Virgil Lesane:

Australia’s Wildlife
 Table on Contents:

1. Title Page
2. Table of Contents
3. Intro, Pre-Australia
4. Mammals,
5. Bird, Reptilians
6. Reptilians, Amphibians, Fish
7. Bibliograhphy
Virgil Lesane
Professor Harris
Geography 200
Final Research Paper
10 May 2019

Australia has a rich history in both geologic and climatic events helped to make

Australia's wild life or fauna so unique. Australia was once part of the southern supercontinent

Gondwana, which also included South America, Africa, India and Antarctica. Gondwana began

to break up 140 million years ago; 50 million years ago Australia separated from Antarctica and

was relatively isolated until the collision of the Indo-Australian Plate with Asia in the Miocene

era 5.3 MYA. The establishment and evolution of the present-day fauna was apparently shaped

by the unique climate and the geology of the continent. As Australia drifted, it was, to some

extent, isolated from the effects of global climate change. The unique fauna that originated in

Gondwana, such as the marsupials, survived and adapted in Australia.

After the Miocene (1st sub-division of the Neogene),the fauna of Asian origin were able

to establish themselves in Australia. The Wallace Line had a line separating the zoogeographical

regions of Asia and Australasia that marks the tectonic boundary between the Eurasian and Indo-

Australian plates. This continental boundary prevented the formation of land bridges and resulted

in a distinct zoological distribution, with limited overlap, of most Asian and Australian fauna, in

which distinctly created these wild lifes. Following the emergence of the circumpolar current in

the mid-Oligocene era , the Australian climate became increasingly wet and tropical that it had

gave a rise to a diverse group of unique organisms and thus they have adapated as such.
 A group of mammals have a unique features call marsupials, that raise their young in

a pouch, including the  possums and others. Australia is home to two of the five known extant

species of monotremes and has numerous venomous species, which include:

the platypus, spiders, scorpions, octopus, jellyfish, molluscs, stonefish, and stingrays.

Two of the five living species of monotreme occur in Australia: the platypus and the

short-beaked echidna. The monotremes differ from other mammals in their methods of

reproduction; in particular, they lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. The platypus is a

venomous, egg-laying, duck-billed amphibious mammal and is considered to be one of the

strangest creatures in the animal kingdom.

Australia has the world's largest and most diverse range of marsupials. Marsupials are

characterised by the presence of a pouch in which they rear their young. The carnivorous

marsupials are represented by two surviving families. The Tasmanian tiger was the largest

Dasyuromorphia(wild cats) and the last living specimen of the family died in captivity in 1936.

The world's largest surviving carnivorous marsupial is the Tasmanian devil; it is the size of a

small dog and can hunt, although it is mainly a scavenger. It became extinct on the mainland

some 600 years ago, and is now found only in Tasmania. There are four species of quoll, or

"native cat", all of which are threatened species. The first placental mammal introduced to

Australia was the dingo. There are fossil evidence claimed that people from the north brought the

dingo to Australia about 5000 years ago. When Europeans settled Australia they intentionally

released many species into the wild including the red fox, brown hare, and the European rabbit to

fulfill their habitats

 Australia and its territories are home to around 800 species of bird. Today, nearly 45% of

these are endemic to Australia. Bird such as flightless ratite s(the emu and southern

cassowary), megapodes (the malleefowl and Australian brush-turkey) and a huge group of

endemic parrots, order Psittaciformes. Australian parrots comprise a sixth of the world's parrots,

including many cockatoos and galahs. The kookaburra is the largest species of

the kingfisher family, It has a similar sound of echoes of human.

Australia has four families of native frogs and one introduced toad, the cane toad. In 1935

the cane toad was introduced to Australia in a failed attempt to control pests in sugarcane crops.

It has since become a devastating pest, spreading across northern Australia. As well as

competing with native insectivores for food, the cane toad produces a venom that is toxic to

native fauna, as well as to humans. The 18 species from two genera of the Microhylidae ( narrow

mouthed frogs) frogs are restricted to the rainforests of northern Australia and nearby habitats.

The smallest species, the scanty frog, is from this family. There is a single species from the

world's dominant frog group, family Ranida (the Australian wood frog), which only occurs in the

Queensland rainforests.

Australia has two species of crocodile. The saltwater crocodile is the largest living

crocodile species; reaching over 22 ft and weighing over 2,200 lbs. They live on the coast and in

the freshwater rivers and wetlands of northern Australia, and they are farmed for their meat and

leather. Freshwater crocodiles, found only in northern Australia, are not considered dangerous to

humans. The Australian coast is made up of six species of sea turtle: the flatback, green

sea, hawksbill, olive ridley, loggerhead and the leatherback sea turtles; they all are protected in

Australian waters. There are 35 species of Australian freshwater turtles from eight genera of the
family. The pig-nosed turtle is the only Australian turtle not of that family. Australia is the only

continent without any living species of land tortoise.

Australia is the only continent where venomous snakes outnumber their non-venomous

cousins.[103] Australian snakes belong to seven families. Of these, the most venomous

species, including the fierce snake, eastern brown snake,[105] taipan and eastern tiger snake are

from the family Elapida (venomous snakes). Of the 200 species of elapid, 86 are found only in

Australia.

More than 5000 species of fish inhabit Australia's waters. One of the smallest freshwater

fish, peculiar to the southwest of Western Australia, is the salamanderfish, which can survive

desiccation in the dry season by burrowing into mud. 70% of Australia's freshwater fish have

affinities with tropical Indo-Pacific marine species that have adapted to freshwater. These

species include freshwater lampreys, herrings, catfish, rainbowfish, and some 50 species of

gudgeon, including the sleepy cod. Native freshwater game fish include the barramundi. Murray

cod, and golden perch. Two species of endangered freshwater shark are found in the Northern

Territory.
 Bibliogarphy

A. (2014). Wildlife. Retrieved May 10, 2019, from https://www.australianwildlife.org/wildlife/

N. (2019). Native Australian Animals. Retrieved May 10, 2019, from

https://nomadsworld.com/australian-animals/

Who is Animals Austraila? (2018). Retrieved May 10, 2019, from https://animalsaustralia.org/about/

Wildlife of Australia. (2019). Retrieved May 8, 2019, from

https://www.learnaboutwildlife.com/wildlifeAustralia.htm