Invertebrates as Cerata

Introduction

Invertebrates as Cerata translates Australia’s threatened invertebrate data into a fan of cerata: finger-like projections found on the backs of many nudibranchs, or sea slugs.

Each ceras represents one broad invertebrate grouping, and each line within a ceras represents one threatened species. The image brings together a highly varied set of animals - crustaceans, insects, snails, spiders, worms, mussels, starfish, corals, and sea anemones - into one shared organic form.

How to read the infographic

Each ceras represents one invertebrate grouping. Each line within a ceras represents one threatened invertebrate species. Line style shows conservation status:

• light dotted = Extinct

• round-dotted = Critically Endangered

• dashed = Endangered

• solid = Vulnerable

The cerata forms are not biological diagrams of the species shown. They are a visual structure for comparing species counts and conservation status across broad invertebrate groupings.

Why invertebrates as cerata?

I chose cerata because they are strange, delicate, biological forms that suit the hidden diversity of invertebrate life. Cerata are not widely familiar, which makes them useful here: they invite the viewer to notice a lesser-known form of animal anatomy while looking at lesser-known threatened species.

The fan shape also works well for the data. Larger groupings become fuller, more prominent cerata, while smaller groupings appear as sparse, fragile forms. This allows the infographic to show both abundance and vulnerability within one shared structure.

Why these groupings?

The invertebrate species are arranged into broad, design-oriented groupings to make a diverse dataset easier to read. Some groups are familiar, such as insects, crustaceans, and snails & slugs. Others combine smaller categories so they can be shown clearly without over-fragmenting the visual.

These groupings are designed for communication and comparison. They are not intended to replace formal taxonomic classification.

Groupings shown in the infographic

Crustaceans — 48 species
The largest grouping in the infographic, including crabs, lobsters, shrimps, and a cave crustacean.

Insects — 28 species
Threatened insects including bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, dragonflies, crickets, and related species.

Snails & slugs — 21 species
Threatened gastropods, many of which are tied to specific habitats, ranges, or ecological conditions.

Spiders & scorpions — 5 species
A small arachnid grouping showing threatened spider and scorpion species.

Earthworms & velvet worms — 4 species
Soft-bodied ground-associated invertebrates grouped together as a small visual cluster.

Clams & mussels — 3 species
Threatened bivalves represented as a sparse but distinct grouping.

Starfish, corals & sea anemones — 3 species
A small marine grouping for radial and branching seafloor forms.

What the infographic reveals

Crustaceans form the largest threatened invertebrate grouping in this visual summary, followed by insects and snails & slugs. The remaining groups are much smaller, but their sparse cerata still show species at risk across soil, freshwater, coastal, and marine environments. Seen together, the cerata suggest a hidden world of threatened animal life that is easily overlooked because many of these species are small, specialised, or unfamiliar.

Data note

This infographic is based on the EPBC Act threatened fauna list, reorganised into broad visual groupings for the Shapes of Survival series. Species counts reflect the dataset used at the time the artwork was created.

Series note

Invertebrates as Cerata is part of Shapes of Survival, a visual series that transforms threatened species data into organic forms.

Sources

This series draws on publicly available threatened-species information, including:

• EPBC Act List of Threatened Fauna - the primary source for species names and conservation status categories used in the visualisations.