The Pilbara shrublands is a

deserts and xeric shrublands Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in thi ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas o ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

. It is coterminous with the Pilbara

IBRA The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) is a biogeographic regionalisation of Australia developed by the Australian government's Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population, and Communities. It was deve ...

region. For other definitions and uses of "Pilbara region" see

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a gl ...

Geography

The Pilbara shrublands is bounded on the north by the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

, and on the west, south, and east by other deserts and xeric shrubland ecoregions - the

Carnarvon xeric shrublands The Carnarvon xeric shrublands is a deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregion of Western Australia. The ecoregion is coterminous with the Carnarvon Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) bioregion.Western Australian mulga shrublands The Western Australian Mulga shrublands is a deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregion of inland Western Australia. It is one of Australia's two mulga ecoregions, characterized by dry woodlands of mulga trees ('' Acacia aneura'' and related species ...

to the south, and the

Great Sandy-Tanami desert Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

to the east and northeast. The

geographic region covers most of the ecoregion, and extends east into the Great Sandy desert. The

Hamersley Range The Hamersley Range is a mountainous region of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The range was named on 12 June 1861 by explorer Francis Thomas Gregory after Edward Hamersley, a prominent promoter of his exploration expedition to the ...

, a region of mountain ranges and plateaus dissected by gorges, lies in the southern portion of the ecoregion. The Fortescue Plains extend east and west to the north of the Hamersley Range, forming the upper basin of the

Fortescue River The Fortescue River is an ephemeral river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is the third longest river in the state. Course The river rises near Deadman Hill in the Ophthalmia Range about 30 km south of Newman. The river fl ...

. The Chichester Plateau lies north of the Fortescue Plains. The Roebourne subregion encompasses the coastal plain along the Indian Ocean, including the

Dampier Archipelago The Dampier Archipelago is a group of 42 islands near the town of Dampier in the Pilbara, Western Australia. The archipelago is also made up of reefs, shoals, channels and straits and is the traditional home of five Aboriginal language group ...

.Heterick, B.E., B. Durrant, and N.R. Gunawardene (2010). "The ant fauna of the Pilbara Bioregion, Western Australia". ''Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement'' 78: 157–167 (2010).Kendrick, Peter (2001). "Pilbara 3 (PIL3 – Hamersley subregion)". in ''A Biodiversity Audit of Western Australia’s 53 Biogeographical Subregions in 2002'', Department of Conservation and Land Management, Western Australia Government, October 2001. The ecoregion lies on the

Pilbara craton The Pilbara Craton is an old and stable part of the continental lithosphere located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The Pilbara Craton is one of only two pristine Archaean 3.6–2.7 Ga (billion years ago) crusts identified on the ...

, a block of ancient

Archean The Archean Eon ( , also spelled Archaean or Archæan) is the second of four eon (geology), geologic eons of History of Earth, Earth's history, representing the time from . The Archean was preceded by the Hadean Eon and followed by the Proterozo ...

rock. The Chichester region is characterized by exposed

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies und ...

and greenstone basement rocks. The Hamersley region includes iron-rich carbonate sedimentary carbonate rocks over a volcanic substrate (the Fortescue formation) which rest on the older craton. The Fortescue basin and coastal plain are alluvial.

Climate

The climate is tropical semi-desert. Rainfall averages 300 mm annually, typically from summer cyclonic storms and thunderstorms.

Flora

In the Hamersley region, mulga woodland occurs on fine-textured valley soils, with ''

Acacia aneura ''Acacia aneura'', commonly known as mulga or true mulga, is a shrub or small tree native to arid outback areas of Australia. It is the dominant tree in the habitat to which it gives its name ( mulga) that occurs across much of inland Australia ...

'' over the grasses ''

Aristida ''Aristida'' is a very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. ''Aristida'' is distinguished by having three awns (bristles) on each lemma of each floret. The genus includes about 300 species found worldwide, often in arid wa ...

'' spp. and ''

Enneapogon ''Enneapogon'' is a cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. They are also called bottle washers or pappus grass. These perennial grass species are found in tropical and warm temperate areas. They have small, narrow inflorescences. ; ...

'' spp. Snappy gum (''Eucalyptus leucophloia'') occurs with the grass '' Triodia brizoides'' on the skeletal soils of the ranges. The Fortescue Plains include the northernmost mulga woodlands, along with short grasslands. Year-round watercourses and springs support stands of

red river gum ''Eucalyptus camaldulensis'', commonly known as the river red gum, is a tree that is endemic to Australia. It has smooth white or cream-coloured bark, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine, white flowers a ...

, (''Eucalyptus camaldulensis refulgens''), ''

Melaleuca ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They range in size ...

'', and the palm '' Livistona alfredii''. Sheltered gorges along the edge of the Chichester Plateau provide water and protection from fire, and support relict communities of '' Terminalia,

Erythrina ''Erythrina'' is a genus of plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains about 130 species, which are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. They are trees, with the larger species growing up to in height. The generic ...

'', and ''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending int ...

''.Kendrick, Peter (2001). "Pilbara 2 (PIL2 – Fortescue Plains subregion)". in ''A Biodiversity Audit of Western Australia’s 53 Biogeographical Subregions in 2002'', Department of Conservation and Land Management, Western Australia Government, October 2001. The Chichester Plateau is principally scrub steppe, with the shrub ''

Acacia inaequilatera ''Acacia inaequilatera'', commonly known as kanji bush, baderi, camel bush, fire wattle, kanyji bush or ranji bush is a tree in the family Mimosaceae. Endemic to Australia, it is widely distributed in the semi-arid ''Triodia'' country eas ...

'' and the bunch grass ''

Triodia wiseana Triodia may refer to: * ''Triodia'' (moth), a genus of moths of the family Hepialidae * ''Triodia'' (plant), a genus of grasses in the family Poaceae {{Genus disambiguation ...

''. Scrub steppe also dominates the Roebourne coastal plain, with ''

Acacia translucens ''Acacia translucens'', commonly known as poverty bush, is a shrub that is endemic to a large area of north western Australia. Description Poverty bush is a low, spreading shrub with a flat top that grows to a height of and a width of around a ...

'' and ''

Triodia pungens ''Triodia pungens'', commonly known as soft spinifex, is a species of grass native to northwestern Australia. The plant is currently being researched due to its resinous properties as a Termite timber coating. Other research and applications are ...

''.

Fauna

Native animals include the

red kangaroo The red kangaroo (''Osphranter rufus'') is the largest of all kangaroos, the largest terrestrial mammal native to Australia, and the largest extant marsupial. It is found across mainland Australia, except for the more fertile areas, such as ...

(''Osphranter rufus''), bilby (''Macrotis lagotis''),

northern quoll The northern quoll (''Dasyurus hallucatus''), also known as the northern native cat, the North Australian native cat or the satanellus is a carnivorous marsupial native to Australia. Taxonomy The northern quoll is a member of the family Das ...

(''Dasyurus hallucatus''), Pilbara leaf-nosed bat (''Rhinonicteris aurantia'', Pilbara form),

ghost bat The ghost bat (''Macroderma gigas'') is a species of bat found in northern Australia. The species is the only Australian bat that preys on large vertebrates – birds, reptiles and other mammals – which they detect using acute sight and heari ...

(''Macroderma gigas''),

Pilbara ningaui The Pilbara ningaui (''Ningaui timealeyi''), sometimes known as Ealey's ningaui, is a tiny species of marsupial carnivore found in Australia. Taxonomy The species was described by Mike Archer in 1975, distinguishing the new taxon from other ...

(''Ningaui timealeyi''),

Pilbara olive python ''Liasis olivaceus barroni'' is a python found in the Pilbara region of northwest Australia. They are recognised as a subspecies of ''Liasis olivaceus'', separating the population from the olive python found to the east. It is a large snake, m ...

(''Liasis olivaceus barroni''),

Pilbara bandy bandy The Pilbara bandy bandy (''Vermicella snelli'') is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to Australia. Etymology The specific name, ''snelli'', is in honor of Charles Snell who donated the holotype to the We ...

(''Vermicella snelli''), and Airlie Island ctenotus (''Ctenotus angusticeps'')."Pilbara Conservation Strategy". Department of Parks and Wildlife,

Government of Western Australia The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the States and territories of Australia, Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also common ...

. 2017

/ref>

Rothschild's rock-wallaby Rothschild's rock-wallaby (''Petrogale rothschildi'') – sometimes known as the Roebourne rock-wallaby, is a species of macropod found in Western Australia, in the Pilbara district and the Dampier Archipelago. It is not currently considered ...

(''Petrogale rothschildi''),

Pilbara rock monitor The Pilbara rock monitor (''Varanus pilbarensis'') is a small member of the family Varanidae endemic to the Chichester Range in North West Australia. Taxonomy The population was described in 1980 by Glenn Storr, selecting a specimen collec ...

(''Varanus pilbarensis''),

Pilbara death adder The Pilbara death adder (''Acanthophis wellsi)'', also known commonly as Wells' death adder, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is one of the eight members of the genus ''Acanthophis'', a genus which is found thr ...

(''Acanthophis wellsi''), Pilbara toadlet (''Uperoleia saxatilis''), and the

Pilbara threadtail ''Nososticta pilbara'' is a species of Australian damselfly in the family Platycnemididae, commonly known as a Pilbara threadtail. It has only been found in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, where it inhabits streams and pools. ''Nososti ...

(''Nososticta pilbara'') are endemic to the ecoregion.

Subregions

Protected areas

6.47% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include: *

Barrow Island Nature Reserve Barrow Island is a island northwest off the Pilbara coast of Western Australia. The island is the second largest in Western Australia after Dirk Hartog Island. Early history and European discovery The island was visited by Indigenous Aus ...

* Boodie, Double Middle Islands Nature Reserve * Cane River Conservation Park *

Eighty Mile Beach Marine Park Australian marine parks (formerly Commonwealth marine reserves) are marine protected areas located within Australian waters and are managed by the Australian government. These waters generally extend from three nautical miles off the coast to the ...

Great Sandy Island Nature Reserve Great Sandy Island is an island between Onslow and Dampier, off the Pilbara coast of Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia ex ...

Karijini National Park Karijini National Park is an Australian national park centred in the Hamersley Ranges of the Pilbara region in the northwestern section of Western Australia. The park is located north of the Tropic of Capricorn, from the state's capital city, ...

Lowendal Islands Nature Reserve The Lowendal Islands comprise an archipelago, with a total area of about 160 ha of land lying off the coast of Western Australia. It is important for breeding seabirds. Description The archipelago lies 10 km north-east of the muc ...

* Millstream Chichester National Park *

Montebello Islands Conservation Park Montebello may refer to: Places Australasia * Montebello Islands, Australia Europe * Montebello della Battaglia, Pavia, Italy * Montebello Vicentino, Vicenza, Italy * Montebello di Bertona, Abruzzo, Pescara, Italy * Montebello Ionico, Calabr ...

Montebello Islands Marine Park The Montebello Island Marine Park (area 58,331 ha) is located off the northwest coast of Western Australia, about 1,600 km north of Perth, and 120 km west of Dampier. The reserve includes the entire group of Montebello Islands. Close to the m ...

* Mungaroona Range Nature Reserve * Murujuga National Park

References

{{Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) Deserts and xeric shrublands Ecoregions of Western Australia IBRA regions Pilbara