# data[].attributes.body
If you have forgotten your login details, please refer to your login card

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
LiteracyPlanet - Children’s literacy - Online learning |

# data[].attributes.headline
Get some paper and a pencil and get drawing!

# data[].attributes.subject
Get some paper and a pencil and get drawing!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hey, art friends! Welcome to Art For Kids Hub! 🎨✏️ Here, you’ll discover all sorts of awesome art lessons, from drawing to painting, and even some super cool origami. Whether you’re a beginner or a budding artist, there’s something fun for everyone! I’m Rob, and along with my amazing wife, Teryn, and our four creative kids, Jack, Hadley, Austin, and Olivia, we make art together as a family and love sharing it with you. ❤️ Ready to jump in and start creating? Most of our art lessons are self-contained, so grab your favorite black marker, some paper, and your coloring supplies, and let’s get drawing! 🖍️📒 Join us on this colorful adventure, and let’s make art that brings smiles and joy. Happy creating! 🌟

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Studyladder, online english literacy & mathematics. Kids activity games, worksheets and lesson plans.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Used by over 70,000 teachers & 1 million students at home and school. Studyladder is an online english literacy & mathematics learning tool. Kids activity games, worksheets and lesson plans for Primary and Junior High School students in Canada.

# data[].attributes.body
Sequence these pictures

# data[].attributes.body
Don't forget to label your Kangaroo

# data[].attributes.body
Don't forget to label your koala.

# data[].attributes.body
Don't forget to label your drawing.

# data[].attributes.body
Don't forget to label your Echidna

# data[].attributes.body
Don't forget to label your wombat.

# data[].attributes.body
Don't forget to label your crocodile

# data[].attributes.body
Step 1- Open this file.

Step 2- Save to documents on your computer (click the three dots in the corner and download a copy to save)

Step 3- Change the text to suit your animal.

Step 4- Have fun building your information lapbook :)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials of the family Vombatidae that are native to Australia. Living species are about 1 m (40 in) in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between 20 and 35 kg (44 and 77 lb). They are adaptable and habitat tolerant, and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of southern and eastern Australia, including Tasmania, as well as an isolated patch of about 300 ha (740 acres) in Epping Forest National Park in central Queensland.

The name "wombat" comes from the now nearly extinct Dharug language spoken by the aboriginal Dharug people, who originally inhabited the Sydney area. It was first recorded in January 1798, when John Price and James Wilson, a white man who had adopted aboriginal ways, visited the area of what is now Bargo, New South Wales. Price wrote: "We saw several sorts of dung of different animals, one of which Wilson called a 'Whom-batt', which is an animal about 20 inches [51 cm] high, with short legs and a thick body with a large head, round ears, and very small eyes; is very fat, and has much the appearance of a badger." Wombats were often called badgers by early settlers because of their size and habits. Because of this, localities such as Badger Creek, Victoria, and Badger Corner, Tasmania, were named after the wombat. The spelling went through many variants over the years, including "wambat", "whombat", "womat", "wombach", and "womback", possibly reflecting dialectal differences in the Darug language.

Evolution and taxonomy

Though genetic studies of the Vombatidae have been undertaken, evolution of the family is not well understood. Wombats are estimated to have diverged from other Australian marsupials relatively early, as long as 40 million years ago, while some estimates place divergence at around 25 million years. Some prehistoric wombat genera greatly exceeded modern wombats in size. The largest known wombat, Phascolonus, which went extinct approximately 40,000 years ago, is estimated to have had a body mass of up to 360 kilograms (790 lb).

Characteristics

Wombat in Narawntapu National Park, Tasmania

Wombats dig extensive burrow systems with their rodent-like front teeth and powerful claws. One distinctive adaptation of wombats is their backward pouch. The advantage of a backward-facing pouch is that when digging, the wombat does not gather soil in its pouch over its young. Although mainly crepuscular and nocturnal, wombats may also venture out to feed on cool or overcast days. They are not commonly seen, but leave ample evidence of their passage, treating fences as minor inconveniences to be gone through or under.

Wombats leave distinctive cubic feces. As wombats arrange these feces to mark territories and attract mates, it is believed that the cubic shape makes them more stackable and less likely to roll, which gives this shape a biological advantage. The method by which the wombat produces them is not well understood, but it is believed that the wombat intestine stretches preferentially at the walls, with two flexible and two stiff areas around its intestines. The adult wombat produces between 80 and 100, 2 cm (0.8 in) pieces of feces in a single night, and four to eight pieces each bowel movement. In 2019 the production of cube-shaped wombat feces was the subject of the Ig Nobel Prize for Physics, won by Patricia Yang and David Hu.

Wombat cubic scat, found near Cradle Mountain in Tasmania

All wombat teeth lack roots and are ever-growing, like the incisors of rodents. Wombats are herbivores; their diets consist mostly of grasses, sedges, herbs, bark, and roots. Their incisor teeth somewhat resemble those of rodents ( rats, mice, etc.), being adapted for gnawing tough vegetation. Like many other herbivorous mammals, they have a large diastema between their incisors and the cheek teeth, which are relatively simple. The dental formula of wombats is .

Wombats' fur can vary from a sandy colour to brown, or from grey to black. All three known extant species average around 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) in length and weigh between 20 and 35 kg (44 and 77 lb).

Female wombats give birth to a single young after a gestation period of roughly 20-30 days, which varies between species. All species have well-developed pouches, which the young leave after about six to seven months. Wombats are weaned after 15 months, and are sexually mature at 18 months.

Dentition, as illustrated in Knight's Sketches in Natural History

Female reproductive tract

Ecology and behaviour

Wombat burrow and scat, Narawntapu National Park, Tasmania

Wombats have an extraordinarily slow metabolism, taking around 8 to 14 days to complete digestion, which aids their survival in arid conditions. They generally move slowly. Wombats defend home territories centred on their burrows, and they react aggressively to intruders. The common wombat occupies a range of up to 23 ha (57 acres), while the hairy-nosed species have much smaller ranges, of no more than 4 ha (10 acres).

Dingos and Tasmanian devils prey on wombats. Extinct predators were likely to have included Thylacoleo and possibly the thylacine (Tasmanian tiger). Their primary defence is their toughened rear hide, with most of the posterior made of cartilage. This, combined with its lack of a meaningful tail, makes it difficult for any predator that follows the wombat into its tunnel to bite and injure its target. When attacked, wombats dive into a nearby tunnel, using their rumps to block a pursuing attacker. According to an urban legend, wombats sometimes allow an intruder to force its head over the wombat's back, and then use its powerful legs to crush the skull of the predator against the roof of the tunnel. However, there is no evidence to support this.

Wombats are generally quiet animals. Bare-nosed wombats can make a number of different sounds, more than the hairy-nosed wombats. Wombats tend to be more vocal during mating season. When angered, they can make hissing sounds. Their call sounds somewhat like a pig's squeal. They can also make grunting noises, a low growl, a hoarse cough, and a clicking noise.

The three extant species of wombat are all endemic to Australia and a few offshore islands. They are protected under Australian law.

Human relations

Depictions of the animals in rock art are exceptionally rare, though examples estimated to be up to 4,000 years old have been discovered in Wollemi National Park. The wombat is depicted in aboriginal Dreamtime as an animal of little worth. The mainland stories tell of the wombat as originating from a person named Warreen whose head had been flattened by a stone and tail amputated as punishment for selfishness. In contrast, the Tasmanian aboriginal story first recorded in 1830 tells of the wombat (known as the drogedy or publedina) the great spirit Moihernee had asked hunters to leave alone. In both cases, the wombat is regarded as having been banished to its burrowing habitat. Estimates of wombat distribution prior to European settlement are that numbers of all three surviving species were prolific and that they covered a range more than ten times greater than that of today.

Common wombat and joey eating from a bowl at a zoo

After the ship Sydney Cove ran aground on Clarke Island in February 1797, the crew of the salvage ship, , discovered wombats on the island. A live animal was taken back to Port Jackson. Matthew Flinders, who was travelling on board the Francis on its third and final salvage trip, also decided to take a wombat specimen from the island to Port Jackson. Governor John Hunter later sent the animal's corpse to Joseph Banks at the Literary and Philosophical Society to verify that it was a new species. The island was named Clarke Island after William Clark.

Wombats were classified as vermin in 1906, and a bounty was introduced in 1925. This and the removal of a substantial amount of habitat have greatly reduced their numbers and range.

Attacks on humans

Humans can receive puncture wounds from wombat claws, as well as bites. Startled wombats can also charge humans and bowl them over, with the attendant risks of broken bones from the fall. One naturalist, Harry Frauca, once received a bite 2 cm (0.8 in) deep into the flesh of his leg-through a rubber boot, trousers and thick woollen socks. A UK newspaper, The Independent, reported that on 6 April 2010, a 59-year-old man from rural Victoria state was mauled by a wombat (thought to have been angered by mange), causing a number of cuts and bite marks requiring hospital treatment. He resorted to killing it with an axe.

Cultural significance

Side view of "Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat", an unofficial mascot for the 2000 Summer Olympics as he appeared on top of a pole outside Sydney's Stadium Australia

Wombat sculpture, Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens, Daylesford, Victoria

Wombat sculpture, Wombat, New South Wales, unveiled April 2002

Common wombats are considered by some farmers as a nuisance due primarily to their burrowing behaviour. " Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat" was the tongue-in-cheek "unofficial" mascot of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Since 2005, an unofficial holiday called Wombat Day has been observed on 22 October.

Wombat meat has been a source of bush food from the arrival of aboriginal Australians to the arrival of Europeans. Due to the protection of the species, wombat meat as food is no longer part of mainstream Australian cuisine, but wombat stew was once one of the few truly Australian dishes. In the 20th century, the more easily found rabbit meat was more commonly used. (Rabbits are now considered an invasive pest in Australia.) The name of the dish is also used by a popular children's book and musical.

Wombats have featured in Australian postage stamps and coins. The hairy-nosed wombats have featured mainly to highlight their elevated conservation status. The northern hairy-nosed wombat featured on an Australian 1974 20-cent stamp and also an Australian 1981 five-cent stamp. The common wombat has appeared on a 1987 37-cent stamp and an Australian 1996 95-cent stamp. The 2006 Australian Bush Babies stamp series features an AU$1.75-stamp of a baby common wombat, and the 2010 Rescue to Release series features a 60-cent stamp of a common wombat being treated by a veterinarian. Wombats are rarely seen on circulated Australian coins, an exception is a 50-cent coin which also shows a koala and lorikeet. The common wombat appeared on a 2005 commemorative $1 coin and the northern hairy-nosed wombat on a 1998 Australia Silver Proof $10 coin.

Many places in Australia have been named after the wombat, including a large number of places where they are now locally extinct in the wild. References to the locally extinct common wombat can be found in parts of the Central Highlands of Victoria, for example the Wombat State Forest and Wombat Hill in Daylesford. Other significant places named after the wombat includes the town of Wombat, New South Wales and the suburb of Quoiba, Tasmania. Numerous less significant Australian places, including hotels, are named after the animals. Prominent sculptures of wombats include in South Australia: "The Big Wombat" at Scotdesco Aboriginal Community (Tjilkaba) and Wudinna visitor information centre, Adelaide Zoo and Norwood; New South Wales: Wombat, New South Wales; Victoria: Daylesford, Trentham, Victoria and Kinglake; Tasmania: Steppes State Reserve.

Wombats have also been a feature of Australian television. While wombats are not generally kept as pets, a notable depiction of a common wombat as a pet is Fatso from the Australian television show A Country Practice. The Brisbane television show was also named for the animals.

Australian literature contains many references to the wombat. Examples are Mr. Walter Wombat from the adventures of Blinky Bill and one of the main antagonists in The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay.

Conservation

All species of wombats are protected in every Australian state.

The only known wild populations of this species exist in two locations in Queensland, the Epping Forest National Park, and a smaller colony being established by translocating wombats to the Richard Underwood Nature Refuge at Yarran Downs. This second colony is being created through the Xstrata reintroduction project, which is being funded by Xstrata, a Swiss global mining company.

The wombat population in the Epping Forest National Park has been increasing since a predator-proof fence was erected in the park. According to the latest census, taken in 2013, the park is home to 196 of these endangered wombats, with numbers at the two locations expected to have increased to 230 by late 2015.

Despite its name, the common wombat is no longer as common as it once was, and is under significant threat. However, in eastern Victoria, they are not protected, and they are considered by some to be pests, especially due to the damage they cause to rabbit-proof fences. Opportunistic research studies have been conducted on the immune system of common wombats, which could be used as a tool for future conservation efforts.

WomSAT, a citizen science project, was established in 2016 to record sightings of wombats across the country. The website and mobile phone app can be used to log sightings of live or deceased wombats and wombat burrows. Since its establishment the project has recorded over 23,000 sightings across New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. More recently, the citizen science project has published findings on wombat roadkill and sarcoptic mange incidence across Australia.

References

1. Groves, C. P. (2005). "Order Diprotodontia". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 43-44. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.

2. Butler, Susan (2009). The Dinkum Dictionary: The Origins of Australian Words. Text Publishing. p. 266. ISBN 978-1-921799-10-5.

3. ^ Reed, Alexander Wyclif (1969). Place-names of New South Wales, their origins and meanings. Reed. p. 152.

4. ^ Hocknull, Scott A.; Lewis, Richard; Arnold, Lee J.; Pietsch, Tim; Joannes-Boyau, Renaud; Price, Gilbert J.; Moss, Patrick; Wood, Rachel; Dosseto, Anthony; Louys, Julien; Olley, Jon; Lawrence, Rochelle A. (18 May 2020). "Extinction of eastern Sahul megafauna coincides with sustained environmental deterioration". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 2250. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11.2250H. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-15785-w. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC . PMID 32418985.

5. ^ Louys, Julien; Duval, Mathieu; Beck, Robin M. D.; Pease, Eleanor; Sobbe, Ian; Sands, Noel; Price, Gilbert J. (November 2022). Hautier, Lionel (ed.). "Cranial remains of Ramsayia magna from the Late Pleistocene of Australia and the evolution of gigantism in wombats (Marsupialia, Vombatidae)". Papers in Palaeontology. 8 (6). Bibcode:2022PPal....8E1475L. doi:10.1002/spp2.1475. hdl:10072/420259. ISSN 2056-2799. S2CID 254622473.

6. ^ "Mystery solved: this is how wombats do cube-shaped poo". Australian Geographic. 28 November 2018.

7. ^ Fraser, Rebecca A.; Grün, Rainer; Privat, Karen; Gagan, Michael K. (November 2008). "Stable-isotope microprofiling of wombat tooth enamel records seasonal changes in vegetation and environmental conditions in eastern Australia". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 269 (1-2): 66-77. Bibcode:2008PPP...269...66F. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2008.08.004.

8. ^ Woop Studios; Jay Sacher (2013), A Compendium of Collective Nouns: From an Armory of Aardvarks to a Zeal of Zebras, Chronicle Books, p. 213, ISBN 978-1-4521-2952-5

9. ^ "'The platypuses were glowing': The secret light of Australia's marsupials". www.theguardian.com. 18 December 2020.

10. ^ Marinacci, Peter. "Wombat Behavior". Wombania's Wombat Information Center. Wombats walk with a somewhat awkward, shuffling or waddling gait.

11. ^ Totaro, Paola (2 July 2003). "Rock art find makes Stonehenge seem recent". Sydney Morning Herald.

12. Wells, R.T. (1989). "Volume 1B Mammalia" (PDF). In Walton, D.W. (ed.). Vombatidae. Richardson, B.J. AGPS Canberra/Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts - Commonwealth of Australia. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-644-06056-1.

13. Nash, M. "^ Maritime Archaeology Monograph and Reports Series No.2 - Investigation of a Survivors Camp from the Sydney Cove Shipwreck Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine." Master of Maritime Archaeology Thesis. Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, South Australia. 2004. Accessed 30 December 2009.

14. ^ Moore-Robinson, J. (1911). A Record of Tasmanian nomenclature, with dates and origins (PDF). The Mercury Printing Office - Hobart, Tasmania. p. 28.

15. ^ Thorley, Rowan; Old, Julie M. (2020). "Distribution, abundance and threats to bare-nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus)". Australian Mammalogy. doi:10.1071/AM19035.

16. ^ Robinson, Georgina (7 April 2010). "Wombat combat: danger is their middle name". The Examiner.

17. ^ 'International Recipes from Balmain'. The Canberra Times. Monday 19 December 1977. pg 10

18. ^ Thorley, Rowan K.; Old, Julie M. (2020). "Distribution, abundance and threats to bare-nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus)". Australian Mammalogy. 42: 249-256. doi:10.1071/AM19015.

19. ^ Old, Julie M.; Sengupta, Chandni; Wolfenden, Jack (2018). "Sarcoptic mange in wombats - A review and future research directions". Transboundary and Emerging Diseases. 65, 399-407. doi:10.1111/tbed.12770.

20. ^ Old, Julie M.; Hermsen, Eden M.; Young, Lauren J. (20 August 2019). "MHC Class II variability in bare-nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus)". Australian Mammalogy. 42 (2): 135-143. doi:10.1071/AM19015. ISSN 1836-7402. S2CID 202014972.

21. ^ Skelton, Candice; Cook, Amelia; West, Peter; Old, Julie M. (2018). "Building an army of wombat warriors: developing and sustaining a citizen science project". Australian Mammalogy. 41: 186-195. doi:10.1071/AM18018.

22. ^ Mayadunnage, Sujatha; Stannard, Hayley J.; West, Peter; Old, Julie M. (2022). "Identification of roadkill hotspots and the factors affecting wombat vehicle collisions using the citizen science tool, WomSAT". Australian Mammalogy. 45 (1): 53-61. doi:10.1071/AM22001.

23. ^ Mayadunnage, Sujatha; Stannard, Hayley J.; West, Peter; Old, Julie M. (2023). "Spatial and temporal patterns of sarcoptic mange in wombats using the citizen science tool, WomSAT". Integrative Zoology. doi:10.1111/1749-4877.12776. PMID 37865949.

Further reading

External links

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials of the family Vombatidae that are native to Australia. Living species are about 1 m (40 in) in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between 20 and 35 kg (44 and 77 lb).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Crocodiles ( family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia, which includes the alligators and caimans (family Alligatoridae), the gharial and false gharial (family Gavialidae) among other extinct taxa.

Although they appear similar, crocodiles, alligators and the gharial belong to separate biological families. The gharial, with its narrow snout, is easier to distinguish, while morphological differences are more difficult to spot in crocodiles and alligators. The most obvious external differences are visible in the head, with crocodiles having narrower and longer heads, with a more V-shaped than a U-shaped snout compared to alligators and caimans. Another obvious trait is that the upper and lower jaws of the crocodiles are the same width, and the teeth in the lower jaw fall along the edge or outside the upper jaw when the mouth is closed; therefore, all teeth are visible, unlike an alligator, which possesses in the upper jaw small depressions into which the lower teeth fit. Also, when the crocodile's mouth is closed, the large fourth tooth in the lower jaw fits into a constriction in the upper jaw. For hard-to-distinguish specimens, the protruding tooth is the most reliable feature to define the species' family. Crocodiles have more webbing on the toes of the hind feet and can better tolerate saltwater due to specialized salt glands for filtering out salt, which are present, but non-functioning, in alligators. Another trait that separates crocodiles from other crocodilians is their much higher levels of aggression.

Crocodile size, morphology, behaviour and ecology differ somewhat among species. However, they have many similarities in these areas as well. All crocodiles are semiaquatic and tend to congregate in freshwater habitats such as rivers, lakes, wetlands and sometimes in brackish water and saltwater. They are carnivorous animals, feeding mostly on vertebrates such as fish, reptiles, birds and mammals, and sometimes on invertebrates such as molluscs and crustaceans, depending on species and age. All crocodiles are tropical species that, unlike alligators, are very sensitive to cold. They separated from other crocodilians during the Eocene epoch, about 55 million years ago. Many species are at the risk of extinction, some being classified as critically endangered.

The word crocodile comes from the Ancient Greek krokódilos ( κροκόδιλος) meaning 'lizard', used in the phrase ho krokódilos tou potamoú, "the lizard of the ( Nile) river". There are several variant Greek forms of the word attested, including the later form krokódeilos ( κροκόδειλος) found cited in many English reference works. In the Koine Greek of Roman times, krokodilos and krokodeilos would have been pronounced identically, and either or both may be the source of the Latinized form crocodīlus used by the ancient Romans. It has been suggested, but it is not certain that the word crocodilos or crocodeilos is a compound of krokè ('pebbles'), and drilos/dreilos ('worm'), although drilos is only attested as a colloquial term for 'penis'. It is ascribed to Herodotus, and supposedly describes the basking habits of the Egyptian crocodile.

The form crocodrillus is attested in Medieval Latin. It is not clear whether this is a medieval corruption or derives from alternative Greco-Latin forms (late Greek corcodrillos and corcodrillion are attested). A (further) corrupted form cocodrille is found in Old French and was borrowed into Middle English as cocodril(le). The Modern English form crocodile was adapted directly from the Classical Latin crocodīlus in the 16th century, replacing the earlier form. The use of -y- in the scientific name Crocodylus (and forms derived from it) is a corruption introduced by Laurenti (1768).

A total of 18 extant species have been recognized. Further genetic study is needed for the confirmation of proposed species under the genus Osteolaemus.

Species name

Image

Distribution

Description/Comments

Throughout the Caribbean Basin, including many of the Caribbean islands and South Florida.

A larger sized species, with a greyish colour and a prominent V-shaped snout. Prefers brackish water, but also inhabits lower stretches of rivers and true marine environments. This is one of the rare species that exhibits regular sea-going behaviour, which explains the great distribution throughout the Caribbean. It is also found in hypersaline lakes such as Lago Enriquillo, in the Dominican Republic, which has one of the largest populations of this species. Diet consists mostly of aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates. Classified as Vulnerable, but certain local populations under greater threat.

Hall's New Guinea crocodile ( Crocodylus halli)

The island of New Guinea, south of the New Guinea Highlands

A smaller species that closely resembles and was long classified under the New Guinea crocodile, which it is now considered to be genetically distinct from. It lives south of the mountain barrier that divides the two species' ranges. It can be physically distinguished from the New Guinea crocodile by its shorter maxilla and enlarged postcranial elements. Cranial elements can still widely vary within the species, with populations from Lake Murray having much wider heads than those from the Aramia River.

Colombia and Venezuela

This is a large species with a relatively elongated snout and a pale tan coloration with scattered dark brown markings. Lives primarily in the Orinoco Basin. Despite having a rather narrow snout, preys on a wide variety of vertebrates, including large mammals. It is a Critically Endangered species.

Northern Australia

A smaller species with a narrow and elongated snout. It has light brown coloration with darker bands on body and tail. Lives in rivers with considerable distance from the sea, to avoid confrontations with saltwater crocodiles. Feeds mostly on fish and other small vertebrates.

Endemic to the Philippines

This is a relatively small species with a rather broader snout. It has heavy dorsal armour and a golden-brown colour that darkens as the animal matures. Prefers freshwater habitats and feeds on a variety of small to medium sized vertebrates. This species is Critically Endangered and the most severely threatened species of crocodile.

Atlantic regions of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala

A small to medium sized crocodile with a rather broad snout. It has a dark greyish-brown colour and is found in mostly various freshwater habitats. Feeds on mammals, birds and reptiles. It is listed as Least Concern.

Sub-saharan Africa

A large and aggressive species with a broad snout, especially in older animals. It has a dark bronze coloration and darkens as the animal matures. Lives in a variety of freshwater habitats but is also found in brackish water. It is an apex predator that is capable of taking a wide array of African vertebrates, including large ungulates and other predators. This species is listed as Least Concern.

The island of New Guinea, north of the New Guinea Highlands

A smaller species of crocodile with a grey-brown colour and dark brown to black markings on the tail. The young have a narrower V-shaped snout that becomes wider as the animal matures. Prefers freshwater habitats, even though is tolerant to salt water, in order to avoid competition and predation by the saltwater crocodile. This species feeds on small to mid-sized vertebrates.

The Indian subcontinent and surrounding countries

This is a modest sized crocodile with a very broad snout and an alligator-like appearance. It has dark-grey to brown coloration. Enlarged scutes around the neck make it a heavily armoured species. Prefers slow moving rivers, swamps and lakes. It can also be found in coastal swamps but avoids areas populated by saltwater crocodiles. Feeds on a wide array of vertebrates.

Throughout Southeast Asia, Northern Australia and surrounding waters

The largest living reptile and most aggressive of all crocodiles. It is a big-headed species and has a relatively broad snout, especially when older. The coloration is pale yellow with black stripes when young but dark greenish-drab coloured as adults. Lives in brackish and marine environments as well as lower stretches of rivers. This species has the greatest distribution of all crocodiles. Tagged specimens showed long-distance marine travelling behaviour. It is the apex predator throughout its range and preys on virtually any animal within its reach. It is classified as Least Concern with several populations under greater risk.

Borneo crocodile ( Crocodylus raninus)

Island of Borneo in Southeast Asia

A freshwater species of crocodile that has been considered a synonym of the saltwater crocodile.

Found only in the Zapata Swamp and Isle of Youth of Cuba

It is a small but extremely aggressive species of crocodile that prefers freshwater swamps. The coloration is vibrant even as adults and the scales have a "pebbled" appearance. It is a relatively terrestrial species with agile locomotion on land, and sometimes displays terrestrial hunting. The snout is broad with a thick upper-jaw and large teeth. The unique characteristics and fossil record indicates a rather specialized diet in the past, preying on megafauna such as the giant sloth. This species sometimes displays pack-hunting behaviour, which might have been the key to hunting large species in the past, despite its small size. Today most prey are small to medium sized vertebrates. It is Critically Endangered, and the remaining wild population is under threat of hybridization.

Indonesia, Brunei, East Malaysia and southern Indochina

A fairly small crocodile that prefers freshwater habitats. It has a relatively broad snout and olive-green to dark green coloration. It feeds on a variety of small to mid-sized vertebrates. Listed as Critically Endangered, but might be already extinct in the wild; status is unknown.

Western and Central Africa

Recent studies revealed that this is distinct species from the larger Nile crocodile. It has a slightly narrower snout and is much smaller compared to its larger cousin.

Western Africa

It is the smallest of all living crocodiles. It is a heavily armoured species with uniform black coloration in adults, while juveniles have a lighter brown banding. Lives in the tropical forests of Western Africa. Feeds on small vertebrates and large aquatic invertebrates. It is a fairly terrestrial species and exhibits terrestrial hunting, especially at night.

Western Africa

It is the smallest of all living crocodiles. It belongs to its own monotypic genus; however, new studies indicate there might be two or even three distinct species. It is a heavily armoured species with uniform black coloration in adults, while juveniles have a lighter brown banding. Lives in the tropical forests of Western Africa. Feeds on small vertebrates and large aquatic invertebrates. It is a fairly terrestrial species and exhibits terrestrial hunting, especially at night. This species is classified as Vulnerable.

Western Africa

A medium sized species with a narrow and elongated snout. Lives in freshwater habitats within tropical forests of the continent. Feeds mostly on fish but also other small to medium sized vertebrates. It is a Critically Endangered species.

Central African slender-snouted crocodile ( Mecistops leptorhynchus)

Central Africa

A medium sized species found in watery areas in dense rainforest. Feeds largely on fish. Insufficient conservation data, but was classified as Critically Endangered when lumped with M. cataphractus, although M. leptorhynchus is doing better in its home range.

Characteristics

Skulls and scutes of American, Nile and Saltwater crocodiles, with post-occipital scutes highlighted in red, nuchal shield in blue and dorsal scutes in green

Crocodiles, like dinosaurs, have the abdominal ribs modified into gastralia.

A crocodile's physical traits allow it to be a successful predator. Its external morphology is a sign of its aquatic and predatory lifestyle. Its streamlined body enables it to swim swiftly; it also tucks its feet to the side while swimming, making it faster by decreasing water resistance. Crocodiles have webbed feet which, though not used to propel them through the water, allow them to make fast turns and sudden moves in the water or initiate swimming. Webbed feet are an advantage in shallow water, where the animals sometimes move around by walking. Crocodiles have a palatal flap, a rigid tissue at the back of the mouth that blocks the entry of water. The palate has a special path from the nostril to the glottis that bypasses the mouth. The nostrils are closed during submergence.

Like other archosaurs, crocodilians are diapsid, although their post-temporal fenestrae are reduced. The walls of the braincase are bony but lack supratemporal and postfrontal bones. Their tongues are not free, but held in place by a membrane that limits movement; as a result, crocodiles are unable to stick out their tongues. Crocodiles have smooth skin on their bellies and sides, while their dorsal surfaces are armoured with large osteoderms. The armoured skin has scales and is thick and rugged, providing some protection. They are still able to absorb heat through this armour, as a network of small capillaries allows blood through the scales to absorb heat. The osteoderms are highly vascularised and aid in calcium balance, both to neutralize acids while the animal cannot breathe underwater and to provide calcium for eggshell formation. Crocodilian tegument have pores believed to be sensory in function, analogous to the lateral line in fishes. They are particularly seen on their upper and lower jaws. Another possibility is that they are secretory, as they produce an oily substance which appears to flush mud off.

Size greatly varies among species, from the dwarf crocodile to the saltwater crocodile. Species of the dwarf crocodile Osteolaemus grow to an adult size of just 1.5 to 1.9 m (4.9 to 6.2 ft), whereas the saltwater crocodile can grow to sizes over 6 m (20 ft) and weigh over 1,000 kg (2,200 lb). Several other large species can reach over 5.2 m (17 ft) long and weigh over 900 kg (2,000 lb). Crocodilians show pronounced sexual dimorphism, with males growing much larger and more rapidly than females. Despite their large adult sizes, crocodiles start their lives at around 20 cm (7.9 in) long. The largest species of crocodile is the saltwater crocodile, found in eastern India, northern Australia, throughout South-east Asia, and in the surrounding waters.

The brain volume of two adult crocodiles was 5.6 cm ³ for a spectacled caiman and 8.5 cm ³ for a larger Nile crocodile.

The largest crocodile ever held in captivity is a saltwater-Siamese hybrid named Yai ( Thai: ใหญ่, meaning big; born 10 June 1972) at the Samutprakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo, Thailand. This animal measures 6 m (20 ft) in length and weighs 1,200 kg (2,600 lb).

The longest crocodile captured alive was Lolong, a saltwater crocodile which was measured at 6.17 m (20.2 ft) and weighed at 1,075 kg (2,370 lb) by a National Geographic team in Agusan del Sur Province, Philippines.

Crocodiles are polyphyodonts; they are able to replace each of their 80 teeth up to 50 times in their 35- to 75-year lifespan. Next to each full-grown tooth, there is a small replacement tooth and an odontogenic stem cell in the dental lamina in standby that can be activated if required.

Biology and behaviour

Crocodilians are more closely related to birds and dinosaurs than to most animals classified as reptiles, the three families being included in the group Archosauria ('ruling reptiles'). Despite their prehistoric look, crocodiles are among the more biologically complex reptiles. Unlike other reptiles, a crocodile has a cerebral cortex and a four-chambered heart. Crocodilians also have the functional equivalent of a diaphragm by incorporating muscles used for aquatic locomotion into respiration. Salt glands are present in the tongues of crocodiles and they have a pore opening on the surface of the tongue, a trait that separates them from alligators. Salt glands are dysfunctional in Alligatoridae. Their function appears to be similar to that of salt glands in marine turtles. Crocodiles do not have sweat glands and release heat through their mouths. They often sleep with their mouths open and may pant like a dog. Four species of freshwater crocodile climb trees to bask in areas lacking a shoreline.

Crocodiles have acute senses, an evolutionary advantage that makes them successful predators. The eyes, ears and nostrils are located on top of the head, allowing the crocodile to lie low in the water, almost totally submerged and hidden from prey.

Crocodiles have very good night vision, and are mostly nocturnal hunters. They use the disadvantage of most prey animals' poor nocturnal vision to their advantage. The light receptors in crocodilians' eyes include cones and numerous rods, so it is assumed all crocodilians can see colours. Crocodiles have vertical-slit shaped pupils, similar to those of domestic cats. One explanation for the evolution of slit pupils is that they exclude light more effectively than a circular pupil, helping to protect the eyes during daylight. On the rear wall of the eye is a tapetum lucidum, which reflects incoming light back onto the retina, thus utilizing the small amount of light available at night to best advantage. In addition to the protection of the upper and lower eyelids, crocodiles have a nictitating membrane (sometimes called a "third eye-lid") that can be drawn over the eye from the inner corner while the lids are open. The eyeball surface is thus protected under the water while a certain degree of vision is still possible.

Crocodilian sense of smell is also very well developed, aiding them to detect prey or animal carcasses that are either on land or in water, from far away. It is possible that crocodiles use olfaction in the egg prior to hatching.

Chemoreception in crocodiles is especially interesting because they hunt in both terrestrial and aquatic surroundings. Crocodiles have only one olfactory chamber and the vomeronasal organ is absent in the adults indicating all olfactory perception is limited to the olfactory system. Behavioural and olfactometer experiments indicate that crocodiles detect both air-borne and water-soluble chemicals and use their olfactory system for hunting. When above water, crocodiles enhance their ability to detect volatile odorants by gular pumping, a rhythmic movement of the floor of the pharynx. Crocodiles close their nostrils when submerged, so olfaction underwater is unlikely. Underwater food detection is presumably gustatory and tactile.

Crocodiles can hear well; their tympanic membranes are concealed by flat flaps that may be raised or lowered by muscles.

The touch sensors, concentrated in crocodile skin, can be thicker than those in human fingerprints. Crocodiles can feel the touch on their skin.

Cranial: The upper and lower jaws are covered with sensory pits, visible as small, black speckles on the skin, the crocodilian version of the lateral line organs seen in fish and many amphibians, though arising from a completely different origin. These pigmented nodules encase bundles of nerve fibers innervated beneath by branches of the trigeminal nerve. They respond to the slightest disturbance in surface water, detecting vibrations and small pressure changes as small as a single drop. This makes it possible for crocodiles to detect prey, danger and intruders, even in total darkness. These sense organs are known as domed pressure receptors (DPRs).

Post-Cranial: While alligators and caimans have DPRs only on their jaws, crocodiles have similar organs on almost every scale on their bodies. The function of the DPRs on the jaws is clear; to catch prey, but it is still not clear what the function is of the organs on the rest of the body. The receptors flatten when exposed to increased osmotic pressure, such as that experienced when swimming in sea water hyperosmotic to the body fluids. When contact between the integument and the surrounding sea water solution is blocked, crocodiles are found to lose their ability to discriminate salinities. It has been proposed that the flattening of the sensory organ in hyperosmotic sea water is sensed by the animal as "touch", but interpreted as chemical information about its surroundings. This might be why in alligators they are absent on the rest of the body.

Hunting and diet

Crocodiles are ambush predators, waiting for fish or land animals to come close, then rushing out to attack. Crocodiles mostly eat fish, amphibians, crustaceans, molluscs, birds, reptiles, and mammals, and they occasionally cannibalize smaller crocodiles. What a crocodile eats varies greatly with species, size and age. From the mostly fish-eating species, like the slender-snouted and freshwater crocodiles, to the larger species like the Nile crocodile and the saltwater crocodile that prey on large mammals, such as buffalo, deer and wild boar, diet shows great diversity. Diet is also greatly affected by the size and age of the individual within the same species. All young crocodiles hunt mostly invertebrates and small fish, gradually moving on to larger prey. Being ectothermic (cold-blooded) predators, they have a very slow metabolism, so they can survive long periods without food. Despite their appearance of being slow, crocodiles have a very fast strike and are top predators in their environment, and various species have been observed attacking and killing other predators such as sharks and big cats. Crocodiles are also known to be aggressive scavengers who feed upon carrion and steal from other predators. Evidence suggests that crocodiles also feed upon fruits, based on the discovery of seeds in stools and stomachs from many subjects as well as accounts of them feeding.

Crocodiles have the most acidic stomach of any vertebrate. They can easily digest bones, hooves and horns. The BBC TV reported that a Nile crocodile that has lurked a long time underwater to catch prey builds up a large oxygen debt. When it has caught and eaten that prey, it closes its right aortic arch and uses its left aortic arch to flush blood loaded with carbon dioxide from its muscles directly to its stomach; the resulting excess acidity in its blood supply makes it much easier for the stomach lining to secrete more stomach acid to quickly dissolve bulks of swallowed prey flesh and bone. Many large crocodilians swallow stones (called gastroliths or stomach stones), which may act as ballast to balance their bodies or assist in crushing food, similar to grit ingested by birds. Herodotus claimed that Nile crocodiles had a symbiotic relationship with certain birds, such as the Egyptian plover, which enter the crocodile's mouth and pick leeches feeding on the crocodile's blood; with no evidence of this interaction actually occurring in any crocodile species, it is most likely mythical or allegorical fiction.

Nile crocodile trying to swallow a big Tilapia in Kruger National Park, South Africa

Since they feed by grabbing and holding onto their prey, they have evolved sharp teeth for piercing and holding onto flesh, and powerful muscles to close the jaws and hold them shut. The teeth are not well-suited to tearing flesh off of large prey items as are the dentition and claws of many mammalian carnivores, the hooked bills and talons of raptorial birds, or the serrated teeth of sharks. However, this is an advantage rather than a disadvantage to the crocodile since the properties of the teeth allow it to hold onto prey with the least possibility of the prey animal escaping. Cutting teeth, combined with the exceptionally high bite force, would pass through flesh easily enough to leave an escape opportunity for prey. The jaws can bite down with immense force, by far the strongest bite of any animal. The force of a large crocodile's bite is more than 5,000 lbf (22,000 N), which was measured in a 5.5 m (18 ft) Nile crocodile, in the field; comparing to 335 lbf (1,490 N) for a Rottweiler, 800 lbf (3,600 N) for a hyena, 2,200 lbf (9,800 N) for an American alligator, and 4,095 lbf (18,220 N) for the largest confirmed great white shark.

A 5.2 m (17 ft) long saltwater crocodile has been confirmed as having the strongest bite force ever recorded for an animal in a laboratory setting. It was able to apply a bite force value of 3,700 lbf (16,000 N), and thus surpassed the previous record of 2,125 lbf (9,450 N) made by a 3.9 m (13 ft) long American alligator. Taking the measurements of several 5.2 m (17 ft) crocodiles as reference, the bite forces of 6-m individuals were estimated at 7,700 lbf (34,000 N). The study, led by Dr. Gregory M. Erickson, also shed light on the larger, extinct species of crocodilians. Since crocodile anatomy has changed only slightly over the last 80 million years, current data on modern crocodilians can be used to estimate the bite force of extinct species. An 11-to-12-metre (36-39 ft) Deinosuchus would apply a force of 23,100 lbf (103,000 N), nearly twice that of the latest, higher bite force estimations of Tyrannosaurus (12,814 lbf (57,000 N)). The extraordinary bite of crocodilians is a result of their anatomy. The space for the jaw muscle in the skull is very large, which is easily visible from the outside as a bulge at each side. The muscle is so stiff, it is almost as hard as bone to touch, as if it were the continuum of the skull. Another trait is that most of the muscle in a crocodile's jaw is arranged for clamping down. Despite the strong muscles to close the jaw, crocodiles have extremely small and weak muscles to open the jaw. Crocodiles can thus be subdued for study or transport by taping their jaws or holding their jaws shut with large rubber bands cut from automobile inner tubes.

Locomotion

Crocodiles can move quickly over short distances, even out of water. The land speed record for a crocodile is 17 km/h (11 mph) measured in a galloping Australian freshwater crocodile. Maximum speed varies between species. Some species can gallop, including Cuban crocodiles, Johnston's crocodiles, New Guinea crocodiles, African dwarf crocodiles, and even small Nile crocodiles. The fastest means by which most species can move is a "belly run", in which the body moves in a snake-like (sinusoidal) fashion, limbs splayed out to either side paddling away frantically while the tail whips to and fro. Crocodiles can reach speeds of 10-11 km/h (6-7 mph) when they "belly run", and often faster if slipping down muddy riverbanks. When a crocodile walks quickly, it holds its legs in a straighter and more upright position under its body, which is called the "high walk". This walk allows a speed of up to 5 km/h.

Crocodiles may possess a homing instinct. In northern Australia, three rogue saltwater crocodiles were relocated 400 km (249 mi) by helicopter, but returned to their original locations within three weeks, based on data obtained from tracking devices attached to them.

Measuring crocodile age is unreliable, although several techniques are used to derive a reasonable guess. The most common method is to measure lamellar growth rings in bones and teeth-each ring corresponds to a change in growth rate which typically occurs once a year between dry and wet seasons. Bearing these inaccuracies in mind, it can be safely said that all crocodile species have an average lifespan of at least 30-40 years, and in the case of larger species an average of 60-70 years. The oldest crocodiles appear to be the largest species. C. porosus is estimated to live around 70 years on average, with limited evidence of some individuals exceeding 100 years.

In captivity, some individuals are claimed to have lived for over a century. A male crocodile lived to an estimated age of 110-115 years in a Russian zoo in Yekaterinburg. Named Kolya, he joined the zoo around 1913 to 1915, fully grown, after touring in an animal show, and lived until 1995. A male freshwater crocodile lived to an estimated age of 120-140 years at the Australia Zoo. Known affectionately as "Mr. Freshie", he was rescued around 1970 by Bob Irwin and Steve Irwin, after being shot twice by hunters and losing an eye as a result, and lived until 2010. Crocworld Conservation Centre, in Scottburgh, South Africa, claims to have a male Nile crocodile that was born in 1900. Named Henry, the crocodile is said to have lived in Botswana along the Okavango River, according to centre director Martin Rodrigues.

Social behaviour and vocalization

Crocodiles are the most social of reptiles. Even though they do not form social groups, many species congregate in certain sections of rivers, tolerating each other at times of feeding and basking. Most species are not highly territorial, with the exception of the saltwater crocodile, which is a highly territorial and aggressive species: a mature, male saltwater crocodile will not tolerate any other males at any time of the year, but most other species are more flexible. There is a certain form of hierarchy in crocodiles: the largest and heaviest males are at the top, having access to the best basking site, while females are priority during a group feeding of a big kill or carcass. A good example of the hierarchy in crocodiles would be the case of the Nile crocodile. This species clearly displays all of these behaviours. Studies in this area are not thorough, however, and many species are yet to be studied in greater detail. Mugger crocodiles are also known to show toleration in group feedings and tend to congregate in certain areas. However, males of all species are aggressive towards each other during mating season, to gain access to females.

Crocodiles are also the most vocal of all reptiles, producing a wide variety of sounds during various situations and conditions, depending on species, age, size and sex. Depending on the context, some species can communicate over 20 different messages through vocalizations alone. Some of these vocalizations are made during social communication, especially during territorial displays towards the same sex and courtship with the opposite sex; the common concern being reproduction. Therefore most conspecific vocalization is made during the breeding season, with the exception being year-round territorial behaviour in some species and quarrels during feeding. Crocodiles also produce different distress calls and in aggressive displays to their own kind and other animals; notably other predators during interspecific predatory confrontations over carcasses and terrestrial kills.

Specific vocalisations include -

Chirp: When about to hatch, the young make a "peeping" noise, which encourages the female to excavate the nest. The female then gathers the hatchlings in her mouth and transports them to the water, where they remain in a group for several months, protected by the female

Distress call: A high-pitched call used mostly by younger animals to alert other crocodiles to imminent danger or an animal being attacked.

Threat call: A hissing sound that has also been described as a coughing noise.

Hatching call: Emitted by a female when breeding to alert other crocodiles that she has laid eggs in her nest.

Bellowing: Male crocodiles are especially vociferous. Bellowing choruses occur most often in the spring when breeding groups congregate, but can occur at any time of year. To bellow, males noticeably inflate as they raise the tail and head out of water, slowly waving the tail back and forth. They then puff out the throat and with a closed mouth, begin to vibrate air. Just before bellowing, males project an infrasonic signal at about 10 Hz through the water, which vibrates the ground and nearby objects. These low-frequency vibrations travel great distances through both air and water to advertise the male's presence and are so powerful they result in the water's appearing to "dance".

Reproduction

Crocodiles lay eggs, which are laid in either holes or mound nests, depending on species. A hole nest is usually excavated in sand and a mound nest is usually constructed out of vegetation. Nesting periods range from a few weeks up to six months. Courtship takes place in a series of behavioural interactions that include a variety of snout rubbing and submissive display that can take a long time. Mating always takes place in water, where the pair can be observed mating several times. Females can build or dig several trial nests which appear incomplete and abandoned later. Egg-laying usually takes place at night and about 30-40 minutes. Females are highly protective of their nests and young. The eggs are hard shelled, but translucent at the time of egg-laying. Depending on the species of crocodile, 7 to 95 eggs are laid. Crocodile embryos do not have sex chromosomes, and unlike humans, sex is not determined genetically. Sex is determined by temperature, where at 30 °C (86 °F) or less most hatchlings are females and at 31 °C (88 °F), offspring are of both sexes. A temperature of 32 to 33 °C (90 to 91 °F) gives mostly males whereas above 33 °C (91 °F) in some species continues to give males, but in other species resulting in females, which are sometimes called high-temperature females. Temperature also affects growth and survival rate of the young, which may explain the sexual dimorphism in crocodiles. The average incubation period is around 80 days, and also is dependent on temperature and species that usually ranges from 65 to 95 days. The eggshell structure is very conservative through evolution but there are enough changes to tell different species apart by their eggshell microstructure. Scutes may play a role in calcium storage for eggshell formation.

At the time of hatching, the young start calling within the eggs. They have an egg-tooth at the tip of their snouts, which is developed from the skin, and that helps them pierce out of the shell. Hearing the calls, the female usually excavates the nest and sometimes takes the unhatched eggs in her mouth, slowly rolling the eggs to help the process. The young is usually carried to the water in the mouth. She would then introduce her hatchlings to the water and even feed them. The mother would then take care of her young for over a year before the next mating season. In the absence of the mother crocodile, the father would act in her place to take care of the young. However, even with a sophisticated parental nurturing, young crocodiles have a very high mortality rate due to their vulnerability to predation. A group of hatchlings is called a pod or crèche and may be protected for months.

Crocodiles possess some advanced cognitive abilities. They can observe and use patterns of prey behaviour, such as when prey come to the river to drink at the same time each day. Vladimir Dinets of the University of Tennessee, observed that crocodiles use twigs as bait for birds looking for nesting material. They place sticks on their snouts and partly submerge themselves. When the birds swooped in to get the sticks, the crocodiles then catch the birds. Crocodiles only do this in spring nesting seasons of the birds, when there is high demand for sticks to be used for building nests. Vladimir also discovered other similar observations from various scientists, some dating back to the 19th century. Aside from using sticks, crocodiles are also capable of cooperative hunting. Large numbers of crocodiles swim in circles to trap fish and take turns snatching them. In hunting larger prey, crocodiles swarm in, with one holding the prey down as the others rip it apart.

According to a 2015 study, crocodiles engage in all three main types of play behaviour recorded in animals: locomotor play, play with objects and social play. Play with objects is reported most often, but locomotor play such as repeatedly sliding down slopes, and social play such as riding on the backs of other crocodiles is also reported. This behaviour was exhibited with conspecifics and mammals and is apparently not uncommon, though has been difficult to observe and interpret in the past due to obvious dangers of interacting with large carnivores.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

Crocodylidae is cladistically defined as a crown group composed of the last common ancestor of the Nile crocodile ( Crocodylus niloticus), the Dwarf crocodile ( Osteolaemus tetraspis), and all of its descendants. It contains two subfamilies: Crocodylinae and Osteolaeminae. Crocodylinae contains 13-14 living species, as well as 6 extinct species. Osteolaeminae was named by Christopher Brochu in 2003 as a subfamily of Crocodylidae separate from Crocodylinae, and contains the two extant genera Osteolaemus and , along with several extinct genera. The number of extant species within Osteolaeminae is currently in question.

American crocodile at La Manzanilla, Jalisco, Mexico

A skull of the extinct Voay robustus

Recent molecular studies using DNA sequencing have shown crocodiles to be more closely related to the gavialids rather than to alligators, contrary to prior theories based on morphological studies alone.

Below is a cladogram showing the relationships of the major extant crocodile groups based on molecular studies, excluding separate extinct taxa:

Below is a more detailed cladogram of Crocodylidae, based on a 2021 study using paleogenomics that extracted DNA from the extinct .

Alternatively, some morphological studies have recovered as a basal member of Crocodylinae, more closely related to Crocodylus than to Osteolaemus and the other members of Osteolaeminae, as shown in the cladogram below.

Relationship with humans

Danger to humans

The larger species of crocodiles are very dangerous to humans, mainly because of their ability to strike before the person can react. The saltwater crocodile and Nile crocodile are the most dangerous, killing hundreds of people each year in parts of Southeast Asia and Africa. The mugger crocodile and American crocodile are also dangerous to humans.

Crocodile products

A plate of crocodile meat in teriyaki sauce in Helsinki, Finland

Crocodiles are protected in many parts of the world, but are also farmed commercially. Their hides are tanned and used to make leather goods such as shoes and handbags; crocodile meat is also considered a delicacy. The most commonly farmed species are the saltwater and Nile crocodiles, while a hybrid of the saltwater and the rare Siamese crocodile is also bred in Asian farms. Farming has resulted in an increase in the saltwater crocodile population in Australia, as eggs are usually harvested from the wild, so landowners have an incentive to conserve their habitat. Crocodile leather can be made into goods such as wallets, briefcases, purses, handbags, belts, hats, and shoes. Crocodile oil has been used for various purposes. Crocodiles were eaten by Vietnamese while they were taboo and off limits for Chinese. Vietnamese women who married Chinese men adopted the Chinese taboo.

Crocodile meat is consumed in some countries, such as Australia, Ethiopia, Thailand, South Africa, China, and Cuba (in pickled form). It is also occasionally eaten as an "exotic" delicacy in the western world. Cuts of meat include backstrap and tail fillet.

Due to high demand for crocodile products, TRAFFIC states that 1,418,487 Nile Crocodile skins were exported from Africa between 2006 and 2015.

Crocodile hunting and conservation

Aboriginal Australians harvested eggs and hunted crocodiles in a sustainable way for many thousands of years. The Brinkin people (aka Marrithiyal) of the Daly River in the Northern Territory (NT) used harpoons and bamboo, and even their own hands to capture crocodiles for food. After settlement of northern Australia, in the late-19th and early 20th centuries, non- Indigenous people killed individual crocodiles, mostly by locals to protect the population, or novelty-seeking visitors, or just opportunistically, so numbers were not noticeably reduced. From the 1930s, commercial hunting began, with Aboriginal people often employed to kill the crocodiles using traditional methods. From the 1940s to the 1960s, hunting began on a larger scale using .303 rifles. They were hunted for leather, with the skins shipped to plants in capital cities. Western Australia banned hunting freshwater crocodiles in 1962 and saltwater crocodiles in 1970, while NT bans were brought in 1964 and 1971; Queensland did not pass such legislation. The federal government later banned the export of crocodile skins, which brought commercial hunting to an end in Queensland. They have been a protected species since the 1970s, when numbers were down to approximately 3,000 in the NT at the lowest estimate. In 2021, after several attacks on humans by the "salties" and an estimated population of around 200,000 had been reached, Queensland politician Bob Katter called for the reintroduction of hunting.

In religion and mythology

Statue of Sobek from the mortuary temple of Amenemhat III c. 1810 BC. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Crocodiles have appeared in various forms in religions across the world. Ancient Egypt had Sobek, the crocodile-headed god, with his cult-city Crocodilopolis, as well as Taweret, the goddess of childbirth and fertility, with the back and tail of a crocodile. The Jukun shrine in the Wukari Federation, Nigeria is dedicated to crocodiles in thanks for their aid during migration. In Madagascar various peoples such as the Sakalava and Antandroy see crocodiles as ancestor spirits and under local often offer them food; in the case of the latter at least a crocodile features prominently as an ancestor deity.

Crocodiles appear in different forms in Hinduism. Varuna, a Vedic and Hindu god, rides a part-crocodile makara; his consort Varuni rides a crocodile. Similarly the goddess personifications of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers are often depicted as riding crocodiles. Also in India, in Goa, crocodile worship is practised, including the annual Mannge Thapnee ceremony.

Sikh warriors known as nihang also have connections with crocodiles. Nihang may come from the Persian word for a mythical sea creature ( Persian: نهنگ). The term owes its origin to Mughal historians, who compared the ferocity of the Akali with that of crocodiles. The meaning of Akali in Sikhism however, is the immortal army of Akal (god).

In Latin America, Cipactli was the giant earth crocodile of the Aztec and other Nahua peoples.

The name of Surabaya,Indonesia, is locally believed to be derived from the words " suro" ( shark) and " boyo" (crocodile), two creatures which, in a local myth, fought each other in order to gain the title of "the strongest and most powerful animal" in the area. It was said that the two powerful animals agreed for a truce and set boundaries; that the shark's domain would be in the sea while the crocodile's domain would be on the land. However one day the shark swam into the river estuary to hunt, this angered the crocodile, who declared it his territory. The Shark argued that the river was a water-realm which meant that it was shark territory, while the crocodile argued that the river flowed deep inland, so it was therefore crocodile territory. A ferocious fight resumed as the two animals bit each other. Finally the shark was badly bitten and fled to the open sea, and the crocodile finally ruled the estuarine area that today is the city. Another source alludes to a Jayabaya prophecy-a 12th-century psychic king of Kediri Kingdom-as he foresaw a fight between a giant white shark and a giant white crocodile taking place in the area, which is sometimes interpreted as a foretelling of the Mongol invasion of Java, a major conflict between the forces of the Kublai Khan, Mongol ruler of China, and those of Raden Wijaya's Majapahit in 1293. The two animals are now used as the city's symbol, with the two facing and circling each other, as depicted in a statue appropriately located near the entrance to the city zoo (see photo on the Surabaya page).

In language and as symbols

The term " crocodile tears" (and equivalents in other languages) refers to a false, insincere display of emotion, such as a hypocrite crying fake tears of grief. It is derived from an ancient anecdote that crocodiles weep in order to lure their prey, or that they cry for the victims they are eating, first told in the Bibliotheca by Photios I of Constantinople. The story is repeated in bestiaries such as De bestiis et aliis rebus. This tale was first spread widely in English in the stories of the Travels of Sir John Mandeville in the 14th century, and appears in several of Shakespeare's plays. In fact, crocodiles can and do generate tears, but they do not actually cry.

In the UK, a row of schoolchildren walking in pairs, or two by two is known as "crocodile".

The French clothing company Lacoste features a crocodile in its logo. The American shoe company Crocs also uses this imagery in its logo.

References

1. ^ Buchanan, L.A. (2009). "Kambara taraina sp. nov (Crocodylia, Crocodyloidea), a new Eocene mekosuchine from Queensland, Australia, and a revision of the genus". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 29 (2): 473-486. Bibcode:2009JVPal..29..473B. doi:10.1671/039.029.0220. S2CID 86254159.

2. ^ Murray, Christopher M.; Russo, Peter; Zorrilla, Alexander; McMahan, Caleb D. (September 2019). "Divergent Morphology among Populations of the New Guinea Crocodile, Crocodylus novaeguineae (Schmidt, 1928): Diagnosis of an Independent Lineage and Description of a New Species". Copeia. 107 (3): 517-523. doi:10.1643/CG-19-240. ISSN 0045-8511.

3. ^ Crocodile Specialist Group (1996). "Crocodylus porosus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T5668A11503588. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T5668A11503588.en.

4. ^ Simpson, Boyd; Bezuijen (2010). "Siamese Crocodile Crocodylus Siamensis" (PDF). Crocodiles. Third Edition. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022.

5. ^ Schmitz, A.; Mausfeld, P.; Hekkala, E.; Shine, T.; Nickel, H.; Amato, G. & Böhme, W. (2003). "Molecular evidence for species level divergence in African Nile crocodiles Crocodylus niloticus (Laurenti, 1786)". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 2 (8): 703-12. Bibcode:2003CRPal...2..703S. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2003.07.002.

6. Eaton, Mitchell J.; Andrew Martin; John Thorbjarnarson; George Amato (March 2009). "Species-level diversification of African dwarf crocodiles (Genus Osteolaemus): A geographic and phylogenetic perspective". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 50 (3): 496-506. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.11.009. PMID 19056500.

7. ^ Grigg, Gordon and Gans, Carl (1993) Morphology And Physiology Of The Crocodylia Archived 20 July 2005 at the Wayback Machine, in Fauna of Australia Vol 2A Amphibia and Reptilia, chapter 40, pp. 326-336. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

8. Dacke, C.; Elsey, R.; Trosclair, P.; Sugiyama, T.; Nevarez, Javier; Schweitzer, Mary (1 September 2015). "Alligator osteoderms as a source of labile calcium for eggshell formation". Journal of Zoology. 297 (4): 255-264. doi:10.1111/jzo.12272.

9. ^ Guinness Book of World Records. Retrieved on 8 April 2013.

10. ^ The Guinness Book of Records. Largest Captive Crocodile Archived 5 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Worldcrocodile.com

11. ^ Wu, Ping; Wu, Xiaoshan; Jiang, Ting-Xin; Elsey, Ruth M.; Temple, Bradley L.; Divers, Stephen J.; Glenn, Travis C.; Yuan, Kuo; Chen, Min-Huey; Widelitz, Randall B.; Chuong, Cheng-Ming (28 May 2013). "Specialized stem cell niche enables repetitive renewal of alligator teeth". PNAS. 110 (22): E2009-E2018. Bibcode:2013PNAS..110E2009W. doi:10.1073/pnas.1213202110. PMC . PMID 23671090.

12. ^ Specialized stem cell niche enables repetitive renewal of alligator teeth Archived 4 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine

13. ^ Uriona TJ, Farmer CG (2008). "Recruitment of the diaphragmaticus, ischiopubis and other respiratory muscles to control pitch and roll in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)". Journal of Experimental Biology. 211 (Pt 7): 1141-1147. doi:10.1242/jeb.015339. PMID 18344489.

14. ^ Dinets, Vladimir; Britton, Adam; Shirley, Matthew (2013). "Climbing behaviour in extant crocodilians" (PDF). Herpetology Notes. 7: 3-7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022.

15. ^ Hansen, A (2007). "Olfactory and solitary chemosensory cells: two different chemosensory systems in the nasal cavity of the American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis". BMC Neuroscience. 8: 64. doi:10.1186/1471-2202-8-64. PMC . PMID 17683564.

16. ^ Putterill, J.F.; Soley, J.T. (2006). "Morphology of the gular valve of the Nile crocodile, Crocodylus niloticus (Laurenti, 1768)". J. Morphol. 267 (8): 924-939. doi:10.1002/jmor.10448. PMID 16634086. S2CID 21995436.

17. Schwenk, K. (2008). Comparative anatomy and physiology of chemical senses in nonavian aquatic reptiles. In, ^ Sensory Evolution on the Threshold: Adaptations in Secondarily Aquatic Vertebrates. J.G.M Thewissen and S. Nummels (Eds). University of California Press, Berkeley. pp. 65-81

18. Jackson, K.; Brooks, D.R. (2007). "Do crocodiles co-opt their sense of "touch" to "taste"? A possible new type of vertebrate sensory organ" (PDF). Amphibia-Reptilia. 28 (2): 277-285. doi:10.1163/156853807780202486. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 July 2013.

19. BBC channel 1 program ^ Inside The Perfect Predator, Thursday 25 March 2010

20. ^ National Geographic documentary; "Bite Force", Brady Barr.

21. ^ Wroe, S.; Huber, D. R.; Lowry, M.; McHenry, C.; Moreno, K.; Clausen, P.; Ferrara, T. L.; Cunningham, E.; Dean, M. N.; Summers, A. P. (2008). "Three-dimensional computer analysis of white shark jaw mechanics: how hard can a great white bite?" (PDF). Journal of Zoology. 276 (4): 336-342. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2008.00494.x. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022.

22. ^ Erickson, Gregory M.; Lappin, A. Kristopher; Vliet, Kent A. (2003). "The ontogeny of bite-force performance in American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)" (PDF). Journal of Zoology. 260 (3): 317-327. doi:10.1017/S0952836903003819. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022.

23. ^ Bates, K. T.; Falkingham, P.L. (29 February 2012). "Estimating maximum bite performance in Tyrannosaurus rex using multi-body dynamics". Biological Letters. 8 (4): 660-664. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2012.0056. PMC . PMID 22378742.

24. ^ Britton, Adam. "Crocodilian Biology Database FAQ, "How fast can a crocodile run?"".

25. ^ "Crocodilian Biology Database, FAQ. "How long do crocodiles live for?"". Flmnh.ufl.edu.

26. ^ "Celebran cumpleaños del cocodrilo más longevo del mundo". El Nuevo Día. 16 December 2014. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014.

27. K. Richardson; G. Webb; C. Manolis (2000). Crocodiles: Inside and Out.

28. ^ Marzola, M.; Russo, J.; Mateus, O. (2015). "Identification and comparison of modern and fossil crocodilian eggs and eggshell structures". Historical Biology. 27 (1): 115-133. doi:10.1080/08912963.2013.871009. S2CID 85685470.

29. Rio, Jonathan P.; Mannion, Philip D. (6 September 2021). "Phylogenetic analysis of a new morphological dataset elucidates the evolutionary history of Crocodylia and resolves the long-standing gharial problem". . 9: e12094. doi:10.7717/peerj.12094. PMC . PMID 34567843.

30. ^ Hekkala, E.; Gatesy, J.; Narechania, A.; Meredith, R.; Russello, M.; Aardema, M. L.; Jensen, E.; Montanari, S.; Brochu, C.; Norell, M.; Amato, G. (27 April 2021). "Paleogenomics illuminates the evolutionary history of the extinct Holocene "horned" crocodile of Madagascar, Voay robustus". Communications Biology. 4 (1): 505. doi:10.1038/s42003-021-02017-0. ISSN 2399-3642. PMC . PMID 33907305.

31. ^ Brochu, C. A.; Storrs, G. W. (2012). "A giant crocodile from the Plio-Pleistocene of Kenya, the phylogenetic relationships of Neogene African crocodylines, and the antiquity of Crocodylus in Africa". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (3): 587-602. Bibcode:2012JVPal..32..587B. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.652324. S2CID 85103427.

32. ^ Murray, Christopher M.; Russo, Peter; Zorrilla, Alexander; McMahan, Caleb D. (2019). "Divergent Morphology among Populations of the New Guinea Crocodile, Crocodylus novaeguineae (Schmidt, 1928) Diagnosis of An Independent Lineage and Description of A New Species". Copeia. 107 (3): 517-523. doi:10.1643/CG-19-240.

33. ^ Harshman, J.; Huddleston, C. J.; Bollback, J. P.; Parsons, T. J.; Braun, M. J. (2003). "True and false gharials: A nuclear gene phylogeny of crocodylia" (PDF). Systematic Biology. 52 (3): 386-402. doi:10.1080/10635150309323. PMID 12775527. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022.

34. ^ Gatesy, J.; Amato, G. (2008). "The rapid accumulation of consistent molecular support for intergeneric crocodylian relationships". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 48 (3): 1232-1237. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.02.009. PMID 18372192.

35. ^ Michael S. Y. Lee; Adam M. Yates (27 June 2018). "Tip-dating and homoplasy: reconciling the shallow molecular divergences of modern gharials with their long fossil". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 285 (1881). doi:10.1098/rspb.2018.1071. PMC . PMID 30051855.

36. Azarra, Beatrice; Boschian, Giovanni; Brochu, Christopher; Delfino, Massimo; Iurino, Dawid Adam; Kimambo, Jackson Stanley; Manzi, Giorgio; Masao, Fidelis T.; Menconero, Sofia; Njau, Jackson K; Cherin, Marco (2021). "A new cranium of Crocodylus anthropophagus from Olduvai Gorge, northern Tanzania". Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia (Research in Paleontology and Stratigraphy). 127 (2): 275-295. doi:10.13130/2039-4942/15771. S2CID 237962496.

37. Ryall, Jenni (29 October 2021). "Incredible video shows how crocodiles were hunted in Australia in 1949" (text + video, 10m.). .

38. ^ Fidelis Mac-Leva. "Nigeria: How Giant Crocodiles Guided Jukun to Kwararafa". All Africa. 24 June 2009

39. Campbell, Gwyn (2012). David Griffiths and the Missionary "History of Madagascar". Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-19518-9.

40. ^ Marty Crump, Livros no Google Play Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog, Adder's Fork and Lizard's Leg: The Lore and Mythology of Amphibians and Reptiles, University of Chicago Press, 16 November 2015

41. ^ "Holy Rivers, Lakes, and Oceans". Heart of Hinduism. ISKCON Educational Services. 2004. Archived from the original on 14 October 2014. Most rivers are considered female and are personified as goddesses. Ganga, who features in the Mahabharata, is usually shown riding on a crocodile (see right).

42. ^ Kumar, Nitin (August 2003). "Ganga The River Goddess - Tales in Art and Mythology". The second distinguishing aspect of Ganga's iconography is her animal mount, which is often shown serving as a pedestal for her. This is the makara, a hybrid creature having the body of a crocodile and the tail of a fish. The makara in Hindu thought corresponds to the star sign of Capricorn in western astrology. The crocodile is a unique animal in that it can live on both land and sea. It thus denotes the wisdom of both the earth and waters.

43. ^ "Hindu gods and their holy mounts". Sri.Venkateswara Zoological Park. Archived from the original on 23 June 2014. The river goddesses, Ganga and Yamuna, were appropriately mounted on a tortoise and a crocodile respectively.

44. ^ "The Crocodile is God in Goa" (PDF). Crocodile Specialist Group Newsletter. 14 (1): 8. January-March 1995. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022.

45. ^ Britton, Adam (n.d.). Do crocodiles cry 'crocodile tears'? Crocodilian Biology Database. Retrieved 13 March 2006 from the Crocodile Specialist Group, Crocodile Species List, FAQ.

Further reading

Iskandar, DT (2000). Turtles and Crocodiles of Insular Southeast Asia and New Guinea. ITB, Bandung.

Crocodilian Biology Database, FAQ. FLMNH.ufl.edu, "How long do crocodiles live for?" [] Adam Britton.

Crocodilian Biology Database, FAQ. FLMNH.ufl.edu, "How fast can a crocodile run?" Adam Britton.

External links

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Crocodiles ( family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia, which includes the alligators and caimans (family Alligatoridae), the gharial and false gharial (family Gavialidae) among other extinct taxa.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Temporal range: Miocene–Holocene PreꞒ
Ꞓ
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you're looking for and rewards you.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), sometimes called the koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the wombats. The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is easily recognisable by its stout, tailless body and large head with round, fluffy ears and large, dark nose. The koala has a body length of 60-85 cm (24-33 in) and weighs 4-15 kg (9-33 lb). Fur 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. These populations possibly are separate subspecies, but this is disputed.

Koalas typically inhabit open Eucalyptus woodland, as the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. This eucalypt diet has low nutritional and caloric content and contains toxic compounds that deter most other mammals from feeding on it. Koalas are largely sedentary and sleep up to twenty hours a day. They are asocial animals, and bonding exists only 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 lives. These young koalas, known as joeys, are fully weaned around a year old. Koalas have few natural predators and parasites, but are threatened by various pathogens, such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria and koala retrovirus.

Because of their distinctive appearance, koalas, along with kangaroos and emus, are recognised worldwide as symbols of Australia. They 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. Botanist Robert 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. Koalas are listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Among the many threats to their existence are habitat destruction caused by agriculture, urbanisation, droughts, and associated bushfires, some related to climate change. In February 2022, the koala was officially listed as endangered in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, and Queensland.

The word "koala" comes from the Dharug gula, meaning ' no water '. Although the vowel "u" was originally written in the English orthography as "oo" (in spellings such as coola or koolah - two syllables), the spelling later became "oa" and the word is now pronounced in three syllables, possibly in error.

Adopted by white settlers, "koala" became one of several hundred Aboriginal loan words in Australian English, where it was also commonly referred to as "native bear", later "koala bear", for its supposed resemblance to a bear. It is also one of several Aboriginal words that made it into International English alongside words like " didgeridoo" and " kangaroo". The generic name, Phascolarctos, is derived from the Greek words ( phaskolos) ' pouch ' and (' bear arktos) '. The specific name, Latin for ' ash coloured '. cinereus, is

The koala was given its generic name Phascolarctos in 1816 by French zoologist Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville, who would not give it a specific name until further review. In 1819, German zoologist Georg August Goldfuss gave it the binomial Lipurus cinereus. Because Phascolarctos was published first, according to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, it has priority as the official name of the genus. French naturalist Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest coined the name Phascolarctos fuscus in 1820, suggesting that the brown-coloured versions were a different species than the grey ones. Other names suggested by European authors included Marodactylus cinereus by Goldfuss in 1820, P. flindersii by René Primevère Lesson in 1827, and P. koala by John Edward Gray in 1827.

The koala is classified with wombats (family Vombatidae) and several extinct families (including marsupial tapirs, marsupial lions and giant wombats) in the suborder Vombatiformes within the order Diprotodontia. The Vombatiformes are a sister group to a clade that includes macropods ( kangaroos and wallabies) and possums. The koala's lineage possibly branched off around 40 million years ago during the Eocene.

Reconstructions of the ancient koalas Nimiokoala (larger), and Litokoala (smaller), from the Miocene Riversleigh Fauna

The modern koala is the only extant member of Phascolarctidae, a family that includes several extinct genera and species. During the Oligocene and Miocene, koalas lived in rainforests and had more generalised diets. Some species, such as Nimiokoala greystanesi and some species of , were around the same size as the modern koala, while others, such as species of , were one-half to two-thirds its size. Like the modern species, prehistoric koalas had well developed ear structures which suggests that they also made long-distance vocalisations and had a relatively inactive lifestyle. During the Miocene, the Australian continent began drying out, leading to the decline of rainforests and the spread of open Eucalyptus woodlands. The genus Phascolarctos split from Litokoala in the late Miocene, and had several adaptations that allowed it to live on a specialised eucalyptus diet: a shifting of the palate towards the front of the skull; upper teeth lined by thicker bone, molars located relatively low compared the jaw joint and with more chewing surface; smaller pterygoid fossa; and a larger gap separating the incisor teeth and the molars.

P. cinereus may have emerged as a dwarf form of the giant koala ( P. stirtoni), following the disappearance of several giant animals in the late Pleistocene. A 2008 study questions this hypothesis, noting that P. cinereus and P. stirtoni were sympatric during the middle to late Pleistocene, and the major difference in the morphology of their teeth. The fossil record of the modern koala extends back at least to the middle Pleistocene.

Genetics and variations

Three subspecies are recognised: the Queensland koala ( Phascolarctos cinereus adustus, Thomas 1923), the New South Wales koala ( Phascolarctos cinereus cinereus, Goldfuss 1817), and the Victorian koala ( Phascolarctos cinereus victor, Troughton 1935). These forms are distinguished by pelage colour and thickness, body size, and skull shape. The Queensland koala is the smallest of the three, with silver or grey short hairs and a shorter skull. The Victorian koala is the largest, with shaggier, brown fur and a wider skull. The geographic limits of these variations are based on state borders, and their status as subspecies is disputed. A 1999 genetic study suggests koalas exist as a cline within a single evolutionarily significant unit with limited gene flow between local populations.

Other studies have found that koala populations have high levels of inbreeding and low genetic variation. Such low genetic diversity may have been caused by declines in the population during the late Pleistocene. Rivers and roads have been shown to limit gene flow and contribute to the isolation of southeast Queensland populations. In April 2013, scientists from the Australian Museum and Queensland University of Technology announced they had fully sequenced the koala genome.

Characteristics

Scratching and grooming

The koala is a robust animal with a large head and vestigial or non-existent tail. It has a body length of 60-85 cm (24-33 in) and a weight of 4-15 kg (9-33 lb), making it among the largest arboreal marsupials. Koalas from Victoria are twice as heavy as those from Queensland. The species is sexually dimorphic, with males 50% larger than females. Males are further distinguished from females by their more curved noses and the presence of chest glands, which are visible as bald patches. The female's pouch opening is secured by a sphincter which holds the young in.

The pelage of the koala is denser on the back. The back fur colour varies from light grey to chocolate brown. The belly fur is whitish; on the rump it is mottled whitish and dark. The koala has the most effective insulating back fur of any marsupial and is highly resilient to wind and rain, while the belly fur can reflect solar radiation. The koala's curved, sharp claws are well adapted for climbing trees. The large forepaws have two opposable digits (the first and second, which are opposable to the other three) that allow them to grip small branches. On the hind paws, the second and third digits are fused, a typical condition for members of the Diprotodontia, and the attached claws (which are still separate) function like a comb. The animal has a robust skeleton and a short, muscular upper body with relatively long upper limbs that contribute to its ability to scale trees. In addition, the thigh muscles are anchored further down the shinbone, increasing its climbing power.

For a mammal, the koala has a proportionally small brain, being 60% smaller than that of a typical diprotodont, weighing only 19.2 g (0.68 oz) on average. The brain's surface is fairly smooth and " primitive". It does not entirely fill up the cranial cavity, unlike in most mammals, and is lightened by large amounts of cerebrospinal fluid. It is possible that the fluid protects the brain when the animal falls from a tree. The koala's small brain size may be an adaptation to the energy restrictions imposed by its diet, which is insufficient to sustain a larger brain. Because of its small brain, the koala has a limited ability to perform complex, unusual behaviours. For example, it will not eat plucked leaves on a flat surface, which conflicts with its normal feeding routine.

The koala has a broad, dark nose with a good sense of smell, and it is known to sniff the oils of individual branchlets to assess their edibility. Its relatively small eyes are unusual among marsupials in that the pupils have vertical slits, an adaptation to living on a more vertical plane. Its round ears provide it with good hearing, and it has a well-developed middle ear. The koala larynx is located relatively low in the vocal tract and can be pulled down even further. They also possess unique folds in the velum (soft palate), known as velar vocal folds, in addition to the typical vocal folds of the larynx. These features allow the koala to produce deeper sounds than would otherwise be possible for their size.

Teeth of a koala, from left to right: molars, premolars (dark), diastema, canines, incisors

The koala has several adaptations for its poor, toxic and fibrous diet. The animal's dentition consists of the incisors and cheek teeth (a single premolar and four molars on each jaw), which are separated by a large gap (a characteristic feature of herbivorous mammals). The koala bites a leaf with the incisors and clips it with the premolars at the petiole, before chewing it to pieces with the cusped molars. Koalas may also store food in their cheek pouches before it is ready to be chewed. The partially worn molars of koalas in their prime are optimal for breaking the leaves into small particles, resulting in more efficient stomach digestion and nutrient absorption in the small intestine, which digests the eucalyptus leaves to provide most of the animal's energy. A koala sometimes regurgitates the food into the mouth to be chewed a second time.

Koalas are hindgut fermenters, and their digestive retention can last for up to 100 hours in the wild or up to 200 hours in captivity. This is made possible by their caecum-200 cm (80 in) long and 10 cm (4 in) in diameter-possibly the largest for an animal when accounting for its size. Koalas can hold food particles for longer fermentation if needed. They are more likely keep smaller particles as larger ones take longer to digest. While the hindgut is relatively large, only 10% of the animal's energy is obtained from digestion in this chamber. The koala's metabolic rate is only 50% of the typical mammalian rate, owing to its low energy intake, although this can vary between seasons and sexes. They can digest the toxic plant secondary metabolites, phenolic compounds and terpenes present in eucalyptus leaves due to their production of cytochrome P450, which breaks down these poisons in the liver. The koala replaces lost water at a lower rate than some other species like some possums. It maintains water by absorbing it in the caecum, resulting in drier faecal pellets packed with undigested fibre.

Distribution and habitat

The koala's geographic range covers roughly 1,000,000 km ² (390,000 sq mi), and 30 ecoregions. It ranges throughout mainland eastern and southeastern Australia, including the states of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. The koala was also introduced to several nearby islands. The population on Magnetic Island represents the northern limit of its range.

Fossil evidence shows that the koala's range stretched as far west as southwestern Western Australia during the late Pleistocene. They were likely driven to extinction in these areas by environmental changes and hunting by Indigenous Australians. Koalas were introduced to Western Australia at Yanchep in 1938 but that population was reduced to only 4 individuals by 2022. Koalas can be found in both tropical and temperate habitats ranging from dense woodlands to more spaced-out forests. In semi-arid climates, they prefer riparian habitats, where nearby streams and creeks provide refuge during times of drought and extreme heat.

Behaviour and ecology

Foraging and activities

Koalas are herbivorous, and while most of their diet consists of eucalypt leaves, they can be found in trees of other genera, such as , Allocasuarina, , Leptospermum, and . Though the foliage of over 600 species of Eucalyptus is available, the koala shows a strong preference for around 30. They prefer plant matter with higher protein over fibre and lignin. The most favoured species are Eucalyptus microcorys, E. tereticornis, and E. camaldulensis, which, on average, make up more than 20% of their diet. Despite its reputation as a picky eater, the koala is more generalist than some other marsupial species, such as the greater glider. The koala does not need to drink often as it can get enough water in the eucalypt leaves, though larger males may additionally drink water found on the ground or in tree hollows. When feeding, a koala reaches out to grab leaves with one forepaw while the other paws hang on to the branch. Depending on the size of the individual, a koala can walk to the end of a branch or must stay near the base. Each day, koalas eat up to 400 grams (14 oz) of leaves, spread over four to six feeding periods. Despite their adaptations to a low-energy lifestyle, they have meagre fat reserves and need to feed often.

Due to their low-energy diet, koalas limit their activity and sleep 20 hours a day. They are predominantly active at night and spend most of their waking hours foraging. They typically eat and sleep in the same tree, possibly for as long as a day. On warm days, a koala may rest with its back against a branch or lie down with its limbs dangling. When it gets very hot, the koala rests lower in the canopy and near the trunk, where the surface is cooler than the surrounding air. It curls up when it gets cold and wet. A koala will find a lower, thicker branch on which to rest when it gets windy. While it spends most of the time in the tree, the animal descends to the ground to move to another tree, with either a walking or leaping gait. The koala usually grooms itself with its hind paws, with their double claws, but sometimes uses its forepaws or mouth.

Social life

Koalas are asocial animals and spend just 15 minutes a day on social behaviours. Where there are more koalas and fewer trees, home ranges are smaller and more clumped while the reverse is true for areas with fewer animals and more trees. Koala society appears to consist of "residents" and "transients", the former being mostly adult females and the latter males. Resident males appear to be territorial and dominant. The territories of dominant males are found near breeding females, while younger males must wait until they reach full size to challenge for breeding rights. Adult males occasionally venture outside their home ranges; when they do so, dominant ones retain their status. As a male climbs a new tree, he rubs his chest against it and sometimes dribbles urine. This scent-marking behaviour probably serves as communication, and individuals are known to sniff the bottom of a newly found tree. Chest gland secretions are complex chemical mixtures - about 40 compounds were identified in one analysis - that vary in composition and concentration with the season and the age of the individual.

Adult males communicate with loud bellows - "a long series of deep, snoring inhalations and belching exhalations". Because of their low frequency, these bellows can travel far through the forest. Koalas may bellow at any time of the year, particularly during the breeding season, when it serves to attract females and possibly intimidate other males. They also bellow to advertise their presence to their neighbours when they climb a different tree. These sounds signal the male's actual body size, as well as exaggerate it; females pay more attention to bellows that originate from larger males. Female koalas bellow, though more softly, in addition to making snarls, wails, and screams. These calls are produced when in distress and when making defensive threats. Squeaking and squawking are produced when distraught; the former is made by younger animals and the latter by older ones. When another individual climbs over it, a koala makes a low closed-mouth grunt. Koalas also communicate with facial expressions. When snarling, wailing, or squawking, the animal curls the upper lip and points its ears forward. Screaming koalas pull their lips and ears back. Females form an oval shape with their lips when annoyed.

Agonistic behaviour typically consists of quarrels between individuals that are trying to pass each other in the tree. This occasionally involves biting. Strangers may wrestle, chase, and bite each other. In extreme situations, a male may try to displace a smaller rival from a tree, chasing, cornering and biting it. Once the individual is driven away, the victor bellows and marks the tree. Pregnant and lactating females are particularly aggressive and attack individuals that come too close. In general, however, koalas tend to avoid fighting due to energy costs.

Reproduction and development

Koalas are seasonal breeders, and give birth from October to May. Females in oestrus lean their heads back and shake their bodies. Despite these obvious signals, males will try to copulate with any female during this period, mounting them from behind. Because of his much larger size, a male can overpower a female. A female may scream and vigorously fight off her suitors but will accede to one that is dominant or familiar. The commotion can attract other males to the scene, obliging the incumbent to delay mating and fight off the intruders. A female may learn who is more dominant during these fights. Older males usually have accumulated scratches, scars, and cuts on the exposed parts of their noses and their eyelids.

Koalas are induced ovulators. The gestation period lasts 33-35 days, and a female gives birth to one joey (although twins do occur). As marsupials, the young are born tiny and barely formed, weighing no more than 0.5 g (0.02 oz). However, their lips, forelimbs, and shoulders are relatively advanced, and they can breathe, defecate and urinate. The joey crawls into its mother's pouch to continue the rest of its development. Female koalas do not clean their pouches, an unusual trait among marsupials.

The joey latches on to one of the female's two teats and suckles it. The female lactates for as long as a year to make up for her low energy production. Unlike in other marsupials, koala milk becomes less fatty as the joey grows in the pouch. After seven weeks, the joey has a proportionally large head, clear edges around its face, more colouration, and a visible pouch (if female) or scrotum (male). At 13 weeks, the joey weighs around 50 g (1.8 oz) and its head is twice as big as before. The eyes begin to open and hair begins to appear. At 26 weeks, the fully furred animal resembles an adult and can look outside the pouch.

At six or seven months of age, the joey weighs 300-500 g (11-18 oz) and fully emerges from the pouch for the first time. It explores its new surroundings cautiously, clutching its mother for support. Around this time, the mother prepares it for a eucalyptus diet by producing a faecal pap that the joey eats from her cloaca. This pap comes from the cecum, is more liquid than regular faeces, and is filled with bacteria. A nine month old joey has its adult coat colour and weighs 1 kg (2.2 lb). Having permanently left the pouch, it rides on its mother's back for transportation, learning to climb by grasping branches. Gradually, it becomes more independent from its mother, who becomes pregnant again after a year, and the young is now around 2.5 kg (5.5 lb). Her bond with her previous offspring is permanently severed and she no longer allows it to suckle, but it will stay nearby until it is one-and-a-half to two years old.

Females become sexually mature at about three years of age and can then become pregnant; in comparison, males reach sexual maturity when they are about four years old, although they can experience spermatogenesis as early as two years. Males do not start marking their scent until they reach sexual maturity, though their chest glands become functional much earlier. Koalas can breed every year if environmental conditions are good, though the long dependence of the young usually leads to year-long gaps in births.

Health and mortality

Koalas may live from 13 to 18 years in the wild. While female koalas usually live this long, males may die sooner because of their more risky lives. Koalas usually survive falls from trees and can climb back up, but they can get hurt and even die, particularly inexperienced young and fighting males. Around six years of age, the koala's chewing teeth begin to wear down and their chewing efficiency decreases. Eventually, the cusps disappear completely and the animal will die of starvation. Koalas have few predators. Dingos and large pythons and some birds of prey may take them. Koalas are generally not subject to external parasites, other than ticks around the coast. The mite Sarcoptes scabiei gives koalas mange, while the bacterium Mycobacterium ulcerans skin ulcers, but even these are uncommon. Internal parasites are few and have little effect. These include the tapeworm Bertiella obesa, commonly found in the intestine, and the nematodes Marsupostrongylus longilarvatus and Durikainema phascolarcti, which are infrequently found in the lungs. In a three-year study of almost 600 koalas taken to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital in Queensland, 73.8% of the animals were infected with parasitic protozoal genus Trypanosoma, the most frequent of which was .

Koalas can be subject to pathogens such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria, which can cause keratoconjunctivitis, urinary tract infection, and reproductive tract infection. Such infections are common on the mainland, but absent in some island populations. The koala retrovirus (KoRV) may cause koala immune deficiency syndrome (KIDS) which is similar to AIDS in humans. Prevalence of KoRV in koala populations suggests it spread from north to south, as only southern populations have virus-free individuals.

The animals are vulnerable to bushfires due to their slow speed and the flammability of eucalypt trees. The koala instinctively seeks refuge in the higher branches, where it is vulnerable to intense heat and flames. Bushfires also break up the animal's habitat, which isolates them, decreases their numbers and creates genetic bottlenecks. Dehydration and overheating can also prove fatal. Consequently, the koala is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Models of climate change in Australia predict warmer and drier climates, suggesting that the koala's range will shrink in the east and south to more mesic habitats.

Human relations

George Perry's illustration in his 1810 Arcana was the first published image of the koala.

The first written reference to the koala was recorded by John Price, servant of John Hunter, the Governor of New South Wales. Price encountered the "cullawine" on 26 January 1798, during an expedition to the Blue Mountains, but his remarks would first be published in Historical Records of Australia, nearly a century later. In 1802, French-born explorer Francis Louis Barrallier encountered the animal when his two Aboriginal guides, returning from a hunt, brought back two koala feet they were intending to eat. Barrallier preserved the appendages and sent them and his notes to Hunter's successor, Philip Gidley King, who forwarded them to Joseph Banks. Similar to Price, Barrallier's notes were not published until 1897. Reports of the "Koolah" appeared in the Sydney Gazette in late 1803, and helped provide the impetus for King to send the artist John Lewin to paint watercolours of the animal. Lewin painted three pictures, one of which was used as a print in Georges Cuvier's Le Règne Animal (The Animal Kingdom) (1827).

Botanist Robert Brown was the first to write a formal scientific description of the koala in 1803, based on a female specimen captured near what is now Mount Kembla in the Illawarra region of New South Wales. Austrian botanical illustrator Ferdinand Bauer drew the animal's skull, throat, feet, and paws. Brown's work remained unpublished and largely unnoticed, however, as his field books and notes remained in his possession until his death, when they were bequeathed to the British Museum (Natural History) in London. They were not identified until 1994, while Bauer's koala watercolours were not published until 1989. William Paterson, who had befriended Brown and Bauer during their stay in New South Wales, wrote an eyewitness report of his encounters with the animals and this would be the basis for British surgeon Everard Home's anatomical writings on them. Home, who in 1808 published his report in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, coined the scientific name Didelphis coola.

George Perry would officially publish the first image of the koala in his 1810 natural history work Arcana. Perry called it the "New Holland Sloth", and his dislike for the koala, evident in his description of the animal, was reflected in the contemporary British attitudes towards Australian animals as strange and primitive:

... the eye is placed like that of the Sloth, very close to the mouth and nose, which gives it a clumsy awkward appearance, and void of elegance in the combination ... they have little either in their character or appearance to interest the Naturalist or Philosopher. As Nature however provides nothing in vain, we may suppose that even these torpid, senseless creatures are wisely intended to fill up one of the great links of the chain of animated nature ...

Natural history illustrator John Gould popularised the koala with his 1863 work The Mammals of Australia.

Naturalist and popular artist John Gould illustrated and described the koala in his three-volume work The Mammals of Australia (1845-1863) and introduced the species, as well as other members of Australia's little-known faunal community, to the public. Comparative anatomist Richard Owen, in a series of publications on the physiology and anatomy of Australian mammals, presented a paper on the anatomy of the koala to the Zoological Society of London. In this widely cited publication, he provided an early description of its internal anatomy, and noted its general structural similarity to the wombat. English naturalist George Robert Waterhouse, curator of the Zoological Society of London, was the first to correctly classify the koala as a marsupial in the 1840s, and compared it to fossil species Diprotodon and Nototherium, which had been discovered just recently. Similarly, Gerard Krefft, curator of the Australian Museum in Sydney, noted evolutionary mechanisms at work when comparing the koala to fossil marsupials in his 1871 The Mammals of Australia.

Britain finally received a living koala in 1881, which was obtained by the Zoological Society of London. As related by prosecutor to the society, William Alexander Forbes, the animal suffered an accidental demise when the heavy lid of a washstand fell on it and it was unable to free itself. Forbes dissected the fresh specimen and wrote about the female reproductive system, the brain, and the liver - parts not previously described by Owen, who had access only to preserved specimens. Scottish embryologist William Caldwell - well known in scientific circles for determining the reproductive mechanism of the platypus - described the uterine development of the koala in 1884, and used this new information to convincingly map out the evolutionary timeline of the koala and the monotremes.

Cultural significance

The koala is well known worldwide and is a major draw for Australian zoos and wildlife parks. It has been featured in popular culture and as soft toys. It benefited the Australian tourism industry by over $1 billion in 1998, and this has subsequently grown. Its international popularly rose after World War II, when tourism to Australia increased and the animals were exported to zoos overseas. In 1997, about 75% of European and Japanese tourists placed the koala at the top of their list of animals to see. According to biologist Stephen Jackson: "If you were to take a straw poll of the animal most closely associated with Australia, it's a fair bet that the koala would come out marginally in front of the kangaroo". Factors that contribute to the koala's enduring popularity include its teddy bear-like appearance with childlike body proportions.

The koala is featured in the Dreamtime stories and mythology of Indigenous Australians. The Tharawal people believed that the animal helped them get to the continent by rowing the boat. Another myth tells of how a tribe killed a koala and used its long intestines to create a bridge for people from other parts of the world. How the koala lost its tail has been the subject of many tales. In one, a kangaroo cuts it off to punish the koala for its uncouth behaviour. Tribes in both Queensland and Victoria regarded the koala as a wise animal which gave valuable guidance. Bidjara-speaking people credited the koala for making trees grow in their arid lands. The animal is also depicted in rock carvings, though less so than some other species.

Early European settlers in Australia considered the koala to be a creeping sloth-like animal with a "fierce and menacing look". At the turn of the 20th century, the koala's reputation took a more positive turn. It appears in Ethel Pedley's 1899 book Dot and the Kangaroo, as the "funny native bear". Artist Norman Lindsay depicted a more anthropomorphic koala in The Bulletin cartoons, starting in 1904. This character also appeared as Bunyip Bluegum in Lindsay's 1918 book The Magic Pudding. The most well known fictional koala is Blinky Bill. Created by Dorothy Wall in 1933, the character appeared in several books and has been the subject of films, TV series, merchandise, and a 1986 environmental song by John Williamson. The koala first appeared on an Australian stamp in 1930.

US President Barack Obama with a koala in Brisbane, Australia

The song "Ode to a Koala Bear" appears on the B-side of the 1983 Paul McCartney/ Michael Jackson duet single . A koala is the main character in Hanna-Barbera's The Kwicky Koala Show and Nippon Animation's , both of which were animated cartoons of the early 1980s. Food products shaped like the koala include the Caramello Koala chocolate bar and the bite-sized cookie snack Koala's March. Dadswells Bridge in Victoria features a tourist complex shaped like a giant koala and the Queensland Reds rugby team has a koala as its icon.

Koala diplomacy

Several political leaders and members of royal families had their pictures taken with koalas, including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry, Crown Prince Naruhito, Crown Princess Masako, Pope John Paul II, US President Bill Clinton, Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev and South African President Nelson Mandela At the 2014 G20 Brisbane summit, hosted by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, many world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama, were photographed holding koalas. The event gave rise to the term "koala diplomacy", which then became the Oxford Word of the Month for December 2016. The term also includes the loan of koalas by the Australian government to overseas zoos in countries such as Singapore and Japan, as a form of "soft power diplomacy", like the " panda diplomacy" practised by China.

Conservation

The koala was originally classified as Least Concern on the Red List, and reassessed as Vulnerable in 2014. In the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Queensland, the species was listed under the EPBC Act in February 2022 as endangered by extinction. The described population was determined in 2012 to be "a species for the purposes of the EPBC Act 1999" in Federal legislation.

Australian policymakers had declined a 2009 proposal to include the koala in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. A 2017 WWF report found a 53% decline per generation in Queensland, and a 26% decline in New South Wales. The koala population in South Australia and Victoria appear to be abundant; however, the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) argued that the exclusion of Victorian populations from protective measures was based on a misconception that the total koala population was 200,000, whereas they believed in 2012 that it was probably less than 100,000. AKF estimated in 2022 that there could be only 43,000-100,000. This is compared with 8 to 10 million at the start of the 20th century. The Australian Government's Threatened Species Scientific Committee estimated that the 2021 koala population was 92,000, down from 185,000 two decades prior.

The koala was heavily hunted by European settlers in the early 20th century, largely for its fur. Australia exported as many as two million pelts by 1924. Koala furs were used to make rugs, coat linings, muffs, and on women's garment trimmings. The first successful efforts at conserving the species were initiated by the establishment of Brisbane's Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and Sydney's Koala Park Sanctuary in the 1920s and 1930s. The owner of the latter park, Noel Burnet, created the first successful breeding program and earned a reputation as a top expert on the species.

One of the biggest anthropogenic threats to the koala is habitat destruction and fragmentation. Near the coast, the main cause of this is urbanisation, while in rural areas, habitat is cleared for agriculture. Its favoured trees are also taken down to be made into wood products. In 2000, Australia had the fifth highest rate of land clearance globally, having removed 564,800 hectares (1,396,000 acres) of native plants. The distribution of the koala has shrunk by more than 50% since European arrival, largely due to fragmentation of habitat in Queensland. Nevertheless, koalas live in many protected areas.

While urbanisation can pose a threat to koala populations, the animals can survive in urban areas provided enough trees are present. Urban populations have distinct vulnerabilities: collisions with vehicles and attacks by domestic dogs. Cars and dogs kill about 4,000 animals every year. To reduce road deaths, government agencies have been exploring various wildlife crossing options, such as the use of fencing to channel animals toward an underpass, in some cases adding a ledge as a walkway to an existing culvert. Injured koalas are often taken to wildlife hospitals and rehabilitation centres. In a 30-year retrospective study performed at a New South Wales koala rehabilitation centre, trauma was found to be the most frequent cause of admission, followed by symptoms of Chlamydia infection.

References

1. ^ Woinarski, J.; Burbidge, A.A. (2020). "Phascolarctos cinereus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T16892A166496779. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T16892A166496779.en.

2. ^ Moyal, Ann (2008). Koala: a historical biography. Melbourne: CSIRO Pub. ISBN 978-0-643-09401-7. OCLC 476194354. Archived from the original on 2 May 2016.

3. ^ Groves, C. P. (2005). "Order Diprotodontia". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.

4. ^ Edward E. Morris (1898). Dictionary of Australian Words (orig) Austral English. This author strongly deprecated use of another synonym, "sloth".

5. Leitner, Gerhard; Sieloff, Inke (1998). "Aboriginal words and concepts in Australian English". World Englishes. 17 (2): 153-69. doi:10.1111/1467-971X.00089. Dixon et al. (1990) believe there to be some 400 loans in Mainstream Australian English [...] Some Aboriginal expressions have entered the stock of world English vocabulary; witness kangaroo, didgeridoo, koala, [...] Sometimes popular usage deviated markedly from scientific taxonomies, as in the case of the koala which became known as koala bear. [...] Both mallee and mallee scrub, koala, and koala bear are common today.

6. ^ de Blainville, H. (1816). "Prodrome d'une nouvelle distribution systématique du règne animal". Bulletin de la Société Philomáthique, Paris (in French). 8: 105-24. Archived from the original on 14 October 2018.

7. ^ Jackson, S. (2010). Koala: Origins of an Icon (2nd ed.). Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74237-323-2. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021.

8. ^ Asher, R.; Horovitz, I.; Sánchez-Villagra, M. (2004). "First combined cladistic analysis of marsupial mammal interrelationships". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 33 (1): 240-50. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.05.004. PMID 15324852.

9. ^ Beck, R. M. D. (2008). "A dated phylogeny of marsupials using a molecular supermatrix and multiple fossil constraints". Journal of Mammalogy. 89 (1): 175-89. doi:10.1644/06-MAMM-A-437.1.

10. ^ Archer, M.; Arena, R.; Bassarova, M.; Black, K.; Brammall, J.; Cooke, B. M.; Creaser, P; Crosby, K.; Gillespie, A.; Godthelp, H.; Gott, M.; Hand, S. J.; Kear, B. P.; Krikmann, A.; Mackness, B.; Muirhead, J.; Musser, A.; Myers, T.; Pledge, N. S.; Wang, Y.; Wroe, S. (1999). "The evolutionary history and diversity of Australian mammals". Australian Mammalogy. 21: 1-45. doi:10.1071/AM99001. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021.

11. ^ Black, K.; Archer, M.; Hand, S. J. (2012). "New Tertiary koala (Marsupialia, Phascolarctidae) from Riversleigh, Australia, with a revision of phascolarctid phylogenetics, paleoecology, and paleobiodiversity". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (1): 125-38. Bibcode:2012JVPal..32..125B. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.626825. S2CID 86152273.

12. ^ Tyndale-Biscoe, H. (2005). Life of Marsupials. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 978-0-643-06257-3. Archived from the original on 23 January 2016.

13. ^ Martin, R. W.; Handasyde, K. A. (1999). The Koala: Natural History, Conservation and Management (2nd ed.). New South Wales University Press. ISBN 978-1-57524-136-4. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015.

14. Houlden, B. A.; Costello, B. H.; Sharkey, D.; Fowler, E. V.; Melzer, A.; Ellis, W.; Carrick, F.; Baverstock, P. R.; Elphinstone, M. S. (1999). "Phylogeographic differentiation in the mitochondrial control region in the koala, Phascolarctos cinereus (Goldfuss 1817)". Molecular Ecology. 8 (6): 999-1011. Bibcode:1999MolEc...8..999H. doi:10.1046/j.1365-294x.1999.00656.x. PMID 10434420. S2CID 36771770.

15. ^ Houlden, B. A.; England, P. R.; Taylor A. C.; Greville, W. D.; Sherwin, W. B. (1996). "Low genetic variability of the koala Phascolarctos cinereus in south-eastern Australia following a severe population bottleneck". Molecular Ecology. 5 (2): 269-81. Bibcode:1996MolEc...5..269H. doi:10.1046/j.1365-294x.1996.00089.x. PMID 8673272. S2CID 22441918.

16. ^ Wilmer, J. M. W.; Melzer, A.; Carrick, F.; Moritz, C. (1993). "Low genetic diversity and inbreeding depression in Queensland Koalas". Wildlife Research. 20 (2): 177-87. doi:10.1071/WR9930177.

17. ^ Tsangaras, K.; Ávila-Arcos, M. C.; Ishida, Y.; Helgen, K. M.; Roca, A. L.; Greenwood, A. D. (2012). "Historically low mitochondrial DNA diversity in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus)". BMC Genetics. 13 (1): 92. doi:10.1186/1471-2156-13-92. PMC . PMID 23095716.

18. ^ Lee, K. E.; Seddon, J. M.; Corley, S.; Williams, E.; Johnston, S.; Villers, D.; Preece, H.; Carrick, F. (2010). "Genetic variation and structuring in the threatened koala populations of Southeast Queensland". Conservation Genetics. 11 (6): 2091-103. Bibcode:2010ConG...11.2091L. doi:10.1007/s10592-009-9987-9. S2CID 36855057.

19. ^ Davey, M. (10 April 2013). "Australians crack the code of koala's genetic blueprint". . Archived from the original on 14 May 2013.

20. ^ Degabriele, R.; Dawson, T. J. (1979). "Metabolism and heat balance in an arboreal marsupial, the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)". Journal of Comparative Physiology B. 134 (4): 293-301. doi:10.1007/BF00709996. ISSN 1432-1351. S2CID 31042136.

21. ^ Carmen de Miguel; Maciej Henneberg (1998). "Encephalization of the Koala, Phascolarctos cinereus". Australian Mammalogy. 20 (3): 315-320. doi:10.1071/AM98315. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022.

22. ^ McGregor, D. C.; Kerr, S. E.; Krockenberger, A. K. (2013). Festa-Bianchet, Marco (ed.). "The distribution and abundance of an island population of koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) in the far north of their geographic range". PLOS ONE. 8 (3): e59713. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...859713M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059713. PMC . PMID 23527258.

23. ^ "Species Phascolarctos cinereus (Goldfuss, 1817)". Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022.

24. ^ Smith, A. G.; McAlpine, C. A.; Rhodes, J. R.; Lunney, D.; Seabrook, L.; Baxter, G. (2013). "Out on a limb: Habitat use of a specialist folivore, the koala, at the edge of its range in a modified semi-arid landscape". Landscape Ecology. 28 (3): 418-26. Bibcode:2013LaEco..28..415S. doi:10.1007/s10980-013-9846-4. S2CID 8031502.

25. ^ Grand, T. I.; Barboza, P. S. (2001). "Anatomy and development of the koala, Phascolarctos cinereus: An evolutionary perspective on the superfamily Vombatoidea". Anatomy and Embryology. 203 (3): 211-223. doi:10.1007/s004290000153. PMID 11303907. S2CID 11662113.

26. ^ Ellis, W. A.; Hale, P. T.; Carrick, F. (2002). "Breeding dynamics of koalas in open woodlands". Wildlife Research. 29 (1): 19-25. doi:10.1071/WR01042.

27. ^ Ellis, W.; Bercovitch, F.; FitzGibbon, S.; Roe, P.; Wimmer, J.; Melzer, A.; Wilson, R. (2011). "Koala bellows and their association with the spatial dynamics of free-ranging koalas". Behavioral Ecology. 22 (2): 372-77. doi:10.1093/beheco/arq216.

28. ^ Charlton, B. D.; Ellis, W. A. H.; McKinnon, A. J.; Cowin, G. J.; Brumm, J.; Nilsson, K.; Fitch, W. T. (2011). "Cues to body size in the formant spacing of male koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) bellows: Honesty in an exaggerated trait". Journal of Experimental Biology. 214 (20): 3414-22. doi:10.1242/jeb.061358. PMID 21957105.

29. ^ Charlton, B. D.; Ellis, W. A. H.; Brumm, J.; Nilsson, K.; Fitch, W. T. (2012). "Female koalas prefer bellows in which lower formants indicate larger males". Animal Behaviour. 84 (6): 1565-71. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.09.034. S2CID 53175246.

30. ^ Johnston, S. D.; O'Callaghan, P.; Nilsson, K.; Tzipori, G.; Curlewis, J. D. (1 November 2004). "Semen-induced luteal phase and identification of a LH surge in the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)". Reproduction. 128 (5): 629-634. doi:10.1530/rep.1.00300. ISSN 1470-1626. PMID 15509709.

31. ^ Gifford, A.; Fry, G.; Houlden, B. A.; Fletcher, T. P.; Deane, E. M. (2002). "Gestational length in the koala, Phascolarctos cinereus". Animal Reproduction Science. 70 (3): 261-66. doi:10.1016/S0378-4320(02)00010-6. PMID 11943495.

32. ^ Ellis, W. A. H.; Bercovitch, F. B. (2011). "Body size and sexual selection in the koala". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 65 (6): 1229-35. doi:10.1007/s00265-010-1136-4. S2CID 26046352.

33. ^ Lanyon, Janet M.; Sanson, G. D. (1986). "Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) dentition and nutrition. II. Implications of tooth wear in nutrition". Journal of Zoology. 209 (2). Wiley: 169-181. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1986.tb03573.x. ISSN 0952-8369.

34. ^ Spratt, D. M.; Gill, P. A. (1998). "Durikainema phascolarcti n. sp. (Nematoda: Muspiceoidea: Robertdollfusidae) from the pulmonary arteries of the koala Phascolarctos cinereus with associated pathological changes" (PDF). Systematic Parasitology. 39 (2): 101-06. doi:10.1023/A:1005957809179. S2CID 26037401.

35. ^ McInnes, L. M.; Gillett, A.; Hanger, J.; Reid, S. A.; Ryan, U. M. (27 April 2011). "The potential impact of native Australian trypanosome infections on the health of koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus)". Parasitology. 138 (7). Cambridge University Press (CUP): 873-883. doi:10.1017/s0031182011000369. ISSN 0031-1820. PMID 21524321.

36. ^ Adams-Hosking, C.; Grantham, H. S.; Rhodes, J. R.; McAlpine, C.; Moss, P. T. (2011). "Modelling climate-change-induced shifts in the distribution of the koala". Wildlife Research. 38 (2): 122-30. doi:10.1071/WR10156.

37. ^ Phillips, Bill (1990). Koalas : the little Australians we'd all hate to lose. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-644-09697-3. OCLC 21532917.

38. ^ Owen, R. (1836). "Richard Owen, esq., in the chair". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 4 (1): 109-13. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1836.tb01376.x. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017.

39. ^ Donnison, Jon (16 November 2014). "G20 summit: Koalas and 'shirtfronting'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020.

40. Dimitrova, Kami (16 November 2014). ^ "President Obama, Putin Cozy Up With Koalas at G20 Summit" Archived 3 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine. . Retrieved 23 February 2021.

41. Harris Rimmer, Susan (18 November 2014). ^ "Koala diplomacy: Australian soft power saves the day at G20" Archived 27 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine. The Conversation. Retrieved 23 February 2021.

42. Arup, Tom (26 December 2014). ^ "The rise and influence of koala diplomacy" Archived 17 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 February 2021.

43. ^ "Oxford Word of the Month - December: koala diplomacy" Archived 17 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Oxford University Press, 28 November 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2021.

44. ^ "Koala diplomacy as furry envoys return to Australia" Archived 13 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Media release, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 10 February 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2021.

45. Markwell, Kevin & Cushing, Nancy (20 May 2015). ^ "Koalas, platypuses and pandas and the power of soft diplomacy" Archived 5 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine. The Conversation. Retrieved 23 February 2021.

46. ^ Burke, Tony (27 April 2012). "Determination that a distinct population of biological entities is a species for the purposes of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (132)". Australian Government - Federal Register of Legislation. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022.

47. ^ Christine Adams-Hosking (May 2017). Current status of the koala in Queensland and New South Wales (Report). WWF Australia. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019.

48. ^ "Koalas added to threatened species list". ABC. 30 April 2012. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012.

49. Holtcamp, W. (5 January 2007). "Will Urban Sprawl KO the Koala?". National Wildlife. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013.

50. ^ Foden, W.; Stuart, S. N. (2009). Species and Climate Change: More than Just the Polar Bear (PDF) (Report). IUCN Species Survival Commission. pp. 36-37. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 March 2016.

51. ^ Griffith, J. E.; Dhand, N. K.; Krockenberger, M. B.; Higgins, D. P. (2013). "A retrospective study of admission trends of koalas to a rehabilitation facility over 30 years" (PDF). Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 49 (1): 18-28. doi:10.7589/2012-05-135. hdl:. PMID 23307368. S2CID 32878079. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 July 2018.

External links

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus ), sometimes called the koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the wombats. The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey kangaroo, and western grey kangaroo. Kangaroos are indigenous to Australia and New Guinea. The Australian government estimates that 42.8 million kangaroos lived within the commercial harvest areas of Australia in 2019, down from 53.2 million in 2013.

As with the terms " wallaroo" and " wallaby", "kangaroo" refers to a paraphyletic grouping of species. All three terms refer to members of the same taxonomic family, Macropodidae, and are distinguished according to size. The largest species in the family are called "kangaroos" and the smallest are generally called "wallabies". The term "wallaroos" refers to species of an intermediate size. There are also the tree-kangaroos, another type of macropod, which inhabit the tropical rainforests of New Guinea, far northeastern Queensland and some of the islands in the region. This kind of kangaroo lives in the upper branches of trees. A general idea of the relative size of these informal terms could be:

wallabies: head and body length of 45-105 cm and tail length of 33-75 cm; the dwarf wallaby (the smallest of all known macropod species) is 46 cm long and weighs 1.6 kg;

tree-kangaroos: ranging from Lumholtz's tree-kangaroo: body and head length of 48-65 cm, tail of 60-74 cm, weight of 7.2 kg (16 lb) for males and 5.9 kg (13 lb) for females; to the grizzled tree-kangaroo: length of 75-90 cm (30 to 35 in) and weight of 8-15 kg (18-33 lb);

wallaroos: the black wallaroo (the smaller of the two species) with a tail length of 60-70 cm and weight of 19-22 kg (41.8-48.5 lb) for males and 13 kg (28.6 lb) for females;

kangaroos: a large male can be 2 m (6 ft 7 in) tall and weigh 90 kg (200 lb).

Kangaroos have large, powerful hind legs, large feet adapted for leaping, a long muscular tail for balance, and a small head. Like most marsupials, female kangaroos have a pouch called a marsupium in which joeys complete postnatal development.

Because of its grazing habits, the kangaroo has developed specialized teeth that are rare among mammals. Its incisors are able to crop grass close to the ground and its molars chop and grind the grass. Since the two sides of the lower jaw are not joined or fused together, the lower incisors are farther apart, giving the kangaroo a wider bite. The silica in grass is abrasive, so kangaroo molars are ground down and they actually move forward in the mouth before they eventually fall out, and are replaced by new teeth that grow in the back. This process is known as polyphyodonty and, amongst other mammals, only occurs in elephants and manatees.

The large kangaroos have adapted much better than the smaller macropods to land clearing for pastoral agriculture and habitat changes brought to the Australian landscape by humans. Many of the smaller species are rare and endangered, while kangaroos are relatively plentiful.

The kangaroo along with the koala are symbols of Australia. A kangaroo appears on the Australian coat of arms and on some of its currency, and is used as a logo for some of Australia's most well-known organisations, such as Qantas, and as the roundel of the Royal Australian Air Force. The kangaroo is important to both Australian culture and the national image, and consequently there are numerous popular culture references.

Wild kangaroos are shot for meat, leather hides, and to protect grazing land. Kangaroo meat has perceived health benefits for human consumption compared with traditional meats due to the low level of fat on kangaroos.

Terminology

The word kangaroo derives from the Guugu Yimithirr word gangurru, referring to eastern grey kangaroos. The name was first recorded as "kanguru" on 12 July 1770 in an entry in the diary of Sir Joseph Banks; this occurred at the site of modern Cooktown, on the banks of the Endeavour River, where HMS Endeavour under the command of Lieutenant James Cook was beached for almost seven weeks to repair damage sustained on the Great Barrier Reef. Cook first referred to kangaroos in his diary entry of 4 August. Guugu Yimithirr is the language of the people of the area.

A common myth about the kangaroo's English name is that it was a Guugu Yimithirr phrase for "I don't know" or "I don't understand". According to this legend, Cook and Banks were exploring the area when they happened upon the animal. They asked a nearby local what the creatures were called. The local responded "kangaroo", said to mean "I don't know/understand", which Cook then took to be the name of the creature. Anthropologist Walter Roth was trying to correct this legend as far back as in 1898, but few took note until 1972 when linguist John B. Haviland in his research with the Guugu Yimithirr people was able to confirm that gangurru referred to a rare large dark-coloured species of kangaroo. However, when Phillip Parker King visited the Endeavour River region in 1819 and 1820, he maintained that the local word was not kangaroo but menuah perhaps referring to a different species of macropod. There are similar, more credible stories of naming confusion, such as with the Yucatán Peninsula.

Kangaroos are often colloquially referred to as "roos". Male kangaroos are called bucks, boomers, jacks, or old men; females are does, flyers, or jills; and the young ones are joeys. The collective noun for a group of kangaroos is a mob, court, or troupe.

Taxonomy and description

The palatal view of a Sthenurus sp. skull

The Kongouro from New Holland, a 1772 painting of a kangaroo by George Stubbs

There are four extant species that are commonly referred to as kangaroos:

The red kangaroo (Osphranter rufus) is the largest surviving marsupial anywhere in the world. It occupies the arid and semi-arid centre of the country. The highest population densities of the red kangaroo occur in the rangelands of western New South Wales. Red kangaroos are commonly mistaken as the most abundant species of kangaroo, but eastern greys actually have a larger population. A large male can be 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) tall and weighs 90 kg (200 lb).

The eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) is less well-known than the red (outside Australia), but the most often seen, as its range covers the fertile eastern part of the country. The range of the eastern grey kangaroo extends from the top of the Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland down to Victoria, as well as areas of southeastern Australia and Tasmania. Population densities of eastern grey kangaroos usually peak near 100 per km² in suitable habitats of open woodlands. Populations are more limited in areas of land clearance, such as farmland, where forest and woodland habitats are limited in size or abundance.

The western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus) is slightly smaller again at about 54 kg (119 lb) for a large male. It is found in the southern part of Western Australia, South Australia near the coast, and the Murray-Darling basin. The highest population densities occur in the western Riverina district of New South Wales and in the western areas of the Nullarbor Plain in Western Australia. Populations may have declined, particularly in agricultural areas. The species has a high tolerance to the plant toxin sodium fluoroacetate, which indicates a possible origin from the southwest region of Australia.

The antilopine kangaroo (Osphranter antilopinus) is, essentially, the far northern equivalent of the eastern grey and western grey kangaroos. It is sometimes referred to as the antilopine wallaroo, but in behaviour and habitat it is more similar to the red, eastern grey and western grey kangaroos. Like them, it is a creature of the grassy plains and woodlands, and gregarious. Its name comes from its fur, which is similar in colour and texture to that of antelopes. Characteristically, the noses of males swell behind the nostrils. This enlarges nasal passages and allows them to release more heat in hot and humid climates.

In addition, there are about 50 smaller macropods closely related to the kangaroos in the family Macropodidae. Kangaroos and other macropods share a common ancestor with the Phalangeridae from the Middle Miocene. This ancestor was likely arboreal and lived in the canopies of the extensive forests that covered most of Australia at that time, when the climate was much wetter, and fed on leaves and stems. From the Late Miocene through the Pliocene and into the Pleistocene the climate got drier, which led to a decline of forests and expansion of grasslands. At this time, there was a radiation of macropodids characterised by enlarged body size and adaptation to the low quality grass diet with the development of foregut fermentation. The most numerous early macropods, the Balbaridae and the Bulungamayinae, became extinct in the Late Miocene around 5-10 mya. There is dispute over the relationships of the two groups to modern kangaroos and rat-kangaroos. Some argue that the balbarines were the ancestors of rat-kangaroos and the bulungamayines were the ancestors of kangaroos. while others hold the contrary view.

The middle to late bulungamayines, and Wanburoo lacked digit 1 of the hind foot and digits 2 and 3 were reduced and partly under the large digit 4, much like the modern kangaroo foot. This would indicate that they were bipedal. In addition, their ankle bones had an articulation that would have prohibited much lateral movements, an adaptation for bipedal hopping. Species related to the modern grey kangaroos and wallaroos begin to appear in the Pliocene. The red kangaroo appears to be the most recently evolved kangaroo, with its fossil record not going back beyond the Pleistocene era, 1-2 mya.

The first kangaroo to be exhibited in the Western world was an example shot by John Gore, an officer on Captain Cook's ship, HMS Endeavour, in 1770. The animal was shot and its skin and skull transported back to England whereupon it was stuffed (by taxidermists who had never seen the animal before) and displayed to the general public as a curiosity. The first glimpse of a kangaroo for many 18th-century Britons was a painting by George Stubbs.

Comparison with wallabies

Kangaroos and wallabies belong to the same taxonomic family ( Macropodidae) and often the same genera, but kangaroos are specifically categorised into the four largest species of the family. The term wallaby is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or a wallaroo that has not been designated otherwise.

Biology and behaviour

Locomotion

Kangaroos are the only large mammals to use hopping on two legs as their primary means of locomotion. The comfortable hopping speed for a red kangaroo is about 20-25 km/h (12-16 mph), but speeds of up to 70 km/h (43 mph) can be attained over short distances, while it can sustain a speed of 40 km/h (25 mph) for nearly 2 km (1.2 mi). During a hop, the powerful gastrocnemius muscles lift the body off the ground while the smaller plantaris muscle, which attaches near the large fourth toe, is used for push-off. Seventy percent of potential energy is stored in the elastic tendons. At slow speeds, it employs pentapedal locomotion, using its tail to form a tripod with its two forelimbs while bringing its hind feet forward. Both pentapedal walking and fast hopping are energetically costly. Hopping at moderate speeds is the most energy efficient, and a kangaroo moving above 15 km/h (9.3 mph) maintains energy consistency more than similarly sized animals running at the same speed.

Kangaroos have single-chambered stomachs quite unlike those of cattle and sheep, which have four compartments. They sometimes regurgitate the vegetation they have eaten, chew it as cud, and then swallow it again for final digestion. However, this is a different, more strenuous, activity than it is in ruminants, and does not take place as frequently.

Different species of kangaroos have different diets, although all are strict herbivores. The eastern grey kangaroo is predominantly a grazer, and eats a wide variety of grasses, whereas some other species such as the red kangaroo include significant amounts of shrubs in their diets. Smaller species of kangaroos also consume hypogeal fungi. Many species are nocturnal, and crepuscular, usually spending the hot days resting in shade, and the cool evenings, nights and mornings moving about and feeding.

Absence of digestive methane release

Despite having herbivorous diets similar to ruminants such as cattle, which release large quantities of digestive methane through exhaling and eructation (burping), kangaroos release virtually none. The hydrogen byproduct of fermentation is instead converted into acetate, which is then used to provide further energy. Scientists are interested in the possibility of transferring the bacteria responsible for this process from kangaroos to cattle, since the greenhouse gas effect of methane is 23 times greater than carbon dioxide per molecule.

Social and sexual behavior

Groups of kangaroos are called mobs, courts or troupes, which usually have 10 or more kangaroos in them. Living in mobs can provide protection for some of the weaker members of the group. The size and stability of mobs vary between geographic regions, with eastern Australia having larger and more stable aggregations than in arid areas farther west. Larger aggregations display high amounts of interactions and complex social structures, comparable to that of ungulates. One common behavior is nose touching and sniffing, which mostly occurs when an individual joins a group. The kangaroo performing the sniffing gains much information from smell cues. This behavior enforces social cohesion without consequent aggression. During mutual sniffing, if one kangaroo is smaller, it will hold its body closer to the ground and its head will quiver, which serves as a possible form of submission. Greetings between males and females are common, with larger males being the most involved in meeting females. Most other non-antagonistic behavior occurs between mothers and their young. Mother and young reinforce their bond through grooming. A mother will groom her young while it is suckling or after it is finished suckling. A joey will nuzzle its mother's pouch if it wants access to it.

Sexual activity of kangaroos consists of consort pairs. Oestrous females roam widely and attract the attention of males with conspicuous signals. A male will monitor a female and follow her every movement. He sniffs her urine to see if she is in oestrus, a process exhibiting the flehmen response. The male will then proceed to approach her slowly to avoid alarming her. If the female does not run away, the male will continue by licking, pawing, and scratching her, and copulation will follow. After copulation is over, the male will move on to another female. Consort pairing may take several days and the copulation is also long. Thus, a consort pair is likely to attract the attention of a rival male. As larger males are tending bonds with females near oestrus, smaller males will tend to females that are farther from oestrus. Dominant males can avoid having to sort through females to determine their reproductive status by searching for tending bonds held by the largest male they can displace without a fight.

Fighting has been described in all species of kangaroos. Fights between kangaroos can be brief or long and ritualised. In highly competitive situations, such as males fighting for access to oestrous females or at limited drinking spots, the fights are brief. Both sexes will fight for drinking spots, but long, ritualised fighting or "boxing" is largely done by males. Smaller males fight more often near females in oestrus, while the large males in consorts do not seem to get involved. Ritualised fights can arise suddenly when males are grazing together. However, most fights are preceded by two males scratching and grooming each other. One or both of them will adopt a high standing posture, with one male issuing a challenge by grasping the other male's neck with its forepaw. Sometimes, the challenge will be declined. Large males often reject challenges by smaller males. During fighting, the combatants adopt a high standing posture and paw at each other's heads, shoulders and chests. They will also lock forearms and wrestle and push each other as well as balance on their tails to kick each other in the abdomen.

Brief fights are similar, except there is no forearm locking. The losing combatant seems to use kicking more often, perhaps to parry the thrusts of the eventual winner. A winner is decided when a kangaroo breaks off the fight and retreats. Winners are able to push their opponents backwards or down to the ground. They also seem to grasp their opponents when they break contact and push them away. The initiators of the fights are usually the winners. These fights may serve to establish dominance hierarchies among males, as winners of fights have been seen to displace their opponent from resting sites later in the day. Dominant males may also pull grass to intimidate subordinate ones.

Kangaroos have a few natural predators. The thylacine, considered by palaeontologists to have once been a major natural predator of the kangaroo, is now extinct. Other extinct predators included the marsupial lion, and . However, with the arrival of humans in Australia at least 50,000 years ago and the introduction of the dingo about 5,000 years ago, kangaroos have had to adapt.

Along with dingoes, introduced species such as foxes, feral cats, and both domestic and feral dogs, pose a threat to kangaroo populations. Kangaroos and wallabies are adept swimmers, and often flee into waterways if presented with the option. If pursued into the water, a large kangaroo may use its forepaws to hold the predator underwater so as to drown it. Another defensive tactic described by witnesses is catching the attacking dog with the forepaws and disembowelling it with the hind legs.

Adaptations

Kangaroos have developed a number of adaptations to a dry, infertile country and highly variable climate. As with all marsupials, the young are born at a very early stage of development-after a gestation of 31-36 days. At this stage, only the forelimbs are somewhat developed, to allow the newborn to climb to the pouch and attach to a teat. In comparison, a human embryo at a similar stage of development would be at about 7 weeks gestation (even in a modern intensive care unit, premature babies born at less than 23 weeks gestation are usually not mature enough to survive). When the joey is born, it is about the size of a lima bean. The joey will usually stay in the pouch for about 9 months (180-320 days for the Western Grey) before starting to leave the pouch for small periods of time. It is usually fed by its mother until reaching 18 months.

The female kangaroo is usually pregnant in permanence, except on the day she gives birth; however, she has the ability to freeze the development of an embryo until the previous joey is able to leave the pouch. This is known as embryonic diapause and will occur in times of drought and in areas with poor food sources. The composition of the milk produced by the mother varies according to the needs of the joey. In addition, the mother is able to produce two different kinds of milk simultaneously for the newborn and the older joey still in the pouch.

Unusually, during a dry period, males will not produce sperm and females will conceive only if enough rain has fallen to produce a large quantity of green vegetation.

Kangaroos and wallabies have large, elastic tendons in their hind legs. They store elastic strain energy in the tendons of their large hind legs, providing most of the energy required for each hop by the spring action of the tendons rather than by any muscular effort. This is true in all animal species which have muscles connected to their skeletons through elastic elements such as tendons, but the effect is more pronounced in kangaroos.

There is also a link between the hopping action and breathing: as the feet leave the ground, air is expelled from the lungs; bringing the feet forward ready for landing refills the lungs, providing further energy efficiency. Studies of kangaroos and wallabies have demonstrated, beyond the minimum energy expenditure required to hop at all, increased speed requires very little extra effort (much less than the same speed increase in, say, a horse, dog or human), and the extra energy is required to carry extra weight. For kangaroos, the key benefit of hopping is not speed to escape predators-the top speed of a kangaroo is no higher than that of a similarly sized quadruped, and the Australian native predators are in any case less fearsome than those of other countries-but economy: in an infertile country with highly variable weather patterns, the ability of a kangaroo to travel long distances at moderately high speed in search of food sources is crucial to survival.

New research has revealed that a kangaroo's tail acts as a third leg rather than just a balancing strut. Kangaroos have a unique three-stage walk where they plant their front legs and tail first, then push off their tail, followed lastly by the back legs. The propulsive force of the tail is equal to that of both the front and hind legs combined and performs as much work as what a human leg walking can at the same speed.

A DNA sequencing project of the genome of a member of the kangaroo family, the tammar wallaby, was started in 2004. It was a collaboration between Australia (mainly funded by the State of Victoria) and the National Institutes of Health in the US. The tammar's genome was fully sequenced in 2011. The genome of a marsupial such as the kangaroo is of great interest to scientists studying comparative genomics, because marsupials are at an ideal degree of evolutionary divergence from humans: mice are too close and have not developed many different functions, while birds are genetically too remote. The dairy industry could also benefit from this project.

Eye disease is rare but not new among kangaroos. The first official report of kangaroo blindness took place in 1994, in central New South Wales. The following year, reports of blind kangaroos appeared in Victoria and South Australia. By 1996, the disease had spread "across the desert to Western Australia". Australian authorities were concerned the disease could spread to other livestock and possibly humans. Researchers at the Australian Animal Health Laboratories in Geelong detected a virus called the Wallal virus in two species of midges, believed to have been the carriers. Veterinarians also discovered fewer than 3% of kangaroos exposed to the virus developed blindness.

Reproduction and life cycle

Kangaroo reproduction is similar to that of opossums. The egg (still contained in the shell membrane, a few micrometres thick, and with only a small quantity of yolk within it) descends from the ovary into the uterus. There it is fertilised and quickly develops into a neonate. Even in the largest kangaroo species (the red kangaroo), the neonate emerges after only 33 days. Usually, only one young is born at a time. It is blind, hairless, and only a few centimetres long; its hindlegs are mere stumps; it instead uses its more developed forelegs to climb its way through the thick fur on its mother's abdomen into the pouch, which takes about three to five minutes. Once in the pouch, it fastens onto one of the four teats and starts to feed. Almost immediately, the mother's sexual cycle starts again. Another egg descends into the uterus and she becomes sexually receptive. Then, if she mates and a second egg is fertilised, its development is temporarily halted. This is known as embryonic diapause, and will occur in times of drought and in areas with poor food sources. Meanwhile, the neonate in the pouch grows rapidly. After about 190 days, the baby ( joey) is sufficiently large and developed to make its full emergence out of the pouch, after sticking its head out for a few weeks until it eventually feels safe enough to fully emerge. From then on, it spends increasing time in the outside world and eventually, after about 235 days, it leaves the pouch for the last time. The lifespan of kangaroos averages at six years in the wild to in excess of 20 years in captivity, varying by the species. Most individuals, however, do not reach maturity in the wild.

Interaction with humans

The kangaroo has always been a very important animal for Aboriginal Australians, for its meat, hide, bone, and tendon. Kangaroo hides were also sometimes used for recreation; in particular there are accounts of some tribes ( Kurnai) using stuffed kangaroo scrotum as a ball for the traditional football game of marngrook. In addition, there were important Dreaming stories and ceremonies involving the kangaroo. Aherrenge is a current kangaroo dreaming site in the Northern Territory.

Unlike many of the smaller macropods, kangaroos have fared well since European settlement. European settlers cut down forests to create vast grasslands for sheep and cattle grazing, added stock watering points in arid areas, and have substantially reduced the number of dingoes. This overabundance has led to the view that the kangaroo is a pest animal as well as requiring regular culling and other forms of management. There is concern that the current management practices are leading to detrimental consequences for kangaroo welfare, landscape sustainability, biodiversity conservation, resilient agricultural production and Aboriginal health and culture.

Kangaroos are shy and retiring by nature, and in normal circumstances present no threat to humans. In 2003, Lulu, an eastern grey which had been hand-reared, saved a farmer's life by alerting family members to his location when he was injured by a falling tree branch. She received the RSPCA Australia National Animal Valour Award on 19 May 2004.

There are very few records of kangaroos attacking humans without provocation; however, several such unprovoked attacks in 2004 spurred fears of a rabies-like disease possibly affecting the marsupials. Only two reliably documented cases of a fatality from a kangaroo attack have occurred in Australia. The first attack occurred in New South Wales in 1936 when a hunter was killed as he tried to rescue his two dogs from a heated fray. The second attack was inflicted on a 77-year-old man from a domesticated kangaroo in Redmond, Western Australia in September 2022. Other suggested causes for erratic and dangerous kangaroo behaviour include extreme thirst and hunger. In July 2011, a male red kangaroo attacked a 94-year-old woman in her own backyard as well as her son and two police officers responding to the situation. The kangaroo was capsicum sprayed (pepper sprayed) and later put down after the attack.

Kangaroos-even those that are not domesticated- can communicate with humans, according to a research study.

Collisions with vehicles

Nine out of ten animal collisions in Australia involve kangaroos. A collision with a vehicle is capable of killing a kangaroo. Kangaroos dazzled by headlights or startled by engine noise often leap in front of cars. Since kangaroos in mid-bound can reach speeds of around 50 km/h (31 mph) and are relatively heavy, the force of impact can be severe. Small vehicles may be destroyed, while larger vehicles may suffer engine damage. The risk of harm or death to vehicle occupants is greatly increased if the windscreen is the point of impact. As a result, "kangaroo crossing" signs are commonplace in Australia.

Vehicles that frequent isolated roads, where roadside assistance may be scarce, are often fitted with " roo bars" to minimise damage caused by collision. Bonnet-mounted devices, designed to scare wildlife off the road with ultrasound and other methods, have been devised and marketed.

If a female is the victim of a collision, animal welfare groups ask that her pouch be checked for any surviving joey, in which case it may be removed to a wildlife sanctuary or veterinary surgeon for rehabilitation. Likewise, when an adult kangaroo is injured in a collision, a vet, the RSPCA Australia or the National Parks and Wildlife Service can be consulted for instructions on proper care. In New South Wales, rehabilitation of kangaroos is carried out by volunteers from WIRES. Council road signs often list phone numbers for callers to report injured animals.

Emblems and popular culture

The kangaroo is a recognisable symbol of Australia. The kangaroo and emu feature on the Australian coat of arms. Kangaroos have also been featured on coins, most notably the five kangaroos on the Australian one dollar coin. The Australian Made logo consists of a golden kangaroo in a green triangle to show that a product is grown or made in Australia.

Registered trademarks of early Australian companies using the kangaroo included Yung, Schollenberger & Co. Walla Walla Brand leather and skins (1890); Arnold V. Henn (1892) whose emblem showed a family of kangaroos playing with a skipping rope; Robert Lascelles & Co. linked the speed of the animal with its velocipedes (1896); while some overseas manufacturers, like that of "The Kangaroo" safety matches (made in Japan) of the early 1900s, also adopted the symbol. Even today, Australia's national airline, Qantas, uses a bounding kangaroo for its logo.

The kangaroo appears in Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories, " The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo", while the kangaroo is chased by a dingo, he gives Nqong the Big God's advice, that his legs and tail grew longest before five o'clock.

The kangaroo and wallaby feature predominantly in Australian sports teams names and mascots. Examples include the Australian national rugby league team (the Kangaroos) and the Australian national rugby union team (the Wallabies). In a nation-wide competition held in 1978 for the XII Commonwealth Games by the Games Australia Foundation Limited in 1982, Hugh Edwards' design was chosen; a simplified form of six thick stripes arranged in pairs extending from along the edges of a triangular centre represent both the kangaroo in full flight, and a stylised "A" for Australia.

Kangaroos are well represented in films, television, books, toys and souvenirs around the world. Skippy the Bush Kangaroo was a popular 1960s Australian children's television series about a fictional pet kangaroo. Kangaroos are featured in the Rolf Harris song " Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" and several Christmas carols.

The kangaroo has been a source of food for indigenous Australians for tens of thousands of years. Kangaroo meat is high in protein and low in fat (about 2%). Kangaroo meat has a high concentration of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) compared with other foods, and is a rich source of vitamins and minerals. Low fat diets rich in CLA have been studied for their potential in reducing obesity and atherosclerosis.

Kangaroo meat is sourced from wild animals and is seen by many as the best source of population control programs as opposed to culling them as pests where carcasses are left in paddocks. Kangaroos are harvested by licensed shooters in accordance with a code of practice and are protected by state and federal legislation.

Kangaroo meat is exported to many countries around the world. However, it is not considered biblically kosher by Jews or Adventists. It is considered halal according to Muslim dietary standards, because kangaroos are herbivorous.

References

Further reading

External links

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey kangaroo, and western grey kangaroo. Kangaroos are indigenous to Australia and New Guinea.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypic taxon of its family Ornithorhynchidae and genus Ornithorhynchus, though a number of related species appear in the fossil record.

Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Like other monotremes, the platypus senses prey in cloudy water through electrolocation. It is one of the few species of venomous mammals, as the male platypus has a spur on the hind foot that delivers an extremely painful venom.

The unusual appearance of this egg-laying, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal at first baffled European naturalists. In 1799, the first scientists to examine a preserved platypus body judged it a fake made of several animals sewn together.

The unique features of the platypus make it important in the study of evolutionary biology, and a recognisable and iconic symbol of Australia. It is culturally significant to several Aboriginal peoples, who also used to hunt it for food. It has appeared as a national mascot, features on the reverse of the Australian twenty-cent coin, and is an emblem of the state of New South Wales.

The platypus was hunted for its fur, but it has been a legally protected species in all states where it occurs since 1912. Its population is not under severe threat, although captive-breeding programs have had slight success, and it is vulnerable to pollution. It is classified as a near-threatened species by the IUCN, but a November 2020 report has recommended that it be upgraded to threatened species under the federal , due to habitat destruction and declining numbers in all states.

Taxonomy and naming

When the platypus was first encountered by Europeans in 1798, a pelt and sketch were sent back to Great Britain by Captain John Hunter, the second Governor of New South Wales. British scientists' initial hunch was that the attributes were a hoax. George Shaw, who produced the first description of the animal in the Naturalist's Miscellany in 1799, stated it was impossible not to entertain doubts as to its genuine nature, and Robert Knox believed it might have been produced by some Asian taxidermist. It was thought that somebody had sewn a duck's beak onto the body of a beaver-like animal. Shaw even took a pair of scissors to the dried skin to check for stitches.

The common name "platypus" literally means 'flat-foot', deriving from the Greek word platúpous (), from platús ( 'broad, wide, flat') and poús ( 'foot'). Shaw initially assigned the species the Linnaean name Platypus anatinus when he described it, but the genus term was quickly discovered to already be in use as the name of the wood-boring ambrosia beetle genus . It was independently described as Ornithorhynchus paradoxus by Johann Blumenbach in 1800 (from a specimen given to him by Sir Joseph Banks) and following the rules of priority of nomenclature, it was later officially recognised as Ornithorhynchus anatinus.

There is no universally-agreed plural form of "platypus" in the English language. Scientists generally use "platypuses" or simply "platypus". Alternatively, the term "platypi" is also used for the plural, although this is a form of pseudo-Latin; going by the word's Greek roots the plural would be "platypodes". Early British settlers called it by many names, such as "watermole", "duckbill", and "duckmole". Occasionally it is specifically called the "duck-billed platypus".

The scientific name Ornithorhynchus anatinus literally means 'duck-like bird-snout', deriving its genus name from the Greek root ornith- ( ornith or órnīs 'bird') and the word rhúnkhos ( 'snout', 'beak'). Its species name is derived from Latin ('duck-like') from 'duck'. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypic taxon of its family (Ornithorhynchidae).

Description

In David Collins's account of the new colony 1788-1801, he describes "an amphibious animal, of the mole species", with a drawing.

The body and the broad, flat tail of the platypus are covered with dense, brown, biofluorescent fur that traps a layer of insulating air to keep the animal warm. The fur is waterproof, textured like that of a mole. The platypus' tail stores fat reserves, an adaptation also found in the Tasmanian devil. Webbing is more significant on the front feet, which in land walking are folded up in knuckle-walking to protect the webbing. The elongated snout and lower jaw are covered in soft skin, forming the bill. The nostrils are located on the snout's dorsal surface, while the eyes and ears are just behind the snout in a groove which closes underwater. Platypuses can give a low growl when disturbed, and a range of vocalisations have been reported in captivity.

Size varies considerably in different regions, with average weight from 0.7 to 2.4 kg (1 lb 9 oz to 5 lb 5 oz); males have average length 50 cm (20 in), while females are the smaller at 43 cm (17 in). This variation does not seem to follow any particular climatic rule and may be due to other factors such as predation and human encroachment.

The platypus has an average body temperature of about 32 °C (90 °F), lower than the 37 °C (99 °F) typical of placental mammals. Research suggests this has been a gradual adaptation to harsh environmental conditions among the few marginal surviving monotreme species, rather than a general characteristic of past monotremes.

In addition to laying eggs, the anatomy, ontogeny, and genetics of monotremes shows traces of similarity to reptiles and birds. The platypus has a reptilian gait with legs on the sides of the body, rather than underneath. The platypus's genes are a possible evolutionary link between the mammalian XY and bird/reptile ZW sex-determination systems, as one of the platypus's five X chromosomes contains the DMRT1 gene, which birds possess on their Z chromosome.

As in all true mammals, the tiny bones that conduct sound in the middle ear are fully incorporated into the skull, rather than lying in the jaw as in pre-mammalian synapsids. However, the external opening of the ear still lies at the base of the jaw. The platypus has extra bones in the shoulder girdle, including an interclavicle not found in other mammals. As in many other aquatic and semiaquatic vertebrates, the bones show osteosclerosis, increasing their density to provide ballast.

The platypus jaw is constructed differently from that of other mammals, and the jaw-opening muscle is different. Modern platypus young have three teeth in each of the maxillae (one premolar and two molars) and dentaries (three molars), which they lose before or just after leaving the breeding burrow; adults instead develop heavily keratinised food-grinding pads called ceratodontes. The first upper and third lower cheek teeth of platypus nestlings are small, each having one principal cusp, while the other teeth have two main cusps.

The calcaneus spur on the male's hind limb is used to inject venom.

While both male and female platypuses are born with back ankle spurs, only the males' deliver venom. It is powerful enough to kill smaller animals such as dogs, and though it is not lethal to humans, it can inflict weeks of agony. Edema rapidly develops around the wound and gradually spreads through the affected limb, and it may develop into an excruciating hyperalgesia (heightened sensitivity to pain) persisting for days or even months.

The venom is composed largely of defensin-like proteins (DLPs) produced by the immune system, three of which are unique to the platypus. In other animals, defensins kill pathogenic bacteria and viruses, but in platypuses they are also collected into a venom against predators. Venom is produced in the crural glands of the male, which are kidney-shaped alveolar glands connected by a thin-walled duct to a calcaneus spur on each hind limb. The female platypus, in common with echidnas, has rudimentary spur buds that do not develop (dropping off before the end of their first year) and lack functional crural glands. Venom production rises among males during the breeding season, and it may be used to assert dominance.

Similar spurs are found on many archaic mammal groups, indicating that this was an ancient general characteristic among mammals.

Electrolocation

The platypus has secondarily acquired electroreception. Its receptors are arranged in stripes on its bill, giving it high sensitivity to the sides and below; it makes quick turns of its head as it swims to detect prey.[44]

Monotremes are the only mammals (apart from the Guiana dolphin) known to have a sense of electroreception, and the platypus's electroreception is the most sensitive of any monotreme. Feeding by neither sight nor smell, the platypus closes its eyes, ears, and nose when it dives. Digging in the bottom of streams with its bill, its electroreceptors detect tiny electric currents generated by the muscular contractions of its prey, enabling it to distinguish between animate and inanimate objects. Experiments have shown the platypus will even react to an "artificial shrimp" if a small electric current is passed through it.

The electroreceptors are located in rostrocaudal rows in the skin of the bill, while mechanoreceptors for touch are uniformly distributed across the bill. The electrosensory area of the cerebral cortex is in the tactile somatosensory area, and some cortical cells receive input from both electroreceptors and mechanoreceptors, suggesting the platypus feels electric fields like touches. These receptors in the bill dominate the somatotopic map of the platypus brain, in the same way human hands dominate the Penfield homunculus map.

The platypus can feel the direction of an electric source, perhaps by comparing differences in signal strength across the sheet of electroreceptors, enhanced by the characteristic side-to-side motion of the animal's head while hunting. It may also be able to determine the distance of moving prey from the time lag between their electrical and mechanical pressure pulses.

Monotreme electrolocation for hunting in murky waters may be tied to their tooth loss. The extinct was electroreceptive, but unlike the modern platypus it foraged pelagically (near the ocean surface).

In recent studies it has been suggested that the eyes of the platypus are more similar to those of Pacific hagfish or Northern Hemisphere lampreys than to those of most tetrapods. The eyes also contain double cones, unlike most mammals.

Although the platypus's eyes are small and not used under water, several features indicate that vision was important for its ancestors. The corneal surface and the adjacent surface of the lens is flat, while the posterior surface of the lens is steeply curved, similar to the eyes of other aquatic mammals such as otters and sea-lions. A temporal (ear side) concentration of retinal ganglion cells, important for binocular vision, indicates a vestigial role in predation, though the actual visual acuity is insufficient for such activities. Limited acuity is matched by low cortical magnification, a small lateral geniculate nucleus, and a large optic tectum, suggesting that the visual midbrain plays a more important role than the visual cortex, as in some rodents. These features suggest that the platypus has adapted to an aquatic and nocturnal lifestyle, developing its electrosensory system at the cost of its visual system. This contrasts with the small number of electroreceptors in the short-beaked echidna, which dwells in dry environments, while the long-beaked echidna, which lives in moist environments, is intermediate between the other two monotremes.

Biofluorescence

In 2020, research revealed that platypus fur gives a bluish-green biofluorescent glow in black light.

Distribution, ecology, and behaviour

Dentition, as illustrated in Knight's Sketches in Natural History

Swimming underwater at Sydney Aquarium, Australia

The platypus is semiaquatic, inhabiting small streams and rivers over an extensive range from the cold highlands of Tasmania and the Australian Alps to the tropical rainforests of coastal Queensland as far north as the base of the Cape York Peninsula.

Inland, its distribution is not well known. It was considered extinct on the South Australian mainland, with the last sighting recorded at Renmark in 1975. In the 1980s, John Wamsley created a platypus breeding program in Warrawong Sanctuary (see below), which subsequently closed. In 2017 there were some unconfirmed sightings downstream from the sanctuary, and in October 2020 a nesting platypus was filmed inside the recently reopened sanctuary.

There is a population on Kangaroo Island introduced in the 1920s, said to stand at 150 individuals in the Rocky River region of Flinders Chase National Park. In the 2019-20 Australian bushfire season, large portions of the island burnt, decimating wildlife. However, SA Department for Environment and Water recovery teams worked to reinstate their habitat, with a number of sightings reported by April 2020.

The platypus is no longer found in the main Murray-Darling Basin, possibly due to declining water quality from land clearing and irrigation. Along the coastal river systems, its distribution is unpredictable: absent in some relatively healthy rivers, but present in some quite degraded ones, for example the lower Maribyrnong.

In captivity, platypuses have survived to 17 years of age, and wild specimens have been recaptured when 11 years old. Mortality rates for adults in the wild appear to be low. Natural predators include snakes, water rats, goannas, hawks, owls, and eagles. Low platypus numbers in northern Australia are possibly due to predation by crocodiles. The introduction of red foxes in 1845 for sport hunting may have had some impact on its numbers on the mainland. The platypus is generally nocturnal and crepuscular, but can be active on overcast days. Its habitat bridges rivers and the riparian zone, where it finds both prey and river banks to dig resting and nesting burrows. It may have a range of up to 7 km (4.3 mi), with a male's home range overlapping those of three or four females.

The platypus is an excellent swimmer and spends much of its time in the water foraging for food. It has a swimming style unique among mammals, propelling itself by alternate strokes of the front feet, while the webbed hind feet are held against the body and only used for steering, along with the tail. It can maintain its relatively low body temperature of about 32°C (90°F) while foraging for hours in water below 5°C (41°F). Dives normally last around 30 seconds, with an estimated aerobic limit of 40 seconds, with 10 to 20 seconds at the surface between dives.

The platypus rests in a short, straight burrow in the riverbank about 30 cm (12 in) above water level, its oval entrance-hole often hidden under a tangle of roots. It may sleep up to 14 hours per day, after half a day of diving.

The platypus is a carnivore, feeding on annelid worms, insect larvae, freshwater shrimp, and yabby ( crayfish) that it digs out of the riverbed with its snout or catches while swimming. It carries prey to the surface in cheek-pouches before eating it. It eats about 20% of its own weight each day, which requires it to spend an average of 12 hours daily looking for food.

Reproduction

Platypus's nest with eggs (replica)

The species has a single breeding season between June and October, with some local variation. Investigations have found both resident and transient platypuses, and suggest a polygynous mating system. Females are believed to become sexually mature in their second year, with breeding observed in animals over nine years old. The male takes no part in nesting, living in his year-long resting burrow. After mating, the female constructs a deep, elaborate nesting burrow up to 20 m (65 ft) long. It tucks fallen leaves and reeds underneath its curled tail, dragging them to the burrow to soften the tunnel floor with folded wet leaves, and to line the nest at the end with bedding.

The female has two ovaries, but only the left one is functional. It lays one to three (usually two) small, leathery eggs (similar to those of reptiles), about 11 mm ( in) in diameter and slightly rounder than bird eggs. The eggs develop for about 28 days, with only about 10 days of external incubation (in contrast to a chicken egg, which spends about one day in tract and 21 days externally). The female curls around the incubating eggs, which develop in three phases. In the first, the embryo has no functional organs and relies on the yolk sac for sustenance, until the sac is absorbed. During the second phase, the digits develop, and in the last phase, the egg tooth appears. At first, European naturalists could hardly believe that the female platypus lays eggs, but this was finally confirmed by William Hay Caldwell in 1884.

Most mammal zygotes go through holoblastic cleavage, splitting into multiple divisible daughter cells. However, monotremes like the platypus, along with reptiles and birds, undergo meroblastic cleavage, in which the ovum does not split completely. The cells at the edge of the yolk remain continuous with the egg's cytoplasm, allowing the yolk and embryo, to exchange waste and nutrients with the egg through the cytoplasm.

Young platypus are called "puggles". Newly hatched platypuses are vulnerable, blind, and hairless, and are fed by the mother's milk, that provides all the requirements for growth and development. The platypus' mammary glands lack teats, with milk released through pores in the skin. The milk pools in grooves on the mother's abdomen, allowing the young to lap it up. After they hatch, the offspring are milk-fed for three to four months.

During incubation and weaning, the mother initially leaves the burrow only for short periods to forage. She leaves behind her a number of thin soil plugs along the length of the burrow, possibly to protect the young from predators; pushing past these on her return squeezes water from her fur and allows the burrow to remain dry. After about five weeks, the mother begins to spend more time away from her young, and at around four months, the young emerge from the burrow. A platypus is born with teeth, but these drop out at a very early age, leaving the horny plates it uses to grind food.

Evolutionary relationships between the platypus and other mammals

The platypus and other monotremes were very poorly understood, and some of the 19th century myths that grew up around them - for example, that the monotremes were "inferior" or quasireptilian - still endure. In 1947, William King Gregory theorised that placental mammals and marsupials may have diverged earlier, and a subsequent branching divided the monotremes and marsupials, but later research and fossil discoveries have suggested this is incorrect. In fact, modern monotremes are the survivors of an early branching of the mammal tree, and a later branching is thought to have led to the marsupial and placental groups. Molecular clock and fossil dating suggest platypuses split from echidnas around 19-48million years ago.

Reconstruction of ancient platypus relative Steropodon

The oldest discovered fossil of the modern platypus dates back to about 100,000 years ago, during the Quaternary period. The extinct monotremes Teinolophos and Steropodon were once thought to be closely related to the modern platypus, but are now considered more basal taxa. The fossilised Steropodon was discovered in New South Wales and is composed of an opalised lower jawbone with three molar teeth (whereas the adult contemporary platypus is toothless). The molar teeth were initially thought to be tribosphenic, which would have supported a variation of Gregory's theory, but later research has suggested, while they have three cusps, they evolved under a separate process. The fossil is thought to be about 110million years old, making it the oldest mammal fossil found in Australia. Unlike the modern platypus (and echidnas), Teinolophos lacked a beak.

Monotrematum sudamericanum, another fossil relative of the platypus, has been found in Argentina, indicating monotremes were present in the supercontinent of Gondwana when the continents of South America and Australia were joined via Antarctica (until about 167million years ago). A fossilised tooth of a giant platypus species, Obdurodon tharalkooschild, was dated 5-15million years ago. Judging by the tooth, the animal measured 1.3 metres long, making it the largest platypus on record.

Platypus skeleton

Because of the early divergence from the therian mammals and the low numbers of extant monotreme species, the platypus is a frequent subject of research in evolutionary biology. In 2004, researchers at the Australian National University discovered the platypus has ten sex chromosomes, compared with two (XY) in most other mammals. These ten chromosomes form five unique pairs of XY in males and XX in females, i.e. males are X ₁Y ₁X ₂Y ₂X ₃Y ₃X ₄Y ₄X ₅Y ₅. One of the X chromosomes of the platypus has great homology to the bird Z chromosome. The platypus genome also has both reptilian and mammalian genes associated with egg fertilisation. Though the platypus lacks the mammalian sex-determining gene SRY, a study found that the mechanism of sex determination is the AMH gene on the oldest Y chromosome. A draft version of the platypus genome sequence was published in on 8May 2008, revealing both reptilian and mammalian elements, as well as two genes found previously only in birds, amphibians, and fish. More than 80% of the platypus's genes are common to the other mammals whose genomes have been sequenced. An updated genome, the most complete on record, was published in 2021, together with the genome of the short-beaked echidna.

Conservation

Status and threats

Except for its loss from the state of South Australia, the platypus occupies the same general distribution as it did prior to European settlement of Australia. However, local changes and fragmentation of distribution due to human modification of its habitat are documented. Its historical abundance is unknown and its current abundance difficult to gauge, but it is assumed to have declined in numbers, although as of 1998 was still being considered as common over most of its current range. The species was extensively hunted for its fur until the early years of the 20th century. Although the species gained legal protections beginning in Victoria in 1890 and throughout Australia by 1912, until about 1950 it was still at risk of drowning in the nets of inland fisheries.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature recategorised its status as "near threatened" in 2016. The species is protected by law, but the only state in which it is listed as endangered is South Australia, under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972. In November 2020 a recommendation was made to list the platypus as a vulnerable species across all states with a vulnerable listing being made official in Victoria under the state's Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 on 10 January 2021.

Habitat destruction

The platypus is not considered to be in immediate danger of extinction, because conservation measures have been successful, but it could be adversely affected by habitat disruption caused by dams, irrigation, pollution, netting, and trapping. Reduction of watercourse flows and water levels through excessive droughts and extraction of water for industrial, agricultural, and domestic supplies are also considered a threat. The IUCN lists the platypus on its Red List as " Near Threatened" as assessed in 2016, when it was estimated that numbers had reduced by about 30 percent on average since European settlement. The animal is listed as endangered in South Australia, but it is not covered at all under the federal .

Researchers have worried for years that declines have been greater than assumed. In January 2020, researchers from the University of New South Wales presented evidence that the platypus is at risk of extinction, due to a combination of extraction of water resources, land clearing, climate change and severe drought. The study predicted that, considering current threats, the animals' abundance would decline by 47-66% and metapopulation occupancy by 22-32% over 50 years, causing "extinction of local populations across about 40% of the range". Under projections of climate change projections to 2070, reduced habitat due to drought would lead to 51-73% reduced abundance and 36-56% reduced metapopulation occupancy within 50 years respectively. These predictions suggested that the species would fall under the "Vulnerable" classification. The authors stressed the need for national conservation efforts, which might include conducting more surveys, tracking trends, reduction of threats and improvement of river management to ensure healthy platypus habitat. Co-author Gilad Bino is concerned that the estimates of the 2016 baseline numbers could be wrong, and numbers may have been reduced by as much as half already.

A November 2020 report by scientists from the University of New South Wales, funded by a research grant from the Australian Conservation Foundation in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund Australia and the Humane Society International Australia revealed that that platypus habitat in Australia had shrunk by 22 per cent in the previous 30 years, and recommended that the platypus should be listed as a threatened species under the EPBC Act. Declines in population had been greatest in NSW, in particular in the Murray-Darling basin.

Platypuses generally suffer from few diseases in the wild; however, as of 2008 there was concern in Tasmania about the potential impacts of a disease caused by the fungus Mucor amphibiorum. The disease (termed mucormycosis) affects only Tasmanian platypuses, and had not been observed in platypuses in mainland Australia. Affected platypuses can develop skin lesions or ulcers on various parts of their bodies, including their backs, tails, and legs. Mucormycosis can kill platypuses, death arising from secondary infection and by affecting the animals' ability to maintain body temperature and forage efficiently. The Biodiversity Conservation Branch at the Department of Primary Industries and Water collaborated with NRM north and University of Tasmania researchers to determine the impacts of the disease on Tasmanian platypuses, as well as the mechanism of transmission and spread of the disease.

Wildlife sanctuaries

Much of the world was introduced to the platypus in 1939 when National Geographic Magazine published an article on the platypus and the efforts to study and raise it in captivity. The latter is a difficult task, and only a few young have been successfully raised since, notably at Healesville Sanctuary in Victoria. The leading figure in these efforts was David Fleay, who established a platypusary (a simulated stream in a tank) at the Healesville Sanctuary, where breeding was successful in 1943. In 1972, he found a dead baby of about 50 days old, which had presumably been born in captivity, at his wildlife park at Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Healesville repeated its success in 1998 and again in 2000 with a similar stream tank. Since 2008, platypus has bred regularly at Healesville, including second-generation (captive born themselves breeding in captivity). Taronga Zoo in Sydney bred twins in 2003, and breeding was again successful there in 2006.

As of 2019, the only platypuses in captivity outside of Australia are in the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in the U.S. state of California. Three attempts were made to bring the animals to the Bronx Zoo, in 1922, 1947, and 1958. Of these, only two of the three animals introduced in 1947, Penelope and Cecil, lived longer than eighteen months.

Human interactions

Aboriginal Australians used to hunt platypuses for food (their fatty tails being particularly nutritious), while, after colonisation, Europeans hunted them for fur from the late 19th century until 1912, when it was prohibited by law. In addition, European researchers captured and killed platypus or removed their eggs, partly in order to increase scientific knowledge, but also to gain prestige and outcompete rivals from different countries.

Cultural references

The platypus has been a subject in the Dreamtime stories of Aboriginal Australians, some of whom believed the animal was a hybrid of a duck and a water rat.

According to one story of the upper Darling River, the major animal groups, the land animals, water animals and birds, all competed for the platypus to join their respective groups, but the platypus ultimately decided to not join any of them, feeling that he did not need to be part of a group to be special, and wished to remain friends with all of those groups. Another Dreaming story emanate of the upper Darling tells of a young duck which ventured too far, ignoring the warnings of her tribe, and was kidnapped by a large water-rat called Biggoon. After managing to escape after some time, she returned and laid two eggs which hatched into strange furry creatures, so they were all banished and went to live in the mountains.

The platypus is also used by some Aboriginal peoples as a totem, which is to them "a natural object, plant or animal that is inherited by members of a clan or family as their spiritual emblem", and the animal holds special meaning as a totem animal for the Wadi Wadi people, who live along the Murray River. Because of their cultural significance and importance in connection to country, the platypus is protected and conserved by these Indigenous peoples.

The platypus has often been used as a symbol of Australia's cultural identity. In the 1940s, live platypuses were given to allies in the Second World War, in order to strengthen ties and boost morale.

Platypuses have been used several times as mascots: Syd the platypus was one of the three mascots chosen for the Sydney 2000 Olympics along with an echidna and a kookaburra, Expo Oz the platypus was the mascot for World Expo 88, which was held in Brisbane in 1988, and Hexley the platypus is the mascot for the Darwin operating system, the BSD-based core of macOS and other operating systems from Apple Inc.

Since the introduction of decimal currency to Australia in 1966, the embossed image of a platypus, designed and sculpted by Stuart Devlin, has appeared on the reverse (tails) side of the 20-cent coin. The platypus has frequently appeared in Australian postage stamps, most recently the 2015 "Native Animals" series and the 2016 "Australian Animals Monotremes" series.

In the American animated series Phineas and Ferb (2007-2015), the title characters own a pet bluish-green platypus named Perry who, unknown to them, is a secret agent. Such choices were inspired by media underuse, as well as to exploit the animal's striking appearance; additionally, show creator Dan Povenmire, who also wrote the character's theme song, said that its opening lyrics are based on the introductory sentence of the Platypus article on Wikipedia, copying the "semiaquatic egg-laying mammal" phrase word for word, and appending the phrase "of action". As a character, Perry has been well received by both fans and critics. Coincidentally, real platypuses show a similar cyan colour when seen under ultraviolet lighting.

References

Documentaries

External links

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus ), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypic taxon of its family Ornithorhynchidae and genus Ornithorhynchus, though a number of related species appear in the fossil record.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Australia Remastered: Wild Australians S1 * E4 - Wombat Kingdom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Known as the bulldozers of the bush, wombats are Australia's largest burrowing animals. Aaron Pedersen explores how their digging has transformed landscapes and changed the ...

# data[].attributes.body
This term we are going to have so much fun reading and discussing the novel my Roald Dahl 'Matilda'.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Open a world of reading. Try Sora, the new reading app for students, by OverDrive.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Articles, games and activities about our planetary neighbors

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Designed for children K-2 and for young English Language Learners, ( WILD is Wordsmyth's most exciting, colorful, and interactive dictionary. WILD comes free with your Wordsmyth subscription. Read more...)

New! WILD Word Learner is an educational game app that is a companion to the WILD dictionary. Children choose from among 12 topics that cover nearly 200 lists of words from WILD.

For kid-friendly definitions and example sentences for older children, try Wordsmyth's Word Explorer Children's Dictionary, containing over 14,000 entries, each with human-voiced audio pronunciations. The dictionary also includes synonyms and antonyms, word histories, geographical entries with maps, and abundant illustrations.

Unique to our Children's Dictionary is the Word Explorer, a word-finding and knowledge-exploration feature. It is an index of related words, integrated within entries, that allows a child to find words connected with multiple topics and to explore whole networks of words and their meanings. Check out the Word Explorer topics below!

Word Explorer topics list and keywords

For middle school and high school students, Wordsmyth offers its Advanced Dictionary with nearly 60,000 headwords, integrated thesaurus, and an abundance of example sentences and images. The Advanced Dictionary is part of our Comprehensive Dictionary Suite, which also contains both an intermediate level (Children's) as well as a beginner level for older English language learners. The linking of the three dictionaries allows for easy navigation between the levels.

( Subscribe to Wordsmyth to get Spanish and Chinese support, roots and affixes study feature, word-combining information, and marking of grammatical patterns in examples sentences. A parental filter is also available in the Settings with your subscription. Read more...)

The Comprehensive Dictionary Suite has a companion app available for both Android and iOS devices. The app provides for a better user experience on mobile devices and is accessible with or without the internet. ( Read the full description)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Wordsmyth Word Explorer Children's Dictionary; WILD dictionary K-2 | Wordsmyth

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Best online English dictionaries for children, with kid-friendly definitions, integrated thesaurus for kids, images, and animations. Spanish and Chinese language support available

# data[].attributes.body
Week 5- independent reading activity.

Step 1- Read the story- Think about narrative structure (beginning, middle, end- characters, setting, problem/event and resolution or ending)

Step 2- Complete the questions. You can work with a buddy in your group for this.

Step 3- Glue into your literacy scrap book and complete a finish task.

# data[].attributes.body
Join up- far right-hand side

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
With ScratchJr, young children (ages 5-7) can program their own interactive stories and games.

# data[].attributes.body
Steps for assessment

1. What sprites (characters) will you use? Draw it in the document given to you.

2. What information or facts will you add to your scratch project? Write them in the document given to you.

3. Steps -Steps to complete your activity on your computer in scratch-

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1097667319/editor

1.     Add your sprites

2.     Add a background

3.     Make your sprites move

4.     Make your sprites talk

5.     Add any sound you would like

6.     Extras

4. How did you make your Sprite MOVE?Write them in the document given to you.

5. How did you make your Sprite TALK? Write them in the document given to you.

6. Evaluation

Explain one problem you had when making your Informational Scratch Project: Write the steps you took to fix the problem in the document given to you.

7. What do you think you did well? Write them in the document given to you.

8. What do you think you need to improve? Write this in the document given to you.

9. YOU ARE FINISHED!! now review a peers sprite and hand into the teacher.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Scratch is a free programming language and online community where you can create your own interactive stories, games, and animations.

# data[].attributes.body
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1097667319/editor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Secret Life of the Tasmanian Devil - Meet the Devils

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Tasmanian devil is an extraordinary creature. It is the world's largest carnivorous marsupial, with the sharpest teeth, strongest jaws and noisiest shriek of any ...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Access impactful educational videos and supporting classroom resources anywhere, at any time to enhance teaching and learning at all levels.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Tips and online safety advice for kids aged 5 - 12

# data[].attributes.body
Peterman Ranges

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Petermann Ranges (Australia) - Wikipedia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Karlu Karlu (The Devil’s Marbles) - Bing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Murphy’s Haystacks are inselberg rock formations located at Mortana, between Streaky Bay and Port Kenny on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.[1]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Wilpena Pound (“Ikara” in the Adnyamathanha language[1]) is a major natural amphitheatre of mountains located 429 kilometres (267 mi) north of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia in the heart of the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park. Its fringe is accessible by a sealed road between the towns of Hawker to the south and Blinman in the northern Flinders Ranges.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Wave Rock is a natural rock formation that is shaped like a tall breaking ocean wave. The "wave" is about 15 m (49 ft) high and around 110 m (360 ft) long. It forms the north side of a solitary hill, which is known as "Hyden Rock". This hill, which is a granite inselberg, lies about 3 km (2 mi) east of the small town of Hyden and 296 km (184 mi) east-southeast of Perth, Western Australia. Wave Rock and Hyden Rock are part of a 160 ha (395-acre) nature reserve, Hyden Wildlife Park. More than 100,000 tourists visit every year.

A wall lies above Wave Rock about halfway up Hyden Rock and follows the contours of the wall. It collects and funnels rainwater to a storage dam. The wall and dam were constructed in December 1928 by the Public Works Department for the original settlers of East Karlgarin District. Both were renovated in 1951 to increase water capacity for the Hyden township. Such walls are common on many similar rocks in the Wheatbelt.

Wave Rock has cultural significance to Ballardong people. Local tribes believed that the rock was a creation of the Rainbow Serpent, and was created in her wake by dragging her swollen body over the land after she had consumed all of the water in the land. They respected this area as an icon of cultural learning; a moral from this Dream time tale was to be remembered for life. The rock is part of a dreaming trail that extends from the south coast near Augusta to the Great Victoria Desert country to the north east. Other features along the trail include Mulka's Cave, Puntapin Rock, Jilakin Rock, Jitarning Rock and Dumbleyung Lake.

Hyden Rock, of which Wave Rock is part, consists of 2.63 billion year-old biotite K-feldspar porphyritic monzogranite that is part of the Yilgarn Craton. Hyden Rock is a granite inselberg, which consists of three domes. The central and western domes are separated by a deep valley, which is now occupied by a reservoir. The central and eastern domes are linked by a low platform. A multistage process of landform development created these domes. The initial step in the development of Hyden Rock was the subsurface alteration by weathering of granite bedrock beneath a lateritised land surface during the Cretaceous Period between 100-130 million years ago. Depending on the degree to which it was fractured by jointing, the granite bedrock underlying this surface was altered to varying depths beneath the land surface. This process formed underground "domes" of solid granite bedrock surrounded by deeply weathered, relatively loose, and disaggregated granite. Following separation of Australia and Antarctica and accompanying tilting of what became southwestern Australia, periodic erosion of the deeply weathered granite, which underlaid the surrounding land surface, exposed these buried solid bedrock domes over time as Hyden Rock.

Wave Rock is a spectacular example of what geomorphologists call a " flared slope". A flared slope is a concave-upward or -inward bedrock surface that is typically found around the base of inselbergs, bornhardts, and granitic boulders and also on their higher slopes. Flared slopes like Wave Rock are particularly well developed in granitic landforms of south-western and southern Australia. The flared slopes are argued to have formed by the concentrated chemical weathering around the base of an inselberg by groundwater. The chemical weathering of the bedrock by groundwater produces a concave-upward or -inward pocket of deeply weathered, relatively loose, and disaggregated bedrock within the formerly solid bedrock base of an inselberg. When the land surface, which is underlain by deeply weathered bedrock, around an inselberg is lowered by erosion, the pocket of deeply weathered disaggregated bedrock is also removed to produce a flared slope such as Wave Rock. It has also been argued that flared slopes can form during the erosion of slopes of any inselbergs.

Other notable rock formations in the area include Hippos Yawn and The Humps.

Wave Rock hosts the nearby Wave Rock Weekender event, a music festival that has been held annually since 2006.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Wave Rock is a natural rock formation that is shaped like a tall breaking ocean wave. The "wave" is about 15 m (49 ft) high and around 110 m (360 ft) long. It forms the north side of a solitary hill, which is known as "Hyden Rock".

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Three Sisters are an unusual rock formation in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, on the north escarpment of the Jamison Valley. They are located close to the town of Katoomba and are one of the Blue Mountains' best known sites, towering above the Jamison Valley. Their names are Meehni (922 m), Wimlah (918 m), and Gunnedoo (906 m).

The Three Sisters were formed by land erosion around 200 million years ago during the Triassic period when the sandstone of the Blue Mountains was eroded over time by wind, rain and rivers, causing the cliffs surrounding the Jamison Valley to be slowly broken up.

When the Blue Mountains were covered in seawater, the ocean carried large amounts of sediment that gradually sunk to the floor in crosswise layers. These layers later created rock beds and shales. Around 200 million years ago, volcanoes erupted through the coal, sandstone and shale layers, forming the ridges and the shape of the Three Sisters.

The commonly told legend of the Three Sisters is that three sisters, Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo, lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe. They fell in love with three men from the neighbouring Nepean tribe, but marriage was forbidden by tribal law. The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to capture the three sisters. A major tribal battle ensued, and the sisters were turned to stone by an elder to protect them, but he was killed in the fighting and no one else could turn them back.

This legend is commonly claimed to be an Indigenous Australian Dreamtime legend. However, the legend as is commonly told may be traced back to non-indigenous schoolgirl Patricia Stone, who gave the formations their "indigenous" names.

The Aboriginal traditional owners, the Gundungurra, have a different legend that includes the Sisters rock formation.

From nearby Echo Point, a bushwalking trail leads to the Three Sisters and down to the valley floor via more than 800 well-maintained steel and stone steps called "the Giant Stairway". Then a 1.5-hour walk on The Federal Pass trail leads to the base of Katoomba Falls and the Katoomba Scenic Railway. Walkers who don't wish to climb back to the top can take the Scenic Railway back to the plateau for a fee.[citation needed ]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Three Sisters are an unusual rock formation in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, on the north escarpment of the Jamison Valley. They are located close to the town of Katoomba and are one of the Blue Mountains' best known sites, towering above the Jamison Valley.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of Port Campbell National Park, by the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia.

Their proximity to one another has made the site a popular tourist attraction. Seven of the original eight stacks remain standing at the Twelve Apostles viewpoint, after one collapsed in July 2005. Though the view from the promontory by the Twelve Apostles never included twelve stacks, additional stacks-not considered part of the Apostles group-are located to the west within the national park.

The limestone unit that forms The Twelve Apostles is referred to as the Port Campbell Limestone, which was deposited in the Mid-Late Miocene, around 15 to 5 million years ago.

The Twelve Apostles were formed by erosion. The harsh and extreme weather conditions from the Southern Ocean gradually erode the soft limestone to form caves in the cliffs, which then become arches that eventually collapse, leaving rock stacks up to 50 m (160 ft) high. The stacks are susceptible to further erosion from waves. In July 2005, a 50-metre-tall (160 ft) stack collapsed, leaving seven standing at the Twelve Apostles viewpoint. Due to wave action eroding the cliffs, existing headlands are expected to become new limestone stacks in the future.

The stacks were originally known as the Pinnacles, and the Sow and Pigs (or Sow and Piglets, with Muttonbird Island being the Sow and the smaller rock stacks being the Piglets), as well as the Twelve Apostles. The formation's name was made official as the Twelve Apostles, despite only ever having had eight stacks.

In 2002, the Port Campbell Professional Fishermens Association attempted to block the creation of the Twelve Apostles Marine National Park at the Twelve Apostles site. The association approved of a later decision by the Victorian government to prohibit seismic exploration at the site by Benaris Energy, believing such exploration would harm marine life.

1. Thomas Hunter (September 28, 2009). ^ "Sister, not apostle, crumbles into sea". theage.com.au. Fairfax Digital. Retrieved April 24, 2019.

2. ^ Tassone, David R.; Holford, Simon P.; Hillis, Richard R.; Tuitt, Adrian K. (2012). "Quantifying Neogene plate-boundary controlled uplift and deformation of the southern Australian margin". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 367 (1): 91-110. doi:10.1144/SP367.7. ISSN 0305-8719.

3. Porter, Geoff (2006). ^ Little Bites of Australia. Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie Pu. p. 203.

4. ^ "Port Campbell bid to block marine national park". abc.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 15 April 2002. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015.

5. ^ "Fishermen welcome decision against national park seismic exploration". abc.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 17 October 2003. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011.

6. ^ "Otway Basin seismic survey work set to start". abc.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 21 October 2003. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Twelve Apostles (Victoria) - Wikipedia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of Port Campbell National Park, by the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. Their proximity to one another has made the site a popular tourist attraction. Seven of the original eight stacks remain standing at the Twelve Apostles viewpoint, after one collapsed in July 2005.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Gulaga, dual-named as Mount Dromedary and also referred to as Mount Gulaga, is a mountain located in the south coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It rises above the village of Central Tilba and is within the Gulaga National Park. At its highest point, it measures 806 metres (2,644 ft) above sea level.

Najanuka / Little Dromedary Mountain, also dual-named, lies 6.37 km (3.96 mi) to the south-east, and both mountains are of great significance to the local Aboriginal people, the Dhurga-speaking Yuin people. The area features the southernmost subtropical rainforest in New South Wales.

Gulaga from Bermagui

Gulaga and Central Tilba

The Rainforest Track at Gulaga.

Gulaga is the place of ancestral origin within the mythology of the Yuin people, the Aboriginal people of the area. Gulaga itself symbolises the mother and provides a basis for Aboriginal spiritual identity; the mountain as well as the surrounding area holds particular significance for Aboriginal women. For the Yuin people it is seen as a place of cultural origin. The mountain is regarded as a symbolic mother-figure providing the basis for the people's spiritual identity. Gulaga, the mother, has two sons: Barunguba, also known as Montague Island, and Najanuka, named Little Dromedary by Europeans. The story tells that her second son was not allow to go far from home, as his elder brother did, and that Gulaga can see both of her sons in the distance.

The first Europeans to sight the mountain were the crew of Captain Cook's ship, HMS Endeavour on 21 April 1770. Endeavour passed the mountain at a distance of 24 km (15 mi) offshore. Cook named it "Mount Dromedary", as its figure reminded him of the hump of a camel.

In the mid-1800s Mount Dromedary, became a prominent site of gold mining. Rev. W.B. Clarke first found traces of alluvium gold in Dignams Creek in 1852. Gold mining then became a common activity in the area. A significant amount of gold was found in deposits along streams coming from Gulaga's slopes. Between 1878 and 1920 approximately 603 kilograms (1,329 lb) of gold was found in its slopes. Near the crest of Gulaga, reefs were discovered in 1877 that allowed for gold mineralisation. These pyrite-rich veins, ranging in size from 15 to 45 centimetres (5.9 to 17.7 in), were mined by the Mount Dromedary Gold Mining Company mainly between 1878 and 1910.

In May 2006 the Gulaga National Park, incorporating the former Wallaga Lake National Park, was handed back to its traditional owners, the Yuin people, in a historic agreement signed by the NSW Environment Minister and the Yuin people. The agreement also included Biamanga National Park, which incorporates Mumbulla Mountain, the "men's mountain".

After a period of community consultation from mid-2021, The mountain was officially assigned the dual names of Gulaga and Mount Dromedary on 30 November 2021. Signage would place Gulaga first and the European name underneath it, reflecting the importance of the Dhurga language, history and traditions. At the same time, Little Dromedary Mountain was dual-named Najanuka / Little Dromedary Mountain, and the island Barunguba / Montague Island.

When Gulaga / Mount Dromedary was once an active volcano, part of a complex covering about 40 km ² (15 sq mi), with the first of several eruptions occurring about 94 million years ago during the Mid Cretaceous. Its eruptions formed both Najanuka / Little Dromedary to the east and Baranguba/ Montague Island. Back then it would have been nearly 2,000 m (6,600 ft) higher than its current 797 m (2,615 ft) above sea level, with foothills stretching to Tuross Head. What remains today is the inner core of the original volcano. It has been dormant since end of the Cretaceous (65 million years ago).

Gulaga is thus an igneous rock complex, known as Mount Dromedary Igneous Complex. It comprises a group of igneous and extrusive rocks of the Shoshonite association. There are also Ordovician sediments to the east and west of the villages of Central Tilba and Tilba Tilba. The mountain is composed of banatite ("a rock of intermediate composition between quartz diorite and quartz monzonite". There is an outer layer of monzonite around the banatite core main core of Gulaga, probably emplaced by the vertical movement of magma which created intrusion into the surrounding Ordovician sediments. There are dykes within the complex, mainly composed of dolerite or quartz feldspar.

At its highest point, Gulaga measures 806 metres (2,644 ft) above sea level.

Gulaga is located within the 4,673-hectare (11,550-acre) Gulaga National Park and the area serves as a site for public activity as well as a place of significance for the Aboriginal peoples. The national park provides walkways along the mining roads, which provide views of the coastal lakes. The hike from Tilba to the summit is approximately 11 kilometres (6.8 mi); taking about a half a day to complete. Though it is steep in a few places along the way, it is a fairly leisurely hike, requiring no special hiking equipment.

Access to the park is approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of Bermagui. The lakes can be accessed by boat, which can be rented from Regatta Point or Beauty Point.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Gulaga, dual-named as Mount Dromedary and also referred to as Mount Gulaga, is a mountain located in the south coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It rises above the village of Central Tilba and is within the Gulaga National Park. At its highest point, it measures 806 metres (2,644 ft) above sea level.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Mount Augustus

Mount Augustus is located roughly 1,000 km north of Perth, in the Mount Augustus National Park in Western Australia. The name is also given to the neighbouring pastoral lease, Mount Augustus Station. The local Wadjari people call it Burringurrah, after a Dreamtime figure, a young boy who was speared and turned into a rock. It has been a sacred site for thousands of years.

It is a prominent inselberg that stands 1,106 metres (3,629 ft) above sea level, or approximately 860 metres (2,820 ft) above the surrounding plain, and covers an area of 4,795 hectares (11,850 acres). It has a central ridge which is almost eight kilometres (5 mi) long.

Mount Augustus is widely claimed in tourist promotional and information literature as the "world's largest monolith", but the claim does not originate from the geological literature, nor is it substantiated by any other scholarly research.

Mt. Augustus is more than twice the size of Uluru. Unlike Uluru, which is a monolith and, in general, devoid of plant growth, Mt. Augustus is an asymmetrical anticline.

According to the Geological Survey of Western Australia, Mount Augustus is an asymmetrical anticline (rock layers that have been folded into an arch-like structure) which is steeper on its north-eastern side than the south-west.

The rocks consist of sand and gravel that were deposited by an ancient, south-easterly flowing river system that drained the region about 1,600 million years ago. This river system flowed over a faulted and eroded surface of 1,800-1,620 million-year-old granitic and metamorphic rocks. The river deposits consolidated to form sandstone and conglomerate, and were then buried beneath younger marine sediments, which were laid down when shallow seas covered the region between 1,600-1,070 million years ago.

The rocks were buckled into their present-day structure about 900 million years ago when movement along faults in the underlying granitic and metamorphic rocks caused localised, strong, north-east directed compression. The marine sedimentary rocks that overlay the sandstone and conglomerate have since been eroded from Mount Augustus, but now form the hills around Cobra and Mount Augustus homesteads. Erosion has also removed sandstone and conglomerate from the north-western end of Mount Augustus to expose the underlying granitic rocks at The Pound.

There was a gold rush in the 1890s due to local geology.

Wattles, cassias and eremophilas dominate the plant life and the animal life include emus, red kangaroos, goannas, euros and birds of prey. There are over 100 species of birds on and around Mount Augustus.

The climb to the summit and back can take up to 5 hours, and there are two trails (one class 4 and the other a class 5) to get there. There are a number of walking tracks to explore.

There have been a number of deaths on the summit walking trail. An inquest into the deaths by government authorities suggests to close the summit trail between September and March for the sake of unwary hikers who do not appreciate the treacherous conditions.

Evidence of early Aboriginal habitation is depicted in the rock engravings around Mount Augustus. Many of the Dreamtime stories of the local Aboriginal Wajarri people can be viewed in the rock engravings at Mundee, Ooramboo and Beedoboondu. All of these are accessible on the loop walking trail.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mount Augustus (Western Australia) - Wikipedia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Mount Augustus is located roughly 1,000 km north of Perth, in the Mount Augustus National Park in Western Australia. The name is also given to the neighbouring pastoral lease, Mount Augustus Station. The local Wadjari people call it Burringurrah, after a Dreamtime figure, a young boy who was speared and turned into a rock.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Warrumbungles is a mountain range in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The nearest town is Coonabarabran. The area is easiest accessed from the Newell Highway which is the major road link directly between Melbourne, Victoria and Brisbane, Queensland and cuts across inland New South Wales from the north to the south.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Mount Kosciuszko ( KOZ-ee-US-koh; Ngarigo: Kunama Namadgi), is mainland Australia's tallest mountain, at 2,228 metres (7,310 ft) above sea level. It is located on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park, part of the Australian Alps National Parks and Reserves, in New South Wales, Australia, and is located west of Crackenback and close to Jindabyne, near the border with Victoria. Mount Kosciuszko is ranked 35th by topographic isolation.

The mountain was named by the Polish explorer Paweł (Paul) Edmund Strzelecki in 1840, in honour of Polish-Lithuanian and American freedom fighter General Tadeusz Kościuszko, because of its perceived resemblance to the Kościuszko Mound in Kraków, Poland.

An exploration party led by Strzelecki and James Macarthur beside him with Indigenous guides Charlie Tarra and Jackey set off on what is called Strzelecki's Southern expedition. Macarthur was seeking new pastures. Strzelecki wanted to investigate the climate, geology, paleontology and geography of NSW and to publish his findings. This included identifying Australia's highest summit, which Strzelecki reached on 12 March 1840.

The approach was made from Geehi Valley. After climbing Hannel's Spur, the peak now named Mount Townsend was reached. Here Strzelecki used his instruments to make observations. Mt Townsend is Australia's second highest mountain, adjacent to and almost the same height as Mt Kosciuszko, and Strzelecki saw that the neighbouring peak was slightly higher. In the presence of Macarthur he named the higher summit Mount Kosciusko after the famous Polish-Lithuanian military leader who died in 1817. As it was late, Macarthur decided to return to camp and Strzelecki alone climbed the Kosciuszko summit.

Based on Strzelecki's records, Australia's highest summit was mapped. A cartographical mistake made in an edition of Victorian maps transposed Mount Kosciusko to the position of the present Mount Townsend. Later editions of the map continued to show the original location. NSW maps did not make this mistake.[citation needed ]

The Victorian error created confusion. In 1885, Austrian explorer Robert von Lendenfeld, guided by James M. Spencer, a local pastoralist, aided by a map containing the transposition error, reached Mount Townsend believing it was Mount Kosciusko. According to Spencer, the local Aboriginals called Mount Kosciusko Tar-gan-gil. Like Strzelecki, Lendenfeld also observed that the neighbouring peak was higher. He named it Mount Townsend to honour the surveyor who in 1846 traversed the peak.

Lendenfeld claimed he had identified and reached the highest peak of the continent. The NSW Department of Mines discovered Lendenfeld's mistake and assigned the name Mount Townsend to the second-highest mountain of the range. Lendenfeld's announcement created further confusion. When Lendenfeld's mistake was corrected, a popular legend was created that the established names of the two mountains were swapped rather than re-educate the populace of the name of the highest mountain.

The confusion was straightened out in 1940 by B. T. Dowd, a cartographer and historian of the NSW Lands Department. His study reaffirmed that the mountain named by Strzelecki as Mount Kosciuszko was indeed, as the NSW maps had always shown, Australia's highest summit. When Macarthur's field book of the historical journey was published in 1941 by C. Daley, it further confirmed Dowd's clarification. This means that Targangil, mentioned in Spencer's 1885 article, was the indigenous name of Mount Townsend, not of Mount Kosciusko. According to A. E. J. Andrews, Mount Kosciuszko had no indigenous name. Detailed analysis of the mountain history can be found in books by H. P. G. Clews and in the cited A.E.J. Andrews' book Kosciusko: The Mountain in History.

The name of the mountain was previously spelled "Mount Kosciusko", an Anglicisation, but the spelling "Mount Kosciuszko" was officially adopted in 1997 by the Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. The traditional English pronunciation of Kosciuszko is KOZ-ee-US-koh, but the pronunciation kosh-UUSH-koh is now sometimes used, which is substantially closer to the Polish pronunciation [kɔɕˈt͡ɕuʂkɔ] .

Aboriginal names

There are several native Aboriginal ( Ngarigo) names associated with Mount Townsend, where J. Macarthur recorded in 1840 some campings of the natives. There is some confusion as to the exact sounds. These are Jagungal, Jar-gan-gil, Tar-gan-gil, Tackingal; however, all of them mean Bogong Moth, which aestivate on the mountain.

In 2019, "Kunama Namadgi" was submitted to the Geographical Names Board of New South Wales as a proposed dual name for Mount Kosciuszko. The proposal was submitted by the Toomaroombah Kunama Namadgi Indigenous Corporation, which states that the proposed name means "snow" and "mountain". According to Uncle John Casey, the mountain's Ngarigo name has "been Kunama Namadgi for 4,000 years, since we've been on country, until the white man came in the early 1800s and that's when they changed it". However, Iris White, the chairperson of the Southern Kosciuszko Executive Advisory Committee, disputed that account, stating "that name is not from our language. It's offensive because in some of our languages 'Kunama' actually means faeces". White said that a new name should not be given "just for the sake of it sounding Aboriginal or sounding good".

The mountain was formed by geologic uplift. It was not formed by any recent volcanic activity. Eroded granite intrusions remain at the summit as large boulders above the more heavily eroded sedimentary rocks.

Plant species found in the mountain include:

Mount Kosciuszko is the highest summit in mainland Australia. Until 1977 it was possible to drive from Charlotte Pass to within a few metres of the summit, but in 1977 the road was closed to public motor vehicle access due to environmental concerns. The road is open from Charlotte Pass for walkers and cyclists for 7.6 kilometres (5 mi) to Rawson Pass, at an elevation of 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) above sea level. From there a 1.4-kilometre (1 mi) walking path leads to the summit.

The peak may also be approached from Thredbo, taking 3 to 3.5 hours for a round trip. This straightforward walk starts from the top of the Thredbo Kosciuszko Express chairlift, which operates all year-round. The walking path is popular in summer, and is a mesh walkway to protect the native vegetation and prevent erosion. It is 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to Rawson Pass, where it meets the track from Charlotte Pass, and from where it is a further 1.4 kilometres (0.87 mi) to the summit. The walk to the summit is the easiest of all the Seven Summits.

Australia's highest public toilet was built at Rawson pass in 2007, to cope with the more than 100,000 people visiting the mountain each summer.

The third and often overlooked route up Mount Kosciuszko is up the very challenging and historic Hannel's Spur Track (15.5 km or 9.6 mi), which approaches from the NW and is the only route to pass through the Western Fall Wilderness Zone - passing through four different bio-diversity bands along the ascent. The Hannel's Spur Track is officially Australia's biggest vertical ascent of 1,800 m (5,900 ft). This is the same route that explorer Paul Strzelecki climbed and discovered Kosciuszko in 1840 and also the same annual route that the stockmen once brought the cattle up/down from the valley almost 2 km (1.2 mi) below to graze in the alpine meadows of Kosi throughout the summer. The various aboriginal tribes from the Murray valley also used this same route annually for millennia to access Kosciuszko to harvest the delicacies of Bogong moths that were abundant throughout the summer months and to socialise with other tribes from the coast and northern plains. The Hannel's Spur Track trailhead (sign) is about a 1.4-kilometre (0.87 mi) hike SSE of the Geehi Rest Area on the Alpine Way road between the towns of Thredbo and Khancoban.

The peak and the surrounding areas are snow-covered in winter and spring (usually beginning in June and continuing until October or later). The road from Charlotte Pass is marked by snow poles and provides a guide for cross-country skiers, and the track from Thredbo is easily followed until covered by snow in winter.

Looking north from the summit towards Mount Townsend

Mount Kosciuszko with snow, viewed from Guthega Peak

Recreation

Topographic map of Mount Kosciuszko including the approaches from Charlotte Pass and Thredbo.

Kosciuszko National Park is also the location of the downhill ski slopes closest to Canberra and Sydney, containing the Thredbo, Charlotte Pass, and Perisher ski resorts. Mount Kosciuszko may have been ascended by Indigenous Australians long before the first recorded ascent by Europeans.

Each year in December, an ultramarathon running race called the Coast to Kosciuszko ascends to the top of Mount Kosciuszko after starting at the coast 240 kilometres (150 mi) away.

Higher peaks exist within territory administered or claimed by Australia: outside the continent are Mawson Peak (2,745 m or 9,006 ft) on Heard Island and Dome Argus (4,030 m or 13,220 ft), Mount McClintock (3,490 m or 11,450 ft) and Mount Menzies (3,355 m or 11,007 ft) in the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Although not in Australia, Puncak Jaya in New Guinea, Indonesia, which stands at 4,884 m or 16,024 ft, is the tallest mountain in the Australian continent and as well as Oceania.

The 1863 picture by Eugene von Guerard hanging in the National Gallery of Australia titled Northeast view from the northern top of Mount Kosciusko is actually from Mount Townsend.

In the well known poem by Banjo Paterson, The Man From Snowy River is said to hail from "up by Kosciusko's side".

Australian rock band Midnight Oil recorded a song called "Kosciusko" on its 1984 album Red Sails in the Sunset, referring to the mountain. The spelling was updated to "Kosciuszko" for the group's 1997 compilation album, 20,000 Watt R.S.L.

A species of lizard, Eulamprus kosciuskoi, is named for Mount Kosciuszko.

The mountain top was the finish line on the fifth season of The Amazing Race Australia.

1. ^

2. "Mount Kosciuszko". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales.

3. ^ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3 ed.). Harlow: Pearson. p. 446. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0. "Kosciusko [sic]".

4. ^ "Australian Geographical Name Derivations". Wikiski.com. 8 April 2011.

5. Andrews, Alan E. J. (1991). Kosciusko: The Mountain in History. O'Connor ACT: Tabletop Press. p. 50. ISBN 0-9590841-2-6.

6. Paszkowski, L. ^ Sir Paul Edmund de Strzelecki: reflections on his life. Arcadia, Australian Scholarly Publishing. Melbourne [Vic.] 1997. ISBN 1-875606-39-4.

7. " Jas. M. Spencer The Highest Point in Australia The Sydney Morning Herald, February 18, 1885".

8. ^ Slattery, Deirdre (2015). Australian Alps : Kosciuszko, Alpine and Namadgi National Parks (Second ed.). Clayton, Vic. ISBN 978-1-4863-0171-3. OCLC 910161107.

9. Andrews, Alan E. J. FRAHS. Mount Kosciusko, Our Highest Mountain, Letters to the Editor, Published in the Kosciuszko Hut Association Newsletter No: 108 Winter 2000.

10. ^ Yallop, Colin, ed. (2005). "Kosciusko". Macquarie Dictionary (4th ed.). Melbourne: The Macquarie Library. ISBN 1-876429-14-3.

11. ^ "Mount Kosciuszko and the push to give our highest peak an Indigenous dual name". ABC News. 15 June 2019.

12. Geology Page: ^ Geologists discover how Australia's highest mountain was created | Geology Page, access-date: 17 February 2017

13. Erfurt-Cooper, Patricia (2014). Volcanic Tourist Destinations. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 273. ISBN 978-3-642-16191-9.

14. ^ National Parks' 'Southern Kosciuszko walking tracks factsheet'

15. ^ Hamill, Mike (2014). Climbing the Seven Summits: A Comprehensive Guide to the Continents' Highest Peaks. The Mountaineers Books. p. 275. ISBN 978-1-59485-649-5.

16. ^ "The rush to complete Australia's highest dunny" (PDF). Department of Environment and Climate Change, NSW. 3 May 2007. pp. 6-7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 November 2014.

17. ^ "Coast to Kosciuszko". Coast2kosci.com.

18. ^ "Eugene von Guérard: North-east view from the northern top of Mount Kosciusko 1863". National Gallery of Australia. Archived from the original on 4 November 2008.

19. ^ Macdonald, John Boyd. "Home " Jokar projects " Ten-Mile Stare". Jokar Photography. Mt. Townsend, 19 November 1862. Eugene Von Guérard's painting

20. ^ "The Man from Snowy River".

21. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ^ The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Kosciusko [sic]", p. 145).

22. ^ "Amazing Race finale to feature Canberra - and Mount Kosciuszko". The Canberra Times. 20 March 2021.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Mount Kosciuszko ( KOZ-ee-US-koh ; Ngarigo: Kunama Namadgi), is mainland Australia's tallest mountain, at 2,228 metres (7,310 ft) above sea level. It is located on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park, part of the Australian Alps National Parks and Reserves, in New South Wales, Australia, and is located west of Crackenback and close to Jindabyne, near the border with Victoria.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Asteroid: Rocks floating around in space. Some are the size of a pick-up truck. Others are hundreds of miles across.

Atmosphere: The gases held by gravity around Earth and around other planets. "Atmosphere" can also be used to talk about gases around stars.

Atom: The basic building block of matter. It is made of protons, neutrons, and electrons. There are many different kinds of atoms. For example, the simplest atom with one proton and one electron is a hydrogen atom. An atom with six protons, six neutrons, and six electrons is a carbon atom.

Aurora australis: Bright glows and bands of light that appear in the skies at night near the South Pole. They are also called the southern lights.

Aurora borealis: Bright glows and bands of light that appear in the skies at night near the North Pole. They are also called the northern lights.

Black hole: A place in space where matter and light cannot escape if they fall in.

Comet: An icy rock that lets off gas and dust, which may form tails when it is flying close to a sun.

Constellation: A group of stars in the sky. They're often named after an animal, object, or person. The stars form certain patterns based on where you are. We have one view of stars here on Earth, but from another solar system or galaxy, the constellations would look different.

Corona: The outer atmosphere of a star.

Cosmos: The universe seen as an orderly, harmonious whole.

Crater: A large, bowl-shaped dent in the ground. They can be caused by an explosion or the impact of a meteorite.

Dwarf planet: Objects that are round and orbit the sun, just like planets do. But unlike planets, dwarf planets are not able to clear their path around the sun. That means there are other objects orbiting at roughly the same distance from the sun. A dwarf planet is much smaller than a planet (smaller even than Earth's moon), but it is not a moon. Pluto is the best known of the dwarf planets.

El Niño: A weather condition that sometimes occurs in the Pacific Ocean. It is so big that it affects weather all over the world. It starts with unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean near the equator.

Electromagnetic Spectrum: The name for all the different kinds of light and energy in the universe. This includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet light, X-rays, and gamma rays.

Equator: The circle around a planet or moon that is the same distance from its north pole and its south pole.

Exoplanet: A planet that freely floats between stars or one that orbits a star outside our solar system.

Galaxy: A collection of thousands to billions of stars held together by gravity. The galaxy we live in is called the Milky Way.

Gas: A loose collection of atoms moving around each other.

GPS: This stands for Global Positioning System. It's a system that uses satellites, ground stations, and receivers to tell you exactly where you are on Earth.

Gravity: A force that pulls matter together.

Greenhouse gas: Gases in the atmosphere that trap heat from the sun. Some greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and nitrous oxide.

Kuiper Belt: A donut-shaped ring of icy objects beyond the orbit of Neptune. Pluto is the best known of these icy worlds.

Light year: It's not a year, or an amount of time at all. It's the distance light travels in one year. It's the same as 5,878,499,810,000 miles (or 9,460,538,400,000,000 meters). When things are very far away, it's easier to talk about their distance in light years than millions or billions or trillions of miles.

Mass: The amount of matter something is made of.

Matter: The stuff that everything is made of. Atoms are a tiny bit of matter. Big planets have lots of matter. Even you are made of matter!

Meteor: The streak of light caused when a meteoroid enters a planet's atmosphere and starts to burn from the heat of friction.

Meteorite: A meteoroid that lands on the surface of a planet.

Molecule: The smallest unit of a substance that still acts like the main substance. A molecule can be a single atom or a group of atoms. Water is a substance, and one molecule of water is made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, which we write as H2O. That molecule of water still has the same properties as a glass of water. But if you split it into hydrogen and oxygen, it's not water any more.

Moon: A natural object that travels around a bigger natural object. Planets can have moons. Dwarf planets can have moons. Even some asteroids have moons! Astronomers usually call them satellites or natural satellites.

Nebula: A cloud of dust or gas found between stars.

Neutron star: A very dense star made mostly of neutrons. It has very powerful gravitational force nearby because the whole mass of a star is pulled into one object just a few miles across.

Oort Cloud: A spherical shell around our solar system. It may contain more than a trillion icy bodies. Long-period comets (which take more than 200 years to orbit the sun) come from the Oort Cloud.

Orbit: The curved path that a planet, satellite, or spacecraft moves as it circles around another object.

Ozone layer: A part of Earth's atmosphere that absorbs lots of the sun's ultraviolet radiation. It is made of a gas called ozone, which is a molecule of three oxygen atoms.

Particle: A tiny amount or small piece of something.

Planet: A large body in outer space that circles around the sun or another star.

Pulsar: An object, thought to be a rapidly rotating neutron star. It releases short pulses of radio waves and other electromagnetic radiation.

Radioactive: How we describe some atoms that are unstable. They change into different kinds of atoms and release lots of energy.

Satellite: An object that orbits another object. A moon is actually a satellite. We also say satellite to refer to spacecraft people build that orbit Earth, other planets, moons, asteroids, or other objects out in space.

Solar flare: A burst of energy and particles from the sun. It releases gases, radiation waves, and magnetic storms.

Solar Panel: A piece of material that can capture sunlight and turn it into electricity.

Solar system: A set that includes a star and all of the matter that orbits it, including planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and other objects.

Solar wind: The constant stream of particles and energy emitted by the sun.

Space weather: The conditions in space that can affect Earth, satellites, and space travel. Space weather is mostly the result of solar wind and solar storms.

Spacecraft: A vehicle used for traveling in space.

Speed of Light: Light is the fastest thing in the universe. It travels 186,282 miles (299,792,458 meters) every second.

Star: A ball of shining gas, made mostly of hydrogen and helium, held together by its own gravity. Turning hydrogen into helium creates the energy that makes stars shine.

Sun: The star in the center of our solar system.

Supernova: The explosion of a star that makes it as bright as a whole galaxy.

Tectonics: Big movements of Earth's crust. Tectonics creates mountain ranges, deep sea trenches, volcanoes, and earthquakes that can cause destructive tsunami waves that can cross oceans.

Universe: All of space and time, and everything in it. It's everything ever!

Volcano: A mountain or hill that has an opening where lava, rock fragments, or gas erupt from deep inside a planet or moon.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Asteroid: Rocks floating around in space. Some are the size of a pick-up truck. Others are hundreds of miles across. Atmosphere: The gases held by gravity around Earth and around other planets. "Atmosphere" can also be used to talk about gases around stars. Atom: The basic building block of matter.

# data[].attributes.body
#1- Tips and tricks

# data[].attributes.body
What do you like about this presentation?

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.question
What are the 4 most important things you need to consider when trying to present and convince peers?

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.poll_choices[].choice_text
✅ Know your subject well and your audience

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.poll_choices[].choice_text
✅ Eye contact and pace to show you have practiced your presentation

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.poll_choices[].choice_text
✅ Your volume – Your audience needs to hear you!