Australia is a unique continent, including 6 climatic zones, each of which has its own natural conditions, fauna and flora: deserts, sea coast, tropical forests, mountain peaks. Most of the animals of Australia are endemic, living exclusively on its territory. This was due to the fact that for many millennia the mainland existed separately from other parts of the land.
Australia's Wealth
The Australian fauna includes about 400 species of various animals, among which 83-93% are unique. The main feature of the continent is the absence of mammal predators, the only representative of which is the dingo dog, which is the enemy of numerous sheep herds. Also in Australia there have never been ruminants.
Some species could not survive after the mainland was settled by aborigines (marsupial giants) and European settlers (Tasmanian tiger). To protect the environment and wildlife in the country created a large number of protected and protected areas.
The main categories of representatives of the animal kingdom of Australia:
- marsupials - 159 species;
- bats; 76;
- cetaceans - 44;
- birds - 800;
- rodents - 69;
- pinnipeds - 10;
- reptiles - 860;
- land predators - 3;
- amphibians - more than 5000.
Also introduced and introduced species live here: ungulates, hares and siren Dugong.
Animals of Australia: list by order and family
For the 5th continent, the following mammals are endemic:
- single pass: platypus and echidna;
- marsupial animals: Tasmanian devil, anteater, wombat, bandicoot, nambat, koala, posum and flying squirrels;
- kangaroo: gray, wallara, striped, wallaby, giant, mountain, red, etc .;
- birds: ostriches emu and cassowary, cockatoo, etc .;
- reptiles: giant monitor lizard, moloch lizard, blue-tongued skink, lizard lizard, marine and freshwater crocodiles, poisonous snakes, rare species of turtles and amphibians;
- amphibians: frogs, toads, tree frogs, etc.
Australia marsupials are unique species that arose during the evolution of live-bearing mammals, which occurred 120 million years ago. Due to its geographical isolation and favorable climate, this class of fauna is well preserved. A common feature is the presence of a bag that opens at the back or front, in which the cubs live after birth. The female with the help of special muscles injects milk into their mouth, because the babies themselves are not yet able to suck.
Other distinctive features are the special structure of the pelvic and lower jaw bones, which allows scientists to accurately identify the fossil bones and remains found.
Let us consider in more detail the most interesting and original animals of Australia, photos with names, description and interesting details.
Kangaroo
When a child or adult is asked what animals live in Australia, then the kangaroo will be the most popular answer. They are the brightest representatives of the fauna of the 5th continent and are depicted on the arms of the country.
Favorite habitats of gray eastern kangaroos ( lat. Macropus) are rain forests and lowlands with a lot of vegetation. The size of the males is 2-3 m in height, and the females are slightly smaller. Body color: gray-brown. The front paws are small in size — they are used to dig up roots and tubers of plants, the hind legs, the more developed ones — are designed for jumping, in which the animal is a champion: they can jump up to 9 m in length and 3 m in height. The tail for them plays the role of support and helps maintain balance during movement.
Kangaroos live in families (mobs), including a male leader (boomer) and several females, as well as young, growing males. Observing a clear hierarchy, such groups can live and eat in the neighborhood, however, the male establishes the order within the family. Life expectancy is on average up to 18 years.
The process of reproduction in a kangaroo is quite original: the baby is born like a worm up to 2.5 cm in size and weighs 1 g. Its main task is to crawl up to the mother’s bag, where he gets along the track in the wool, which the female moistens with her tongue. Having settled in a bag-nest, the baby grows, feeding on breast milk up to 1.5 years. Only then does he become independent and adult.
The main diet: succulent herbs and green parts of plants. Natural Enemy: Dingo Dog.
Marsupial Anteater
Nambath, or marsupial anteater, lives in the southwestern region of Australia in forests of eucalyptus and acacia trees. Body dimensions: up to 27 cm, tail - up to 17 cm. Males are usually larger than females, both have a beautiful fluffy tail.
This unique animal of Australia has an original language: its length is up to 10 cm, covered with a sticky secret, to which insects adhere. The main food of the anteater is termites and ants (about 20 thousand daily). He extracts them with the help of language from the most inaccessible places.
Anteaters live alone and only during the breeding season communicate with each other. They climb trees agilely, hiding from danger in hollows. After fertilization, after 2 weeks, the female gives birth to 2-4 cubs, about 1 cm in size, which hang on their maternal nipples for up to 4 months and feed on milk. They don’t have bags for babies, despite the name. They live with their mother for 9 months, the last of which are already in the hole.
Natural enemies: dingoes, foxes, birds of prey.
Tasmanian devil
The marsupial devil or devil is the largest predator that lives on the island of Tasmania. This is a marsupial animal that looks like a bear. He received his “devilish” nickname for indiscriminance in the diet: he eats rotting remains of the victims, which he eats with bones and skin. The sounds he makes are heard for hundreds of meters, they convey his aggression and are able to intimidate any person.
The beast is not very large (weight up to 12 kg), however, the strength of its teeth allows you to gnaw any bones of even large animals.
Other Australia marsupials with names
These mammals are unique representatives of the fauna of the fifth continent, which are united by a special way of breeding and growing cubs. To do this, they have a “bag” in which the babies live the first months of their lives, eating mother’s milk.
Bright representatives of marsupial wildlife in Australia:
- moles are the only marsupials on the mainland that lead an underground lifestyle, instead of ears they have special holes for picking up sounds, on the tip of the nose there is a horn shield that helps to dig holes;
- bandicuts - marsupial badgers, forming several varieties, small animals weighing up to 2 kg, feed on lizards, roots, larvae, insects, tree fruits;
- wombat - the largest animal in the world, leading a normal lifestyle, its weight reaches 45 kg, looks like a teddy bear with gray-brown hair; for protection against enemies (a dingo dog, etc.) on the back of the body has hardened skin (shield), which is able to strangle a predator by pressing it against the wall of a hole; these animals have a very efficient metabolism, and their excrement is excreted in cubic form.
Dingo
Wild dog, or dingo ( lat.Canis lupus dingo) - the only predator in Australia, living on the plains and sparsely forested areas. Outwardly resembles a small fawn-red dog. Dingo is also the only non-bowed animal in which full-fledged cubs are born.
Lifestyle - predominantly nocturnal, which takes place in the hunt for other animals or study the territory. Dingo live in groups, life expectancy of 5-10 years.
There are usually 4-6 puppies in a litter that are born after a pregnancy lasting up to 69 days. Food ration: rabbits, wallabies, reptiles or carrion.
Koalas
These cute animals take the 2nd place in the world popularity among animals of Australia (photo below) for their appearance and calmness. Koalas ( lat. Phascolarctos cinereus) are the only representatives of the same family, live on eucalyptus trees and feed on their leaves. They sleep almost all day (18-20 hours a day), clinging to the trunk or branches with their paws, slowly climbing at night by branches, chewing food and folding it in cheek pouches.
The name translates as “no water”, which implies the absence of it in the diet: they get moisture from the leaves themselves (daily rate - 1 kg of greenery). The size of the koala can reach 90 cm, weight - up to 15 kg, thick coat has a gray or brown-red hue. By nature they are friendly and trusting, and the cubs are calm about sitting in the arms of a person.
The gestation of the babies lasts 30-35 days, then 1-2 cubs weighing 5 g and a length of 15-18 mm are born, which are taken into the mother’s bag, where they live for another six months. The last month, the female feeds them with feces consisting of semi-digested leaves of eucalyptus. This gives kids the opportunity to get special bacteria that in the future will help him properly digest food.
Then the cub roams for several months with her mother, sitting on her back, and only at the age of one year becomes independent.
Echidna
This Australian animal is covered in spikes, which are modified keratin hairs. They help the animal to defend itself from enemies (dingoes, foxes and wild cats). Echidna ( lat. Tachyglossus aculeatus) can reach a length of 40 cm and weighs up to 6 kg, has an elongated muzzle. When meeting with a predator, she curls up and puts up spikes.
The main diet: ants and termites, which are obtained with a sticky tongue. During reproduction, it lays a single egg, hatched from which, the cub lives in a bag and receives milk from the mother’s special glands.
Platypus
Another original Australian waterfowl with an unusual appearance: a flat beak, an otter-like body, a beaver-like tail, and paws have membranes like ducks. The body length of this mammal is 30-40 cm, weight 2.4 kg, the fur has water-repellent properties, which allows the animal to live in water, while remaining dry.
Platypuses ( lat. Ornithorhynchus anatinus) feed on crustaceans, frogs, insects, snails, small fish and algae, which they find using a variety of receptors on the beak skin according to the principle of echolocation. Animals have toxic saliva, and in male platypus the hind legs are equipped with poisonous spurs, the injection of which can cause severe pain in people.
Females lay 2 eggs in a specially dug mink with a nest of leaves and grass. Cubs are selected from the shell with an egg tooth, which then falls off. They are blind and naked (size 2.5 cm), feed on the mother’s milk, which protrudes through the pores on her stomach, but there are no nipples. The eyes in babies open at almost 3 months of age.
Platypuses were almost completely exterminated at the beginning of the twentieth century due to the valuable fur from which fur coats were sewn. However, after the ban on hunting, their population was able to recover. The animal is a symbol of Australia and is depicted on one of the coins.
Cassowary
This largest flightless bird is a prime example of which animals live in Australia. Cassowaries live in tropical forests, but it is difficult to see them in nature: because of shyness, they hide in dense thickets.
The main feature of the appearance of the bird is a bone growth at the top of the head, the purpose of which scientists still have not been able to unravel. The body of the bird is covered with soft long feathers everywhere except for the neck and head brightly colored in blue-turquoise tones, from where the red “earrings” also hang.
The wings of the cassowary atrophied during evolution, but there are strong legs with 3 fingers equipped with claws up to 12 cm long. Thanks to such strong limbs, the bird is able to develop a running speed of up to 50 km / h.
The diet consists of small animals and fruits. Cassowaries lead a solitary lifestyle, finding a mate only for the mating period. After laying the eggs by the female, the male is engaged in hatching, who never leaves the nest until the chicks are hatched. The young appear quite viable and immediately begin to lead an active life, moving with their father in search of food. The family exists until the age of one year of chicks.
Emu
Another representative of the cassowary family is emu - a bird similar to an ostrich. His height reaches 1.8 m, weight - up to 55 kg. It differs from the African brothers in the hairy structure of feathers, which, due to their length, resemble a haystack. Typically ostrich features: a flattened beak and auricles. The plumage is mostly black-brown, the neck and head are black, and the eyes have an orange iris.
Emu habitat: continent Australia and the coast of Tasmania, loves shrubbery and grassy savannahs. They live alone, occasionally in groups of up to 5 birds. Running speed can reach up to 50 km / h, excellent vision allows you to notice enemies from afar and keep them close. A leg kick can result in a broken bone for a person.
Like the cassowary, the future “father” is engaged in hatching a nest of 7-8 blue eggs laid by a female for 2 months. Further development of the chicks also takes place under his vigilant supervision and care until 2 years of age.
Natural enemies: dingo, monitor lizards, foxes and people. However, emu breed well in captivity, so their number on farms in the United States, China, Peru and Australia reaches 1 million individuals. They are grown for the sake of delicious meat, beautiful feathers, fats for the cosmetics industry and leather for haberdashery.
Lizards, snakes and toads
In Australia, there are many poisonous snakes, representatives of the aspid family. Mostly they are small and feed on rodents, only some of them pose a threat to humans.
The lamellar lizard (lat. Chlamydosaurus kingii) belongs to the agam family, its main difference is a large bright fold of skin in the form of a collar, which the animal swells around its head in the form of a cloak in case of danger. Such a “cloak” serves to thermoregulate the body and attract attention during the mating season. The color of the lizard is yellow-brown or darker gray-black, the body size is 0.8-1 m, of which 2/3 is a long tail that is not able to regenerate.
They inhabit trees, going down only after rain, prey on arthropods, arachnids, and less often catch small mammals. Such lizards brought great fame to an interesting way of running on their hind legs. In captivity, these animals can live up to 20 years.
The variety of amphibian species reaches 112, which are represented by real frogs, pond and grass, tree frogs and whistlers, narrow and tailed frogs, etc.
One of the brightest unique representatives of amphibians in Australia is tree frogs of the genus Litoria, which are distinguished by a variety of species (more than 150), sizes (from 1.6 to 13.5 cm) and bright colors. Nature rewarded them with binocular vision and the ability to "stick" to the surface of tree branches with sticky Velcro on the legs.
Conclusion
The above descriptions of animals in Australia demonstrate the diversity and uniqueness of the fauna of the continent, because most of them do not live in the wild anywhere in the world.