Fauna of Australia

International Associated acts The fauna of Australia consists of a large variety of animals; some 46% of birds, 69% of mammals, 94% of amphibians, and 93% of reptiles that inhabit the continent are endemic to it.

[2]: 4  This high level of endemism can be attributed to the continent's long geographic isolation, tectonic stability, and the effects of a unique pattern of climate change on the soil and flora over geological time.

[2]: 8–9  To target threats to the survival of its fauna, Australia has passed wide-ranging federal and state legislation and established numerous protected areas.

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, with the exception of birds.

[22] The carnivorous marsupials — Dasyuromorphia — are represented by two surviving families: the Dasyuridae with 51 members, and the Myrmecobiidae with the numbat as its sole extant species.

Marsupials with two front teeth (diprotodont) on the lower jaw and syndactyly are classified in the order Diprotodontia, and further into the suborders Vombatiformes, Macropodiformes and Phalangerida.

The Potoroidae include the bettongs, potaroos and rat-kangaroos, small species that make nests and carry plant material with their tails.

[45] The musky rat-kangaroo is the smallest macropod and the only species that is quadrupedal not bipedal,[46] while the male red kangaroo is the largest, reaching a height of about 2 m and weighing up to 85 kg.

[citation needed] A million years ago, the rat entered Australia from New Guinea and evolved into seven species of Rattus, collectively called the "new endemics".

[64] Birds with a Gondwanan history include the flightless ratites (the emu and southern cassowary),[65] megapodes (the malleefowl and Australian brush-turkey),[66] and a huge group of endemic parrots, order Psittaciformes.

[80] The satin bowerbird has attracted the interest of evolutionary psychologists; it has a complex courtship ritual in which the male creates a bower filled with blue, shiny items to woo mates.

[81] Relatively recent colonists from Eurasia are swallows,[citation needed] larks,[82] thrushes,[83] cisticolas, sunbirds, and some raptors, including the large wedge-tailed eagle.

[95] The tree frogs, from family Hylidae,[96] are common in high rainfall areas on the north and east coasts;[97] there are 77 Australian species from three genera.

[citation needed] Thirty-three sea snakes from family Hydrophiidae inhabit Australia's northern waters; many are extremely venomous.

Australia has only 11 species from the world's most significant snake family Colubridae; none are endemic, and they are considered to be relatively recent arrivals from Asia.

[135][137] 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.

[144][145] Several exotic freshwater fish species, including brown, brook and rainbow trout, Atlantic and Chinook salmon, redfin perch, common carp, and mosquitofish, have been introduced to Australian waterways.

The common carp is strongly implicated in the dramatic loss in waterweed, decline of small native fish species and permanently elevated levels of turbidity in the Murray-Darling Basin of south west Australia.

[134] Groups of interest include the moray eels and squirrelfish,[148] as well as the pipefish and seahorses,[149] whose males incubate their partner's eggs in a specialised pouch.

[188] The crayfish genus Cherax includes the common yabby,[187] in addition to the farmed species marron and Queensland red claw.

A huge variety of marine invertebrates are found in Australian waters, with the Great Barrier Reef an important source of this diversity.

[192] Venomous invertebrates include the box jellyfish, the blue-ringed octopus,[193] and ten species of cone snail,[citation needed] which can cause respiratory failure and death in humans.

[187] Introduction of exotic fauna in Australia by design, accident and natural processes has led to a considerable number of invasive, feral and pest species which have flourished and now impact the environment adversely.

[200] Other invasive species include birds (Indian mynah), fish (common carp), insects (red imported fire ant), molluscs (Asian mussel).

Costly, laborious and time-consuming efforts at control of these species has met with little success and this continues to be a major problem area in the conservation of Australia's biodiversity.

[203] For at least 40,000 years, Australia's fauna played an integral role in the traditional lifestyles of Indigenous Australians, who relied upon many species as a source of food and skins.

Since European settlement, direct exploitation of native fauna, habitat destruction and the introduction of exotic predators and competitive herbivores has led to the extinction of some 27 mammal, 23 bird and 4 frog species.

[1] The federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 was created to meet Australia's obligations as a signatory to the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity.

In 1973, the federal government established the Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS), which coordinates research in the taxonomy, identification, classification and distribution of flora and fauna.

Of particular relevance to wildlife conservation, the report indicated that many processes — such as salinity, changing hydrological conditions, land clearing, fragmentation of ecosystems, poor management of the coastal environment, and invasive species — pose major problems for protecting Australia's biodiversity.

The red kangaroo is the largest extant macropod and is one of Australia's heraldic animals, appearing with the emu on the coat of arms of Australia . [ 1 ]
Evidence suggests that Australia was a part of the supercontinent Gondwana
Becoming extinct in 1936, the Tasmanian tiger was the largest carnivorous marsupial to have survived into modern times. [ 8 ]
The spotted quoll is mainland Australia's largest carnivorous marsupial and an endangered species . [ 20 ] [ 21 ]
The sugar glider
The koala does not normally need to drink, because it can obtain all of the moisture it needs by eating leaves.
The dingo was the first placental mammal introduced to Australia by humans, around 4000 years ago. [ 48 ] [ 49 ]
The dugong is an endangered species; the largest remaining population is found in Australian waters. [ 56 ] [ 57 ]
The emu is the second largest extant species of bird. It is a heraldic bird, appearing on the coat of arms of Australia .
A female gang-gang cockatoo
The eastern banjo frog is a common frog species across eastern Australia. [ 89 ]
The saltwater crocodile is the largest species of crocodile in the world. [ 102 ]
Blue-tongued lizards are amongst the largest species of skink .
There are 30 species of goanna in Australia. [ 124 ]
The Murray cod is Australia's largest wholly freshwater bony fish. [ 132 ]
The weedy sea dragon , a fish related to pipefish and seahorses , is found in the waters around southern Australia. [ 146 ]
The spotted wobbegong is the largest wobbegong shark, reaching a length of around 3 m [ 158 ]
There are 1,275 described species and subspecies of ant from Australia. [ 176 ] These green ants ( Oecophylla smaragdina ) are found in tropical Australia and build nests in leaves. [ 177 ]
The wolf spider , Lycosa godeffroyi , is common in many areas of Australia. In this family of spiders, the female carries her egg-sac.
A magnificent sea anemone on the Great Barrier Reef , with an ocellaris clownfish .
The poisonous cane toad
The grey nurse shark is critically endangered on the Australian east coast.