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Owen Island (South Australia)
Owen Island, formerly known as Rabbit Island and also known as Little Taylor Island, is an island in the Australian state of South Australia located in Spencer Gulf off the east coast of Jussieu Peninsula on Eyre Peninsula approximately south-east of Port Lincoln. Since 1972, the island has been part of the Lincoln National Park. Description Owen Island which is located approximately south-east of Port Lincoln and is located north of Taylor Island, has a maximum height of . Sandy beaches exist on the island’s west side with a submerged sand spit near the island’s south-western point. Sand dominates the island with wind-blown dunes extending beyond the limits of tide and storm surges which was reported in 1996 as ‘providing a bed for a high diversity of plants’. It is reported that the island is sheltered from the impact of the sea due to the closeness of the much larger Taylor Island plus the additional shelter offered by the mainland and other islands to the so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spencer Gulf
The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost and larger of two large inlets (the other being Gulf St Vincent) on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. It spans from the Cape Catastrophe and Eyre Peninsula in the west to Cape Spencer and Yorke Peninsula in the east. The largest towns on the gulf are Port Lincoln, Whyalla, Port Pirie, and Port Augusta. Smaller towns on the gulf include Tumby Bay, Port Neill, Arno Bay, Cowell, Port Germein, Port Broughton, Wallaroo, Port Hughes, Port Victoria, Port Rickaby, Point Turton, and Corny Point. History The first recorded exploration of the gulf was that of Matthew Flinders in February 1802. Flinders navigated inland from the present location of Port Augusta to within of the termination of the water body. The gulf was named ''Spencer's Gulph'' by Flinders on 20 March 1802, after George John Spencer, the 2nd Earl Spencer. The Baudin expedition visited the gulf after Flind ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It may be the mature vegetation type in a particular region and remain stable over time, or a transitional community that occurs temporarily as the result of a disturbance, such as fire. A stable state may be maintained by regular natural disturbance such as fire or browsing. Shrubland may be unsuitable for human habitation because of the danger of fire. The term was coined in 1903. Shrubland species generally show a wide range of adaptations to fire, such as heavy seed production, lignotubers, and fire-induced germination. Botanical structural form In botany and ecology a shrub is defined as a much-branched woody plant less than 8 m high and usually with many stems. Tall shrubs are mostly 2–8 m high, small shrubs 1–2 m high and su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudemoia Entrecasteauxii
The southern grass skink (''Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii)'' is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia, where it is found in the south-east of the continent, as well as in Tasmania and the islands of Bass Strait. Although it occurs in a variety of habitats, it is most commonly found in open grassy woodlands. Cogger HG. (1979). ''Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia''. Sydney: Reed. The Southern grass skink has a lifespan of about 5 or 6 years. It grows up to in length (not including the tail). Male skinks change colouration during the breeding season. Etymology The specific name, ''entrecasteauxii'', is in honor of French naval officer and explorer Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux. Reproductive biology The southern grass skink has become a model species for reproductive biology in reptiles because it gives birth to live young and exhibits non-invasive epitheliochorial placentation. Unlike the majority of live bearing reptiles, ''Pseude ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-faced Storm Petrel
The white-faced storm petrel (''Pelagodroma marina''), also known as white-faced petrel is a small seabird of the austral storm petrel family Oceanitidae. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Pelagodroma''. Description The white-faced storm petrel is in length with a wingspan. It has a pale brown to grey back, rump and wings with black flight feathers. It is white below, unlike other north Atlantic petrels, and has a white face with a black eye mask like a phalarope. Its plumage makes it one of the easier petrels to identify at sea. Behaviour The white-faced storm petrel is strictly pelagic outside the breeding season, and this, together with its often-remote breeding sites, makes this petrel a difficult bird to see from land. Only in severe storms might this species be pushed into headlands. There have been a handful of western Europe records from France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. It has a direct gliding flight and will patter on the water surface as i ... [...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] |
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] |
Vertebrate
Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with currently about 69,963 species described. Vertebrates comprise such groups as the following: * jawless fish, which include hagfish and lampreys * jawed vertebrates, which include: ** cartilaginous fish (sharks, rays, and ratfish) ** bony vertebrates, which include: *** ray-fins (the majority of living bony fish) *** lobe-fins, which include: **** coelacanths and lungfish **** tetrapods (limbed vertebrates) Extant vertebrates range in size from the frog species ''Paedophryne amauensis'', at as little as , to the blue whale, at up to . Vertebrates make up less than five percent of all described animal species; the rest are invertebrates, which lack vertebral columns. The vertebrates traditionally include the hagfish, which do no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variable Groundsel
''Senecio pinnatifolius'' is a species of herb native to Australia. Common names include coast groundsel, dune groundsel and variable groundsel. Description It grows as an erect herb up to a metre in height, with yellow flowers. Taxonomy The name ''Senecio pinnatifolius'' was first published by Achille Richard Achille Richard was a French botanist, botanical illustrator and physician (27 April 1794 in Paris – 5 October 1852). Biography Achille was the son of the botanist Louis-Claude Marie Richard (1754–1821). He was a pharmacist in the Frenc ... in 1834, but it was not immediately taken up. Instead, the species was long treated as the Australian component of '' S. lautus''. In 1969, the Australian members of ''S. lautus'' were recognised as a distinct species, and the name ''S. pinnatifolius'' was reinstated. The infraspecific taxonomy of the species is complicated and in a state of flux. A number of subspecies and varieties have been published, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myoporum Insulare
''Myoporum insulare'', commonly known as common boobialla, native juniper, is a species of flowering plant in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to coastal areas of Australia. It is a shrub or small tree which grows on dunes and coastal cliffs, is very salt tolerant and widely used in horticulture. Description Boobialla varies in form from a prostrate shrub to a small, erect tree growing to a height of . It has thick, smooth green leaves which are long and wide with edges that are either untoothed or toothed toward the apex. The leaves are egg-shaped and the upper and lower surfaces are the same dull green colour. White flowers with purple spots appear in the leaf axils in clusters of three to eight and are in diameter. There are five glabrous, smooth sepals and the tube formed by the petals is long with the lobes of the tube about the same length. The four stamens usually extend slightly beyond the tube. Peak flowering times are July to February in Western ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carpobrotus Rossii
''Carpobrotus rossii'' is a succulent coastal groundcover plant native to southern Australia. It is known by various common names, including karkalla, pig face, sea fig and beach bananas. ''C.rossii'' can be confused with rounded noon-flower '' Disphyma crassifolium subsp. clavellatum'', which has also been erroneously called "karkalla" and "beach bananas" in the Australian native food trade. Description Karkalla leaves are succulent, long and wide, and curved or rarely straight. The flowers are light purple in colour, and wide. The globular purplish red fruit is about long and wide. Distribution The species occurs in the states of Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. It can be found year-round in large patches covering sand dunes close to the ocean, due to its hardy nature and salt resistance. Uses Aboriginal people eat the fruit traditionally, fresh and dried. The salty leaves were also reported to have been eaten with meat. The salty edi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muehlenbeckia
''Muehlenbeckia'' or maidenhair is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. It is native to the borders of the Pacific, including South and North America, Papua New Guinea and Australasia. It has been introduced elsewhere, including Europe. Species vary in their growth habits, many being vines or shrubs. In some environments, rampant species can become weedy and difficult to eradicate. Description Species of ''Muehlenbeckia'' vary considerably in their growth habits; they may be perennials, vinelike, or shrubs. All have rhizomatous roots. Their leaves are arranged alternately on the stem, usually with stalks ( petioles), but sometimes stalkless (sessile). The brownish ocrea is short and tubular, soon disintegrating. The inflorescences may be terminal or axillary, and are in the form of spikes or clusters, with at most very short peduncles (flowering stems). Individual flowers have pedicels (stalks). The flowers may be bisexual or unisexual, with sometimes a mixtur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tetragonia Implexicoma
''Tetragonia implexicoma'', commonly known as bower spinach, is a species of plant in the Aizoaceae, or ice-plant family (biology), family. A similar species is ''Tetragonia tetragonioides'', however this species has larger leaves and a shorter flowering time. Distribution and habitat Bower spinach is found mainly in coastal regions of New Zealand and southern Australia as well as on many nearby island groups. It occupies a variety of habitats from sand and shingle beaches through coastal woodland, shrubland and grassland, and as exposed, Salt pruning, salt-pruned vegetation on cliffs and Stack (geology), stacks. It may also be found well inland, in farmland where it is grown in Berberis, barberry hedges, or on calcareous sandstone or limestone outcrops in dense forest. Description Bower spinach is a scrambling subshrub that forms dense leafy patches of up to . The stems are long and trailing, often succulent and coloured red or pink when young, maturing to dark green to brown-b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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