A kangaroo is an Australasian marsupial. It belongs to the genus Macropus.

The name Kangaroo is used for the four

large species, but there are another 50 species of smaller macropods. It is common in Australia and can also be found
in New Guinea.
Kangaroos hop to move around quickly, and walk on four legs while moving slowly. They can jump backwards, but only a
very small distance[1]. They can hop or jump as far as about three times their own height. They can also swim if necessary.
The kangaroo is a herbivore, eating mainly grass, but some species also eat shrubs.
Kangaroos are marsupials because they carry their young in a special pouch on their bodies. Baby kangaroos are called
joeys. Kangaroos live in large groups, called mobs[2] Each group is made up of breeding females, their young and several
adult males. One of the males is the dominant male, he is the only one that breeds with the other females in the mob. [2]
Because it is mostly found in Australia, Australians see it as a national symbol. The kangaroo is featured holding the
Australian coat of arms. The Australian airline, Qantas, uses the kangaroo as its emblem. The Royal Australian Air
Force (RAAF) also a has a kangaroo emblem.
Kangaroos can be dangerous because of their powerful legs. They can lean back on their tails to deliver powerful kicks. In
2009, a man went to save his dog which had chased a kangaroo into a farm dam. The kangaroo was able to hold the dog
underwater nearly drowning it. The kangaroo gave the man several big kicks before he was able to grab his dog and
escape from the dam. He needed hospital treatment for his injuries
The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a semiaquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania.
Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that
lay eggs instead of giving birth. It is the sole living representative of its family (Ornithorhynchidae)
and genus(Ornithorhynchus), though a number of related species have been found in the fossil record.
The unusual appearance of this egg-laying, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal baffled European naturalists
when they first encountered it, with some considering it an elaborate fraud. It is one of the few venomous mammals, the
male platypus having a spur on the hind foot that delivers a venom capable of causing severe pain to humans. The unique
features of the platypus make it an important subject in the study of evolutionary biology and a recognisable and iconic
symbol of Australia; it has appeared as a mascot at national events and is featured on the reverse of its 20-cent coin. The
platypus is the animal emblem of the state of New South Wales.[3]
Until the early 20th century, it was hunted for its fur, but it is now protected throughout its range. Although captive breeding
programmes have had only limited success and the platypus is vulnerable to the effects of pollution, it is not under any
immediate threat.
Echidnas /kdn/, sometimes known as spiny anteaters,[1] belong to the familyTachyglossidae in the monotreme order
of egg-laying mammals. The four extant species, together with the platypus, are the only surviving members of
that order and are the only extant mammals that lay eggs. [2] Although their diet consists largely of ants and termites, they
are no more closely related to the true anteaters of the Americas than to any other placental mammal. They live in
Australia and New Guinea. The echidnas are named after amonster in ancient Greek mythology.
Echidnas are small, solitary mammals[3] covered with coarse hair and spines. Superficially, they resemble the anteaters of
South America and other spiny mammals such as hedgehogs andporcupines. They have elongated and slender snouts
which function as both mouth and nose. Like the platypus, they are equipped withelectrosensors, but while the platypus
has 40,000 electroreceptors on its bill, the long-billed echidna has only 2,000, and the short-billed echidna, which lives in
a drier environment, has no more than 400 located at the tip of its snout. [4] They have very short, strong limbs with
large claws, and are powerful diggers. Echidnas have tinymouths and toothless jaws. The echidna feeds by tearing open
soft logs, anthills and the like, and using its long, sticky tongue, which protrudes from its snout, to collect prey. The shortbeaked echidna's diet consists largely of ants and termites, while the Zaglossus species typically eats worms and insect
larvae.[5]
Long-beaked echidnas have sharp, tiny spines on their tongues that help capture their prey.[5]
Echidnas and the platypus are the only egg-laying mammals, known as monotremes. The female lays a single softshelled, leathery egg22 days after mating, and deposits it directly into her pouch. Hatching takes place after 10 days; the
young echidna then sucks milk from the pores of the two milk patches(monotremes have no nipples) and remains in the

pouch for 45 to 55 days,[6] at which time it starts to develop spines. The mother digs a nursery burrow and deposits the
young, returning every five days to suckle it until it is weaned at seven months.
Neocortex makes up half of the echidna's brain, compared to one-third of a human brain. [7] Due to their low metabolism
and accompanying stress resistance, echidnas are long-lived for their size; the longest recorded lifespan for a captive
echidna is 50 years, with anecdotal accounts of wild individuals reaching 45 years. [8] Contrary to previous research, the
echidna does enter REM sleep, but only when the ambient temperature is around 25C (77F). At temperatures of 15C
(59F) and 28C (~82F), REM sleep is suppressed.[9]
Male echidnas have non-venomous spurs on the hind feet.[10]

The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus or inaccurately, koala bear[a]) is an arborealherbivorous marsupial native to Australia.
It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae, and its closest living relatives are the wombats.[3] The
koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabitingQueensland, New South
Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It is easily recognisable by its stout, tailless body; round, fluffy ears; and large, spoonshaped nose. The koala has a body length of 6085 cm (2433 in) and weighs 415 kg (933 lb). Pelage colour ranges
from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas from the northern populations are typically smaller and lighter in colour than
their counterparts further south. It is possible that these populations are separate subspecies, but this is disputed.
Koalas typically inhabit open eucalypt woodlands, and the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. Because this
eucalypt diet has limited nutritional and caloric content, koalas are largely sedentary and sleep for up to 20 hours a day.
They are asocial animals, and bonding only exists between mothers and dependent offspring. Adult
males communicate with loud bellows that intimidate rivals and attract mates. Males mark their presence with secretions
from scent glands located on their chests. Being marsupials, koalas give birth to underdeveloped young that crawl into
their mothers' pouches, where they stay for the first six to seven months of their life. These young koalas are known
as joeys, and are fully weaned at around a year. Koalas have few natural predators and parasites but are threatened by
various pathogens, likeChlamydiaceae bacteria and the koala retrovirus, as well as bushfires and droughts.
Koalas were hunted by indigenous Australians and depicted in myths and cave art for millennia. The first recorded
encounter between a European and a koala was in 1798, and an image of the animal was published in 1810 by
naturalist George Perry. BotanistRobert Brown wrote the first detailed scientific description of the koala in 1814, although
his work remained unpublished for 180 years. Popular artist John Gould illustrated and described the koala, introducing
the species to the general British public. Further details about the animal's biology were revealed in the 19th century by
several English scientists. Because of its distinctive appearance, the koala is recognised worldwide as a symbol of
Australia. Koalas are listed as of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The Australian
government lists populations in Queensland and New South Wales as Vulnerable. The animal was hunted heavily in the
early 20th century for its fur, and large-scale cullings in Queensland resulted in a public outcry that initiated a movement to
protect the species. Sanctuaries were established, andtranslocation efforts moved koalas whose habitat had become
fragmented or reduced to new regions. The biggest threat to their existence is habitat destruction due to agriculture
and urbanisation.

The dingo (Canis lupus dingo) is a free-roaming dog found mainly in Australia, as well asSoutheast Asia, where it is said
to have originated. It is currently classified as a subspeciesof the grey wolf, Canis lupus.
A dingo's habitat ranges from deserts to grasslands and the edges of forests. Dingoes will normally make their dens in
deserted rabbit holes and hollow logs close to an essential supply of water.
The dingo is the largest terrestrial predator in Australia, and plays an important role as anapex predator. However, the
dingo is seen as a pest by sheep farmers due to frequent attacks on livestock. Conversely, their predation
on rabbits, kangaroos and rats is of benefit to cattle stations.
For many Australians, the dingo is a cultural icon. As a result, there is fear of the species becoming extinct, similar to the
case of the thylacine in Tasmania, commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger, thought to have become extinct in the 20th
century. The dingo is seen by many as being responsible for thylacine extinction on the Australian mainland about two
thousand years ago,[2] although a recent study challenges this view.[3] Dingoes have a prominent role in the culture

of Aboriginal Australians as a feature of stories and ceremonies, and they are depicted on rock carvings and cave
paintings.[4]
Nonetheless, the existence of other mtDNA-types on the islands surrounding Australia indicate there have been other
types apart from A29 and only one single founding event. These results also indicated that there hasn't been any
significant introduction of other domestic dog on the Australian continent prior to the arrival of the Europeans. Also, a
shared origin and some sort of genetic exchange between Australian dingoes and the New Guinea singing dogs was
regarded as possible. The current state of the Australian dingoes was ascribed to the long wild existence of these dogs
and assumed that they are an isolated example of early domestic dogs.
Despite accordant claims,[20][21] these findings did not show that only dingo females mate with non-dingo males and not
vice versa. The findings would not allow such a conclusion, since the mating of a dingo female with a non-dingo male
could not be detected via analyses of mtDNA. Furthermore the researchers made sure from the start that dingo-hybrids
were excluded as far as possible.[
The main cause of death for dingoes is being killed by humans, crocodiles and dogs, including other dingoes. Other
causes of death include starvation and dehydration during times of drought or after strong bush fires, infanticide, snake
bites, killing of cubs by wedge-tailed eagles, and injuries caused by cattle and buffalo.
Dingoes are susceptible to the same diseases as domestic dogs. At present, 38 species of parasites and pathogens have
been detected in Australian dingoes. The bulk of these diseases have a minimal influence on their survival. The
exceptions include canine distemper, hookworms and heart worms in North Australia and southeastern Queensland.
Dingo pups can also be killed by lungworms,whipworms, hepatitis, coccidiosis, lice and ticks. Sarcoptic mange is a
widespread parasitic disease among the dingoes of Australia, but is seldom debilitating. Free-roaming dogs are the
primary host of Echinococcosis (tapeworms) and have an infection rate of 70 to 90%.
A wallaby is any of about thirty species of Macropodidae family. It is an informal designation generally used for any
macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or wallaroo that has not been designated otherwise.
Forest-dwelling wallabies are known as "pademelons" (genus Thylogale) and "dorcopsises"
(genera Dorcopsis and Dorcopsulus). The name "wallaby" comes from the Eora, who were the first human inhabitants of
the Sydney area. Young wallabies are known as "joeys", like many other marsupials. Adult male wallabies are referred to
as "bucks", "boomers", or "jacks". An adult female wallaby is known as a "doe", "flyer", or "jill". A group of wallabies is
called a "court", "mob", or "troupe". Although members of most wallaby species are small, some can grow up to six feet in
length (from head to tail).
Wallabies are herbivores whose diet consists of a wide range of grasses, vegetables, leaves, and other foliage. Due to
recent urbanization, many wallabies now feed in rural and urban areas. Wallabies cover vast distances for food and water,
which is often scarce in their environment. Mobs of wallabies often congregate around the same water hole during the dry
season.
Their powerful hind legs are not only used for bounding at high speeds and jumping great heights, but also to administer
vigorous kicks to fend off potential predators. The Tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) has elastic storage in the ankle
extensor tendons, without which the animals metabolic rate might be 30-50% greater.[1] It has also been found that the
design of spring-like tendon energy savings and economical muscle force generation is key for the two distal muscle
tendon units of the Tammar wallaby (Macropus-Eugenii).[2]Wallabies also have a powerful tail that is used mostly for
balance and support. The tails are also known to knock even the strongest of predators with one tail whip
Wallabies face several threats. Wild dogs, foxes, and feral cats are among the predators they face. Humans also pose a
significant threat to wallabies due to increased interaction. Many wallabies have been involved in vehicular accidents as
they often feed near roads and urban areas.
The common spotted cuscus (Spilocuscus maculatus) is a cuscus, a marsupial that lives in the Cape York region
of Australia, New Guinea, and nearby smaller islands.
The common spotted cuscus is about the size of a common house cat, weighing between 1.5 to 6 kilograms (3.3 to 13 lb),
body size approximately 35 to 65 centimetres (14 to 26 in) long, and a tail 32 to 60 centimetres (13 to 24 in) long.[3] It has

a round head, small hidden ears, thick fur, and a prehensile tail to aid in climbing. Its eyes range in colour from yellows
and oranges to reds, and are slit much like a snake's. All four of its limbs have five digits and strong, curved claws, except
the first digit on each foot. The second and third digits of the hind foot are partly syndactylous: they are united by skin at
the top joint but divide at the claws. These smaller claws can serve as hair combs when cleaning. The first and second
digits of the forefoot are opposable to the other three, helping it grip branches while climbing. The undersides of its paws
are bare and striated, which also help it grasp trees and food. The first digit on the hind foot is clawless and opposable. [4]
It has thick, woolly fur of varying colours depending on age, sex, and location. Males are typically grey/white or
brown/white with splotchy patterns on their back and a white underbelly. Only males have spots. [3] Females are usually
white or grey and unspotted. Some completely white individuals are known in both males and females. As the young grow
they go through a series of color changes before reaching sexual maturity at around one year old. Colouration varies from
reds, whites, buffs, browns, light greys, and blacks. Unlike some other species of cuscuses or possums, the common
spotted cuscus does not have a dorsal stripe on its fur.[5]
The curled, prehensile tail is a distinctive characteristic of the common spotted cuscus. The upper part of the tail closest to
the body is covered in fur, while the lower half is covered in rough scales on the inside surface to grip branche
The common spotted cuscus is hunted for its meat and pelt in New Guinea, but has very little economical influence.
Despite hunting, it is still common in New Guinea and most islands; however it is rarely spotted in Australia, mostly
because it is a very shy creature. It was introduced by humans to Salyer, Mussau, and New Ireland, and has since
flourished in these areas.[7] The conservation status of the common spotted cuscus is least concern because of its wide
population distribution, ability to flourish in a variety of environments, and lack of dominating predators. [2] However
continued human expansion, an increase in demand for cuscus meat and pelts, and destruction of its natural habitat could
lead to a demise in the spotted cuscus predominance.

the emu (/imju/,[6] sometimes US /imu/;[7] Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the largest bird native to Australia and the
only extant member of the genusDromaius. It is the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after itsratite relative,
the ostrich. There are three subspecies of emus in Australia. The emu is common over most of mainland Australia,
although it avoids heavily populated areas, dense forest, and arid areas. [8]
The soft-feathered, brown, flightless birds reach up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) in height. They have long thin necks and legs.
Emus can travel great distances at a fast, economical trot and, if necessary, can sprint at 50 km/h (31 mph).[9]Their long
legs allow them to take strides of up to 275 centimetres (9.02 ft)[8]They are opportunistically nomadic and may travel long
distances to find food; they feed on a variety of plants and insects, but have been known to go for weeks without food.
Emus ingest stones, glass shards and bits of metal to grind food in the digestive system. They drink infrequently, but take
in copious fluids when the opportunity arises. Emus will sit in water and are also able to swim. They are curious birds who
are known to follow and watch other animals and humans. Emus do not sleep continuously at night but in several short
stints sitting down.
Emus use their strongly clawed feet as a defence mechanism. Their legs are among the strongest of any animal, allowing
them to rip metal wire fences. They are endowed with good eyesight and hearing, which allows them to detect predators
in the vicinity. The plumage varies regionally, matching the surrounding environment and improving its camouflage. The
feather structure prevents heat from flowing into the skin, permitting Emus to be active during the midday heat. They can
tolerate a wide range of temperatures andthermoregulate effectively. Males and females are hard to distinguish visually,
but can be differentiated by the types of loud sounds they emit by manipulating an inflatable neck sac. Emus breed in May
and June and are not monogamous; fighting among females for a mate is common. Females can mate several times and
lay several batches of eggs in one season. The animals put on weight before the breeding season, and the male does
most of the incubation, losing significant weight during this time as he does not eat. The eggs hatch after around eight
weeks, and the young are nurtured by their fathers. They reach full size after around six months, but can remain with their
family until the next breeding season half a year later. Emus can live between 10 and 20 years in the wild and are
predated by dingos, eagles and hawks. They can jump and kick to avoid dingos, but against eagles and hawks, they can
only run and swerve.
The Tasmanian Emu and King Island Emu subspecies that previously inhabitedTasmania and King Island became extinct
after the European settlement of Australia in 1788, and the distribution of the mainland subspecies has been influenced by
human activities. Once common on the east coast, emus are now uncommon there; by contrast, the development of
agriculture and the provision of water for stock in the interior of the continent have increased the range of the emu in arid

regions, and it is of Least Concern for conservation. They were a food and fuel source for indigenous Australians and
early European settlers. Emus are farmed for their meat, oil, and leather. Emu is a lean meat and while it is often claimed
by marketers that the oil has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects, this has not been scientifically verified in
humans. The emu is an important cultural icon of Australia. It appears on thecoat of arms, various coins, features
prominently in Indigenous Australianmythology, and hundreds of places are named after the bird.