The fauna of Australia

 

 

Summary on the topic:

      The fauna of

         Australia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fauna Australia exclusively original. The unusual shape of the kangaroo has amazed the first Europeans to set foot on the shore of the continent. Image Kangaroo entered then in the coat of arms of the country. Amazing Animals, covered with thick fur, but with a duck beak and carrying eggs - platypus long remained a biological mystery. "Teddy bears" - koala bear with cubs on the back admired of all nature lovers. Do not cease to amaze people and the frilled lizard running around on two hind legs, and many other unique Australian animals.

 

However, a variety of small animal species in Australia. We know all 235 species of mammals, 720 - birds, 420 - reptiles and 120 species of amphibians that inhabit the continent and adjacent islands.

 

Among the animals is dominated by marsupials, they are about 125 species. More highly organized mammals appeared on the continent much later marsupials. They are represented by bats, few rodents, apparently recorded on the trunks of trees that beat the waves to the shore, and the (dog dingo, had been brought here from South-East Asia). In Australia, there are no representatives of predatory detachment (except dingoes), monkeys, ungulates and other animals, which are widespread in other parts of the world.

 

Due to the fact that in the Australian zoogeographic region was not higher mammals, marsupials, and without encountering competition enemies gave extraordinary diversity of corresponding types of biological higher mammals. So, now decimated Thylacine held the vital niche of the wolf, although he had no relationship with him; marsupial mole resembles the African golden mole; marsupials proteins remarkably similar to our flying squirrels, wombats and externally, and their way of life reminiscent of marmots.

 

If marsupials with their amazing features of reproduction were once widespread in Asia and North America (in the United States and now they are preserved for about 20 species), the representatives of another subclass of Australian mammals - the monotremes, or cloacal not known even in the fossil state outside the region. At the same time, these egg-laying mammals - platypus and echidna - for some features of their structure very similar to the most ancient mammals. They truly can be called "living fossils".

 

Remarkable in Australia and poultry. Suffice it to recall emus, cassowaries, parrots cockatoo, ground parrot, many of which do not nest in the hollows and in holes; budgies - those that people are now often kept in cages at home unusually brightly colored pigeons, including luxury crowned pigeon. On the eucalyptus extract insects, pollen and nectar with their tongues, tassels numerous birds medososy. On the banks of ponds Australia live chicken geese, got its name from the shape of the beak, and black swans, which have become common inhabitants of European parks. Birds of Paradise - our closest relatives of crows and jackdaws - different quirky and bright plumage, but have the same croaking voice. Superb Lyrebird plumage, or lyre-bird. Of great interest to biologists are besedkovye - poultry complex is being built on the land-built huts.

 

Among the reptiles of Australia also has very interesting views. For example, already mentioned frill-necked lizard with a huge fold of skin in the form of a cape that can run fast on one hind legs (it resembles that of a small dinosaur); Moloch lizard covered with huge spikes; numerous poisonous snakes-viper many others.

 

In the rivers of the South Australian lungfish lives with one lung -.. Queensland Lungfish or tseratod.9 / 10 species are endemic to Australia, that is found nowhere else in the world. Unfortunately, many Australian animals are poorly understood, and it is unlikely it will be possible to do, because they have become extremely rare or completely disappeared, like the marsupial wolf of Tasmania. Currently, under the threat of extinction is 27 species of mammals and 18 species of birds.

 

The reasons for the disadvantaged position of many wonderful animals of Australia a lot. First of all, the representatives of the ancient fauna is very easy to vulnerable and can not compete with "invasive". dingo dog brought here, and later foxes and rats pushed or destroyed primitive native species. This applies not only to animals but also birds. So, sparrows and starlings, delivered from Europe to Australia, almost completely replaced the native birds from gardens and parks. Countless disasters brought Australian rabbits imported from Europe; they destroyed vegetation over large areas, denying food and shelter native species of animals and birds.

 

The first legislation on nature protection in Australia have been taken at the end of the last century, when it became clear that the Australian nature is unique and very vulnerable. However, these acts provide for the creation of a small protected areas or limit the export of animals. But the overall objectives of nature protection is not yet . Becoming, ie, there was no legislation on the rational prirodopolzovaniyu.V Australian Union is now more than 1,000 protected areas - rezervatsionalnyh occupying the whole parks and state parks more than 3% of the country. However, until recently, most of them were small, and they were created in order to preserve rare plants and animals, not just the protection of the natural complex. .. Only one Kosciuszko National Park area of ​​about 600 hectares, created in 1944, partly to observe the principle of protection of natural systems - from alpine meadows to the eucalyptus forests. But almost the entire territory of the park is suffering from an influx of tourists. There are many campgrounds built, hotels and restaurants. From Canberra, located 50 km from the park every year here comes more than half a million people. Among the tourists there are also those who go to the park only to a "Roof of Australia" to see the sunrise solntsa.Esche more vulnerable to the invasion of tourists (up to 3-4 million. Per year) are small national parks like Sydney and Royyal.V recent years in Australia created a few large national parks in the pastoral areas, including now the largest on the continent park Great Victoria desert area of ​​over 2 million ha .. It is located in the hilly desert at the center of the country. On the island of Green Island, Queensland, not far from the Cairns city, organized by one of the few in the world of underwater parks where protected colorful thickets corals with their obitatelyamiBolshinstvo the Australian national parks and state parks were created and now it serves to display natural monuments. Scientific research is carried out in very few parks primarily forces universities and the Academy of Sciences. These parks are often reminiscent of zoological gardens and is very attractive for tourists. Actually zoological gardens in Australia, usually located in a picturesque area, not inferior to the beauty of the natural landscapes of national parks, so that the concept of "Zoo" and "national park" in the Commonwealth of Australia as if somknulis.V recent years in Australia, in addition to the creation of protected areas and made other wildlife conservation measures. For example, in 1973 Australia signed the International Convention on the limitation of trade in rare species of fauna and flora. In 1977, the Department of National Parks and Nature Protection made the lists of animal species to be protected. In the same year, the first sheets of the national Red Book Australia "Species endangered", and in 1978 published the book D. Ovingtona "Australian species of mammals, birds and reptiles are threatened with extinction," with drawings and distribution maps have been published rare vidov.Avstraliyskie many scientists do to explore the fauna and the development of scientific bases of its rational exploitation. Australia joined the International Union for Conservation of prirody.UtkonosSkrytny platypus lives on the banks of rivers and streams in eastern and southern Australia and Tasmanii.Utkonos - very peculiar animal that has adapted to very specific conditions of life in the aquatic environment. He has a smooth streamlined body covered with short brown fur. His front paws are equipped with membranes, contributing to the movement in the water and live in burrows. Hind legs act as a rudder and tail, large and flat like a beaver, it serves as a stabilizer. His small eyes and nostrils can be closed under the water, it does not have an external ear. But his most characteristic and striking feature - a large, flat, leathery, like a duck's beak, very sensitive to touch and able to detect weak magnetic fields generated by its potential prey. He feeds, breaking the mud at the bottom of rivers and streams, in which lives, capturing rising from the bottom-dwelling crustaceans and there mollyuskov.Utkonos and two types of short-beaked echidna - the only surviving representatives of one of the earliest groups of mammals, the so-called - monotremes. Age of the oldest mammals found so far among the fossils of animals - 210 million years; it is assumed that these were small animals like rodents, which were nocturnal, and most do not lay eggs but give birth to very undeveloped young. The ancestors of modern monotremes appeared about 140 million years ago, before the separation of the huge ancient continent of Gondwana. Monotreme’s fossils have been found in South America, but there is evolution and the rapid growth of placental mammals diversity led to their defeat in the struggle for survival. Australia Early separation from the main land mass means lower competition, and although the opening recently show that placental mammals reached Australia before its separation, they do not survive here. Platypus and echidna are living evidence of the vital stage of evolution, giving invaluable information about the development of the reptiles to the placental mammals.