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Tasmanian Devil The Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a carnivorous marsupial belonging to the family Dasyuridae. Once living across mainland Australia, it is now only found in Tasmania. It is about the size of a small dog, and following the… Continue Reading →

Spinifex Hopping Mouse The spinifex hopping mouse (Notomys alexis) inhabits the central and western Australian arid zones. It lives in spinifex-covered sand flats, sand dunes, loamy mulga, and melaleuca flats. We would mostly see them at night, bounding quickly across… Continue Reading →

Mountain Devil I had a Mountain Devil (Moloch horridus) as a pet when a child. I would find an ants nest and place him there and come back a couple of hours later to collect and take him home. Feeding rates have… Continue Reading →

Greater Bilby The Greater Bilby (Macrotis lagotis) plays an important role in traditional indigenous culture across the deserts of Central Australia. The large rabbit-like ears of the Greater Bilby (often just called Bilby) have also made it a famous Australian… Continue Reading →

Bush Turkey Bush Turkey or Australian bustard (Ardeotis australis) is a large ground bird living in grassland, woodland and open country across northern Australia but is increasingly rare or extinct in the south. I remember seeing large groups after good… Continue Reading →

Mulgara The Mulgara is an Australian native carnivorous marsupial and feeds on a relatively wide range of insects, scorpions, centipedes, locusts, spiders, rodents, and other small marsupials and reptiles. The Mulgara is also closely related to predators like the Tasmanian… Continue Reading →

Marsupial Mole The Southern Marsupial Mole’s scientific name is Notoryctes typhlops. Aboriginal people of the Western Desert call it Itjaritjari (great sounding name!).  It is not a ‘mole’, but a small, unusual pale gold marsupial with no visible eyes or ears. It has… Continue Reading →

Triops australiensis The first Triops australiensis was identified for me in 1965 by Dr Ride from the Perth Museum.  He was on a field trip to Yamarna, where I grew up, to study hopping mice, and we had heavy rains,… Continue Reading →

Witchetty Grubs Endoxyla leucomochla, Witchetty Grubs or Bardi as I knew them as a child in the Great Victoria Desert, was an occasional delicacy that women would dig up and roast on the fire. Witchetty may originate in Queensland, where… Continue Reading →

Honey Ants As a small child, I can remember being carried by the women on their shoulders in search of honey ants (Camponotus inflatus) and witchetty grubs. This was always a great time and we would generally be away for… Continue Reading →