Biodiversity of Wielangta Forest - Wild Wielangta - Edublogs

Broad-toothed stag beetle (Lissotes latidens)
photo courtesy Bob Brown On Trial website
39
Biodiversity of Wielangta Forest
The third nationally endangered species, that was subject of the Wielangta High Court Challenge; the
broad toothed (or Wielangta) stag beetle, is confined to Maria Island and mainland Tasmania
between Orford, Runnymede and Copping. The Wielangta area captures the core range of the
species. A review of the broad toothed stag beetle and forestry in Wielangta, indicates that
unreserved areas of state forest in Wielangta supports 50% of the extent of potential habitat and
almost all of this is marked out in provisional logging coupes 15 . Preferred habitat is associated with
decaying logs in recognised wet forest communities and damp gullies in shrubby dry forest typically
dominated by Eucalyptus obliqua, E. regnans, E. globulus and occasionally E. viminalis 16 .
15 Underwood (2005)
16 Meggs and Munks (2003)
Distribution records of the
broad toothed stag beetle
Wild Wielangta