Animal Info - Australia

Contents

Threatened Species, Environmental and Social Data (Mammals, Biodiversity/Ecosystems, Population, Area/Land Use, Protected Lands, Economy, Education), References and Links

Threatened Species

Threatened Species: The following list includes all mammals which occur in Australia and are rated as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) or Vulnerable (VU) in the 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. 

• Critically Endangered:
  • African Wild Ass (Equus africanus). (Introduced.)
  • Alice Springs Mouse (Pseudomys fieldi). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Blue-gray Mouse (Pseudomys glaucus). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Bramble Cay Mosaic-tailed Rat (Melomys rubicola). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Carpentarian Rock Rat (Zyzomys palatilis). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Central Rock Rat (Zyzomys pedunculatus). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Gilbert's Potoroo (Potorous gilbertii). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Troughton's Sheathtail Bat (Taphozous troughtoni). (Endemic to Australia.) 
• Endangered:
  • Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus).
  • Bridled Nail-tailed Wallaby (Onychogalea fraenata). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Dibbler (Parantechinus apicalis). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus).
  • Greater Stick-nest Rat (Leporillus conditor). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Hastings River Mouse (Pseudomys oralis). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Julia Creek Dunnart (Sminthopsis douglasi). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Kangaroo Island Dunnart (Sminthopsis aitkeni). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Leadbeater's Possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Long-footed Potoroo (Potorous longipes). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Mahogany Glider (Petaurus gracilis). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Mountain Pygmy Possum (Burramys parvus). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Mulgara (Dasycercus hillieri). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Northern Bettong (Bettongia tropica). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Northern Marsupial Mole (Notoryctes caurinus). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Prosperine Rock Wallaby (Petrogale persephone). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Red-tailed Phascogale (Phascogale calura). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Sandhill Dunnart (Sminthopsis psammophila). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Sei Whale (Balaenoptera borealis).
  • Southern Marsupial Mole (Notoryctes typhlops). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Western Barred Bandicoot (Perameles bougainville). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Western Mouse (Pseudomys occidentalis). (Endemic to Australia.)
• Vulnerable
  • Arnhem Tomb Bat (Taphozous kapalgensis). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Banded Hare Wallaby (Lagostrophus fasciatus). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Bilby (Macrotis lagotis). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby (Petrogale penicillata). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Burrowing Bettong (Lesueur's Rat Kangaroo) (Bettongia lesueur). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Carpentarian Antechinus (Pseudantechinus mimulus). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Carpentarian Dunnart (Sminthopsis butleri). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Chuditch (Western Native Cat, Western Quoll) (Dasyurus geoffroii). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Country Mouse (Pseudomys patrius). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Dugong (Dugong dugon).
  • Dusky Hopping-mouse (Notomys fuscus). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Eastern Barred Bandicoot (Perameles gunnii). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • False Water Rat (Xeromys myoides ). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Ghost Bat (Macroderma gigas). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Golden-backed Tree Rat (Mesembriomys macrurus). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Golden Bandicoot (Isoodon auratus). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Greater Long-eared Bat (Nyctophilus timoriensis).
  • Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).
  • Kowari (Dasycercus byrnei). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Large-eared Pied Bat (Chalinolobus dwyeri). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Mulgara (Dasycercus cristicauda). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus). (Occurred here in 1994.) (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Orange Leaf-nosed Bat (Rhinonicteris aurantia). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Papuan Sheath-tailed Bat (Saccolaimus mixtus).
  • Pilliga Mouse (Pseudomys pilligaensis). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Pipistrelle (Bat) Species (Pipistrellus mckenziei). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Plains Mouse (Pseudomys australis). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Quokka (Setonix brachyurus). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Rufous Hare Wallaby (Western Hare Wallaby) (Lagorchestes hirsutus). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Shark Bay Mouse (Pseudomys praeconis). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Smoky Mouse (Pseudomys fumeus). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Sperm Whale (Physeter catodon).
  • Spotted-tailed Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus). (Endemic to Australia.)
  • Western Ringtail (Pseudocheirus occidentalis). (Endemic to Australia.)
• Other:
  • Brush-tailed Bettong (Bettongia penicillata). (Rated Endangered in the 1994 Red List; rated Lower Risk: Conservation Dependent in the 1996 - 2003 IUCN Red Data Lists.)

Environmental and Social Data

Mammals

Total number of species: 252 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Number of endemic species: 198 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Number of threatened species: 1996: 58 (23 % of total species) (IUCN 1996); 2000: 65 (26 % of total species) (IUCN 2000)

Biodiversity/Ecosystems

Australia contains the Queensland Tropical Forests, Lord Howe & Norfolk Island Forests, Eastern Australia Temperate Forests, Tasmanian Temperate Rainforests, Sandy Australian Deserts & Central Ranges, Southwest Australian Shrublands & Woodlands, Eastern Australian Rivers & Streams, Western Australian Marine Ecosystems, Great Barrier Reef, Lord Howe Island & Norfolk Island Marine Ecosystems, and South Temperate Australian Marine Ecosystems Global 200 Ecoregions as well as portions of the Northern Australia & Trans-Fly Savannas Global 200 Ecoregion (Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999)
Australia contains both the Southwestern Australia as well as the Southeastern Australia and Tasmania Global Biodiversity Hotspots (Cons. Intl. 1999a)
Australia is a Megadiversity Country (Cons. Intl. 1999b)

Population

Population in 1995: 18,031,000 (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population density in 1995: 2.3 people/sq km (6.1 people/sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population in 1998: 18,613,087 (World Almanac 1999)
Average population growth rate, 1980 - 1990: 1.5 % (World Bank 1992)

Area/Land Use

Area: 7,682,302 sq km (2,966,153 sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Percentages of primary world ecosystem types:

• Other Coastal Aquatic: 2 %
• Desert and Semi-desert: 20 %
• Grass and Shrub: 19 %
• Crop and Settlements: 5 %
• Interrupted Woods: 40 %
• Major Forests: 13 %

(Groombridge 1992)

Percent of land area classified as the following degree of human disturbance: Low: 62 %; Medium: 28 %; High: 10 % (WRI 1994)

Protected Lands

Area: 813,090 sq km (313,853 sq mi) (Groombridge 1992)
Percent of land protected: 3.99 % totally protected; 2.09 % partially protected; 6.08 % totally or partially protected (Groombridge 1992)

Economy

Per capita GNP ($ U.S.) (1991): $17,068 (WRI 1994)
Per capita GDP ($ U.S.) (1996): $23,600 (World Almanac 1999)

Education

Percent of females in secondary education (1989): 83 % (World Bank 1992)

References and Links

References: Cons. Intl. 1999a, Cons. Intl. 1999b, Groombridge 1992, Groombridge & Jenkins 1994, IUCN 1994, IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, IUCN 2003, Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995, Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999, World Almanac 1999, World Bank 1992, WRI 1994

General Links (After you get to one of these sites, click on the link for Australia): CIA World Factbook, Foreign Embassies of Washington, D.C., Library of Congress - Country Studies, University of Texas - Country Maps, Washington Post - Countries, World Resources Institute - Country Profiles 

Links for Australia: Action Plan for Australian Marsupials and Monotremes, Action Plan for Australian Rodents, australianfauna.com, Australian Koala Foundation, Australian Museum Online, Australian Tourist Commission, Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Chakoro Nature Reserve, Earth Sanctuaries Online, Environment Australia, Leadbeater's Possum Page, Milamba's Australia, Museum Victoria, Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales, Plants and Animals of Western Australia, Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, The Nature Conservancy - Australia, Threatened Species and Threatened Ecological Communities of Australia, United Nations Environmental Program - Australia, Wombat Survival Foundation, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) - Australia

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Last modified: December 4, 2005;

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