In 1827 Australia’s first public museum, the Sydney Museum or Colonial Museum, was established with the initial purpose to procure ‘many rare and curious specimens of Natural History’. Subsequently named the Australian Museum in 1836, today the Museum plays a leading role in taxonomic and systematic research and education and over the years has developed an internationally recognised collection of over 18 million cultural and scientific objects.

A decade ago, as part of its educational role, the Museum started producing a series of Lucid keys for identifying specific groups of insects and reptiles present in New South Wales. Now that these keys can be more easily accessed across the Internet, they have recently been transferred to the Lucid Key Server Player.

Brief details of these keys and links to launch then are provided below:

 

Key to the Dung Beetles of eastern New South Wales

This key enables the user to identify adults of the dung beetles (family Scarabaeidae, subfamily Scarabaeinae) found in NSW between the coast and the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range.

 

Key to the Spilopyrinae of New South Wales

This interactive key enables the user to identify to genus the adult beetles of the subfamily Spilopyrinae occurring in New South Wales.

 

 

          

Key to the Sagrinae of New South Wales

This is an interactive key which enables the user to identify to genus adult beetles of the subfamily Sagrinae occurring in New South Wales.

 

 

Key to the Criocerinae of New South Wales

This is an interactive key which enables the user to identify to genus adult beetles of the subfamily Sagrinae occurring in New South Wales.

 

 

Key to the Chrysomelinae of New South Wales

This is an interactive key which enables the user to identify to generic level adult beetles of the subfamily Chrysomelinae occurring in New South Wales.

 

 

Flower Chafers of New South Wales

This key enables the user to identify the adult Flower Chafers, technically known as Cetoniinae, of New South Wales to species.

 

 

Stink bugs of Australia

How to identify the Pentatomidae of Australia.

 

 

 

Lace bugs of Australia

How to identify the Tingidiae of Australia

 

 

 

Key to the Christmas Beetles of New South Wales 

This key enables the user to identify to species level the adult male and female Christmas Beetles (genus Anoplognathus) occurring in New South Wales.

 

 

Frogs of New South Wales

This key enables the user to identify the adult frogs of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.