|
Australian Reptile Park
The Australian Reptile Park is located at Somersby on the Central Coast, New South Wales in Australia. It is about north of Sydney, and is just off the M1 Pacific Motorway. The Park has one of the largest reptile collections in Australia, with close to 50 species on display. The wide variety of reptile species at the Park includes snakes, lizards (such as Komodo dragons), turtles, tortoises, tuataras, American alligators and crocodiles. In addition, the Park features Australian mammals such as kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, platypuses, Tasmanian devils, bare-nosed wombat, quokkas, echidnas, and dingoes. Australian birds featured include cassowaries. The park is heavily involved in snake and spider venom collection for use in the production of antivenom and is credited for saving the lives of thousands. It is an institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association. History 1949 – The Park's founder Eric Worrell starts building Ocean Beach Aquarium at Um ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somersby, New South Wales
Somersby is a semi-rural locality of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, to the northwest of Gosford along the Pacific Highway. It is part of the local government area. Somersby includes sections of the Brisbane Water National Park, within which Somersby Falls are located, as well as the Mount Penang Parklands which are used as a festival and exhibition centre. The Woolshed Function Centre, Australian Reptile Park, a small industrial area near the Kariong Interchange, two juvenile justice centres, and a primary school are features of Somersby. Old Sydney Town, now defunct, was a popular tourist destination in Somersby. Heritage listings Somersby has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Pacific Highway: Mount Penang Juvenile Justice Centre Places of WorshipSt Francis o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platypus
The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal Endemic (ecology), endemic to Eastern states of Australia, eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypic taxon of its Family (biology), family (Ornithorhynchidae) and genus (''Ornithorhynchus''), though a number of Fossil Monotremes, related species appear in the fossil record. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five wikt:extant, extant species of monotremes, mammals that lay Egg (biology), eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Like other monotremes, it senses prey through electroreception, electrolocation. It is one of the few species of venomous mammals, as the male platypus has a spur (zoology), spur on the hind foot that delivers a Platypus venom, venom, capable of causing severe pain to humans. The unusual appearance of this egg-laying, duck-billed, beaver-t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gosford, New South Wales
Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council (New South Wales), Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast region, about north of Sydney central business district, Sydney and about south of Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern extremity of Brisbane Water, an extensive northern branch of the Hawkesbury River estuary and Broken Bay. The suburb is the administrative centre and Central Business District of the Central Coast region, which is the third largest urban area in New South Wales after Sydney and Newcastle. Following its formation from the combination of the previous Gosford City Council and Wyong Shire Councils, Gosford has been earmarked as a vital CBD spine under the NSW Metropolitan Strategy. The population of the Gosford area was 169,053 in 2016. History Until History of Australia (1788–1850), white settlement, the area ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wyoming, New South Wales
Wyoming is a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located northeast of Gosford's central business district. It is part of the local government area. The Aboriginal inhabitants of the Wyoming area before European settlement were the Kuringgai people. In 1824 Frederick Augustus Hely (1794–1836) purchased of land adjacent to Narara Reserve. Hely named the land after the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania, made famous by the 1809 poem ''Gertrude of Wyoming'' by Thomas Campbell. Hely was the Principal Superintendent of Convicts. He was born in Ireland and died in Sydney. He died before the house he was planning to build at Wyoming was completed. His mausoleum lies beside the Pacific Highway at Wyoming, close to the family home which was built by his widow. The grave was designed by architect John Verge and was recently restored after falling into disrepair. Wyoming is a predominantly residential suburb. The first building was the local pub which was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taipan
Taipans are snakes of the genus ''Oxyuranus'' in the elapid family. They are large, fast-moving, highly venomous, and endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Three species are recognised, one of which, the coastal taipan, has two subspecies. Taipans are some of the deadliest known snakes. Taxonomy The common name, taipan, was coined by anthropologist Donald Thomson after the word used by the Wik-Mungkan Aboriginal people of central Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. The Wik-Mungkan people used the name in reference to an ancestral creator being in Aboriginal Australian mythology known as the Rainbow Serpent. The genus name is from Greek ὀξῠ́ς (''oxys'': sharp, needle-like) and οὐρανός (''ouranos'': an arch, specifically the vault of the heavens), and refers to the needle-like anterior process on the arch of the palate, which Kinghorn noted separated the genus from all other elapids. The oft-quoted meaning "sharp-tailed" (based on a confusion with οὐρ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Umina Beach, New South Wales
Umina Beach is a suburb within the local government area on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. By road, it is north of the Sydney CBD and south of the Newcastle CBD. Umina Beach is locally known on the Central Coast as being on 'The Peninsula' (or 'Woy Woy Peninsula'). A natural peninsula that includes the towns of Umina Beach, Woy Woy, Blackwall, Booker Bay and Ettalong Beach. The main street, West Street, is the retail centre of The Peninsula with key national brands represented through Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and Bunnings. Moving from north to south, Umina Beach begins where Woy Woy and Blackwall end: at Veron Road and Gallipoli Avenue. Umina Beach is the most populated suburb on the Central Coast. Geography Umina Beach has one unbroken sand shoreline that has been divided in name only: Umina Beach (south western section) and Ocean Beach (north eastern section). Both beaches have their own Surf Life Saving Club (refer to Sports Clubs section). The only o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric Worrell
Eric Arthur Frederic Worrell ( MBE), (27 October 1924 – 13 July 1987) was an Australian naturalist, herpetologist and writer whose collection of snake venom was essential in the production of snake anti-venom in Australia. History Eric was born at Granville, New South Wales the son of salesman and taxidriverNancy Cushing and Kevin Markwell ''Snake-Bitten: Eric Worrell and the Australian Reptile Park'' University of New South Wales Press (2010) (Charles) Percy Frederic Worrell and his wife Rita Mary Ann Worrell (née Rochester). Eric was educated at Glenmore Road Public School in Paddington then Sydney Boys High School. By the age of 10 he was keenly interested in wildlife, keeping reptiles and other animals at home (first at Paddington then around 1938, to Cecily Street, Lilyfield). He was encouraged in his hobby by his parents and by George Cann, the "Snake Man of La Perouse",Kevin Markwell and Nancy Cushing, 'Worrell, Eric Arthur Frederic (1924–1987)', Australian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antivenom
Antivenom, also known as antivenin, venom antiserum, and antivenom immunoglobulin, is a specific treatment for envenomation. It is composed of antibodies and used to treat certain venomous bites and stings. Antivenoms are recommended only if there is significant toxicity or a high risk of toxicity. The specific antivenom needed depends on the species involved. It is given by injection. Side effects may be severe. They include serum sickness, shortness of breath, and allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. Antivenom is traditionally made by collecting venom from the relevant animal and injecting small amounts of it into a domestic animal. The antibodies that form are then collected from the domestic animal's blood and purified. Versions are available for spider bites, snake bites, fish stings, and scorpion stings. Due to the high cost of producing antibody-based antivenoms and their short shelf lives when not refrigerated, alternative methods of production of antivenoms ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all orders of organisms. Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except for Antarctica, and have become established in nearly every land habitat. , 50,356 spider species in 132 families have been recorded by taxonomists. However, there has been debate among scientists about how families should be classified, with over 20 different classifications proposed since 1900. Anatomically, spiders (as with all arachnids) differ from other arthropods in that the usual body segments are fused into two tagmata, the cephalothorax or prosoma, and the opisthosoma, or abdomen, and joined by a small, cylindrical pedicel, however, as there is currently neither paleontological nor embryological evidence that spiders ever had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cassowary
Cassowaries ( tpi, muruk, id, kasuari) are flightless birds of the genus ''Casuarius'' in the order Casuariiformes. They are classified as ratites (flightless birds without a keel on their sternum bones) and are native to the tropical forests of New Guinea (Papua New Guinea and East Indonesia), Aru Islands (Maluku), and northeastern Australia.. Three species are extant: The most common, the southern cassowary, is the third-tallest and second-heaviest living bird, smaller only than the ostrich and emu. The other two species are represented by the northern cassowary and the dwarf cassowary; the northern cassowary is the most recently discovered and the most threatened. A fourth but extinct species is represented by the pygmy cassowary. Cassowaries feed mainly on fruit, although all species are truly omnivorous and take a range of other plant foods, including shoots and grass seeds, in addition to fungi, invertebrates, and small vertebrates. Cassowaries are very wary of human ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dingo
The dingo (''Canis familiaris'', ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (Basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage of dog found in Australia (continent), Australia. Its taxonomic classification is debated as indicated by the variety of scientific names presently applied in different publications. It is variously considered a form of domestic dog not warranting recognition as a subspecies, a subspecies of dog or wolf, or a full species in its own right. The dingo is a medium-sized Canis, canine that possesses a lean, hardy body adapted for speed, agility, and stamina. The dingo's three main coat colourations are light ginger or tan, black and tan, or creamy white. The skull is wedge-shaped and appears large in proportion to the body. The dingo is closely related to the New Guinea singing dog: their lineage split early from the lineage that led to today's domestic dogs, and can be traced back through the Maritime Southeast Asia to Asia. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Echidna
Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the only surviving members of the order Monotremata. The diet of some species consists of ants and termites, but they are not closely related to the true anteaters of the Americas, which (along with sloths and armadillos) are xenarthrans. Echidnas live in Australia and New Guinea. Echidnas evolved between 20 and 50 million years ago, descending from a platypus-like monotreme. This ancestor was aquatic, but echidnas adapted to life on land. Etymology Echidnas are named after Echidna, a creature from Greek mythology who was half-woman, half-snake, as the animal was perceived to have qualities of both mammals and reptiles. An alternative explanation is a confusion with . Physical characteristics Echidnas are medium-sized, solitary mamm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
._First_Description_1799.jpg "Click for more on -> Platypus")
.jpg "Click for more on -> Cassowary")
