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Where does the Tasmanian devil store fat?

Mammals - Australasian Mammals

Australasia is made up of Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea and Pacific Ocean islands. Australia is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Given its sheer size and varied climate, there is a wealth of fauna that inhabit Australia. New Zealand is split into the North Island and South Island. The capital of New Zealand is Wellington in the South Island and its largest city is Auckland in the North Island. Before humans arrived, New Zealand was covered in roughly 80% of forest.

New Guinea is in the southwest Pacific Ocean and is the second largest island in the world, after Greenland. Compared to Australia, New Guinea has much more rainfall and a higher active volcanic geology. In spite of this, both New Guinea and Australia have similar animal fauna.

1 .

Since the introduction of decimal currency to Australia in 1966, the embossed image of a platypus has appeared on the tail side of which coin?

Photograph courtesy of www.flickr.com/photos/salim/

5 cent

10 cent

20 cent

50 cent

Order: Monotremata
Family: Ornithorhynchidae
Genus: Ornithorhynchus
Species: O. anatinus
Due to its strange appearance, the platypus perplexed European naturalists when they first clapped eyes on it.
It was even thought to be an elaborate fraud!
Can release venom, which is rare in mammals.

2 .

Captain Cook arrived back in England in 1771 with a kangaroo on board. What was the name of his ship?

Photograph courtesy of Paul Mannix

HMS Endeavour

HMS Resolution

HMS Exploration

HMS Bravado

Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Macropodidae
Genus: Macropus
A kangaroo can hop at up to 60 kmh (40 mph).
It can also leap over obstacles up to 3 m (10 ft) high.
Because of the unusual shape of its legs and its bulky tail a kangaroo can't walk or move backwards very easily.

3 .

What is the name of a baby Spectacled Flying Fox?

Photograph courtesy of http://www.thinkoholic.com/

Cub

Pup

Foxlet

Batlet

Order: Chiroptera
Family: Pteropodidae
Genus: Pteropus
Species: P. conspicillatus
Also known as the Spectacled Fruit Bat
Found in New Guinea and Queensland.
Their habitat is forests, especially rainforests.
Youngsters get together in nursery trees in the colony.
They fly out for increasing distances with the colony at night and are 'parked' in nursery trees, often kilometres distant from the colony, and are brought back to the colony in the morning.

4 .

The world's first confirmed identical twin koalas were born in 1999 at the University of Queensland. What were they named?

Photograph courtesy of PatrickGarmoe

Lano and Woodley

Jason and Kylie

Euca and Lyptus

Sleepy and Lazy

Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Phascolarctidae
Genus: Phascolarctos
Species: P. cinereus
A much-loved and easily identified mammal native to Australia.
Although 'koala bear' is still used, the koala is in fact not a bear.
Koala fossils dating 20 million years ago have been found.

5 .

How many native predators of the possum are there in New Zealand?

Photograph courtesy of Adam.J.W.C.

None

Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Suborder: Phalangeriformes
Native to Australia and New Guinea, introduced to New Zealand.
Numbers are so large in New Zealand, it is now considered a pest.
Some species have adapted to an urban environment.
The common ringtail possum (pictured) eats a special type of faeces.
This behaviour is called coprophagia and is similar to that seen in rabbits.

6 .

Where does the Tasmanian devil store fat?

Photograph courtesy of www.waynemclean.com/

Tail

Neck

Hind legs

Shoulders

Order: Dasyuromorphia
Family: Dasyuridae
Genus: Sarcophilus
Species: Sarcophilus harrisii
In the wild, found only in Tasmania.
Is the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world.
The Tasmanian devil's large head and neck allow it to generate the strongest bite per unit body mass of any living mammal.

A fat tail means a healthy devil!

7 .

Since 2005 there has been an unofficial holiday called Wombat Day. On what date does it occur?

Photograph courtesy of JJ Harrison

22 April

22 June

22 August

22 October

Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Vombatidae
A wombat burrow can be as long as 20 metres.
Wombats are adept at digging complicated tunnels with their strong legs and sharp claws.
The entrance to the female wombat's pouch faces backwards.
This is to prevent dirt from entering it when it is burrowing.

It is at the beginning of the traditional aboriginal spring planting season

8 .

What is the dingo also known as?

Photograph courtesy of Henry Whitehead

Bush dog

Red wolf

Warrigal

Bush wolf

Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
Species: C. lupus
A wild dog only found in Australia, predominantly in the outback.
They are able to react to social cues and gestures from humans, something that wolves cannot do.
The diet is massively varied - up to 170 species have been identified.

9 .

Can you identify this Australasian mammal?