“Australia has a unique fauna because it was isolated from the rest of the world for very long periods. The Australian continent was surrounded by ocean for many millions of years, and so the plants and animals on that very large life-raft were able to evolve in distinctive ways.Jun 3, 2015
Since then, changes in land formation and climate, and the physical separation from the rest of the world, led to the unique flora and fauna that we know in Australia today. More than 80% of our plants, mammals, reptiles and frogs are unique to Australia and are found nowhere else in the world.
Australia's population has grown taller and taller over the past century, thanks to improved healthcare, nutrition and hygiene. A global height analysis of 200 countries quite literally measured the average growth of global populations from 1914 to 2014, with every country recording an increase in height.Jul 29, 2016
AustraliaIt's a bitter pill to swallow, but Australia has the worst mammal extinction rate in the world with a significant proportion of the surviving animals and plants listed as threatened.
There are lots of dangerous animals in the world. Some are dangerous because they spread disease, like mosquitoes that can carry malaria.
Yet Australia has the ones with the most deadly venom. The box jellyfish, marbled cone snail, blue-ringed octopus and stonefish are in the top ten most venomous animals ...
The blue-ringed octopus is one of the world’s most venomous sea creatures. YUSRAN ABDUL RAHMAN/Shutterstock. Even more impressive, Australia is home to 20 of the 25 most venomous snakes in the world, including all of the top 11. The world’s most venomous snake, the inland taipan is found nowhere else on Earth.
Other continents have several ancestors that may or may not have been venomous, but Australia’s 140 terrestrial and 30 marine snake species all evolved from one venomous ancestor.
Australia and Antarctica finally broke apart around 100 million years ago. Today, venomous snakes are found in all of these places – apart from Antarctica, where it is too cold for them to live. On the original combined land mass, it is thought that there was a population of ancestral snakes that was venomous.
Imagine a snake that uses venom to kill its prey. If all snakes had venom of the same potency, they would only be able to kill prey of a certain type or size. But there is usually a difference in the strength of venom each snake has. This variety is like how people are different heights, or have different sized feet.
Australia is home to a lot of cute animals, such as the koala, kangaroo, and wombat. But the island nation also has some unusual looking creatures that don’t reside anywhere else in the world. Keep reading to find out more about Australia’s weirdest animals, and where to spot them in the wild.
Their numbers are unfortunately declining due to habitat destruction — they inhabit temperate forest and woodlands. The increase in feral cats also doesn’t help their cause either. Frill-necked lizards can also change their colour like thorny devils, depending on their environment.
Along with platypuses, echidnas are the only monotremes in the world, which means they’re egg-laying mammals. They can surprisingly live up to 50 years, and have body temperatures of 32° Celsius (89° Fahrenheit). Echidnas have no teeth, so they survive on termites and ants. Other surprising facts about the spiky echidna is that it has an extra-long claw on its second toe, to groom its spines; it has vertical slits behind its eyes for ears; and the echidna is Australia’s most widespread native mammal.
Thorny devils live in central Australia. They have a fake second head on the back of their necks, which is meant to warn off predators. Thorny devils drink water by rubbing their spikes against dew-covered spinifex and grass. The moisture runs along grooves between the spikes and directly into their mouths.
There are currently seven bandicoot species surviving across Australia. They like to live in areas with dense vegetation, whether the woodlands, heath, or rainforests.
Bush stone-curlews are nocturnal birds that are found throughout mainland Australia. However, they’re most common in northern Australia. They’re characterised by their twig-like legs and their contact calls at night. Their high-pitched wailing is definitely eerie when initially heard by visitors.
Platypus. Found in eastern Australia, platypuses have thick brown fur, front webbed paws, and soft bills. Male platypuses have a venomous spur, located on the inside of their hind leg. They spend most of their day in a burrow, but are most active in the early morning and late evening.