Arthropoda
Type: Crustaceans / Malacostraca / Shrimp
Common Name: Ghost Shrimp
Scientific Name: Trypaea australiensis
Source: Mudflats Lang Lang – T. Ealey WPSP
These shrimp live in mud flat burrows which they clear as the tide comes in, causes considerable bio-turbulance and local turbidity changes.
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Type: Crustaceans / Malacostraca / Crabs
Common Name: Soldier Crab
Scientific Name: Mictyris platycheles
Source: Phillip Island – J. Clarke WPSP
Echinodermata
Type: Asteroidea / Star fish
Common Name: Southern Buistuit Star
Scientific Name: Tosia austalis
Source: Flinders WP, Marine Ecology
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Mollusca
Type: Cephalopoda / Octopus / Squid / Cuttlefish
Common Name: Sand Octopus
Scientific Name: Octopus kaurna
Source: Western Port, David Bryant
Chordata
Type: Osteichthyes / Cheilodactylidae/ Morwongs
Common Name: Dusky Morwong
Scientific Name: Dactylophora nigricans
Source: Western Port, David Bryant
Type: Osteichthyes / Kyphosidae
Common Name: Zebra Fish
Scientific Name: Girella zebra
Source: Western Port, David Bryant
Type: Osteichthyes / Aracanidae / Temperate Box Fish
Common Name: Shaws Cowfish
Scientific Name: Aracana aurita
Source: Flinders WP, Marine Ecology
Type: Osteichthyes/Mullidae / Goatfish
Common Name: Australian Goatfish
Scientific Name: Upeneus australiae
Source: Western Port, David Bryant
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Type: Osteichthyes / Platycephalidae / Flathead
Common Name: Sand Flathead
Scientific Name: Platycephalus bassensis
Source: Western Port, David Bryant
Type: Osteichthyes / Sillaginidae / Whiting
Common Name: King George Whiting
Scientific Name: Sillaginodes punctatus
Source: David Muirhead
King George Whiting spawn off South Australia. The larvae drift on easterly currents with juveniles occupying seagrass meadows until maturity, feeding on crustacean like ghost shrimp.
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Type: Osteichthyes / Sillaginidae / Seahorses / Seadragons / Pipefish
Common Name: Weedy Seadragon
Scientific Name: Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
Source: Flinders WP, Marine Ecology
Victoria’s marine emblem and inhabitant of Western Port.
Type: Seahorses / Seadragons / Pipefish
Common Name: Spotted Pipefish
Scientific Name: Stigmatopora argus
Source: Western Port, David Bryant
Pipefish, seahorses and seadragons live in shallow waters, camouflaged in weed covered reefs including the seagrass meadows of Western Port.More on Spotted Pipefish
Type: Mammalia / Cetacea / Whales & Dolphins
Common Name: Bottle Nosed Dolphins
Scientific Name: Tursiops truncatus
Source: Hastings – Dolphin Research Institute
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Links – More Information on Marine Fauna
Western Port Seagrass Partnership 