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Healesville Sanctuary
Healesville Sanctuary, formally known as the Sir Colin MacKenzie Sanctuary, is a zoo specialising in native Australian animals. It is located at Healesville in rural Victoria, Australia, and has a history of breeding native animals. It is one of only two places to have successfully bred a platypus, the other being Sydney's Taronga Zoo. It also assists with a breeding population of the endangered helmeted honeyeater. The zoo is set in a natural bushland environment where paths wind through different habitat areas showcasing wallabies, wombats, dingoes, kangaroos, and over 200 native bird varieties. Guided tours, bird shows and information areas are available to visitors. History Dr Colin MacKenzie (knighted in 1929) set up the Institute of Anatomical Research in 1920 on of land which had formerly been part of the Aboriginal reserve known as Coranderrk. The Reserve passed to the Healesville Council in 1927 and became the ''Sir Colin MacKenzie Sanctuary'' in 1934. The first p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Healesville, Victoria
Healesville is a town in Victoria, Australia, 52 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Healesville recorded a population of 7,589 in the 2021 census. Healesville is situated on the Watts River, a tributary of the Yarra River. History Traffic to the more distant Gippsland and Yarra Valley goldfields in the 1860s resulted in a settlement forming on the Watts River and its survey as a town in 1864. It was named after Richard Heales, the Premier of Victoria from 1860–1861. The post office opened on 1 May 1865. The town became a setting off point for the Woods Point Goldfield with the construction of the Yarra Track in the 1870s. Climate Present Healesville is known for the Healesville Sanctuary, a nature park with hundreds of native Australian animals displayed in a semi-open natural setting and an active platypus breeding program. The Yarra Valley Railway operates from Healesville ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarcophilus Harrisii -Healesville Sanctuary-8a
''Sarcophilus'' is a genus of carnivorous marsupial best known for its only living member, the Tasmanian devil. Sarcophilus is Latin - meaning 'flesh-loving'. There are four species of ''Sarcophilus''. '' S. laniarius'' and '' S. moornaensis'' are only known from fossils from the Pleistocene. ''S. laniarius'' was larger than the contemporary, and only surviving, species '' S. harrisii'', weighing up to 10 kilograms more. The relationship between the four species is unclear; while some have proposed that ''S. harrisii'' may be a dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ... version of ''S. laniarius'', others argue that it is a completely different species and that the two may have coexisted during the Pleistocene. References * Long, J., Archer, M., Flannery, T. and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burton's Legless Lizard
Burton's legless lizard (''Lialis burtonis'') is a species of lizard in the family Pygopodidae. The species lacks forelegs and has only rudimentary hind legs. Pygopodid lizards are also referred to as "legless lizards",Bradshaw SD, Gans C, Girons HS (1980). "Behavioural thermoregulation in a pygopodid lizard, ''Lialis burtonis'' ". ''Copeia'' 1980 (4): 738-743. "flap-footed lizards"Wall M, Shine R (2013). "Ecology and behaviour of Burton’s legless lizard (''Lialis burtonis'', Pygopodidae) in tropical Australia". ''Asian Herpetological Research'' 4 (1): 9-21. and "snake-lizards".Weber E, Werner YL (1977). "Vocalisations of two snake-lizards (Reptilia: Sauria: Pygopodidae)". ''Herpetologica'' 33(3): 353-363. This species is native to Australia and Papua New Guinea. Cogger HG (2000). ''Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia''. Sixth Edition. Sydney: Reed New Holland. Taxonomy English zoologist John Edward Gray described Burton's legless lizard in 1835. The specific name, ''bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacky Lizard
The jacky dragon (''Amphibolurus muricatus'') is a type of lizard native to southeastern Australia. It was one of the first Australian reptiles to be named by Europeans, originally described by English zoologist George Shaw in Surgeon-General John White's ''Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales'', , also aProject Gutenberg Australia which was published in London in 1790. It is well known for its bright yellow mouth and well-developed vertebral crest, as well as the temperature-dependent sex determination of its offspring. Other common names include blood-sucker, stonewalker, and tree dragon. The Wergaia people of the Wimmera region of north-western Victoria call it ''nganurganity''. In 2017, the star Sigma Canis Majoris was officially named "Unurgunite" (a 19th-century transcription of ''nganurganity'') due to its identification with the jacky dragon in Wergaia traditions. Taxonomy The jacky dragon, one of the 70 species of dragons (Agamidae) found in Australia, is generally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lace Monitor
The lace monitor or tree goanna (''Varanus varius'') is a member of the monitor lizard family native to eastern Australia. A large lizard, it can reach in total length and in weight. The lace monitor is considered to be a least-concern species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Taxonomy John White, the surgeon-general of New South Wales, described this species as the variegated lizard (''Lacerta varia'') in 1790. George Shaw reported that several specimens were taken back to England. French naturalist François Marie Daudin gave it the name ''Tupinambis variegatus'' in 1802, and noted two forms. German naturalist Blasius Merrem established the genus '' Varanus'' in 1820, with ''V. varius'' as the first mentioned member set as its type species by John Edward Gray in 1827. French zoologists André Marie Constant Duméril and Gabriel Bibron described two specimens in 1836, one in their possession and one from the collection of English zoologist Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ridge-tailed Monitor
The spiny-tailed monitor (''Varanus acanthurus''), also known as the Australian spiny-tailed monitor, the ridge-tailed monitor the Ackie's dwarf monitor, and colloquially simply ackie monitor, is an Australian species of lizard belonging to the genus of monitor lizards (''Varanus''). Description The spiny-tailed monitor, a somewhat small monitor lizard, can attain a total length of up to 70 cm (27 in), although there are unconfirmed reports of wild individuals growing up to 34 inches. The tail is about 1.3-2.3 times as long as the head and body combined. The upper side is a rich, dark brown and painted with bright-yellowish to cream spots, which often enclose a few dark scales. Its tail is round in section and features very spinose scales. There are 70-115 scales around the middle of the body. The spiny-tailed monitor is distinguished from the similar-looking species '' V. baritji'' and '' V. primordius'' by the presence of pale longitudinal stripes on the neck. Di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard
The ''Tiliqua scincoides scincoides,'' or eastern blue-tongued lizard, is native to Australia. It is unique due to its blue tongue, which can be used to warn off predators. In addition to flashing its blue tongue, the skink hisses and puffs up its chest to assert dominance and appear bigger when in the presence of its predators such as large snakes and birds. The eastern blue tongue is ovoviviparous and precocial, meaning that its young are more developed and advanced at their time of birth. The ''Tiliqua scincoides scincoides'' is not venomous to humans and can be found in suburban and urban areas, specifically in house gardens. Nomenclature The eastern blue-tongued lizard (''Tiliqua scincoides scincoides'') is a species of skink in the genus Tiliqua. The ''Tiliqua scincoides scincoide''s can also be called the common blue tongue, the eastern bluetongue, the eastern blue-tongued lizard, or skink. The ''Tiliqua scincoides scincoide''s is in the Animalia kingdom, the Chordata ph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apostlebird
The apostlebird (''Struthidea cinerea''), also known as the grey jumper, lousy jack, happy jack, Donny bird or caw bird is a quick-moving, gray or black bird about 33 cm (13 in) long. It is a native to Australia where it roams woodlands, eating insects and seeds at, or near, ground level. Apostlebirds often travel in groups of about 12; for this reason, they were named after the 12 New Testament, Biblical Twelve Apostles, apostles. Taxonomy Originally described by ornithologist John Gould in 1837, its specific epithet is Latin ''cinerea'' "grey". In its Monotypic, own genus ''Struthidea'', it is placed in the family known as the mud-nest builders or Corcoracidae, written as Grallinidae in older books before the removal of the genus ''Grallina'' to the monarch family. It is one of two remaining species, with the white-winged chough (''Corcorax melanorhamphos''), which differs in appearance but exhibits many behavioural similarities. The mudnest builder family Corcoracida ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helmeted Honeyeater
The helmeted honeyeater (''Lichenostomus melanops cassidix'') is a passerine bird in the honeyeater family. It is a distinctive and critically endangered subspecies of the yellow-tufted honeyeater, that exists in the wild only as a tiny relict population in the Australian state of Victoria, in the Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve. It is Victoria's only endemic bird, and was adopted as one of the state's official symbols. Taxonomy The helmeted honeyeater is one of four subspecies of the yellow-tufted honeyeater. The taxonomic history of ''L. m. cassidix'' is complicated. Schodde and Mason affirm its subspecific status but suggest that there is intergradation across eastern Victoria and south-eastern New South Wales between it and the nominate subspecies ''L. m. melanops''. This conclusion disallows ''L. m. gippslandicus'' as a taxon, and suggests that ''cassidix'' occurs more widely through West Gippsland than is currently recognised. However genetic research, conducted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laughing Kookaburra
The laughing kookaburra (''Dacelo novaeguineae'') is a bird in the kingfisher subfamily Halcyoninae. It is a large robust kingfisher with a whitish head and a brown eye-stripe. The upperparts are mostly dark brown but there is a mottled light-blue patch on the wing coverts. The underparts are cream-white and the tail is barred with rufous and black. The plumage of the male and female birds is similar. The territorial call is a distinctive laugh that is often delivered by several birds at the same time, and is widely used as a stock sound effect in situations that involve a jungle setting. The laughing kookaburra is native to eastern mainland Australia, but has also been introduced to parts of New Zealand, Tasmania, and Western Australia. It occupies dry eucalypt forest, woodland, city parks and gardens. This species is sedentary and occupies the same territory throughout the year. It is monogamous, retaining the same partner for life. A breeding pair can be accompanied by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Barn Owl
The eastern barn owl (''Tyto javanica'') is usually considered a subspecies group and together with the American barn owl group, the western barn owl group, and sometimes the Andaman masked owl make up the barn owl. The cosmopolitan barn owl is recognized by most taxonomic authorities. A few (including the International Ornithologists' Union) separate them into distinct species, as is done here. The eastern barn owl is native to southeastern Asia and Australasia. The eastern barn owl is nocturnal over most of its range, but in some Pacific islands, it also hunts by day. They specialise in hunting animals on the ground, and nearly all of their food consists of small mammals which they locate by sound, their hearing being very acute. They mate for life unless one of the pair is killed, after which a new pair bond may be formed. Breeding takes place at varying times of year according to locality, with a clutch, averaging about four eggs, being laid in a nest in a tree hollow, old b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Powerful Owl
The powerful owl (''Ninox strenua''), a species of owl native to south-eastern and eastern Australia, is the largest owl on the continent. It is found in coastal areas and in the Great Dividing Range, rarely more than inland. The IUCNRed List of Threatened Species also refers to this species as the powerful boobook. An apex predator in its narrow distribution, powerful owls are often opportunists, like most predators, but generally are dedicated to hunting arboreal mammals, in particular small to medium-sized marsupials. Such prey can comprise about three-quarters of their diet. Generally, this species lives in primary forests with tall, native trees, but can show some habitat flexibility when not nesting. The powerful owl is a typically territorial raptorial bird that maintains a large home range and has long intervals between egg-laying and hatching of clutches. Also, like many types of raptorial birds, they must survive a long stretch to independence in young owls after fle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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