Animals From Australia
Australian animals are some of the most fascinating, weird and unique creatures on the planet! Whether it's the iconic kangaroo, cuddly koala or quirky snapping turtle that breathes through its rear end, these animals are truly a wonder to behold. Have you heard of the headless chicken monster and the deadly box jellyfish, which are equally amazing? So, come and browse our extensive list of Australian animals below. Or use the convenient 'search' button above to find your favourite Australian native animal. Trust us, you won't be disappointed!
Kangaroo
The kangaroo is a large hopping marsupial with triangular upright body, deer-like head, two powerful hind legs, small forelimbs, and long, thick tails. Some can hop at speeds of 70kmh (45mph) and leap up to twice their body height. The kangaroo is the only animal that walks on five legs!
Read More about KangaroosPlatypus
The Platypus is a bizarre aquatic mammal with a bill like a duck, webbed feet like an otter, a tail like a beaver, and lays eggs like a lizard! But once the baby hatches, the mother feeds it milk like a mammal. The platypus has receptors in its bill that act like a radar to locate its prey underwater.
Read More about PlatypusesKoala
The Koala is a marsupial with thick fur, large fluffy ears, small eyes, a big flat nose, and no tail. It lives in the eucalyptus forest in eastern Australia and sleeps up to 20 hours a day. It has paws with opposable thumbs and padded feet to cling to trees. It is sometimes called a Koala Bear, but it is not a bear.
Read More about KoalasQuokka
The Quokka is a small hopping marsupial with an almost human-like smile, earning it the nickname “the world’s happiest animal”. It has a rounded body, greyish-brown fur, small ears and large dark eyes. Despite their friendly nature, quokkas should be treated with respect and caution.
Read More about QuokkasKookaburra
The Kookaburra is a stocky bird with a large head and a prominent beak. It has a loud and distinctive bird call that sounds like human laughter. Hence its other names, Laughing Kookaburra and Laughing Jackass. Kookaburras eat lizards, frogs, snakes and other small animals.
Read More about KookaburrasBlobfish
The Blobfish has a bulbous head, a large mouth and a soft jelly-like body which gives it buoyancy. In its deep-sea habitat, the blob fish looks like a typical bottom-dwelling fish. But out of the water, its body collapses into a gooey blob—giving it the title of the world’s ugliest animal.
Read More about BlobfishDingo
The Dingo is a medium-sized Australian wild dog with a lean, muscular body, yellow, red or black fur, pointed ears, and a bushy tail. It is an intelligent, opportunistic hunter and scavenger that is highly adaptable and survives in various environments. The Dingo is Australia's apex predator.
Read More about DingoesBlue Tongue Lizard
The Blue-tongued Lizard, also known as the Blue-tongued Skink, gets its name from its bright blue tongue, which it sticks out to scare off predators. It is an omnivorous slow-moving medium-sized lizard. It is a popular pet because of its docile nature and distinctive appearance.
Read More about Blue TonguesWombat
The Wombat is a solidly built burrowing herbivorous marsupial with coarse brown or black fur. It has short, powerful legs with strong claws for digging for food and tunnelling underground. Wombats walk slowly and grunt loudly if threatened. They do cube-shaped poop!
Read More about WombatsEchidna
The Echidna is a small dome-shaped mammal covered in sharp spines. It lays eggs like a reptile, but the mother feeds its young milk like a mammal! The echidna has a rubbery snout with highly sensitive electro-receptors for detecting prey. It uses its sticky tongue to catch ants and termites.
Read More about EchidnasCassowary
The cassowary, with its dagger-like claws and powerful kicks, is the most dangerous bird in the world. It is over 2m tall and weighs up to 59kg. Its body is covered with long, glossy black hair-like feathers, and it has no wings. The cassowary makes a deep, rumbling and booming sound.
Read More about CassowariesShark
The Shark has a streamlined body with a cartilaginous skeleton. It has sharp serrated teeth and a powerful jaw, making it an apex predator. It has an incredible sense of smell and can detect blood from kilometres away. It also has an organ called the lateral line, which senses vibrations in the water.
Read More about SharksEmu
The Emu is a giant, flightless Australian bird with shaggy feathers, a small head, large eyes and a long, slender neck. It can run at 50kph for long distances. It is the second-largest bird in the world and has a deadly kick which can cause serious injury to a human if provoked.
Read More about EmusTasmanian Devil
The Tasmanian Devil is a muscular marsupial about the size of a small dog. It is known by this name because of its blood-curdling screams, eerie growls, black colour, foul odour and aggressive behaviour. It is the world's largest carnivorous marsupial and prefers to eat dead animals.
Read More about Tasmanian DevilsBox Jellyfish
Box jellyfish are the most venomous animals in the world. Its sting can kill a human in less than 4 minutes. They are pale blue and hardly visible. They get their name from their four-sided box-like shape. Its has long tentacles lined with thousands of deadly stinging cells called nematocysts
Read More about Box JellyfishCrocodile
Salt-water crocodiles are ferocious amphibious, carnivorous reptiles with scaly skin and a broad snout crammed with pointed teeth. They are one of the deadliest predators on earth. Crocodiles live in warm and temperate climates in freshwater rivers, estuaries, and creeks.
Read More about CrocodilesRed Bellied Black Snake
The Red-bellied Black Snake is a sleek, venomous snake with a shiny black upper body, a red belly and sides. It is carnivorous, eating small animals. It has small hollow syringe-like venom-injecting fangs. It accounts for 16% of all snake bites in Australia, but its venom is rarely fatal to humans.
Read More about Red-belled SnakesTasmanian Tiger
The Tasmanian Tiger, also known as the Thylacine, was a carnivorous marsupial that looked like a yellowish-brown dog with a stiff tail and dark stripes on its back. Humans caused its extinction at the start of the 20th century by hunting, habitat destruction and introducing diseases.
Read More about Tasmanian TigersRedback Spider
The Redback Spider is the second most dangerous spider in the world. Females, which are deadly, have black pea-shaped bodies with a red stripe on top of their bodies. The male is tiny and harmless is often eaten by the female after mating. A bite from a female redback spider can kill a human.
Read More about Redback SpidersWallaby
Wallabies are small to medium-sized hopping marsupials with compact legs and short forelimbs. They are almost identical to kangaroos but are smaller, have more fur, and live in wooded and rocky environments. Wallabies eat leaves and flowers, ferns, moss, and even insects.
Read More about WallabiesPossum
Possums are nocturnal arboreal marsupials. They range in size from the tiny pygmy possum, which is 70mm to the brushtail possum a meter in length. They have soft, silver-grey fur, dark orange to dark brown in colour. They have excellent night vision, hearing, and a sense of smell.
Read More about PossumsSugar Glider
The Sugar Glider is a tiny, nocturnal marsupial that loves sugary foods and glides through the air like a tiny paraglider. It has soft, grey fur, large eyes and ears and a bushy tail for gliding. It is a popular pet due to its small size, playful nature, and ability to bond with humans.
Read More about Sugar GlidersFunnel Web Spider
The Sydney funnel-web is the deadliest and most aggressive spider in the world. Its bite can kill a human in 15 minutes. The funnel web spider builds a funnel-shaped web. Its diet consists of crawling insects such has beetles, cockroaches, snails and small animals.
Read More about Funnel SpidersEastern Brown Snake
Eastern brown snakes are the second most venomous snake in the world and responsible for the most snakebite fatalities in Australia. They have slender bodies brown, tan or burnt orange in colour. They feeds on vertebrates, frogs, lizards, birds, mammals, and eggs.
Read about Eastern Brown SnakesBlack Swan
The Black Swan is a large water bird with striking black plumage, a long neck, and a red bill. It makes high-pitched musical bugle-like sounds. The Black swan is omnivorous, feeding on aquatic plants, insects, and small animals. The term "black swan event" is named after these birds.
Read More about Black SwansAntechinus
Antechinuses are mouse-like marsupials with short, stiff fur that is grey, brown, black, or golden. They are ferocious hunters, preying on insects and small animals. They have a suicidal oversexed sexual behaviour. Antechinuses live on the east coast of Australia.
Read More about AntechinusesHeadless Chicken Monster
The Headless Chicken Monster is a bioluminescent deep-sea swimming sea cucumber. It gets its nickname because it sometimes looks like a decapitated chicken. It is also called the Spanish dancer because of its graceful swimming movements. It has a soft body with sticky, transparent skin.
More about Headless MonstersGreat Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest and most spectacular coral reef, with a diverse range of underwater animals. It comprises 2,900 coral reefs and 600 idyllic islands and is over 2,300lm long. The Great Barrier Reef is estimated to be 6,000 to 8,000 years old.
Read about Great Barrier ReefFrilled Lizard
The frilled lizard is a tree-dwelling lizard that ruffles out its scaly red and yellow frill to scare off predators. If this display doesn't scare off an attacker, it runs away quickly. It is about a meter in length and weighs about half a kilo. The frilled lizard eats insects, and smaller lizards, and mammals.
Read about Frilled LizardsRed Kangaroo
The red kangaroo is the largest marsupial and the largest hopping animal in the world. It has a muscular body with large, powerful hind legs and a prominent tail. It can hop at over 60kph. Each hop covering up to 9 meters. They live in the arid and semi-arid parts of the Australian Outback.
Read about Red KangaroosStonefish
Reef stonefishes are the most venomous fish in the world. Spines along their backs inject highly toxic venom and intensely painful venom. They camouflage themselves to blend effortlessly into their environment. It eats other fish and bottom-dwelling invertebrates.
Read about StonefishThorny Devil
The Thorny Devil's body is covered in sharp conical spines, two large horns, and a fake head on the back of its neck. Besides its spiky defences, it can also alter the colours and patterns on its skin to blend into its surroundings. It is about 20cm in length and eats black ants.
Read about Thorny DevilsMimic Octopus
The mimic octopus is a master of disguises. It can change its appearance by imitating many dangerous sea creatures to frighten away predators. The mimic octopus lives in shallow, murky waters. It eats worms, crustaceans, and small fish. It also indulges in cannibalism.
Read about Mimic OctopusesGreater Bilby
Greater bilbies are small, nocturnal, omnivorous marsupials with rabbit-like ears and pointy pink snouts. They have muscular forearms and claws for digging their burrows and uncovering buried food.
Read about Greater BilbiesCuttlefish
Cuttlefish are cephalopods and are related to squid and octopus. They experts at using colour, shape, and texture for camouflage. As a result, they can put on spectacular colour and light displays.
Read about CuttlefishCorroboree Frog
Corroboree frogs are highly poisonous amphibians with striking yellow and black longitudinal markings. These frogs walk rather than hop like most other frogs. There may be as few as 50 left in the wild.
Read about Corroboree FrogsMarsupial Mole
Marsupial moles literally swim underground through the sand. They have no eyes or ears and have a bony shield to protect their noses. They are probably one of the most unusual and least understood animals in the world.
Read about Marsupial MolesGouldian Finch
Gouldian finches are beautifully coloured grass finches. They were once found by the millions but are nearly extinct in the wild. Gouldian finches feed on both ripe and partially-ripe grass seeds.
Read about Gouldian FinchesNumbat
Numbats are small termite-eating marsupials. They are sometimes called Banded Anteaters or Marsupial Anteaters. They weigh about 700 grams and forage for termites during the daylight.
Read about NumbatsLeadbeater's Possum
Leadbeater's possums scamper along branches in the high forest canopy and leap gracefully from one tree to another. They are extremely rare.
Read about Leadbeater's possumsSpotted Quoll
Spotted Tailed Quolls are the size of a large cat. They have many sharp little teeth. They are the second-largest carnivorous marsupial.
Read about Spotted QuollsGilbert's potoroo
The Gilbert's potoroo is the world's rarest marsupial. It has long front limbs with craved claws with which its digs underground fungi (truffles).
Read about Gilbert's potoroosDugong
Dugongs are plant-eating marine mammals. Because of their sleek appearance and large teats, ancient sailors thought they were mermaids.
Read about DugongsBrushtail Possum
The brushtail possum is a semi-arboreal nocturnal marsupial. It has a bushy prehensile tail, which it uses to grasp onto branches.
Read about Brushtail PossumsBandicoot
Bandicoots are small omnivorous marsupials with pointy snouts, large hind feet, and hop. There are 20 species of bandicoots in Australia.
Read about BandicootsNight Parrot
Night Parrots are small ground-dwelling nocturnal parrots. They are the world's most mysterious and elusive birds. Only about 250 survive.
Read about Night ParrotsGiant Clam
The Giant clam is the world’s largest sessile mollusc. It can grow up to 1.5 meters and weigh 230 kilos. It has large protruding blue iridescent lips.
Read about Giant ClamsRingtail Possum
The Ringtail possum is a small arboreal, nocturnal marsupial that holds its tail in a tight coil. It has two thumbs on each front paw.
Read about Ringtail PossumsTawny Frogmouth
The Tawny Frogmouth is a nocturnal insect hunter that looks like an owl. It camouflages itself by fluffing its feathers to look like a tree stump.
Read about Tawny FrogmouthsMusky Rat-Kangaroo
The Musky rat-kangaroo is the smallest macropod and the only kangaroo that doesn't hop. As its name suggests, it looks like a rat and has a musky smell.
Read about Musky Rat-KangaroosClownfish
Clownfish come in various colours and usually have vertical bands across their bodies. They live amongst poisonous sea anemones.
Read about ClownfishTree Kangaroo
Tree kangaroos live in trees. They climb by wrapping their forelimbs around a tree and hopping up with their powerful hind legs.
Read about Tree KangaroosSnapping Turtle
The White-throated Snapping Turtle breathes through its bum, yes its anus, and it can remain submerged for days. It's about 45cm and can live to over 100 years.
Read about Snapping TurtlesStick Nest Rat
The white-tipped-stick-nest-rat lived in central Australia. It built its nest of sticks, which it added to over the years, making a huge nesting mound.
Read about Stick Nest RatsAntilopine Kangaroo
The antilopine kangaroo is the only kangaroo that lives entirely in the tropics. It has a face that looks like that of an antelope, hence its name.
Read about Antilopine KangaroosSea Anemone
Sea anemones are small marine invertebrates closely related to coral and jellyfish. They catch prey with their venomous tentacles.
Read about Sea AnemonesPenguin
Fairy Penguins are the smallest penguin species in the world. It goes fishing during the day and eats small fish and crustaceans.
Read about PenguinsLesser Bilby
The lesser bilby was a small omnivorous marsupial that became extinct in 1950 due to rabbits and predators such as feral cats and foxes.
Read about Lesser BilbiesWoylie
The woylie is a nocturnal marsupial with a long tail which it wraps around a bundle of nesting material and transports it home.
Read about WoylieFlying Fox (Bat)
Flying Foxes are relatively large flying herbivorous mammals. Most do not use echolocation but instead rely on their keen sight.
Read about Flying FoxesCockatoo Parrot
The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is a very noisy large white parrot with a large yellow crest that it fans out. It eats berries, seeds, nuts and roots.
Read about CockatoosBlue-Ringed Octopus
The blue-ringed octopus bite is painless and may go unnoticed. However, its toxin acts quickly. Death may occur in as little as 30 minutes.
Tiger Snake
Tiger snakes are large, aggressive snakes responsible for the second-highest number of bites in Australia. Their venom is neurotoxic.
Goanna
The goanna is the largest lizard in Australia and the fourth-largest in the world. If threatened, it whips its tail, bites, and claws its victim.
Dolphin
Dolphins are very vocal, playful, intelligent, and social animals that live in groups of up to 15. They feed on invertebrates, fish, and squid.
Parrot
Australia has 56 species of colourful parrots. It has two-thirds of the world’s cockatoos and around one-eighth of the world’s parrots.
Sea Lion
Australian sea lions have stocky bodies, a large head, and short narrow flippers. The male is twice as large as the female. They hunt fish and squid.
Red-eyed Tree Frog
Red-eye tree frogs live in Australian rainforests and wetlands. They are nocturnal hunters that feed on moths and insects.
Rakali (Water Rat)
The Rakali, a semi-aquatic native placental mammal, lives in burrows on the banks of rivers. It eats insects, fish, crustaceans, snails, and frogs.
Taipan
Taipans are large, fast-moving snakes. They are some of the most venomous snakes in the world but prefer to avoid confrontation with humans.
Peacock Mantis Shrimp
Peacock mantis shrimps have the fastest punch in the world, creating small implosions in the water that generates heat, light, and sound.
Handfish
Handfish prefer to walk on their pectoral and pelvic fins rather than swim. They live at depths of 5-40m and eat crustaceans and worms.
Red-fronted Parakeet
Red-fronted parakeets were quite common till about 1879. They became extinct because of hunting by humans and as a result of the feral cat.
Whale
Humpback whales travel up from the Antarctic to give birth and feed their young. They can grow to 12 – 16 metres and weigh 36,000 kgs.
Plains Wanderer
Plains wanderers are small quail-like birds that live in semi-arid grasslands. They prefer to run rather than fly and fall easy prey to foxes.
Loggerhead Turtle
Loggerhead Turtles are the largest hard-shelled turtles in the world. They are carnivorous, feeding on shellfish, crabs, sea urchins, and jellyfish.
Eastern Bettong
The eastern bettong became extinct on the mainland in the 1920s as the result of the introduction of the red fox and rabbit.
Lion Fish
Lion fish has zebra-like stripes and venomous spines. A sting from a spine can be very painful but not fatal to humans.
Gastric-brooding Frog
Gastric-brooding frogs incubated their babies in the mother's stomach. They became extinct in the mid-1980s due to a pathogenic fungus spread by humans.
Green Turtle
Green turtles feed on seagrasses. They also eat the venomous box jellyfish. They get their name from the colour of their fat.
Mandarin Fish
The exotic mandarin fish has no scales for protection. Instead, it is covered in smelly toxic mucus and spines to deter predators.
Australian Wildlife Australian Fauna
Animals of Australia are some of the most unique wildlife on Earth. An astonishing 69% of its mammal species, 93% of reptiles, 94% of amphibians, 46% of birds, and 96% of invertebrates are found only in Australia. The exceptional uniqueness of Australia's fauna is the result of its prolonged geographic isolation from the rest of the world. For millions of years, Australia remained isolated from neighbouring landmasses, preventing the influx of new animal species. Consequently, the resident wildlife underwent distinct evolutionary changes, adapting to the country's arid and challenging environment in splendid isolation.
Starting from about 5,000 years ago, humans have brought many new animal species to Australia. For example, the dingo was brought to Australia by ancient seafarers about 5,000 years ago. Then, starting from 1788, European settlers introduced many other animals such as cattle, sheep, camels, and rabbits. These animals are certainly not native to Australia and are referred to as Introduced Australian Animals.
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