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Table 1 Description of the recognised biogeographic barriers in eastern Australia (see Figure 1).

From: Phylogeographic divergence in the widespread delicate skink (Lampropholis delicata) corresponds to dry habitat barriers in eastern Australia

Barrier

Explanation of Barrier

Burdekin Gap

A broad region of dry woodland and savanna that extends to the coast and delineates the boundary between the northern rainforests and the mid-eastern Queensland forests [93–95]

St Lawrence Gap

A dry habitat corridor that separates the mid-eastern Queensland forests from the south-eastern Queensland forests [93–95]

Kroombit Tops

A disjunct inland region of high elevation moist habitat that is surrounded by drier eucalypt woodland. An inland cool and wet refuge for rainforest and wet forest adapted species [70, 71]

McPherson Range

An east-west spur of the predominately north-south Great Dividing Range that runs along the Queensland/New South Wales border. A montane block of wet forest that represents a hybrid zone for birds and a barrier for lowland and dry forest plant species [93–96]

Hunter Valley

A dry, open, lowland river valley that delineates the southern limit of the eastern biogeographic region and the northern limit of the south-east forest region [93–96]

Southern NSW

Transition from the lowland coastal region to the higher elevation southern highlands region of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales [71, 74]

East Gippsland

Low lying coastal region that has been subject to repeated marine incursion (i.e. Gippsland Basin); abutted to the north by higher elevation regions of the Great Dividing Range [16, 97]

Bass Strait

The shallow sea strait (depth 50-80 m, width 240 km) that separates Tasmania from mainland Australia. Land bridges have periodically connected the two landmasses during Pleistocene glacial periods (see Figure 1), with the last connection severed 13 kya [16]

Murray Basin

Low lying region that has been subject to repeated marine incursion (i.e. Murray Basin), bordered to the west by the Mt Lofty Ranges, a known refugia [92, 93, 97]

  1. The Black Mountain Corridor in the Wet Tropics of north Queensland is not included as the distribution of the delicate skink (Lampropholis delicata) does not span this biogeographic barrier.