Tropical Cyclone Trevor in March 2019 is illustrated, and its implication for sustaining a breeding population of H. antilope mela discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five new species of bees are described from the Quinkan region of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia: Austrothurgus nanussp. nov. (Megachilidae), Nomia (Paulynomia) eburatasp. nov. (Halictidae), Leioproctus (Protomorpha) quinkanensissp. nov., Chrysocolletes loripessp. nov., Chrysocolletesaureussp. nov. (Colletidae). A sixth species, Chrysocolletes doreyisp. nov. (Colletidae), is described from Walker Creek, East of Karumba in the Gulf Country, Queensland. Most descriptions are associated with DNA‐barcodes. Modified identification keys and image plates with diagnostic characters are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Trachypetidae is a newly recognised family of Ichneumonoidea endemic to Australia and one of the most distinctive wasp groups on the continent based on their large body size and superficial resemblance to some ichneumonids and aculeate wasps. The family is united in the presence of a unique sensory or glandular structure at the base of the mandibles. It is known from three genera: Cercobarcon Tobias, 1979, Megalohelcon Turner, 1918 (= Rhamphobarcon Tobias, 1979) and Trachypetus Guérin de Méneville, 1830, totalling eight described species. Trachypetines are rarely encountered, with very few specimens having been collected or recognised in collections since the group was revised in 1993. Here we report on a newly discovered species from Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, the first to be recognised in more than 25 years, and take much pleasure in naming it after Dr John La Salle, in celebration of his career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In north-eastern Queensland, the Masked Owl Tyto novaehollandiae is a rare and taxonomically complex species in apparent decline. It has typically been recorded in open sclerophyll forest and woodland, often adjacent to cleared areas, but current records suggest a patchy distribution. We used all available high-veracity records of the Masked Owl in north-eastern Queensland to examine habitat associations based on regional ecosystem data, and present a spatial model of its potential distribution within the Cape York Peninsula, Wet Tropics and Einasleigh Uplands bioregions. We conclude that the currently disjointed distribution is probably because of a lack of systematic surveys and that this species might be more widespread than previously thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]