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Casuarina Islets
The Casuarina Islets ( French: Ilots du Cassuarina), also known as The Brothers, is a pair of islands located in the Great Australian Bight immediately off the south-west coast of Kangaroo Island in South Australia approximately south-west of Kingscote. The pair is currently part of the Flinders Chase National Park. Location and features Casuarina Islets are located approximately south-west of Kingscote. The North Islet and the South Islet lay respectively and south of Cape du Couedic. The North Islet covers an area of about and reaches an elevation of . The South Islet covers an area of about and reaches an elevation of . The Casuarina Islets were formed between 7500 and 8900 years ago after sea levels rose at the start of the Holocene. Both islets are humps of Kanmantoo group metasandstone that have been rounded by wave action. A remnant cap of calcarenite still exists over the eastern half of the North Islet while the South Islet has lost its calcarenite cap due to wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Australian Bight
The Great Australian Bight is a large oceanic bight, or open bay, off the central and western portions of the southern coastline of mainland Australia. Extent Two definitions of the extent are in use – one used by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the other used by the Australian Hydrographic Service (AHS). The IHO defines the Great Australian Bight as having the following limits: ''On the North.'' The south coast of the Australian mainland. ''On the South.'' A line joining West Cape Howe () Australia to South West Cape, Tasmania. ''On the East.'' A line from Cape Otway, Victoria to King Island and thence to Cape Grim, the northwest extreme of Tasmania. The AHS defines the bight with a smaller area, from Cape Pasley, Western Australia, to Cape Carnot, South Australia - a distance of . Much of the bight lies due south of the expansive Nullarbor Plain, which straddles South Australia and Western Australia. The Eyre Highway passes close to the cli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enchylaena Tomentosa
''Enchylaena tomentosa'', commonly known as barrier saltbush or ruby saltbush, is a small native shrub of Australia. Description ''Enchylaena tomentosa'' grows as a small perennial shrub, up to a meter in diameter. Leaves are slender and cylindrical growing to 6-15mm long, both leaves and stems are densely covered in woolly hairs. Fruits form as fleshy berries changing from bright green/yellow to bright red/orange. The derivation of the name helps describe and classify its features with ''Enchylaena'' coming from the Greek ''egchlos'' meaning fleshy or succulent and ''chlaen'' a cloak referring to the ripe fruiting perianth, ''tomentosa'' botanical Latin outlining that the plant is covered with dense short or curled hairs soft hair. Highly drought tolerant ''E. tomentosa'' has historically been sought after by Indigenous Australians, early settlers and livestock. Nutritional analyze gives the plant a 65% digestibility rating providing grazing species with 14% digestible prote ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christinus Marmoratus
''Christinus marmoratus'', also known as marbled gecko or southern marbled gecko, is a species of Gekkonidae (gecko) native to southern mainland of Australia, from Victoria to Western Australia. The species is well adapted to a variety of habitats, including city dwellings.''. Taxonomy The species was first formally described by John Edward Gray in 1845. The name he gave placed this group in the genus ''Diplodactylus'' as ''Diplodactylus marmoratus''. Gray's description was based on four specimens that were preserved in spirits. They were collected on the Abrolhos Islands (off Western Australia), and were donated to the British Museum from the collection of a "Mr. Gilbert". Gray examined another preserved specimen of ''D. marmoratus'' (from a different donor) which was discoloured, leading him to mistakenly describe it as a separate species (''Goniodactylus australis'') in the same publication. In 1885, George Boulenger placed ''D. marmoratus'' in the genus ''Phyllodactylus'' (t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Pipit
The Australian pipit (''Anthus australis'') is a fairly small passerine bird of open country in Australia and New Guinea. It belongs to the pipit genus ''Anthus'' in the family Motacillidae. It was formerly lumped together with the Richard's, African, Mountain and Paddyfield pipits in a single species: Richard's pipit, ''Anthus novaeseelandiae''.Many authors split the Australasian pipit further into two species: Australian pipit (''Anthus australis'') in Australia and New Guinea. Description It is a slender bird, 16 to 19 cm long, and weighs about 40 grams. The plumage is pale brown above with dark streaks. The underparts are pale with streaks on the breast. There is a pale stripe over the eye and dark malar and moustachial stripes. The long tail has white outer-feathers and is often wagged up and down. The legs are long and pinkish-brown while the bill is slender and brownish. It has a sparrow-like ''chirruping'' call and a drawn-out ''tswee'' call. Ecology It is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Welcome Swallow
The welcome swallow (''Hirundo neoxena'') is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It is a species native to Australia and nearby islands, and self-introduced into New Zealand in the middle of the twentieth century. It is very similar to the Pacific swallow with which it is often considered conspecific. This species breeds in southern and eastern Australia in a variety of habitats, mostly in open areas, man-made clearings or urban environments, but not desert or dense forest. Eastern populations are largely migratory, wintering in northern Australia. Western birds and those in New Zealand are mainly sedentary. Taxonomy The welcome swallow was first described by John Gould in ''The Birds of Australia'' as a member of the genus ''Hirundo'', but the first publication is often incorrectly given as in the ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London''. Both its species name and common name refer to people welcoming its return as a herald of spring in southern parts of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock Parrot
The rock parrot (''Neophema petrophila'') is a species of grass parrot native to Australia. Described by John Gould in 1841, it is a small parrot long and weighing with predominantly olive-brown upperparts and more yellowish underparts. Its head is olive with light blue forecheeks and lores, and a dark blue frontal band line across the crown with lighter blue above and below. The sexes are similar in appearance, although the female tends to have a duller frontal band and less blue on the face. Two subspecies are recognised. Rocky islands and coastal dune areas are the preferred habitats for this species, which is found from Lake Alexandrina in southeastern South Australia westwards across coastal South and Western Australia to Shark Bay. Unlike other grass parrots, it nests in burrows or rocky crevices mostly on offshore islands such as Rottnest Island. Seeds of grasses and succulent plants form the bulk of its diet. The species has suffered in the face of feral mammals; a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greater Crested Tern
The greater crested tern Retrieved 28 February 2012 (''Thalasseus bergii''), also called crested tern or swift tern, is a tern in the family Laridae that nests in dense colonies on coastlines and islands in the tropical and subtropical Old World. Its five subspecies breed in the area from South Africa around the Indian Ocean to the central Pacific and Australia, all populations dispersing widely from the breeding range after nesting. This large tern is closely related to the royal and lesser crested terns, but can be distinguished by its size and bill colour. The greater crested tern has grey upperparts, white underparts, a yellow bill, and a shaggy black crest that recedes in winter. Its young have a distinctive appearance, with strongly patterned grey, brown and white plumage, and rely on their parents for food for several months after they have fledged. Like all members of the genus ''Thalasseus'', the greater crested tern feeds by plunge diving for fish, usually in marine en ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Gull
The Pacific gull (''Larus pacificus'') is a very large gull, native to the coasts of Australia. It is moderately common between Carnarvon in the west, and Sydney in the east, although it has become scarce in some parts of the south-east, as a result of competition from the kelp gull, which has "self-introduced" since the 1940s. Much larger than the ubiquitous silver gull, and nowhere near as common, Pacific gulls are usually seen alone or in pairs, loafing around the shoreline, steadily patrolling high above the edge of the water, or (sometimes) zooming high on the breeze to drop a shellfish or sea urchin onto rocks. Diet The gulls' diet consists of a number various fish species and invertebrates. They frequently consume crabs, most often the species ''Ovalipes australiensis'' and ''Paragrapsus gaimardii.'' They also commonly eat '' Platycephalus bassensis'' (sand flatheads) and cephalapods, both of which are sourced from their regular consumption of waste from fish which hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silver Gull
The silver gull (''Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae'') is the most common gull of Australia. It has been found throughout the continent, but particularly at or near coastal areas. It is smaller than the Pacific gull (''Larus pacificus''), which also lives in Australia. The silver gull should not be confused with the herring gull, which is called "silver gull" in many other languages (scientific name ''Larus argentatus'', German ''Silbermöwe'', French ''Goéland argenté'', Dutch ''zilvermeeuw''), but is a much larger, robust gull with no overlap in range. Taxonomy It has traditionally been placed in the genus ''Larus'', as is the case with many gulls, but is now placed in the genus ''Chroicocephalus''. Hartlaub's gull (''C. hartlaubii'') of South Africa was formerly sometimes considered to be subspecies of the silver gull. There are three subspecies: * ''C. n. forsteri'' ( Mathews, 1912) – north and northeast Australia, New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands * ''C. n. novaehollan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Sea Lion
The Australian sea lion (''Neophoca cinerea''), also known as the Australian sea-lion or Australian sealion, is a species of sea lion that is the only endemic pinniped in Australia. It is currently monotypic in the genus ''Neophoca'', with the extinct Pleistocene New Zealand sea lion ''Neophoca palatina'' the only known congener. With a population estimated at around 14,730 animals, the Wildlife Conservation Act of Western Australia (1950) has listed them as “in need of special protection”. Their Conservation status is listed as endangered. These pinnipeds are specifically known for their abnormal breeding cycles, which are varied between a 5-month breeding cycle and a 17-18 month aseasonal breeding cycle, compared to other pinnipeds which fit into a 12-month reproductive cycle. Females are either silver or fawn with a cream underbelly and males are dark brown with a yellow mane and are bigger than the females. Distribution Australian sea lions are sparsely distributed acro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haul Out
Hauling-out is a behaviour associated with pinnipeds (true seals, sea lions, fur seals and walruses) temporarily leaving the water. Hauling-out typically occurs between periods of foraging activity. Rather than remain in the water, pinnipeds haul-out onto land or sea-ice for reasons such as reproduction and rest. Hauling-out is necessary in seals for mating (with the exception of the Baikal seal) and giving birth (although a distinction is generally made between reproductive aggregations, termed "rookeries", and non-reproductive aggregations, termed "haul-outs"). Other benefits of hauling-out may include predator avoidance, thermoregulation, social activity, parasite reduction and rest. There is much variation in haul-out patterns among different seal species.Hoelzel, A. Rus. (2002). ''Marine Mammal Biology: An Evolutionary Approach''. Blackwell Publishing. . p. 197. Haul-out sites may be segregated by age and sex within the same species. Many species of pinniped have only a fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand Fur Seal
''Arctocephalus forsteri'' (common names include the Australasian fur seal, South Australian fur seal, New Zealand fur seal, Antipodean fur seal, or long-nosed fur seal) is a species of fur seal found mainly around southern Australia and New Zealand. The name ''New Zealand fur seal'' is used by English speakers in New Zealand; ''kekeno'' is used in the Māori language. , the common name long-nosed fur seal has been proposed for the population of seals inhabiting Australia. Although the Australian and New Zealand populations show some genetic differences, their morphologies are very similar, and thus they remain classed as a single species. After the arrival of humans in New Zealand, and particularly after the arrival of Europeans in Australia and New Zealand, hunting reduced the population to near-extinction. Description Males have been reported as large as 160 kg; their average weight is about 126 kg.Harcourt, R.G., (2001)"Advances in New Zealand mammalogy 1990–20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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