Australia animals

Placental mammals[edit]
The dingo was the first placental mammal introduced to Australia by humans, around 4000 years ago.^[48][49]
Australia has indigenous placental mammals from two orders: the bats — order Chiroptera — represented by six families; and the mice and rats — order Rodentia, family Muridae. There are only two endemic genera of bats,^[49] although 7% of the world's bat species live in Australia.^[50] Rodents first arrived in Australia 5–10 MYA,^[49] undergoing a wide radiation to produce the species collectively known as the "old endemic" rodents.^[51] The old endemics are represented by 14 extant genera.^{[citation needed]} A million years ago, the rat entered Australia from New Guinea and evolved into seven species of Rattus, collectively called the "new endemics".^[51]
Since human settlement many additional placental mammals have been introduced to Australia and are now feral.^[49] The first placental mammal introduced to Australia was the dingo.^[49] Fossil evidence suggests that people from the north brought the dingo to Australia about 5000 years ago.^[52] When Europeans settled Australia they intentionally released many species into the wild including the red fox, European hare, and the European rabbit.^[49][53] Other domestic species have escaped and over time have produced wild populations including the banteng, cat, fallow deer, red deer, sambar deer, rusa deer, chital, hog deer, horse, donkey, pig, goat, water buffalo, and the camel.^[54][55] Only three species of non-native placental mammal were not deliberately introduced to Australia: the house mouse, black rat and the brown rat.
The dugong is an endangered species; the largest remaining population is found in Australian waters.^[56][57]
Forty-six marine mammals from the order Cetacea are found in Australian coastal waters. Since the majority of these species have global distribution, some authors do not consider them to be Australian species. There are eleven species of baleen whale present; humpback whales, southern right whales, dwarf minke whales and pygmy blue whales are more commonly observed.^[58] There are 37 species of toothed whale, which include all six genera of the family Ziphiidae, and 21 species of oceanic dolphin, including the Australian snubfin dolphin, a species first described in 2005.^[59] Some oceanic dolphins, such as the orca, can be found in all waters around the continent; others, such as the Irrawaddy dolphin, are confined to the warm northern waters.^[60] The dugong is an endangered marine species that inhabits the waters of north-eastern and north-western Australia, particularly the Torres Strait.^[49][57] It can grow up to 3 m long and weigh as much as 400 kg.^[57] The dugong is the only herbivorous marine mammal in Australia, feeding on sea grass in coastal areas.^[57][61] The destruction of sea grass beds is a threat to the survival of this species.^[56] Eleven species of seal — family Pinnipedia — live off the southern coast.
Birds[edit]
The emu is the second largest extant species of bird. It is a heraldic bird, appearing on the coat of arms of Australia.
Main article: Birds of Australia
Australia and its territories are home to around 800 species of bird;^[62] 45% of these are endemic to Australia.^[63] The fossil record of birds in Australia is patchy; however, there are records of the ancestors of contemporary species as early as the Late Oligocene.^[64] Birds with a Gondwanan history include the flightless ratites (the emu and southern cassowary),^[65] megapodes (the malleefowl and Australian brush-turkey),^[66] and a huge group of endemic parrots, order Psittaciformes. Australian parrots comprise a sixth of the world's parrots,^[67] including many cockatoos and galahs.^[68] The kookaburra is the largest species of the kingfisher family, known for its call, which sounds uncannily like loud, echoing human laughter.^[69]
A female gang-gang cockatoo
The passerines of Australia, also known as songbirds or perching birds,^[70] include wrens,^[71] robins,^[72] the magpie group,^[73] thornbills,^[74] pardalotes,^[75] the huge honeyeater family,^[76] treecreepers,^[77] lyrebirds,^[78] birds of paradise and bowerbirds.^[79] The satin bowerbird has attracted the interest of evolutionary psychologists; it has a complex courtship ritual in which the male creates a bower filled with blue, shiny items to woo mates.^[80]
Relatively recent colonists from Eurasia are swallows,^{[citation needed]} larks,^[81] thrushes,^[82] cisticolas, sunbirds, and some raptors, including the large wedge-tailed eagle.^{[citation needed]} A number of bird species have been introduced by humans; some, like the European goldfinch and greenfinch,^[83] coexist happily with Australian species,^{[citation needed]} while others, such as the common starling, common blackbird, house sparrow and Indian mynah, are destructive of some native bird species and thus destabilise the native ecosystem.^{[citation needed]}
About 200 species of seabird live on the Australian coast, including many species of migratory seabird. Australia is at the southern end of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway for migratory water birds, which extends from Far-East Russia and Alaska through Southeast Asia to Australia and New Zealand. About two million birds travel this route to and from Australia each year.^{[citation needed]} One very common large seabird is the Australian pelican, which can be found in most waterways in Australia.^[84] The Australian little penguin is the only species of penguin that breeds on mainland Australia.^[85]
Amphibians and reptiles[edit]