20 Aussie frogs you need to know about - Australian Geographic
Oct 10, 2017 · The much-photographed red-eyed tree frog lives in the rainforest canopy, coming down to breed after rain. It has been known to launch itself from a high branch after insects and land safely many meters below. Extensive webbing on its feet and its adoption of a glider-like posture in midair suggest the species may be developing the ability to control such descents.
A guide to Australia’s penguins - Australian Geographic
Apr 26, 2018 · A little penguin (Eudyptula minor).Image credit: shutterstock Only a tad bigger than a bowling pin, little penguins (sometimes called fairy penguins) are the smallest penguin species in the world. These petite paddlers make their homes along the coast of southern Australia, with colonies located on Montague Island and Sydney’s Manly Beach in NSW, the St Kilda breakwater in Melbourne ...
A guide to Australia’s possums and gliders - Australian Geographic
Jul 25, 2019 · In the black of night, Australia’s 27 species of possum and glider scamper across our roofs, dart along branches in secluded rainforests or peer tentatively from tiny hidey-holes.. Hissing, growling or completely silent, they perform a circus act of acrobatic feats, the larger gliders spreading their gliding membranes to travel more than 100 m at a single jump.
Fact File: Blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena maculosa)
A greater blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata).Image credit: shutterstock. These tiny cephalopods are grey to beige or even yellow in colour when resting, and have large light brown patches, helping them to camouflage beautifully into their rocky surrounds.
Australia's most dangerous animals - Australian Geographic
Mar 28, 2013 · Tracking down the world’s most venomous snake, the inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus), took the crew to a remote desert in south-western Queensland. “The inland taipan is unbelievably elusive,” he says. The remote location is one reason there have been no recorded deaths by this species, even though one bite …
The 10 most destructive tsunamis in history
Mar 16, 2011 · Larger tsunamis don’t alway cause the most destruction. Tsunamis have occurred often throughout history. So frequently in Japan, in fact, that they invented the word specifically for the phenomenon: ‘tsu‘ meaning harbour and ‘nami‘ meaning wave. “It’s actually quite frightening to think that this [Japanese tsunami] event is smaller than …
Fact File: Australian wolf spider (Lycosidae ... - Australian Geographic
Wolf spider (family Lycosidae). Image credit: shutterstock Wolf spiders are typically dark and mottled in colour. Image credits: shutterstock. Wolf spiders are an adaptive arachnid and are found right across Australia, within a vast number of habitats including open woodlands, grasslands, wet coastal forests, alpine meadows, and inlands scrublands.
The owls of Australia - Australian Geographic
Image credit: shutterstock. The well-known call of this medium sized hawk-owl is synonymous with that of a dog’s bark— “woof woof”. The Barking Owl inhabits drier woodland and forest type zones, often in edge habitats nearing watercourses such as creeks.
Australia’s 10 most dangerous snakes - Australian Geographic
Jul 25, 2012 · A western brown snake (Pseudonaja nuchalis).Image credit: shutterstock. Said to be less aggressive than its eastern cousin, the western brown snake is still highly dangerous and part of the group of snakes that causes the most fatalities in Australia.Western browns tend to be fast moving and nervous in temperament.
Tawny frogmouths: 5 things you may not know about these …
May 16, 2018 · Masters of disguise, with the deadliest of stares, the tawny frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) is one of Australia’s most beloved birds.But because they’re most active at night, their unique behaviours are less obvious to us. According to Australia’s pre-eminent tawny frogmouth expert Gisela Kaplan, who has recently compiled 20 years of observations into a new book on this unique nocturnal ...