Australian Animals
Many Australian animals are unique to Australia. In fact more than 80% of our plants, mammals, reptiles and frogs are unique and are found nowhere else in the world. We have more than 378 mammal species, 828 bird species, 4,000 fish species, 300 species of lizards, 140 snake species, two crocodile species and around 50 types of marine mammal. We don’t have any large predatory animals, the only one being the Dingo, or wild dog, Numbats, Quolls and Tasmanian Devil, and none of these apart from the Dingo are bigger than a domestic house cat. The Australian Museum is a great place to discover current and extinct animals of Australia.
Over the years as I traveled and lived in every State in our great country and I have also had the privilege of seeing firsthand many of our unique Australian species. I am slowly putting together pages for my favourites, such as:
- Honey Ants – Camponotus inflatus
- Witchetty Grubs – Endoxyla leucomochla
- Shield Shrimps – Triops australiensis
- Marsupial Mole – Notoryctes typhlops
- Mulgara – Dasycercus cristicauda
- Greater Bilby – Macrotis lagotis
- Spinifex Hopping Mouse – Notomys alexis
- Thorny or Mountain Devil – Moloch horridus
- Bush Turkey or Australian Bustard – Ardeotis australis
- Tasmanian Devil – Sarcophilus harrisii
- Platypus – Ornithorhynchus anatinus