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Walker Island (Southern Tasmania)
Walker Island is an island located close to the south-western coast of Tasmania, Australia. The island is part of the Maatsuyker Islands Group, and comprise part of the Southwest National Park and the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site.Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; & Halley, Vanessa. (2001). ''Tasmania’s Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features''. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart. Fauna Walker Island is part of the Maatsuyker Island Group Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance as a breeding site for seabirds.BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Maatsuyker Island Group. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 09/08/2011. Recorded breeding seabird and wader species are the little penguin (2-300 pairs), short-tailed shearwater (146,000 pairs), fairy prion (3,000 pairs), common diving-petrel (500 pairs), silver gull and sooty oystercatcher The s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maatsuyker Island
Maatsuyker Island is an island located close to the south coast of Tasmania, Australia. The island is part of the Maatsuyker Islands Group, and comprises part of the Southwest National Park and the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site. The Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse, the southernmost Australian lighthouse, is located on the southern tip of the island.Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; & Halley, Vanessa. (2001). ''Tasmania’s Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features''. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart. The island is part of the Maatsuyker Island Group Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance as a breeding site for seabirds. Maatsuyker Island is currently inhabited by volunteers, swapped out every 6 months, the improvements on it are being maintained by the Tasmanian Government and volunteer organisations interested in preserving the history of the island and the lighthouse. Flora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Penguin
The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name . The Australian little penguin (''Eudyptula novaehollandiae'') from Australia and the Otago region of New Zealand is considered a separate species by a 2016 study and a 2019 study. Taxonomy The little penguin was first described by German naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster in 1781. Several subspecies are known, but a precise classification of these is still a matter of dispute. The holotypes of the subspecies ''E. m. variabilis'' and ''Eudyptula minor chathamensis'' are in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The white-flippered penguin (''E. m. albosignata'' or ''E. m. minor morpha albosignata'') is currently considered by most taxonomists to be a colour morph or subspecies of ''Eudyptula minor.'' In 2008, Shirihai treated th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islands Of South West Tasmania
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be called an eyot or ait, and a small island off the coast may be called a holm. Sedimentary islands in the Ganges delta are called chars. A grouping of geographically or geologically related islands, such as the Philippines, is referred to as an archipelago. There are two main types of islands in the sea: continental and oceanic. There are also artificial islands, which are man-made. Etymology The word ''island'' derives from Middle English ''iland'', from Old English ''igland'' (from ''ig'' or ''ieg'', similarly meaning 'island' when used independently, and -land carrying its contemporary meaning; cf. Dutch ''eiland'' ("island"), German ''Eiland'' ("small island")). However, the spelling of the word ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Islands Of Tasmania
Tasmania is the smallest and southernmost state of Australia. The Tasmanian mainland itself is an island, with an area of - 94.1% of the total land area of the state. The other islands have a combined area of , for a cumulative total of 99.75% of the state. About 1000 smaller islands make up the remaining of total land area. Classification structure A considerable number of Tasmanian islands are identified as being in island groups, including the Breaksea, Furneaux, Hogan, Hunter, Kent, Maatsuyker, Mutton Bird, New Year, Swainson, Trumpeter, and Waterhouse groups. Regions Similar to Regions of Tasmania the islands are generally distinguished by the coast that they are adjacent to, as well as Bass Strait - the main separation from the mainland state of Victoria. Five regions are aligned to the north coast and Bass Strait - ''North West Islands'' (including King Island), ''North Coast Islands'', ''North Bass Strait Islands'', ''Furneaux Islands'', and ''North East Islands' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South West Cape, Tasmania
The South West Cape is a cape located at the south-west corner of Tasmania, Australia. The cape is situated in the south-western corner of the Southwest National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, approximately southwest of Hobart in Tasmania, and about west and a little north of the South East Cape. The cape is bound to the southeast and southwest by the Southern Ocean and is located south of Low Rocky Point and Point Hibbs. The ''South West Cape Range'' provides a buffer between the cape and the inland wilderness area to the east and north, and the next range to the east is the Melaleuca Range. The high point of the southern end of the range, closest to the cape is Mount Karamu at 439 m. The mount is named after the USS steam ship which foundered off the cape in 1925. Wrecks and foundering of boats up to away in distance, are usually referred to this cape as an identification point, and mapping of the area usually uses the cape as a boundary betw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South East Cape
The South East Cape is a cape located at the southernmost point of the main island of Tasmania, the southernmost state of Australia. The cape is situated in the southern and south-eastern corner of the Southwest National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, approximately southwest of Hobart in Tasmania and about east and a little south of the South West Cape. Location and features South East Cape is the southernmost point of the mainland of Tasmania but not of the state of Tasmania. The Maatsuyker Islands and the Pedra Branca island group, just offshore, are also part of the state of Tasmania and lie further south than South East Cape. The state of Tasmania also includes Macquarie Island, which is about 1,600 km SE of South East Cape. South East Cape is one of the five southernmost capes that can be rounded by Southern Ocean sailors. The cape is also a reference point for sectors of the southern coastline of Tasmania. Much sea traffic passes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tasmanian Tree Skink
The agile cool-skink or Tasmanian tree skink (''Carinascincus pretiosus'') is a species of skink in the family Scincidae. It is endemic to Tasmania and the Bass Strait islands. It is viviparous, and may be found in a wide variety of habitats, from tall forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...s to rocky coastlines.Cogger, H.G. (1979). ''Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia''. Reed: Sydney. References Carinascincus Skinks of Australia Reptiles of Tasmania Endemic fauna of Tasmania Reptiles described in 1874 Taxa named by Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy {{skink-stub ... [...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] |
Australian Fur Seal
The brown fur seal (''Arctocephalus pusillus''), also known as the Cape fur seal, South African fur seal and Australian fur seal, is a species of fur seal. Description The brown fur seal is the largest and most robust member of the fur seals. It has a large and broad head with a pointed snout that may be flat or turned up slightly. They have external ear flaps (pinnae) and their whiskers (vibrissae) are long, and may extend backward past the pinnae, especially in adult males. The fore flippers are covered with sparse hair over about three-quarters of their length. The hind flippers are short relative to the large body, with short, fleshy tips on the digits. The size and weight of the brown fur seal depends on the subspecies. The Southern African subspecies is on average slightly larger than the Australian subspecies. Males of the African subspecies (''A. p. pusillus'') are in length on average and weigh . Females are smaller, averaging in length and typically weighing .King, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hauling-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] |
Sooty Oystercatcher
The sooty oystercatcher (''Haematopus fuliginosus'') is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird endemic to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. It prefers rocky coastlines, but will occasionally live in estuaries. All of its feathers are black. It has a red eye, eye ring and bill, and pink legs. Taxonomy John Gould described the sooty oystercatcher in 1845. Its species name is the Latin adjective ''fuliginosus'', "sooty". Two subspecies are recognised, the nominate from the coastline of southern Australia and subspecies ''ophthalmicus'' from northern Australia. The southern subspecies is larger and heavier than the northern. The northern one, with a more yellowish eye ring, is found from the Kimberleys across the top of the country to Mackay in central Queensland. There is considerable overlap, as the southern subspecies has been found up to Cape York. Subspecies ''ophthalmicus'' has been thought distinctive enough to warrant species status and needs further inv ... [...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] |
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