• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

Site description (2015 baseline)

Scullin Monolith and Murray Monolith are imposing steep massifs of metasedimentary gneiss and granitic origin, situated ~5 km apart on the Mawson Coast, Mac.Robertson Land. The adjacent coastline consists of ice cliffs rising up to 40 m in height. Scullin Monolith, in the west, rises steeply to extend from Mikkelsen Peak (435 m) westward in a crescent that encloses Douglas Bay. Murray Monolith is dome-shaped with steep sides and rises to a seaward summit of 339 m and an inland summit of 363 m at Torlyn Mountain.

The area was designated as ASPA No. 164 in 2005 on the basis of its ecological and scientific values, in particular for the largest concentration of seabird breeding colonies in East Antarctica (ASPA No. 164 Management Plan 2010).

The IBA qualifies on the basis of the Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) and Antarctic Petrel (Thalassoica antarctica) colonies present and coincides with the boundary of ASPA No. 164.

The nearest permanent station is Mawson (AUS), ~170 km to the west in Holme Bay, on Mawson Coast.

Key biodiversity

Seven bird species breed at Scullin and Murray monoliths (Tables 126.1 and 126.2). At Scullin Monolith a large colony of Adélie Penguins breeds on the lower slopes up to 200 m along the coast of Douglas Bay, and extends ~500 m along the northern coast below Mikkelsen Peak at elevations of <50 m. Large numbers of Antarctic Petrel and Southern Fulmar ( Fulmarus glacialoides ) breed on the higher slopes around Douglas Bay (Table 126.1). The population of Antarctic Petrel at Scullin Monolith is the second largest in Antarctica after the colony at Svarthamaren IBA (ASPA No. 142). South Polar Skua ( Catharacta maccormicki ) also breed on the upper southwestern and southeastern slopes of Scullin Monolith. Adélie penguins at Murray Monolith breed on the lower slopes along the coast below and west of the seaward summit, including on glacial ice covered by moraine (Southwell & Emmerson 2013). The distribution of other breeding birds at Murray Monolith has not yet been described.

Non-bird biodiversity: Weddell Seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) and a Leopard Seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) have been observed in the vicinity (ASPA No. 164 Management Plan 2010).

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Scullin Monolith / Murray Monolith (Antarctica). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/scullin-monolith--murray-monolith-iba-antarctica on 28/11/2024.