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Australian Animals

Mammals / Birds / Insects / Spiders / Reptiles / Sharks

Many animal species are native only to Australia. The country is known for its unusual mammals, called monotremes and marsupials. The monotremes include only the platypus and the echidna. Animals such as the kangaroo, koala and Tasmanian devil are marsupials. All mammals have fur or hair and suckle their young with milk from mammary glands.

	Mammals
Monotremes Egg-Laying Mammals	Marsupials Pouched Mammals	Placentals Common Mammals
Young hatch from an egg   Examples: (only two) Echidna Platypus	Young are born at an immature stage and grow inside the mother's pouch, called a marsupium   Examples: Kangaroo Tasmanian Devil Koala Wombat	Young are born at an advanced stage of development   Examples: Human Being Dog Rabbit Sheep

We also mention other species of animals found in Australia such as unique birds, insects, spiders, reptiles and sharks

MONOTREMES

Monotremes, or egg-laying mammals, are the most primitive group of mammals. Monotremes are more closely related than other mammals to reptiles. After the young hatch from eggs, they are fed milk through pores in the mother's skin. Australia and the neighboring island of New Guinea are the only places mono-tremes live. There are only two members of this mammal group, the echidna and the platypus. When the first platypus specimen was taken to Great Britain, it was so unusual that many scientists thought it was a hoax.

Platypus

Distinguishing features: velvety brownish fur on its back and grayish fur on its belly soft, rubbery bill webbed feet with claws	Other information: also called the duckbilled platypus usually lays two eggs that are stuck together searches for food with its supersensitive bill
Food: insects, worms, tadpoles and crustacea	Region: southern mainland and Tasmania
Habitat: burrows its nest into the banks of rivers and creeks

Echidna

Distinguishing features: 14 - 21 inches long & up to 17 lbs. flattened body covered with coarse hair and 2 inch sharp spines for protection long, slender snout long, sticky tongue for collecting food	Other information: sometimes called the spiny anteater two species only lays only one egg into a pouch in the mother's body when attacked , it curls up into a ball of prickly spines
Food: insects (ants and termites)	Region: throughout Australia
Habitat: hollow logs or piles of debris

Fun Fact: Survival Skills

The echidna can survive without food for up to a month

MARSUPIALS

The most famous Australian mammals are marsupials or pouched mannals. Their young are very immature at birth. They must crawl into the mother's pouch, formed by a fold of skin over the mammary glands. There they nurse and develop until they are able to live on their own. Koalas and kangaroos (including wallabies) are the world's best know marsupials.

Kangaroo

Distinguishing features: large, powerful hind legs and small front legs small, deer-like head with long ears that stand straight up long, thick, powerful tail used for balance and support largest are gray and red kangaroos; both are more than six feet and 200 pounds	Other information: 48 different-sized species, including wallabies about the size of a large lima bean at birth baby, called a joey, climbs into mother's pouch at birth and stays there more than four months red kangaroos can live to be 20 years old can leap up to 25 feet in one hop and travel up to 30 miles per hour if attacked, they deliver a savage kick with their hind legs
Food: herbs and grasses graze mostly in the late afternoons	Region: throughout Australia
Habitat: open forests and plains

Fun Fact: National Animal?

Australian's commonly consider the kangaroo their national animal. It appears on the national coat of arms.

Tasmanian Devil

Distinguishing features: about three feet long; about 14 inches high to shoulder thickset, with coarse, black and white fur huge, powerful jaws and teeth	Other information: lives alone, not in family groups its movement resembles the motion of a rocking horse nocturnal (active at night)
Food: rotting flesh, small birds and animals, and insects	Region: extinct from the mainland; now found only in Tasmania
Habitat: hollow logs, dense undergrowth or rocky caves builds nests of leaves and grass

Koala

Distinguishing features: 24-33 inches tall and 11-26 pounds thick gray fur, small eyes, a bright shiny nose, long toes and sharp claws no eyelids or tail about the size and weight of an American nickel when born	Other information: sleeps up to 20 hours per day and is usually nocturnal (active at night) very skilled tree climber not related to the bear family at all
Food: eats only a few types of eucalyptus tree leaves about two pounds of leaves per day	Region: southeastern Australia
Habitat: mainly arboreal (living in trees)

Fun Fact: How thirsty are you??

Koala means "no drink" in one Aboriginal language.

Wombat

Distinguishing features: long, course fur ranging from yellow-black to gray-brown looks a little bit like a badger about three feet long and up to 88 pounds	Other information: three known species, all in Australia nocturnal (active at night)
Food: grasses, roots, vegetables and leaves	Region: Tasmania and southern mainland
Habitat: burrows along tree roots and rocks

PLACENTALS

The most common type of mammal worldwide is the placental mammal. Unborn young grow inside the mother, attached to her by an umbilical cord and placenta. They are born alive, rather than as eggs. Few placental animals are native to Australia. The dingo, a species of wild dog, came from Asia thousands of years ago with the Aborigines. Later immigrants brought other placental mammals to Australia.

BIRDS

Australian birds include colorful parrots, magpies, pelicans, boobook owls, and brolgas (cranes). Descriptions of the emu, lyrebird and kookaburra are below.

Emu

Distinguishing features: thick, brownish-black or dull gray plumage flesh on head and neck is bluish; bill is short and black small wings and long, sturdy legs with three-toed feet can grow more than six feet tall	Other information: females lay 6-11 blue-green eggs; males make nests and hatch eggs cannot fly, but runs up to 40 miles per hour able to swim second largest bird in world after ostrich
Food: pasture grasses, seeds, fruit, and insects	Region: formerly inhabited the whole of Australia; now extinct in Tasmania
Habitat: open grasslands, semi-desert, scrublands and woodland refuges

Lyrebird

Distinguishing features: up to 20 inches long 30-inch tail reminiscent of a lyre (musical instrument) outermost tail feathers are two feet long with brown V-shaped notches long powerful legs with fowl-like feet	Other information: two species are unique to Australia lays one large egg mimics the calls of other birds and bush noises males display their plumage and long tail during courtship
Food: earthworms, snails, beetle larvae, centipedes	Region: southeastern Queensland to Victoria
Habitat: mountainous sclerophyll forests and subtropical rainforests normally roosts in tree branches

Kookaburra

Distinguishing features: relatively large head and srong beak brownish-gray feathers with short, blue-flecked wings	Other information: world's largest kingfisher also known as the laughing jackass because its call sounds like a laugh
Food: lizards,rodents, fish, young birds and insects kills snakes for food by taking them repeatedly to the top of a tree and dropping them	Region: eastern mainland Australia
Habitat: hollow logs in forests nests in tree holds, termite nests and riverbanks

INSECTS

There are about 80,000 species of insects in Australia. One of the most interesting is the large termite, found in the north. It is about the size of a big cockroach. Colonies of large termites build rock-like nests up to 20 feet high.

Mosquitoes are found in Australian tropical regions. Australians call them mozzies. They can be a nuisance along coastal waterways, especially at dusk in the summer. Some carry diseases such as malaria, but this is uncommon in Australia.

Blowflies breed in sheep and horse manure, cattle dung and pig waste products. Introduction of these animals has allowed the blowfly population to increase since ancient times. They thrive near animal grazing pastures.

Australia also has numerous cockroach species. Large (2") cockroaches are native to the sub-tropical and tropical regions of Australia. International shipping introduced smaller species. These now reside in most cities.

SPIDERS

Australia has about 2000 recognized species of spiders. The most dangerous are the redback and the funnelweb. The funnelweb is among the most venomous spiders in the world. It has been responsible for a number of human deaths. An antivenene is available, but it must be given quickly.

The redback spider's abdomen is marked with different colors, but mostly red, in the shape of an hourglass. Although some humans have died from its bite, an effective antivenene is available.

REPTILES

Australia also has many species of reptiles, including lizards, snakes and crocodiles. Some can be dangerous to humans, but the vast majority are harmless.

Lizards

The goanna, a monitor lizard, ranges in size from 18 inches to 6 feet. It has short legs with sharp claws and a long, forked tounge that it flicks in and out. Some species are arboreal (tree-dwelling). There is an Aboriginal story about their beautifully patterned skin.

The frill-necked lizard is a type of dragon lizard. It has an unusual frilly collar of skin that stands out around its neck when it is angry or frightened. It if cannot scare off potential enemies, it runs away at high speed on its long, hind legs.

Snakes

Australia has about 160 species of snakes. Some are among the most dangerous to humans. In fact, Australia is the only continent in which venomous species outnumber harmless ones. They include death-adders, copperheads, tiger snakes and red-bellied black snakes. One of the deadliest is the taipan, which lives in the northern part of the country. It may grow to 10 feet long. Its close relative, the brown snake, has the most toxic venom of any Australian species. Venom can either destroy the linings of blood vessels, cause blood to clot, or destroy red blood cells. It can also cause death by blocking the nerves that control the heart and lungs.

Many Australian snakes however, are harmless to humans. One is the carpet snake, or common python, patterned with black and brown. Another is the diamond back snake, greenish-black with yellow diamond-shaped markings. Pythons are non-venomous and kill their small prey by squeezing them until they cannot breathe. The largest is the rock python. The longest Australian python ever recorded was 23 feet.

Crocodiles

There are two species of crocodile in Australia: the estuarine, or saltwater, crocodile and the freshwater crocodile. Both are found only in tropical waters. Freshwater crocodiles are found only in billabongs and lagoons. They range from the Gulf of Carpentaria to northwestern Western Australia. They are harmless to humans, feeding only on small prey. They are rarely longer than nine feet.

The estuarine crocodile makes its home both in estuaries and upstream in large coastal rivers. It lives in all of northern Australia. These crocodiles feed mainly on small aquatic animals such as fish, crabs and water rats. They sometimes turn to larger prey such as cattle, horses or humans. They generally seize and drown their prey before eating it. The estuarine crocodile can reach a length of 23 feet and weigh 2200 pounds.

SHARKS

Sharks are found all around Australia's coastline. They have changed little in the last 200 million years. The bronze whaler and the common, or gray, whaler are large and dangerous sharks patrolling much of eastern Australia. The gray nurse, a relatively sluggish shark, preys on Australian salmon and other fish. People often blame it for trying to eat swimmers and divers. The gray whaler actually makes these attacks. The tiger shark is dark gray with darker stripes and blotches. It lives in tropical and sub-tropical waters.

The white pointer, also called the great white shark or white death, can be almost 40 feet long. It is perhaps the most dangerous shark of all. It is common in waters off southern Australia in summer and off Queensland in winter.

Fun Fact: Jaws in Oz?

The actual number of Australian shark fatalities in more than 150 years averages fewer than one per year. Almost all incidents take place in the summer