History UsefulNotes / AustralianWildlife

* [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Platypus.jpg Platypus.]] Famous the world over for looking like a real MixAndMatchCritter: a duck-like bill (with built-in electric field sensors, yet) used to look for shellfish and other prey in the mud, duck-like feet, a furred body resembling an otter's, and a tail like a beaver's. Indeed, when news of the platypus first reached Europe, [[PuzzlingPlatypus scientists believed it was naught but an elaborate hoax created by taxidermists sewing parts from different animals together]]. The real kicker is that it's only one of ''two'' (or five, counting individual echidna species) living mammals that ''lay eggs''. The male of the species also has a spur on its hind legs that delivers a potent neurotoxin. Presumably used to assert dominance over other males during the breeding season, it won't kill a human but will cause excruciating pain that can last for a long time, and can recur up to a year later. They also [[https://www.science.org.au/curious/platypus have ten sex chromosomes]].[[note]]For reference, every other known form of life that has anything resembling sex chromosomes have between one and four of them, and most of the ones that have more than two are plants. ''Rare'' plants.[[/note]] And [[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/glowing-platypus glow under blacklight]]. The platypus also appears on the Australian 20 cent coin.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu Emu.]] The second largest bird in the world next to the ostrich, they are greyish-brown and flightless with very tasty meat. They're not particularly aggressive unless you mess with their eggs or hatchlings, but they have been known to kill people who do mess with them with a single kick (one Australian curse is "may your chooks turn into emus and kick your dunny (outhouse) door down"). Unusually, it is the female that develops breeding colours, fights for dominance, and displays and courts the males for attention. The males incubate the eggs alone, and may go for as long as eight weeks without leaving the nest for food or water. They appear on the Australian 50 cent coin, alongside the kangaroo. They also eat rocks, although their more prominent tendency to eat farmers' crops led to [[UsefulNotes/TheEmuWar the Australian government declaring war on them]]. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer The emus won.]] Oh, and they lay very, very pretty [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ea/13/7c/ea137c3e096e75c8bc7758ddbb419fb8.png eggs.]] In fact, several South East Myth/AboriginalAustralianMyths claim that the sun was made by throwing an emu egg at the sky. Wonder what a ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLIfeBirds Genyornis]]'' egg would end up as...
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_cassowary Cassowary.]] Very similar to the emu, except it dwells in rainforests instead of open plains, it has a casque (a hard, bony crest) and blue and red wattles on its head, and its feathers are black. It is also extremely, violently territorial, and their territory will usually be surrounded with signs warning you to stay the hell away. Much like the Kangaroo and Emu, known for being able to kick your stomach out through your nose.[[note]]Okay, slight exaggeration. But they have ''very'' powerful legs, and you probably have a very weak, fleshy tummy. Just don't ignore those signs, okay?[[/note]]. Cassowaries have more dangerous kicks than emus or kangaroos, because one of their claws on their foot is especially sharp and can slit open throats and bellies with ease. Remember the velociraptors in ''Film/JurassicPark''? Same thing. Luckly for you, they are primarily frugivorous (they eat fruit and are the main seed dispersers of the Australian rainforests. They won't turn down the occasional bug or small animal though). Like Emus, the males incubate and rear the chicks. Oddly enough, [[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314051620_History_of_agriculture_in_Papua_New_Guinea they're also one of the few animals to have been domesticated by indigenous peoples]].

** Other methods include blowing them up with air pumps[[note]]may cause memories of Franchise/{{Shrek}} blowing up the toad in the [[WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}} movie of the same name]] for non-Australians reading this article or tourists who get to see the activity[[/note]], feeding them paracetamol (apparently it swells their insides) and running them over with any vehicle to hand.

** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epaulette_shark The Epaulette Shark]], a small and harmless shark with rather pretty markings...that is able to live on land for up to three hours and use its fins to walk -- and adaptation to survive low tide in the shallow coral reefs it inhabits. Of course Australia has a shark that can walk on land.

** Australian Cods: Despite their name, the assorted species of fish called "cod" in Australia are actually part of a separate ''order'' from the true cods of the northern hemisphere; the Australian "cod" are part of the family of the temperate perches. The most well-known and largest is the ''Murray Cod''; apex predator of the Murray–Darling Basin water system, and Australia's biggest freshwater fish, with the largest specimen ever recorded being nearly two meters long. To this day, you can visit old pubs throughout the Basin region and see the taxidermied heads of giant cod on the walls. They were massively overfished during the early 1800s and ever since have become one of the more tightly protected fish in terms of regulation.
** Golden Perch: Most commonly called "yellowbellies", due to their distinct yellow underside. Arguably one of the most important angling fishes in Australian freshwater, due to their wide range and strong numbers.
** Australian Lungfish: One of only six species of these primordial air-breathing fishes to still survive in the world today.

Interesting note: perhaps due to the beauty and strangeness of native Australian wildlife and plants, Australia has a very large population of environmental activists. The late Creator/SteveIrwin and his family are prominent environmentalists who use their shows and zoo to promote the protection of wildlife the world over. [[note]]...Until he was stabbed to death by the very wildlife he was trying to save (to be fair, it was accidental: he startled a stingray, resulting in a ''very'' [[MillionToOneChance unlucky]] [[CriticalHit one-shot to the chest]]), [[HighPressureBlood the footage of which]] emerged onto the internet [[StreisandEffect despite his wife thinking she destroyed the footage]]. But his death created an immense surge of pro-environmental activity that continues to this day.[[/note]]

** [[http://australianmuseum.net.au/image/Shingleback-Tiliqua-rugosa/ Shingleback]] A member of the blue-tongue's family and the bulkiest of them all, though you'd be hard-pressed to recognize the relationship, due to them being covered in bony armor plating that, in some species, makes them look a lot like a walking pine cone. Also known colloquially as sleepy lizards. They also give birth to live young and form pair bonds during the mating season.

** [[http://www.virginmedia.com/images/inland-taipan-430.jpg Inland Taipan]] (aka Fierce Snake)

** People who ''aren't'' drunk use cricket bats. They're also good for hockey practice.

* Indian Mynah birds - brown feathers, yellow beaks. Aggressively territorial, these birds drive native birds out of their habitats by ganging up and chasing them. Distinct from Noisy Miners, which are grey, native, and a ''little'' calmer in disposition.

* [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Short-beaked_Echidna_Tasmania.jpg Echidna.]] The other monotremes (egg-laying mammals), one of which (short-beaked) is native to Australia, with the other three living on nearby New Guinea. They are [[CallASmeerpARabbit sometimes called spiny anteaters]] for the long spines on their bodies and their primary source of food. [[BreadEggsMilkSquick They also have four-headed penises.]] One appears on the Australian 5 cent coin. [[note]]One echidna, that is.[[/note]]

* There are also many bat species, among them [[http://iskrambol.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/flying-fox.jpg the largest in the world]]. It's worth noting that if you live in Sydney (or any of the nearby suburbs), every night you'll see thousands the flying foxes overhead, going to roost somewhere. They always move together but there are so many that the whole event usually lasts upwards of three hours, and it's a pretty phenomenal sight.

* Dolphins occur more or less all around Australia but there are two places (Monkey Mia on the west coast and Tangalooma in Queensland) are famous for the dolphins coming right up to shore where they can be hand fed.

* [[http://www.rogerswebsite.com/Australia/110%20-%20Little%20girl%20hand%20feeds%20a%20wallaby.jpg Wallabies]] and [[http://www.theroopouch.com/images/animals/wallaroo6.jpg Wallaroos.]] The smaller cousins of the kangaroo. Same basic body shape as the kangaroo but smaller, and some have a greater variety of colourations.

** The strangest thing that ''is'' true about the koala is that its brain is far smaller then its cranial cavity, as if it somehow shrank during its evolution. Apparently its cerebrum (the part of the brain used for higher thinking) resembles two shriveled walnut halves on top of its brain stem. They neither touch each other or the walls of the skull.

* [[http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/files/wombat_212.jpg Wombat.]] The larger, ground-dwelling cousin of the koala. They're very shy and dig burrows. The wombat's main method of defense is to run into its burrow and plug the entrance up with its ass, which has tough, thick, skin to provide protection. Once again, watch out for the claws. Then again, ''most'' wombats are shy. The few that aren't are great for home security, as they love to chase after you and hack your legs off, and as noted they are very fast. It should also be noted, these things are '''tough'''; hit a wombat with a car at 80km/h and chances are your car will be stuffed and the wombat will pick itself up, shake its head and waddle off. They are also surprisingly fast when need be, despite their roly-poly build. They can actually even be deadly. There are many cases of wombats being chased into their burrows by hunting dogs, only to turn around once the dog enters its lair and kill it by ''crushing it to death'' against the wall of its burrow. Yikes.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tasdevil_large.jpg Tasmanian Devil.]] Made famous by the WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes character of the same name, but the fictional one bears no relation save the name and prodigious noise they make. As their name suggests, restricted to the island of Tasmania. The current population is threatened by [[BodyHorror Devil facial tumour disease]], essentially a contagious cancer which spreads due to the fact that Devils bite each others faces when fighting one another. They are however developing a resistance to it as a few individuals have been discovered that have at least a partial immunity to the disease. They also have the most powerful bite relative to their size of any mammal in the animal kingdom, capable of biting through metal traps.
* [[http://www.ozanimals.com/image/albums/australia/Mammal/W-HenryBurrell-Thylacine.jpg Thylacine.]] Also known as the Tasmanian (Tassie) tiger or Tasmanian wolf. Carnivorous marsupial that was hunted near to extinction in the early 20th Century and the last known specimen died in Hobart Zoo in 1936. While officially declared extinct there persist rumours of sightings in the mountains of central Tasmania and remains part of Australian folk lore because of it. They were notable for being able to open their jaws as wide as a snake's (about 120 degrees), which is just as disturbing as it sounds.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu Emu.]] The second largest bird in the world (next to the ostrich), they are greyish-brown and flightless with very tasty meat. They're not particularly aggressive unless you mess with their eggs or hatchlings, but they have been known to kill people who do mess with them with a single kick (one Australian curse is "may your chooks turn into emus and kick your dunny (outhouse) door down"). Unusually, it is the female that develops breeding colours, fights for dominance, and displays and courts the males for attention. The males incubate the eggs alone, and may go for as long as eight weeks without leaving the nest for food or water. They appear on the Australian 50 cent coin, alongside the kangaroo. They also eat rocks, although their more prominent tendency to eat farmers' crops led to [[UsefulNotes/TheEmuWar the Australian government declaring war on them]]. [[ViolationOfCommonSense The emus won.]] Oh, and they lay very, very pretty [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ea/13/7c/ea137c3e096e75c8bc7758ddbb419fb8.png eggs.]] In fact, several South East Myth/AboriginalAustralianMyths claim that the sun was made by throwing an emu egg at the sky. Wonder what a ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLIfeBirds Genyornis]]'' egg would end up as...

* [[http://www.richard-seaman.com/Wallpaper/Nature/Birds/Swimmers/BlackSwan.jpg Black Swans]]. Like [[PaletteSwap regular swans]] but... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin black]]. Best known for its role in the field of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falsifiability falsifiability]]. The official bird of Western Australia, appearing on the states flag and having a river named after it (of course, it's just called the Swan River). Considered by many Australians to be the embodiment of [[DarkIsEvil pure evil]], although still less aggressive than their [[LightIsNotGood white cousins]] (which also live in Australia).

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedge-tailed_Eagle Wedge-Tailed Eagle]]. Perhaps the only eagle in the world that makes the American Bald Eagle look like a pansy, the 'wedgie' is named for its distinctive wedge-shaped tail. Known for scavenging roadkill on some of the Outback's long, straight roadways, where these birds gorge on the easy meal and become so heavy they need to take off into the wind, which can set them up for head-on collisions with road-trains (think a semi-truck with upwards of a dozen trailers on it). The results are '''not''' pretty. They are the largest birds of prey in Australia, with wingspans approaching ''three bloody metres'' - large enough for them to fly off with newborn lambs and, so the urban legends say, the occasional unguarded child as well. They're also the only bird in the world that's been known to attack ''hang gliders and paragliders'' who they feel are intruding on their territory, ripping up the fabric of the glider with their talons, which would be enough to put anyone off the sport for life, and they've also been known to attack drones used for mining survey operations. The sheep-stealing trick means farmers have to shoot them to protect their flocks, so wedgies are currently just the wrong side of endangered. Which is a shame, because they are absolutely ''magnificent''. Truly the kings of the Aussie sky.

* Here's two right off the bat that might've contributed the [[BannedInChina banning]] of ''two '''WesternAnimation/PeppaPig''' episodes''! [[BlatantLies Have fun]]!

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Gippsland_earthworm Giant Gippsland Earthworm]]. It's not really an insect or an arachnid, but there wasn't a section about worms. The Giant Gippsland Earthworm (''Megascolides australis'') is giant earthworm from Gippsland, in Victoria. They average about 1m (over 3 feet) in length but big ones can be 3m (nearly 10 feet) long. They can also make themselves longer or shorter, because they're worms. Unlike many Australian creatures they're not dangerous. They just do worm stuff. But they do it on a large scale.

* The blackberry, oh ''god'' the blackberry. Tell any Victorian farmer that it is a beautiful plant that should be protected, farmed and loved, and he will either viciously insult you, your mother, and your grandmother or kick your ass (it is a good idea to wear a suit of armor, as you ''will'' need it). Or both.

** One advert a while back features cane toads being used as golf balls by drunken Queenslanders, hitting them over the New South Wales border fence, and promptly being chased off by border patrol. [[WhatWereTheySellingAgain It was a beer ad, mind.]]

** Other methods include blowing them up with air pumps[[note]]may cause memories of Shrek blowing up the toad in the movie of the same name for non-Australians reading this article or tourists who get to see the activity[[/note]], feeding them paracetamol (apparently it swells their insides) and running them over with any vehicle to hand.

*** As one can see from the above, Australians ''detest them'', possibly more than rabbits, since rabbits are very much on the loser's end of the food chain, and can be eaten by everything under the sun, including humans. They're fairly harmless as individuals, non-aggressive and easy to kill, so because of their speed they even make fun target practice. With cane toads, the eggs, tadpoles and adults are ''all'' poisonous. [[KungFuProofMook Some of the native crows]] have learnt to flip them over and eat their non-toxic guts. Sadly, not enough. Cane Toads are fairly slow, so they aren't even much good for wasting bullets on target practice either. Don't even touch them with your bare skin.

* The [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-ringed_octopus Blue-Ringed Octopus.]] A small and somewhat adorable octopus that can change colour to camouflage itself. When threatened, pretty iridescent blue markings appear. However, those markings are extremely venomous, and has killed several people.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu Emu.]] The second largest bird in the world (next to the ostrich), they are greyish-brown and flightless with very tasty meat. They're not particularly aggressive unless you mess with their eggs or hatchlings, but they have been known to kill people who do mess with them with a single kick. Unusually, it is the female that develops breeding colours, fights for dominance, and displays and courts the males for attention. The males incubate the eggs alone, and may go for as long as eight weeks without leaving the nest for food or water. They appear on the Australian 50 cent coin, alongside the kangaroo. They also eat rocks, although their more prominent tendency to eat farmers' crops led to [[UsefulNotes/TheEmuWar the Australian government declaring war on them]]. [[ViolationOfCommonSense The emus won.]] Oh, and they lay very, very pretty [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ea/13/7c/ea137c3e096e75c8bc7758ddbb419fb8.png eggs.]] In fact, several South East Myth/AboriginalAustralianMyths claim that the sun was made by throwing an emu egg at the sky. Wonder what a ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLIfeBirds Genyornis]]'' egg would end up as...

* [[http://www.wildanimalsonline.com/birds/emu-dromaiusnovaehollandiae.jpg Emu.]] The second largest bird in the world (next to the ostrich), they are greyish-brown and flightless with very tasty meat. They're not particularly aggressive unless you mess with their eggs or hatchlings, but they have been known to kill people who do mess with them with a single kick. Unusually, it is the female that develops breeding colours, fights for dominance, and displays and courts the males for attention. The males incubate the eggs alone, and may go for as long as eight weeks without leaving the nest for food or water. They appear on the Australian 50 cent coin, alongside the kangaroo. They also eat rocks, although their more prominent tendency to eat farmers' crops led to [[UsefulNotes/TheEmuWar the Australian government declaring war on them]]. [[ViolationOfCommonSense The emus won.]] Oh, and they lay very, very pretty [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ea/13/7c/ea137c3e096e75c8bc7758ddbb419fb8.png eggs.]] In fact, several South East Myth/AboriginalAustralianMyths claim that the sun was made by throwing an emu egg at the sky. Wonder what a ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLIfeBirds Genyornis]]'' egg would end up as...

* [[http://www.daintreebirdwatching.com.au/images/cassowary-Robert%20South3.jpg Cassowary.]] Very similar to the emu, except it dwells in rainforests instead of open plains, it has a casque (a hard, bony crest) and blue and red wattles on its head, and its feathers are black. It is also extremely, violently territorial, and their territory will usually be surrounded with signs warning you to stay the hell away. Much like the Kangaroo and Emu, known for being able to kick your stomach out through your nose.[[note]]Okay, slight exaggeration. But they have ''very'' powerful legs, and you probably have a very weak, fleshy tummy. Just don't ignore those signs, okay?[[/note]]. Cassowaries have more dangerous kicks than emus or kangaroos, because one of their claws on their foot is especially sharp and can slit open throats and bellies with ease. Remember the velociraptors in ''Film/JurassicPark''? Same thing. Luckly for you, they are primarily frugivorous (they eat fruit and are the main seed dispersers of the Australian rainforests. They won't turn down the occasional bug or small animal though). Like Emus, the males incubate and rear the chicks. Oddly enough, [[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314051620_History_of_agriculture_in_Papua_New_Guinea they're also one of the few animals to have been domesticated by indigenous peoples]].