What makes australian flora and fauna unique

The next biggest Australian meat-eater that cohabited with humans was the thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, its males weighing in at 20 kilograms; and the next biggest after that is the Tasmanian devil. Scientists think the thylacine and devil were both extinct on the mainland by years ago, possibly due to competition with dingoes, introduced between and 10, years ago. But thousands of years before that — about 12, years ago — rising sea levels had inundated the land bridge between the mainland and Tasmania, making the latter an island refuge for devils and the thylacine.

But Tasmania was no haven once European settlers arrived; by they had hunted the thylacine to extinction, although the devils survive. The last Tasmanian tiger, Benjamin, died in a Hobart zoo in from exposure.

Credit: AP. West of the Wallace Line, the aardvark evolved as the mammalian solution to exploiting protein-rich termites but in Australia, in a process known as convergent evolution, the marsupial to fill this niche was the numbat. Numbats are the only marsupials active in the day. They once lived across vast tracts of Australia but have been hunted down by foxes to a small corner of Western Australia. With no monkeys or lemurs as competition, the tree kangaroo evolved.

Another case of convergent evolution is the tree kangaroo. In the absence of competition from arboreal primates such as monkeys, lemurs and gibbons, kangaroos adapted to climb trees and eat the fruits and leaves on offer.

Fungi have a symbiotic relationship with some plants, where they source necessary carbohydrates from plant roots and in return harvest scarce nutrients from the soil such as phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium, which dramatically improve plant growth.

The low-key male eclectus parrot. Several will feed a bright-red female as she sits in a nest. Even the most mobile of animals, the birds, boast species in the hundreds that are endemic — that is, unique — to Australia. Of the types of bird in Australia, 45 per cent are found only here. So well adapted are the largely solitary lyrebirds to their forest environments, they have been known to anticipate incoming bushfires by congregating in sheltered gullies and watercourses to survive the flames.

A blue-winged kookaburra. Sometimes in the nest they eat their brothers and sisters. Kookaburras live in family groups where the young from previous nestings stay with their parents and help them raise more broods in the following years. Killing siblings is a big deal because they share genes. They flip from one extreme to the other. The palm cockatoo uses a stick to drum on its nest. For tens of thousands of years, the lives and sense of cultural identity of Indigenous Australians were inextricably linked to the land, its forms, flora and fauna.

Today, the identity of all Australians is shaped by a relationship with the natural environment. Australia is one of the most urbanised and coast-dwelling populations in the world. More than 80 per cent of Australians live within kilometres of the coast.

Australia has some of the oldest land surface on earth and while rich in biodiversity its soils and seas are among the most nutrient poor and unproductive in the world. This is due mainly to the country's geological stability, which is a major feature of the Australian land mass, and is characterised by, among other things, a lack of significant seismic activity.

Only six per cent of the Australian landmass is arable. Large volumes of water are required from both surface and groundwater supplies. Australian soils are highly dependent upon vegetation cover to generate nutrients and for stability. Land clearing, water extraction and poor soil conservation are all causes of a decline in the quality of Australia's soils.

Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth, with the least amount of water in rivers, the lowest run-off and the smallest area of permanent wetlands of all the continents. One third of the continent produces almost no run-off at all and Australia's rainfall and stream-flow are the most variable in the world. Human activity continues to exert pressure on marine environments. Pollution is the most serious problem and the vast majority of marine pollution is caused by land based activities — soil erosion, fertiliser use, intensive animal production, sewage and other urban industrial discharges.

Australia currently has 65 Ramsar an international convention that provides the framework for conservation of wetlands listed wetlands covering 7. Australia's marine environment is home to fish species, coral species in the northern reefs alone, 50 types of marine mammal and a wide range of seabirds.

It is estimated that as many as 80 per cent of marine species found in southern Australian waters occur nowhere else. Australia is one of the most biologically diverse countries on the planet.

The only other remaining species of wombat in NSW, the endangered southern hairy-nosed wombat, was considered extinct until relatively recently.

During drought it digs deep into the soil to escape harsh conditions. Its brown shell is thin and fragile. In colonies numbering up to ,, eastern bentwing-bats congregate in caves across the east and north-west coasts of Australia. These small Australian animals weigh around g and can reach speeds of up to 50km per hour. Eastern bentwing-bats use both sight and echolocation to catch small insects mid-air. The eastern blue-tongue lizard, one of the largest skinks in Australia, is found throughout most of NSW.

When threatened, the eastern blue-tongue lizard displays its blue tongue in a wide-mouthed intimidating show. Not an agile animal, they feed on slow-moving beetles and snails. Found across most of NSW, the eastern snake-necked turtle, also known as the eastern long-necked turtle, can be found in swamps, lakes and inland waterways. The eastern water dragon is a subaquatic lizard found in healthy waterways along eastern NSW, from Nowra to halfway up the Cape York Pensinsula.

The largest of Australian birds, the emu stands up to 2m high and is the second largest bird in the world, after the ostrich. Emus live in pairs or family groups. The male emu incubates and rears the young, which will stay with the adult emus for up to 2 years.

The grey-headed flying fox is one of several threatened Australian animals and the largest Australian native bat, with a wingspan that extends up to 1m. Known to inhabit woodlands, rainforests and urban regions, these fascinating nocturnal mammals congregate in large roost sites along the east coast of NSW.

The humpback whale has the longest migratory path of any mammal, travelling over km from its summer feeding grounds in Antarctica to its breeding grounds in the subtropics. Its playful antics, such as body-rolling, breaching and pectoral slapping, are a spectacular sight for whale watchers in NSW national parks.

One of the most renowned Australian animals, the tree-dwelling marsupial koala can be found in gum tree forests and woodlands across eastern NSW, Victoria and Queensland, as well as in isolated regions in South Australia. With a vice-like grip, this perhaps most iconic but endangered Australian animal lives in tall eucalypts within a home range of several hectares.

Of the 2 species of kookaburra found in Australia, the laughing kookaburra is the best-known and the largest of the native kingfishers. With its distinctive riotous call, the laughing kookaburra is commonly heard in open woodlands and forests throughout NSW national parks, making these ideal spots for bird watching. These Australian animals are typically dark blue in colour with whitish spots or blotches. A nocturnal marsupial and one of the smaller Australian native animals, the long-nosed bandicoot is found across eastern Australia.

Populations in the Sydney region have dwindled since European settlement, leaving only endangered colonies in inner western Sydney and at North Head, near Manly. The long-nosed bandicoot has grey-brown fur and a pointed snout which it uses to forage for worms and insects. These tree-climbing and ground-dwelling Australian animals can quickly change colour, ranging from pale green-grey by day, to a reddish brown with emerald green flecks at night.

One of the most fascinating and unusual Australian animals, the duck-billed platypus, along with the echidna, are the only known monotremes, or egg-laying mammals, in existence. The platypus is generally found in permanent river systems and lakes in southern and eastern NSW and east and west of the Great Dividing Range.

The red kangaroo is one of the most iconic Australian animals and the largest marsupial in the world. Large males have reddish fur and can reach a height of 2m, while females are considerably smaller and have blue-grey fur.

Red kangaroos are herbivores and mainly eat grass. With vibrant blue-violet eyes and curious antics, the satin bowerbird is a favourite for bird watching and easy to spot as it forages for food in open forest. One of only 2 egg-laying mammals in the world, the short-beaked echidna is one of the most widespread of Australian native animals. The southern boobook, also known as the mopoke, is the smallest and most common native owl in Australia. With a musical 'boo-book' call that echoes through forests and woodlands, the southern boobook is a great one to look out for while bird watching.

The sugar glider is a tree-dwelling Australian native marsupial, found in tall eucalypt forests and woodlands along eastern NSW. The nocturnal sugar glider feeds on insects and birds, and satisfies its sweet tooth with nectar and pollens.

The striking blue and black plumage of the adult male superb fairy wren makes for colourful bird watching across south-eastern Australia. With a complex mimicking call and an elaborate courtship dance to match, the superb lyrebird is one of the most spectacular Australian animals. A bird watching must-see, the superb lyrebird can be found in rainforests and wet woodlands across eastern NSW and Victoria. The swamp wallaby, also known as the black wallaby or black pademelon, lives in the dense understorey of rainforests, woodlands and dry sclerophyll forest along eastern Australia.

This unique Australian macropod has a dark black-grey coat with a distinctive light-coloured cheek stripe. Found throughout Australia, the tawny frogmouth is often mistaken for an owl due to its wide, powerful beak, large head and nocturnal hunting habits. With a wingspan of up to 2. These Australian animals are found in woodlands across NSW, and have the ability to soar to heights of over 2km. White-bellied sea eagles can be easily identified by their white tail and dark grey wings.

These raptors are often spotted cruising the coastal breezes throughout Australia, and make for some scenic bird watching. Powerful Australian birds of prey, they are known to mate for life, and return each year to the same nest to breed. The yellow-tailed black cockatoo is one of the largest species of parrot.

With dusty-black plumage, they have a yellow tail and cheek patch. Billy buttons are attractive Australian native plants that are widespread throughout eastern NSW in dry forest, grassland and alpine regions such as Kosciuszko National Park.

The golden-yellow globe-shaped flowers are also known as woollyheads. Related to the daisy, billy buttons are an erect herb growing to a height of 50cm. The black sheoak is one of a number of casuarina species found across the east coast of Australia and nearby tablelands. Growing to a height of m, these hardy Australian native plants can survive in poor or sandy soils. The barrel-shaped cone of the black sheoak grows to mm long.

The blueberry ash is a rainforest shrub which produces blue olive-shaped berries and spectacular bell-shaped flowers, which often appear on the plant together. It is a tall slender shrub or small tree found in rainforest, tall eucalypt forest and coastal bushland in eastern NSW, south-east Queensland and Victoria.