Why Are There So Many Unique Animals In Australia

This high level of endemism is a result of Australias long period of isolation from other continents since its separation from Gondwana about 40 million years ago.

Why are there so many unique animals in australia. The box jellyfish marbled cone snail blue-ringed octopus and stonefish are in the top ten most venomous animals of the world and all live in Australia. Australian animals are a fascinating group that includes some of the most unusual creatures on Earth. About 50 million years ago Australia became an island.

It has been separate for so long that unique species have evolved here like the Kangaroo which has evolved to deal with the vast distances and sparse vegetation in. Red Bellied Black Snake. Australia has almost 400 mammal species and about 140 species of marsupials.

The continent of Australia has vast expenses of desert and semi-arid land in its interior sub-tropical rain forest in the Northeast. For millions of years the Australian continent was so far away from any other landmass that there was no possibility for new types of animals to get to it. In Australia alone there are more than 378 mammal species 828 bird species 4000 fish species 300 species of lizards 140 snake species two crocodile species and around 50 types of marine mammals according to Australia.

Tiny Pouch Babies Well focus on marsupials since Australia is home to two-thirds of the worlds 330-some known pouch-baby species including egg-laying mammals known as monotremes like the bizarre duck-billed platypus. The platypus and two species of echidna are the worlds only egg-laying mammals so called monotremes. Why is Australian wildlife so unique.

The lack of dissimilarities and the occurrence of unique animal or plant assemblages in various parts of the world not just Australia may be evidence for a rapid resettlement in relatively recent. However the echidna platypus dingo quokka wallaby and wombat are also quite famous australian animals. Australia and New Zealand are wonderlands filled with exotic animal species.

Even more intriguing is that many of these plants and animals have very small distributions on the island something that is called micro-endemism. Because Australia has been isolated from the rest of the world for many thousands of years. Most Dangerous Australian Animals.