1.7 Questions

1. Australia has so many unique animals and plants because Australia has been isolated for over 50 million years.
2. Many species in Australia have survived for millions of years because Australia has many different terrains and areas.
3. Endemic means that which can only be found in one place in the world.
4. 89 percent of reptiles are said to be endemic.
5. The three areas in Australia wit great biodiversity are the Great Barrier Reef, Tropical Rainforests of Queensland and the south-west botanical province of Western Australia.
6. The richest insect fauna can be found in the tropical rain forests
7. A marsupial is a animal that has its babies in its pouch and an example is a kangaroo.
8. A monotreme is an egg laying mammal and an example is a platypus.
9. Wallabies are generally smaller than kangaroos and wallabies prefer more rugged terrain.
10. The duck-billed platypus is a peculiar looking and acting animal. It has a duck bill, a paddle like tail and webbed feet. It has a duck bill because when it is under water, it closed its eyes and senses prey with its bill. Its paddle like tail is used to burrow and the webbed feet are for moving fast in water. There are other features of the platypus such as the fact they they lay eggs but are mammals.