Tag Australia

Claws of the Tasmanian Devil 

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The Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a marsupial mammal from Tasmania, Australia. It is a dasyurid.

It is the size of a small dog, but it is the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world. It grows to about 65 centimetres (26 inches) long. 

Similar to a hyena, its front legs are slightly longer than its back legs. Its jaws and teeth are similar to a hyena’s jaws – very strong and powerful, enabling it to crush bones and tear meat from its prey. It eats small kangaroos, wombats, possums, sheep, birds, fish, reptiles, vegetation, and carcasses (the bodies of dead animals).

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Emu head feathers

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What do the emu head feathers look like?

The Australian Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is a flightless bird in the Casuariidae family of ratites, and a relative of the Ostrich. It is the second tallest bird in the world, after the Ostrich.

The Emu has soft, shaggy feathers, that are mostly brown or flecked with black. In the red desert of Australia, the feathers have a reddish or red-bown colour. It does not fly, but it can run fast – and it flaps its wings as it runs.

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What is a koala corridor?

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What is a koala corridor? 

In Australia, koala populations are benefiting from two farming families who have partnered with Landcare Australia and the clothing brand Country Road since 2020 in The Biodiversity Project to restore farmlands and increase biodiversity in cotton-growing regions. 

Brother and sister farmers, John and Juanita Hamparsum, are continuing their father’s farm, Drayton, bought in the 1960s, and are revegetating 16 hectares along the Mooki River near Gunnedah as part of the Biodiversity Project.

The Hamparsum’s are also creating wildlife corridors, including a koala corridor on land and a fish passage in the river. The wildlife corridors enable a variety of native animals to travel across their habitat easily and safely. 

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New and rare species of spider found in Australia: Giant Trapdoor Spider

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A new and rare species of spider has been found in Australia. It is called the Giant Trapdoor Spider (Euoplos dignitas), an arachnid in the Idiopidae family of armoured trapdoor spiders. 

The Giant Trapdoor Spider has a small head, a shiny, smooth, armoured (plated carapace) thorax with 8 long hairy legs, and a large furry abdomen. The male is honey-red and the female is dark-brown. The male and female have two white bands on each leg, and a white band at the top of its carapace, near its head. 

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How does an Australian bird eat a poisonous Cane Toad?

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How does an Australian bird eat a poisonous Cane Toad?

In Australia, the poisonous Cane Toad (Bufo marinus) is not native to the country. It is an introduced, invasive pest living in tropical northern Australia that has rapidly spread due to the lack of predators. Animals that eat the warty amphibian die from the toxic secretions from large glands on the Cane Toad’s shoulder. The cardiac toxins can give all predators, such as snakes, goanna lizards, and even freshwater crocodiles, a deadly heart attack.

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Head of a Green Tree Python

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The Green Tree Python (Morelia viridis) is a non-venomous reptile in the Pythonidae family of python snakes. It is native to the tropical regions of northern Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. 

It is bright green with a slim body and a large head. It is arboreal, living in trees. It loops itself over a tree branch, making a coil with its head in the middle. 

The shape of a snake’s head can often indicate whether it is venomous or non-venomous. Non-venomous snakes generally have a spoon-shaped, rounded head. Some venomous snakes have a triangular head. The Green Tree Python is non-venomous with a rounded head.

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Highest levels of coral cover in the Great Barrier Reef in 36 years but the ecosystem remains vulnerable

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Scientists at the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences (AIMS) have stated that the coral cover in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is the highest ever recorded, since records began 36 years ago, but the ecosystem remains vulnerable. 

The Great Barrier Reef on the eastern coast of Australia is the world’s largest natural reef system of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands over 2,300 kilometres (1,400 miles) long. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 and labelled one of the seven natural wonders of the world in 1997. 

AIMS scientists have been monitoring the levels of coral coverage in the reef to determine its health. They publish their findings annually. 

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Which bird has a reputation for being the most dangerous bird in the world?

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Which bird has a reputation for being the most dangerous bird in the world?

The Cassowary has a reputation for being the most dangerous bird in the world.

The Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) is a large flightless bird in the Casuariidae family. It is native to north-eastern Australia, New Guinea, and Indonesia.

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What is the most venomous snake in the world?

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What is the most venomous snake in the world?

The most venomouns snake in the world is found only in central east Australia – in the arid outback. It is shy, and not aggressive. It lives in holes and burrows in the ground, to keep out of the severe heat. Therefore, it rarely comes in contact with humans. The victims have been herpetologists – people who study and keep snakes – and they survived because they were treated with anti-venom. 

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How does a Red-Necked Wallaby Drink?

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How does a Red-Necked Wallaby drink?

The Red-Necked Wallaby, also known as the Bennett’s Wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus rufogriseus), is a medium-sized macropod marsupial mammal. Macropod means big feet, and a marsupial mammal has a pouch for its baby. 

A group of wallabies is called a mob. It is generally solitary, but it will gather with a mob to feed. It is mainly nocturnal, feeding at night. It is an herbivore, feeding on grass, roots, leaves, and weeds.

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Macleay’s Spectre Stick Insect Baby

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The Paris Zoo is nurturing baby Macleay’s Spectre Stick Insects born in March 2022. They are in a separate terrarium to keep them safe. The baby Stick Insect is called a nymph.

The female Macleay’s Spectre Stick Insect breeds parthenogenically, meaning that she lays eggs that hatch without being fertilized. The female lays 100-1,200 eggs on the ground or on a plant. The eggs hatch after about 4 months into nymphs, which look like ants. The nymphs eat plants and grow into an adult stick insect. 

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Blacksaddle Filefish

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The Blacksaddle Filefish (Paraluteres prionurus) is a marine (saltwater) fish in the Monacahnthidae family of Leatherjackets. It is related to Pufferfish. It mimics the Valentin’s Sharpnose Puffer (Canthigaster valentini).

The Blacksaddle Filefish is greyish with distinctive black ‘saddles’ and a protruding nose. It has a yellow tail. It has a blue-grey head, and a white speckled body with blue-grey spots. It has four black stripes (called saddles) on its back. 

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What is the difference between the Australian Magpie and the Eurasian Magpie?

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What is the difference between the Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) and the Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica)?

The Australian Magpie is a bird in the Artamidae family of butcherbirds, whereas the Eurasian or European Magpie is a bird in the Corvidae family of crows. The Australian Magpie is an artamid and the Eurasian Magpie is a corvid. They are both passerine songbirds.

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