Marsupial Australian. Fauna of Australia - a list, characteristics and photos of representatives of the fauna of the mainland. Koala has fingerprints similar to human

Australia is home to most of the world's marsupials. Geographic and climatic feature, as well as a remote location from other continents, made this country perfect place for the accumulation of 200 thousand species of animals. Moreover, most of these animals are completely unique, since they cannot be found on any other continent.

Of course, the most popular animals in Australia are marsupials such as kangaroo, koala, wombat and many others. To understand how interesting and unique these animals are, you should get to know them better and consider their features.

Remembering Australia rare person can't imagine kangaroo. It is here that they can be found in huge numbers, and various kinds. On this "marsupial" continent, there are about 55 species of famous jumping animals. Adult kangaroos can weigh up to 70 kilograms. Despite this fact, they can develop great speed when moving by jumping.

Characteristic features for kangaroos:

1. Elongated large ears and a rather small muzzle.
2. A very muscular tail that acts as a rudder when moving by jumping.
3. Short front legs with well-developed motor skills.
4. Strong and massive hind legs.

It is worth noting that the kangaroo, despite its high growth and big weight, are born weighing only one gram and having a height of up to one centimeter. The female bears offspring for about a month, and carries a newborn kangaroo in a bag from 6 to 8 months. All this time, the baby feeds on mother's milk, gradually becoming more resilient and stronger. After some time, a small kangaroo may briefly crawl out of the mother's pouch, and then leave her forever.

In Australia, not only such interesting animals as Kangaroos live. Here you can meet a funny marsupial animal, which is also called a bear. This charming Wombat can reach a length of up to one meter and weigh about 45 kilograms. Tourists who come to Australia have great sympathy for this attractive animal, as it is very good-natured and clumsy.

Wombats eat only plant foods. In conditions wildlife the animal’s home is a hole dug by him up to 40 meters long. The body of the wombat is very compact, and its limbs are strong and short. He has very strong claws on his fingers so that he can dig a hole for himself. The wombat has a short tail and a large head with small eyes. This "bear" is good at contact with people. In Australia, this marsupial is a pet and is kept at home as well as cats and dogs in Russia.

In second place in popularity among marsupials in Australia is koala, following right behind the kangaroo. This animal strongly resembles little bear. He has a very soft and thick coat. Despite the outward clumsiness, koalas move through the trees with extraordinary ease thanks to their strong and sharp claws. The main diet of these marsupials is eucalyptus leaves, so they rarely move, preferring to rest on tree branches. Koalas can sleep 17-22 hours a day, and when they are awake, they are mostly in one place. Thus, they conserve their energy. It should be noted that the metabolism of koalas is very slow and its rate is almost two times lower than that of other mammals. Koalas live in the south and east of Australia, as these areas have a sufficient amount of moisture. By the way, eucalyptus leaves contain toxic substances, but the liver of this animal has long adapted to this.

A rather scary inhabitant of Australia is the marsupial tasmanian devil . This name was given to the animal thanks to the first inhabitants of this continent. The fact is that people were very frightened by his nightly cries, violent temper and sharp fangs, so they gave him such a name. The marsupial animal has a dark color and a squat dense body. It can be compared with a small bear or dog, as it is very similar to these animals. Now the Tasmanian devil lives mainly on the island of Tasmania. It is believed that they were driven out of Australia by the indigo dogs brought to the mainland. In general, this animal is an excellent cleaner of savannahs and local forests. It feeds on carrion, which in turn prevents the appearance of larvae in it that could infect other animals, as well as entire pastures of sheep and cows.

Another popular marsupial animal in Australia is, which lives mainly on east coast. This mammal can reach a length of 30-60 centimeters. It lives in trees and feeds on berries and leaves of trees and plants. The main activity of this animal occurs at night. fox kuzu has a rather funny appearance and attracts a lot of attention from tourists and local residents. Its main enemies are monitor lizards and birds of prey.

One of Australia's rarest marsupial carnivores is the thylacine, which is otherwise called. His character and habits are practically unknown to man, since it is extremely difficult to study him. At the beginning of the 20th century, he lived only on the island of Tasmania, but in the 40s he was exterminated by man, as he stole pets. Some residents claim to have seen a marsupial in present time. But this information has not yet been supported by facts.

The order of marsupials also includes opossums which are loved by both adults and children. These animals have a rather funny appearance, as their faces are sharp and light, and their tail is almost naked and very long. When opossums sense danger, they climb onto their mother's back, clinging to the fur with their claws. This animal prefers to eat mushrooms, mice, amphibians and cultivated plants such as cereals and corn. Such a love for cultivated plants greatly harms the gardens and fields of local residents.

Marsupials are very big group mammalian animals. They differ from other animals in a special way of reproduction and anatomy. These animals are common not only in Australia, but also in New Guinea, North and South America. But still in Australia there are a lot of completely unique species marsupials that cannot be found on any continent of the earth. It was here that marsupials found their home, from peaceful to aggressive species. For this reason, thousands of tourists come to Australia every year to meet unusual and unique animals.

Around 1500, the traveler Vicente Pinson brought a New World possum to the Spanish royal court and persuaded the king and queen to put their hand in the animal's bag. This was the first official acquaintance of Europe with animals, named marsupials for a bag-like formation on the stomach.

Cubs of marsupials are born underdeveloped, and their further development takes place in the bag.

However, not all marsupial species have a typical bag. A "finished" pocket-type bag is found in koalas, kangaroos, and large American opossums. In the comb-tailed mulgara mouse, skin folds play the role of a bag. Rat opossums and the marsupial anteater do not have a pouch at all. Newborns of these species are protected only by the mother's fur. The mother carries the grown up, but still feeding cubs on her back.

There are about 250 species of marsupial mammals - from marsupial mice 12 cm long to kangaroos reaching more than 2 m. The geographical distribution of marsupials is very uneven. They are found in Australia and nearby areas, where they are most numerous and diverse, as well as in North and South America.

Baby marsupials are born amazingly small. A newborn marsupial mouse is the size of a grain of rice, a koala is from a bumblebee. In most species, not all are developed at birth. internal organs, not fully formed hind limbs are bent and almost invisible. But this tiny creature has an excellent sense of smell, its mouth is wide open, and the front legs are well developed, and the cub is able to crawl quite briskly. Whether he survives depends on the grip, because he needs to crawl through the wool on his mother's belly a relatively long distance to the bag where the milk is waiting without help. Having found the nipple, the cub takes it into its mouth and holds on so tightly that it is very difficult to separate it without damage.

The methods of movement of marsupials are very different, which is not surprising with so many species. In most, the hind limbs are larger and stronger than the forelimbs. However, in arboreal and burrowing species, the hind and forelimbs are more proportionally developed. Koalas and opossums are excellent tree climbers thanks to their very mobile limbs with soft pads and sharp claws. This also applies to squirrel-like marsupial flying squirrels, which can fly (glide) using skin folds on the sides of the body.

Wombats and marsupial moles dig holes with powerful front paws with spatulate claws. Tearing the ground, the mole fills up the passage with its hind limbs. Sometimes it travels on the surface of the earth for short distances. A stocky, badger-sized wombat digs tunnels up to 30 m long.

Another thing is kangaroos, which jump on their hind legs, using their tail to maintain balance on high speed, or on all four limbs, and then the tail serves as an additional point of support. In open spaces, large kangaroos can move very quickly: their speed reaches 65 km / h, while the length of jumps is 7.5 m or more.

The Virginian opossum, when threatened, first hisses and then releases a foul-smelling liquid. But if these tricks do not scare off the attacker, the opossum falls into a kind of coma. He lies motionless, his tongue hanging out, his limbs becoming stiff and losing visible sensitivity, his breathing and heartbeat slow down so that they are almost imperceptible. This happens in moments of danger, but even in normal conditions the metabolism of opossums and other marsupials is less intense than that of placental mammals, the body temperature is lower, and the heart beats less frequently.

The first European colonists in Australia gave names to local animals after their resemblance to European ones. marsupial mouse, marsupial marten, the marsupial wolf looks and behaves like the corresponding placental mammals. Even scientists have followed this erroneous tradition. For example, Latin name koala translates as " marsupial bear”, but these charming little animals, although outwardly reminiscent of teddy bears, are still closer in their lifestyle and habits to leaf-eating forest monkeys. Marsupials in Australia occupy a variety of ecological niches - just like placental mammals elsewhere. Kangaroos and wallabies are large herbivores. Wombats and marsupial moles are burrowers. Tasmanian marsupial devils and nearly extinct marsupial wolves- predators. The most numerous insectivorous species, such as marsupial anteaters, fluffy and striped couscous.

The large red kangaroo dominates the wild herbivores of the Australian steppes. Females are smaller than males, which weigh more than 90 kg and arrange "fistfights" among themselves.

Tasmanian wolf, the largest marsupial predator, on the brink of extinction. In pursuit of prey, including kangaroos, he prevails not with speed, but with endurance.

Marsupial mice, or mice, feed on insects and other small animals. Thanks to the flattened head, they are able to climb into narrow cracks.

The giant marsupial marten, with its long body and short, tenacious legs, deftly climbs trees, but sometimes descends to the ground. It feeds on small animals and eggs, and hunts mainly at night.

The marsupial anteater feeds mainly on ants and termites, opening their dwellings with forepaws with powerful claws and thrusting a long muzzle with a sticky tongue inside.

The marsupial mole rarely appears on the surface. He digs the ground with his claws in search of worms and insects, which he finds by touch.

marsupials - ancient group mammals that appeared on Earth more than 60 million years ago. There are about 250 species of them, of which about 180 species live in Australia and its neighboring islands.

Only one kangaroo (modern and extinct) about 50 species are known.

Marsupials give birth to very weak and underdeveloped cubs, which are more like embryos than young animals. For example, in the largest living marsupial, the gray kangaroo (up to 3 m long and weighing up to 80 kg), the newborn kangaroo is very tiny - about 3 cm long, weighing up to 2 g.

However, this helpless creature is able to crawl across the mother's belly to the opening of the pouch, find the nipple and attach itself to it with its mouth. The kangaroo is weak and cannot suckle itself: milk is injected into his mouth by his mother with the help of contraction of a special muscle - the constrictor of the mammary gland.

How does a blind, deaf and so helpless kangaroo find its way to the bag? The well-known English naturalist Gerald Durrell tells about this: “Slowly and persistently, a pulsating pink ball makes its way through the thick fur of the mother. About 10 minutes passed from the birth of the baby to the moment when he reached the edge of the bag ... The creature managed to overcome such a rise - this in itself was a miracle, but he had to solve one more task ... area, and even overgrown with fur, to find the nipple. This search lasts up to 20 minutes. As soon as the cub grabs the nipple with his mouth, the latter immediately swells so that the kangaroo cub firmly sticks to it - so firmly that if you try to tear it away from the nipple, the delicate tissues of the kangaroo's mouth will be wounded into blood.

Undoubtedly, the cutest marsupial animal - koala, or marsupial bear, resembling a toy teddy bear. "Koala" in the language of the natives means "does not drink." This beast really almost never drinks, being content with the juice of eucalyptus leaves. The coat of the koala is silver-gray, thick, fluffy, the eyes are small, the ears are alert, the nose is flattened, there is no tail. Lives only on eucalyptus trees.

Koala's favorite food is the fresh leaves of almost twenty species of eucalyptus. Interestingly, even a hungry koala does not seek to replace this food with other plants. For a day, an adult koala eats up to 1 kg of eucalyptus leaves.

The koala gives birth to one, rarely two cubs, about 2 cm long and weighing about 5 g. The animal's bag opens back and has one pair of nipples. The cub stays in the pouch for 6-8 months.

Up to six months, the mother feeds him with milk, and then with a kind of gruel from half-digested eucalyptus. The mother burps this slurry regularly for a month. The baby is growing rapidly at this time. He leaves his mother's bag, climbs on her back. The mother patiently wears it and guards it. Only at the age of one year does the koala cub finally leave its mother. Lives up to 20 years. An adult animal can weigh up to 16 kg, up to 80 cm long.

Koala is a calm, affectionate, slow animal. In nature, he has almost no enemies. But due to human hunting for koalas, as well as droughts, frequent fires, diseases, this species has almost completely disappeared in Australia. Only since 1930, thanks to the care of zoologists and measures to protect the rare marsupial animal, koalas began to appear again in the forests of the eastern Australian coast.

The order of marsupials includes those inhabiting Australia, Central and " South America. North American opossum , growing from domestic cat, has short five-fingered paws, a sharp light-colored muzzle and an almost naked, long, muscular tail. In case of danger, opossum cubs quickly climb onto their mother's back, clinging to the wool and sticking with their tails to her tail, raised above her back with the end forward. This opossum eats invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, mice, fungi and many cultivated plants, especially corn and cereals, damaging fields and gardens. Hard-rooted, under a lying tree, and distant at a fairly large distance from the mole's hunting ground. The accommodation is very well designed. Inside the molehill is a round chamber, or nest, lined with moss, dry grass, soft roots. From the nest, a tunnel leads first down and then to the surface. This tunnel is used in case of danger to escape. Multi-meter passages branch off in different directions.

marsupial martens - a group of genera of marsupials of the family of carnivorous marsupials; There are two genera and several species. These mammals represent a transitional group from insectivorous marsupial mice to true marsupial predators ( marsupial devil). Outwardly, these animals are different (reminiscent of cats and mongooses), but they have a common origin. Body length 25–75 cm, tail covered with long hair, 20–35 cm. Brood pouch develops only during the breeding season (6–8 nipples). Marsupial martens are distinguished by their thin snout and long fluffy tail, their gray or reddish coat is covered with evenly spaced white spots. According to the legends of the Australian aborigines, white spots are traces of wounds received by the animal during the battle between Pilla and Indus, the mythical heroes of the South Australian tribes. Marsupial martens played a big role in sacral ceremonies.

These animals inhabit the sandy plains and hilly areas of Australia. Almost all of them are arboreal animals. The number of many species has been greatly reduced. The quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus), a representative of the genus of spotted marsupial martens, was ubiquitous before colonization, but disappeared in many places. The quoll is the size of a cat, with grey, black, or brown fur speckled with spots. It feeds on all kinds of small animals: birds, lizards, fish, mammals. The number of cubs born can reach 24. At the beginning of the 20th century, an epizootic spread among animals that almost destroyed this species, since then the animal has been under protection.

Most close-up view genus is actually spotted marsupial marten (Dasyurus maculates), which has a tail evenly covered with white spots. The length of her body is 75 cm, the tail is 35 cm. This animal is common in the forest regions of Eastern Australia and Tasmania. being ferocious and strong predator, the spotted marsupial marten leads mainly tree image life. She has a well developed thumb and compressed pads of the feet, sticking well to the branches of trees. This marten hunts mainly at night, feeds mainly on birds, bird eggs, small mammals, but also preys on young wallabies, tree possums. Cubs (4–6) are born in May.

Tasmanian devil - the largest marsupial predator on our planet. He very cruelly kills his victims, smells bad and squeals loudly when he is frightened - in general, it fully justifies its impartial name. The Tasmanian devil is about the size of a small dog, thick and stocky. It hunts at night, in this it is helped by black wool, which hides it well in the dark. Poorly sees motionless objects in the dark, but well - moving. It can kill even a small kangaroo (despite the fact that it hunts alone), but usually does not bother to do this, preferring to eat carrion, and it eats the whole prey, even wool and bones. This "scavenger" brings significant benefits to the ecosystem, because it leaves nothing for insects and thus prevents their exorbitant reproduction. Fat accumulates in a thick short tail - therefore, if its tail is thin, this most likely indicates that the animal is unhealthy or has been starving for a long time.

Previously, the devil was also found in Australia, but disappeared from there 400 years ago, even before the arrival of the first European settlers - dingoes and indigenous Australians survived from there. In Tasmania, many farmers also dreamed of eradicating this beast that ravages chicken coops and screams terribly at night. And the first colonists in Tasmania not only killed devils, but also ate and praised them, claiming that the taste of their meat resembled veal. As a result, the population was on the verge of extinction, which led to the adoption of the law for the protection of the Tasmanian devil in 1941.

At the end of the 20th century, an epidemic that suddenly broke out among marsupial devils reduced their numbers several times, but the Tasmanian government is taking all possible measures to mitigate the consequences of the disease, and the animals themselves are fighting it as best they can - they began to grow up and breed earlier all year round, which undoubtedly has a positive effect on the population size.

In Australia, the Tasmanian devil is a very popular animal. They like to depict him on money, coats of arms and everything else, they call him by his name sports teams. International fame was brought to him by the animated series produced by "Looney Tunes" about the Tasmanian devil Taz. In these cartoons, however, the character acts more like a person, but also from an animal, except big head, long fangs and short legs, taken character traits- Taz in the cartoon, like all Tasmanian devils, is noisy, gluttonous and ... modest.

The live Tasmanian devil can be seen, basically, only in Australia, because the export of these animals is now prohibited. However, in 2005, the Tasmanian government made an exception and presented two Tasmanian devils to Frederick, crown prince Denmark, and his wife Mary, a native of Tasmania, after the birth of their first son. So now two Tasmanian devils live in the Copenhagen Zoo.

Animal world Australia is unique, there are no monkeys, you will not meet ruminants and thick-skinned mammals. The continent is dominated by marsupials, the only representative of wild dogs in the world, a turtle with a long neck like a giraffe, and many other amazing creatures.

1. Echidna

This small animal, covered with needles, with a long proboscis nose, is the only representative of the echidna genus. Echidna is a marsupial, but only she and the platypus lay eggs, which makes them even more unique. It's amazing how an echidna bears offspring. The female lays a pea-sized egg and then places it in a pouch on her belly. How she does this is still unknown, after 10 days a cub hatches in a bag.

1. Kangaroo

Who doesn't know a kangaroo!? Everyone knows the kangaroo. An amazing Australian animal with large, muscular legs and a strong, long tail. Kangaroo is the only one large animal, which uses jumping as a way to get around. In nature, there are only 3 types of kangaroos: western and eastern gray, western red. Other species are wallabies, quoka and kangaroo rats - relatives.

1. Koala

The koala is a herbivorous marsupial related to wombats. For a long time she was considered a bear, but she has nothing to do with bears. The koala feeds exclusively on eucalyptus leaves and shoots; it has no competition in gastronomy. Other animals bypass the plant with a high content of toxic phenolic compounds and hydrocyanic acid. The unique microflora of the digestive tract allows the koala to neutralize poisons.

1. Wombat

The wombat belongs to the family of two-crested marsupials. Quite large, reaches a weight of 40 kg. Wombats live in burrows dug by them and feed on plant foods. The back of their body is extremely hard due to thick skin, bones and cartilage. Something like a shield, protects the animal when attacked from behind.

1. Dingo

The pedigree of the dingo is full of mysteries. According to recent research, this dog cannot be native to Australia. Scientists believe that the first settlers from Asia brought it to the continent about 4,000 years ago. Secondary feral dogs found in rich nature Australia has everything it needs to survive: plenty of game and no competition.

1. Platypus

After the discovery of platypuses, for another 27 years, scientists did not know which class the animals belonged to. But a German biologist discovered they had mammary glands, and platypuses were classified as mammals. Every year, platypuses go into hibernation, which lasts -10 days, and then begins mating season. By the way, the platypus beak is soft and covered with skin, and not hard as many believe.

1. Possum

Not to be confused with possums! One of the most interesting possums is the sugar flying or pygmy marsupial flying squirrel. Because of the habitat of the animal, it is also called the Australian marsupial flying squirrel. But the possum looks like a squirrel only in part.

1. bilby

He is rabbit bandicoot- another representative marsupials from sunny Australia. Bandicoots have become rare and are heavily guarded. They feed on insects and larvae, various roots, bulbs, small lizards, seeds and mushrooms.

1. Australian snake-necked turtle

This turtle hides its head under the shell not as usual, pulling it in, but laying it on the side. grows up to 30 cm. Against the background of the dark color of the head and shell, the golden-yellow iris of the eyes stands out brightly.

1. Marsupial anteater or nambat

Unlike most marsupials, the females of this animal do not have a bag. After 2 weeks of pregnancy, the babies have to cling to the thick fur on the mother's belly. At the nambats short life, low fecundity, tender offspring and many enemies, so their range is seriously reduced. These are marsupials without a bag.

Australia is unique, but there are absolutely no ruminants, thick-skinned mammals and monkeys. Marsupials predominate, having a large skin fold on the abdomen. Their cubs are born very small, hairless, blind and incapable of independent life. After birth, they crawl into a bag that contains nipples with milk inside, and grow up there. Australia's animals are interesting, most of them are found nowhere else in the world.

List of animals of Australia

In this country, there are many species that live both throughout the continent, and only in some areas.

Animals of Australia: a list of the main representatives:

• kangaroo;
• rabbit;
• Moloch;
• opossum;
• couscous;
• ant-eater;
• Tasmanian devil;
• flying squirrel;
• bandicoot;
• wombat;
• marsupial mole;
• snake-necked turtle;
• echidna;
• combed crocodile;
• tuatara;
• street;
• short-tailed skink;
• snakes;
• sloth.

This list is far from complete, many species are listed in the Red Book and are on the verge of extinction.

Marsupials of Australia are the main inhabitants

This country has over 140 various kinds such animals, the most famous are kangaroos, their population numbers more than 60 million. There are 55 species in total. These animals of Australia come in different sizes, their weight is from 0.5 to 90 kg. Outside the city, they are quite common. You can watch them from afar on the small island of Kangaroo and on the Flinders Ridge. If you want to take a closer look at them, then you should visit the Kosciuszko and Namadzhi parks, as well as Maria's Island or Pebbly Beach. If the area is sparsely populated, then these animals can be found quite often and right on the roads.

Another common species is the koala. Many people think that this small bear, but this is incorrect. You can watch koalas in the east of Australia, mainly on the coast. The most popular habitats are Port Stephens and Tidbinbilla and Lone Pine Game Reserves, Yanchep Park and Phillip Island.

Wombats are the marsupials of Australia. Quite obese, living in burrows and often reach 36 kg. AT normal environment finding them is not easy, but still possible. To do this, you need to visit Australian parks and the Wilson Promontory Peninsula. I also call them Australian rabbits. Although the last wombat is similar only in general outlines. But compared to a rabbit, it is very large.

mammals

There are no large predators on the continent. The largest on land is the dingo, the world famous wild dog. What other animals are there in Australia: spotted martens, Tasmanian devils and anteaters. In size, they are no larger than an ordinary domestic cat.

Dingoes inhabit the entire territory of the continent, with the exception of Tasmania. They are found in the Kimberley, Fraser Island and the deserts of North and South Australia. tasmanian devils found exclusively on the island of the same name. This is a unique rare animal, listed in the Red Book. On the island of Tasmania, there are also several rare species parrots, which can only be seen there. Spotted martens- generally an endangered species, therefore, under normal conditions, it is almost impossible to see them. The only place where you can try to find them is the forests of Tasmania and the South of Australia, occasionally in Queensland. A very interesting rabbit bandicoot, which can be found in national park named after Francois Peron.

single pass

Only the animal world of Australia has this species. Otherwise they are called oviparous. For example, the platypus. It has a beak like a duck, waterproof fur and small webbed feet. Lives in ditches, which he digs himself. Shy, often hiding. This “miracle” lives in the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, on Lake Elizabeth and Cradle Mountain and Great Otway parks. Or in northern South New Wales and Queensland.

Australia's dangerous animals on land and at sea

Living creatures that should be feared in Australia live not only on land, but also in water. For example, a bite geographic cone (sea ​​mollusk) is fatal. Fatal outcome comes in one minute. Its venom consists of various peptides and is considered the most dangerous and powerful in the world.

The king mulga is one of the most venomous snakes in Australia. It can reach two meters in length, even just one of its bites can be fatal. The poison is released in large doses and instantly spreads throughout the body.

Scorpios are practically the most poisonous insects countries. Stingrays, which easily pierce not only human skin, but even sometimes the bottom of the boats, if the individual comes across a large one. The thorn of the fish pierces the human body, and the poison spreads throughout the body. Tiger shark entered the top four most dangerous in the world.

The most dangerous animals in Australia:

danger in the water

Now a little about marine life. Of the largest stand out: dugong, whales, killer whales, dolphins and, of course, sharks. Whales can always be seen from May to November inclusive, in the east and west of Australia. Travel agencies even offer joint sailing with them. But tourists come to Kangaroo Island to admire peaceful fur seals.