Australia's Dangerous Animals are well known, including poisonous spiders, snakes and lizards. But not all the fauna of the country is dangerous. There are many animals that, due to their evolution without predators, are trusting and do not have many methods to avoid predation.
In this article on our site we present a list of animals in Australia little or not at all aggressive or dangerous, animals perhaps less known but unique and spectacular.
1. Australian giant cuttlefish
The Australian giant cuttlefish (Sepia apama) is a mollusc belonging to the class of cephalopods. It is the largest cuttlefish that exists, it is also an expert in camouflage, since its changes in the color of its skin and the movement of its fins make it imitate its environment perfectly, misleading predators and confusing prey.
Endemic to coastal waters off southern Australia, found as far east as Moreton Bay on the east coast and as far west as Ningaloo Reef. Their reproductive period is from April to September, in which they spawn (release eggs) en masse in Spencer Gulf, where thousands of giant cuttlefish congregate every year.
It is a carnivorous animal, it feeds on fish, molluscs and crustaceans, just like the rest of the cuttlefish species. It is not one of Australia's endangered animals, but its population is declining, making the species near threatened.
two. Spotted mackerel
Spotted mackerel (Scomberomorus queenslandicus) is a fish of the Scombridae family. Found in the tropical and subtropical waters off northern Australia and southern Papua New Guinea. It can be found from Shark Bay to Sydney.
This fish is bluish-green on the back, with silver sides and three rows of bronze spots Females are more larger than males. The reproductive season takes place between the months of October and January, with spawning taking place in Queensland waters.
It is not a commercial species and is threatened, although it is accidentally caught when other mackerel species are caught.
3. Australian Humpback Dolphin
The Australian humpback dolphin's scientific name, Sousa Sahulersis, derives from the Sahul Shelf, an underwater shelf located between northern Australia and southern New Guinea, where Australian dolphins are found. Their common name, humpback, comes because their dorsal fin is very elongated and has the appearance of a hump due to an accumulation of fatty tissue that accumulates as they age.
Males and females are the same size, about 2.7 meters, reaching sexual maturity between 10 and 13 years. They are long-lived animals, living up to 40 years in the wild. The color of your skin changes with age. When they are born they are grayish and turn silvery, especially in the region of the dorsal fin and the forehead.
This animal is very susceptible to pollution and, living near coasts and rivers, highly polluted areas, its population is being affected, with only about 10 left.000 individuals released. Undoubtedly, it is one of the typical animals of Australia that could disappear if the problem is not combated.
4. Australian Pelican
There are eight species of pelicans in the world, all of them very similar in appearance, as they are all white, except for two of them, the pink pelican and the Peruvian pelican. The most characteristic feature of these animals is the elongated beak with a bag. In the Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus), the bill measures 40 to 50 centimeters, being larger in males than in females. Its wingspan is 2.3 to 2.5 meters.
This animal is found distributed throughout Australia, Papua New Guinea and southern Indonesia. Despite its corpulent and heavy appearance, the pelican is a great flier, it cannot maintain flight by flapping its wings, but it can stay in the air for 24 hours when it picks up currents of air. It is capable of rising over 1,000 meters in altitude, and there are even records of 3,000 meters. If you are passionate about birds, do not hesitate to consult this other article in which the fastest bird in the world is mentioned.
Reproduction depends on environmental conditions, especially rain. Pelicans breed in colonies of more than 40,000 individuals grouped on islands or coasts. They live between 10 and 25 years.
5. Australian Shoveler
The Australian Shoveler (Anas rhynchotis) is distributed throughout Australia, with populations concentrated in southeastern western and eastern Australia and Tasmania.
They are brown, with lighter green feathers. It should be noted that there is a lot of sexual dimorphism in this species. Males have a bluish-grey head and a white line on the face in front of the eye. They have an elongated spoon-shaped beak, made up of combs on the inside with which they filter the mud and catch their food, which is based on molluscs, crustaceans and insects.
Its conservation status is vulnerable and, although there is no conservation plan for the species there is for the region where inhabit.
6. Australian Turkey
The Australian turkey (Alectura lathami) lives throughout eastern Australia, from Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, to the south to the northern suburbs of Sydney and the Illawarra region of New South Wales. It lives in tropical or humid forests.
This bird has mainly black plumage, a featherless red head and a yellow wattle. Although it looks like a turkey and is called that, it really belongs to another family, that of the megapodos.
They seek their food by foraging on the ground and digging with their feet. Their diet is based on insects, seeds and fruits. Unlike most birds, the Australian turkey does not incubate its eggs, instead burying them under a mound of decaying vegetation which, by heat generated by the typical reactions of decomposing organic matter, keeps the eggs at the perfect temperature. For this reason, it is one of the most curious animals in Australia as well as rare.
7. Australian King Parrot
Australian King Parrots (Alisterus scapularis) inhabit tropical rainforests or moist sclerotium forests along the east coast of Australia.
They are the only Australian parrots with the totally red head, although only the males, the females have a green one. The rest of the body is the same in both, the red belly and the green back, wings and tail. They live in pairs or family groups. They are frugivorous animals and nest in holes in trees.
8. Fat Tailed Rat
The fat-tailed rat (Zyzomys pedunculatus) is one of the rarest animals in Australia, it is in danger of extinction due to the habitat destruction and predation by domestic cats which, in Australia, are an invasive species.
It is a medium-sized rodent weighing 70-120 grams. Its fur is thick light brown and white on the belly. It has a very thick tail, never longer than the length from the nose to the base of the tail.
They are granivorous animals, consuming seeds, especially in hot weather. During the winter they also feed on insects, but to a lesser extent.
9. Mainland Island Snake
The continental island snake or tiger snake (Notechis scutatus) is one of the world's most venomous animals. This species is widespread as well as widespread throughout South Australia.
Lives in areas near water, such as riparian forests, marshes, or streams. It can also live in drier areas, such as grasses or rocky areas. When it lives in this last place it has a nocturnal behavior, to avoid the heat of the day, in the areas related to water it is diurnal or crepuscular.
It is a very generalist, feeding on a wide variety of small mammals, amphibians, birds and even fish. Breeding occurs from December to April. It is a viviparous species that can have between 17 and 109 young, although it reproduces infrequently.
10. Mountain Pygmy Possum
The possum or opossum (Burramys parvus) is a small mammal from Australia, no bigger than a mouse. It is endemic to southeastern Australia, where there are only three totally isolated populations. Its distribution area is not greater than 6 or 7 square kilometers. It is a species that is critically endangered
It is the only species of Australian mammal that lives in alpine environments, in periglacial rocky fields. They are nocturnal animals Their diet is based on a species of moth (Agrotis infusa) and some other insects, seeds and fruits. At the end of autumn, they go into hibernation for 5 or 7 months.
Typical animals of Australia
All the above animals are typical of Australia, however, it is true that many of them are little known. Therefore, below we show a list with the most typical animals of Australia:
- Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus)
- Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)
- Red Kangaroo (Macropus rufus)
- Eastern gray kangaroo (Macropus giganteus)
- Western Gray Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus)
- Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
- Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus)
- Australian Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus)
- Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii)
Rare Animals of Australia
We have already mentioned some of Australia's most curious and rare animals, however, there are many more that exist. Here we share a list of the rarest animals in Australia, including those already mentioned:
- Blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua scincoides)
- Port Jackson shark (Heterodontus portusjacksoni)
- Dugong or dugong (Dugong dugon)
- Australian turkey (Alectura lathami)
- Mole cricket (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa)
- Eel shark (Chlamydoselachus anguineus)
- Sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps)
- Blue Penguin (Eudyptula minor)
Dangerous Animals of Australia
We end the list of animals in Australia with the most dangerous species:
- Marine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)
- Sydney spider (Atrax robustus)
- Death Adder (Acanthophis antarctitus)
- Blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena)
- Bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas)
- Honey bee (Apis mellifera)
- Sea wasp (Chironex fleckeri)
- Tiger snake (Notechis scutatus)
- Cone snail (Conus geographus)
- Coastal Taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus)
