SEM observation revealed that the gastric mill of Nyctiphanes australis consists of paired cluster spines and paired lateral teeth, while the filter-press is absent. The morphology of the gastric mill was extremely constant; the numbers of both setiform processes of cluster spines and serrated spines of lateral teeth increased with increasing body length. The cluster spines of N. australis consisted of a single row of stout setiform processes but the lateral teeth comprised a large projection with small serrated spines. The cluster spines are symmetrical in setiform process distribution, however, the lateral teeth are asymmetrical in number of serrated spines.