Description

Red Kangaroos are the largest kangaroo and largest living marsupials

Can live to be 8 years in the wild but can live up to 25 in captivity 

Males can be between 4.2-5.2 feet in length with their tails between 3-4 feet in length

Can weigh upto 175 lbs

Can reach around 6 feet in height

Females are much smaller and can be between 2.7-3.4 feet in length with tails about 2 feet long

Can weigh upto 75 lbs

Can reach about 3.5 feet in height

Have a very square shaped muzzle

Inside their mouths, red kangaroos have teeth specialized for eating plants with lots of cellulose

Have relatively normal incisors

Very large gap between front teeth and molars which gives the kangaroo more room to move food around and position it between the molars

As the molars wear down and fall out, new ones emerge and take their place so there is always a fresh grinding surface

Have very large pointed ears

Eyelashes are very long to protect from glare from sun

Body is pear shaped and covered with soft fur

Males are typically orange red in color

Females typically blue grey in color

Both have whitish colored undersides which differentiates them from other kangaroos

Also have black and white patches on their cheeks as well as a broad white stripe from their cheek to their ear 

Front limbs are shorter than the back legs

Have 5 toes with short claws which are used for grooming, self defense, and eating

Back limbs are very long and muscular

Used to propel kangaroo forward through hopping or slowly walking when grazing

Have 4 toes but the inner two are fused together into one claw that is used for grooming 

Tail is very long and muscular

Can support entire body weight

Forms a tripod with two front limbs

Used for balance when sitting, resting, and hopping 

Also helpful when two males fight where they lean back on their tails and kick each other in the stomachs for dominance

Habitat

Found in arid and semi-arid areas of central and western Australia

Prefer open plains habitat with a few trees for shade during the day

Behavior

Red kangaroos are mostly crepuscular and nocturnal which means they forage during the evening and night since Australia gets really hot during the day

Will move during the day if they have to but most of the time they rest under bushes, shrubs, or trees

Kangaroos can’t sweat so to keep cool, they will lick their chests and inside of the forearms until the skin is soggy

Since their blood vessels in these areas are close to the surface of the skin, when the moisture evaporates, it cools off the blood circulating underneath

Primarily eat grasses, leaves, roots and low, herbaceous plants

Have a two part stomach 

First part is bag shaped and filled with microbes that ferment the vegetation and release nutrients

Food may stay in first part for up to 16 hours 

Sometimes gets coughed back up so the kangaroo chews it up more and swallows it just like cows chewing cud

Second part is tube shaped and contains stomach acid and enzymes that finish the digestion process

Typically stay in the same home range for their whole lives

May travel 25-30 km to more favorable foraging grounds if rainfall is low

Live in small groups called mobs which may include up to 10 kangaroos

Mostly females and joeys with one or two males

Larger groups may occasionally form in areas with good amounts of forage

May reach numbers as large as 1500 

Males will fight each other to earn right to breed with females

Both opponents will stand up on their hind legs and start grappling with their front limbs

Eventually will start kicking each other until one gives up

Breeding occurs year round but joeys are typically born in spring and summer

Gestation lasts about 33 days

After which the jelly bean sized joey will crawl up into the mothers pouch and attach itself to one of four teats

The joey will suckle on this teat for 120-130 days during which it continues to develop

At about 150 days, the joey will start to stick its head out of the pouch 

At 190 days, the joey will start making short journeys out of the pouch before returning 

After that it will continue to do this until eventually it leaves the pouch for good at 235 days

It will still continue to suckle until it reaches the age of 1 year

After a joey is born and in the pouch, the female can mate again and another embryo is created

However, the embryo will only start developing after the joey in the pouch leaves

This is known as embryonic diapause

After the joey in the pouch leaves, the embryo develops and eventually climbs into the pouch

Then it latches onto a different teat than the joey outside is using

At this point, the mother produces two kinds of milk: One for the joey outside the pouch high in fat and one for the one in the pouch which is lower in fat

The female can mate again at this point and will have three joeys at three different stages of development 

Fun Facts

Their scientific family is called Macropodidae which means big feet

Kangaroos have a vision range of 300 degrees due to eye placement 

Kangaroos cannot walk forwards or backwards

Kangaroos can travel 26.2-29.5 ft in one leap and can reach heights between 5.9-9.8 feet

Can reach speeds of up to 30 mph

Kangaroos are pretty good swimmers

Can survive on very little water since they get most of their moisture from the plants they eat

Males can be called boomers and females can be called fliers/blue fliers due to their coloration

Description

Medium sized monotreme

They and platypi are the only mammals that lay eggs

Reach lengths between 12-18 inches and can weigh between 4.4-15.4 lbs

However, their size varies depending on where they live

For example, the tasmanian subspecies is smaller than all the other subspecies

They can live up to 50 years in captivity and may live up to 45 years in the wild

The body, except for their belly, arms and legs, is covered in cream colored spines than can reach up to 2 inches in length

These spines are modified hairs and mostly made out of keratin, just like our hair and fingernails

They have fur in between the spines that act as insulation and also have fur on their undersides and on their short tails

This fur ranges in color from honey to reddish-brown and even black

The coloring also varies depending on location

Short-beaked echidnas have a wedge shaped beak with their nostrils and mouth found at the end of it

Their beak is very leathery and covered in mechano- and thermoreceptors, which help them gather information about their environments

The nose also has electroreceptors inside the nostrils and this allows short-beaked echidnas to sense electric fields of 1.8 mV/cm which is 1000 times more sensitive than humans

Their mouths can only open about 5 mm or .2 inches wide

Inside their mouths, they have a long and sticky tongue covered in specialized mucus that they use to catch their prey

However, they do not have any teeth and instead have some rough keratinous pads that help them capture their prey and grind it up

Their tongue is very flexible on the end which allows it to bend around corners in termite mounds

The tongue is also very quick and has been measured to move in and out at 100 times a minute

This allows the echidna to eat really quickly and an echidna weighing 6.6 lbs can eat 200 grams of termites in 10 minutes

Short-beaked echidnas have two small nostrils and a very good sense of smell which helps them find mates and food

Their eyes are very small and about 9 mm in diameter

The eyes combine certain characteristics of both bird/reptile eyes as well as mammals

They have a cartilaginous layer underneath the sclera of the eyeball like birds and reptiles

Like the mammals, echidnas have a very flat lens which gives them a very long focal length

This means that they can see things well at a distance

They do not have the muscle that placental mammals have to distort the lens to change the focal length so objects at different distances can be seen clearly

Instead, their whole eye distorts to change the distance between the retina and the lens for focusing

This means that the short-beaked echidna does not have great visual acuity but luckily their eyesight is not necessarily needed and they can at least distinguish between black and white and horizontal and vertical stripes

Their optic nerve is about as powerful as a rats and they also experience R.E.M. when sleeping

They have ear holes on either side of their heads with no external parts visible

If they had external ear parts, then a predator could grab them

Their ears are sensitive to low frequency sounds which allows them to hear termites and ants underground

The macula in their ears acts as a gravity sensor to help the echidna orient itself

The short-beaked echidna has a very interesting brain

An average echidna’s brain has an average volume of 25 ml which is about the size of the brain of a similar sized cat

Compared to the platypus, short-beaked echidnas have a very complex and wrinkly brain,  just like humans 

Almost half of their sensory cortex is devoted to their snout and tongue and the part that is devoted to smell is large compared to other animals

Their prefrontal cortex also takes up about 50 percent of their brains

Scientists have done experiments and concluded short-beaked echidnas are about as smart as cats or rats

They also have one of the shortest spines in the animal kingdom which scientists think helps them roll up to protect themselves

Their stomachs are also interesting

They lack acid secretion glands in their stomach but are able to grind up their food since their stomach is very flexible and covered in what looks like horns

Short-beaked echidnas have short and strong legs with long claws on their feet

Their back feet face backwards and have curved claws they use for grooming

Their legs are so strong that they can rip apart logs and move rocks

For example, one was observed moving a 30 lb rock

Their arms have greater mechanical advantage than humans because their biceps connects their shoulders to their arms at a lower point than humans and its chunky humerus allows for the formation of more muscle

Short-beaked echidnas have many cool adaptations

Since they spend a good amount of time underground, they come into more contact with carbon dioxide than most animals but are able to deal with it well

They can dig up to a meter into the ground to escape predators or find food and can also survive with low oxygen during the bushfires

They can also survive floods by lowering their heartbeat to preserve oxygen for the brain and heart

Habitat

Short-beaked echidnas occupy a wide range of habitats

They can be found from snowy alpine climates to semi-arid climates

These climates include meadows, heathlands, forests, woodlands, and the Australian desert

Their range includes Australia, Tasmania, Indonesia, and southern New Guinea

Behavior

Short-beaked echidnas are typically diurnal but during warm weather they become nocturnal or crepuscular

They do this because they do not have sweat glands and don’t pant

They also will hang out in the shade or in temporary burrows if active during warm weather

They are insectivores and will eat ants, termites, worms, and grubs

They will avoid ants and termites that have nasty tasting secretions

Short-beaked echidnas are solitary and only come together to mate or if they are a female raising a baby

They can have ranges of 21-93 ha and can overlap with others since they only have ranges to search for food

Short-beaked echidnas also hibernate during the Australian winter and also have periods of torpor throughout the year

They begin preparing between February and April and hibernate until June, July, or August and sometimes later

They will also dig themselves a temporary hibernation burrow to protect themselves

During this period, they go through 13 rounds of torpor broken up by periods of waking which coincide with warmer weather

Their body temperature can drop to as low as 4 degrees Celsius during this time

Short-beaked echidnas come together to mate between May and September

During courtship, a single female is followed by a train of males that can reach up to 10 individuals

Whichever male hangs around the longest eventually gets to mate with the female

Gestation takes between 21-28 days and during this time, the female digs a nursery burrow

After which, the female lays a leathery egg into her backward facing pouch

Ten days later, the egg hatches and out comes a baby echidna a.k.a. A puggle

They then attach themselves onto a specialized patch of skin where they suckle their milk from since short-beaked echidnas have no nipples

At about two-three months of age, they are left in the nursery burrow because they are getting bigger and their spines are growing longer

They will keep suckling until they are weaned at about 6 months at which point they will go off on their own

Fun Facts

They are really good swimmers and often do this to cool off

Knuckles from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise is an echidna

Millie was the echidna mascot for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games

They are featured on the Australian 5 cent piece

There are bundles of muscles at the base of each of their spines which allows them to control the movement and direction of the spine

Description

Smallish green colored tree dwelling lizard

Reach a length up to 24 inches and a weight of 200 grams

Crest length is about .5 centimeters

Can live 10-15 years in the wild

Males are green with 2-3 white or pale-blue bands that are about 2 cm wide

They also have a pattern of stripes and spots on their necks

Females on the other hand are mostly green with partial spotting or bands

Both have yellow undersides

Their skin is sensitive to light and they can change the pattern to match their backgrounds

Habitat

Found in wet forests and areas with high vegetation and trees over 20 ft tall

Endemic to the Lau Islands of Fiji

Range in Lau Islands is from the island of Vanua Balavu in the north to the islands of Fulaga and Ogea Levu in the south

Can also be found in the Tonga Islands

Behavior

Lau banded iguanas are diurnal and arboreal which means they are active during the day and spend most of their time in the trees

They spend their days foraging, basking, and watching over their territory if they are a male

At night they retreat higher into the trees

Lau banded iguanas are herbivorous 

They eat the leaves, fruits, and flowers of trees and shrubs

Juveniles sometimes eat insects in captivity but adults never do

The males aggressively protect their territory from other males

Often times, they brighten their coloring so their bands stand out

They will then bob their heads and charge at their rival with their mouth open

Males will also expand their dewlap or the flap of skin under their chins to appear bigger

Then the males will tussle with each other

Breeding season for the lau banded iguana occurs in November

Before breeding, the male will court the female by bobbing his head and flicking his tongue on the females back, legs, and neck

After breeding is successful, the female will dig a nest and lay 3-6 eggs in the nest

The female will guard the eggs while they incubate for a period of 160-170 days

The hatchlings usually hatch during the rainy season so they have enough food and water to survive and thrive  

Fun Facts

Lau banded iguanas are really good swimmers

It is considered a national treasure by Fiji and can be found on postage stamps, currency, and phone book covers

It is one of the few species of Iguana found outside the New World

It is also one of the most geographically isolated members of the Iguanidae family

Predators include mongooses and domestic cats

It is very widely trafficked and as such, the Fijian government considers all species of banded iguanas outside of Fiji to be either trafficked or descended from individuals who were trafficked since 1982

Sources

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachylophus_fasciatus

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/fiji-banded-iguana

Description

One of three species of monotreme with the other two being the long and short beaked echidna

Males can reach an average length of about 20 in and females can reach an average length of about 17 in but it depends on where they live

Males can weigh 1.7-6.7 lbs and females can weigh 1.3-3.7 lbs

Both males and females could live 20 years or longer and have been known to survive for up to 23 years in captivity

Body is covered in thick, brown, waterproof, biofluorescent fur

The texture of the fur is apparently similar to that of a mole

Their front legs are short with lots of webbing on their feet to help with swimming

The back feet are partially webbed and act as rudders while swimming

Both sets of feet have strong claws which are used for digging burrows and moving around on land

Males and females have spurs on their ankles but only the males have a venom gland attached to their ankle spurs

This makes the platypus one of a few venomous mammals

Their tail is broad and flat and used to store fat when food is scarce

Their eyes are very small and found in a small groove behind their bill which is where their ears are as well

Studies have shown that the platypus’ eyes operate more like the eyes of the Pacific Hagfish or Northern Hemisphere Lamprey than most four legged animals

Their eyes also have double cones unlike most mammals

The most defining characteristic of the platypus is its duck-like bill

The bill is covered in soft, rubber like skin and contains both electroreceptors as well as touch receptors

Their nostrils are found on top of the bill near the tip

When searching for food underwater, the platypus closes its eyes, ears, and nostrils and relies on the bill to help them avoid obstacles while also detecting the electrical signals emitted by their prey

Habitat

Found in freshwater systems from tropical rainforest lowlands and plateaus to cold, high-altitudes

Range includes eastern Queensland and New South Wales, eastern, central, and southwestern Victoria, and throughout Tasmania

Behavior

The platypus is active year round but is generally active during the twilight and night

During the day, they will rest in their burrow which is usually built into the river bank 

Platypuses mainly eat invertebrates 

Their diet can consist of insect larvae, shrimp, swimming beetles, water bugs, tadpoles, worms, freshwater mussels, snails, cicadas, moths and crayfish

To gather their food, they will dive underwater and close off their nostrils, eyes and ears and rely on the receptors in their bill to find food by sifting through the substrate of the water or by catching bigger prey

They will often stay underwater for 30-140 seconds

Once they have found food, they will store it in their cheek pouches and then chew them using the grinding plates in their mouths after they resurface

These foraging sessions can last 10-12 hours a day and the distance traveled from the home burrow depends on the individual and the environment in which they live

The breeding season varies depending on location and the population of said location

Studies suggest that platypuses in Queensland start breeding earliest followed by platypuses in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania

Breeding probably takes place from August-October but again, it depends on the location

Gestation lasts about 21 days after which the female will lay 1-3 eggs though usually only two are laid

Before laying her eggs, the female will build out a long complex burrow and gather nesting material 

After her eggs are laid, the female will incubate the eggs for about 10 days and will do this by holding them in her tail when she curls up

After the babies hatch, they will suckle on their mother from two, fur covered milk patches on her abdomen for 3-4 months

As the babies age, the mother will go out and forage more and more frequently until  they eventually become weaned and leave the burrow to find their own territory

Fun Facts

They fluoresce teal under blacklight

Perry from Phineas and Ferb is a platypus

Related to echidnas

In 1799, the first scientists to look at preserved platypus specimen thought it was fake

The name platypus comes from a greek word and it means flat foot

One of the original scientific names for the platypus was Ornithorhynchus paradoxus which was given to it by Johann Blumenbach in 1800

It’s scientific name is Ornithorhynchus anatinus which means duck-like bird-snout

Early British settlers gave it many names including: watermole, duckbill, and duckmole

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platypus

https://australian.museum/learn/animals/mammals/platypus/

https://www.britannica.com/animal/platypus

https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/plants-animals/animals/discovering-wildlife/platypus