Dispersal of tropical marine fauna to the Great Australian Bight by the Leeuwin Current

Abstract

A tropical element in the demersal and pelagic fauna of the Great Australian Bight has been observed. The fauna includes benthic invertebrates, such as the basket star, Euryale aspera (Lamark), and the holothurians Pentacta anceps (Selenka) and Pentacta quadranguiaris (Lesson), and tropical pelagic tuna, such as the oriental bonito, Sarda orientalis (Temminck and Schlegal). It is suggested that the Leeuwin Current, which flows southward to Cape Leeuwin and then eastward, is responsible for the existence of tropical fauna in the Bight. The low salinity waters of the Leeuwin Current were observed for the first time to round Cape Leeuwin.