Appendix Two localised species including those endemic to, or having their strongholds in the area, as well as nationally threatened species. Nationally outstanding, unusual and distinctive community types include: Cook Strait shrublands; tussock-herbfields and herbfields; coastal, lowland and upland mineral belt communities; seabird and reptile islands; and Mt Stokes and Richmond Range alpine zones. Also nationally important are all communities on possum-free islands, especially those dominated by mixed-broadleaf forests. D’Urville and Arapawa Islands are exceptions in this regard. Nationally important tracts of lowland forest are located in the middle Pelorus, Tennyson Inlet - Nydia Bay, and on D’Urville Island due to their large size, intactness and uninterrupted sequences. Intact vegetation sequences from seafloor to ridgetops elsewhere in the Sounds are also nationally important because of their rarity. 4. Communities and Habitats The area provides vital habitat important for the survival of a number of endemic and/or nationally threatened species, including: giant land snails (Powelliphanta ‘bicolor’, P. ‘consobrina’ and P. ‘obscura’); land snail (Rhytida ‘stephenensis’); ngaio weevil, Cook Strait giant weta; Cook Strait click beetle; flax weevil; several species of large beetles and native slugs; Cook Strait and Brothers Island tuatara; striped gecko; Marlborough green gecko; Duvaucels gecko; speckled skink; Hamilton’s frog; Maud Island frog; king shag; Hectors dolphin; Kirkianella “Cook Strait”; titirangi; Cooks scurvy grass; Cook Strait bristle tussock; pygmy button; Mt Stokes cushion daisy and carrot; Richmond Range cushion daisy, muttonbird groundsel; Hebe rigidula (including the D’Urville mineral belt hebe) and several other mineral belt species; Stephens Island hebe; Cook Strait mahoe; bamboo tussock; fierce lancewood; Pimelea tomentosa; Teucridium parvifolium; Scutellaria novae-zelandiae; Poranthera microphylla; Brachyglottis traversii; Brachygl ottis ‘Richmond’; Ouris ia ‘Richmond’. Habitats associated with nationally rare and endangered species include: predator free habitats (for species such as kaka, kakariki, tuatara, Hamilton’s frog, little spotted kiwi, South Island saddleback); and tupeia mistletoe riparian and alluvial communities, especially in the Pelorus catchment; maritime communities (for species such as King Shag, Kirkianella, bristle tussock, and fierce lancewood); coastal vegetation (for species such as large-leaved milktree and coastal sand spurge); and bird islands (for species such as Cooks scurvy grass and mutton bird groundsel). Islands which lack one or more introduced mammalian pests are nationally rare. The area provides very important habitat for millions of seabirds including several species of prion, shearwater, petrel and shags. The area is nationally important for its coastal black beech/hard beech forests which are rare throughout the rest of New Zealand. The area is covered in significant mixed broad-leaved forests of tawa, kohekohe, pukatea, nikau and karaka. These lowland and coastal forests are notable for their profusion of epiphytes, lianes, ferns and understorey species. App Two - 7