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Unlike any other parts of the world, Australia is a home to one million different native species. The unique location of the continent has been the source of diverse flora and fauna, which are different from other parts of the world. More than 80 per cent of the country’s flowering plants, mammals, reptiles and frogs are unique to Australia. The marine waters of Australia harbor 4000 fish species, 1700 coral species, 50 types of marine mammal and a wide range of seabirds. Most of the marine species found in Southern Australia cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
With the beautiful landscape made up of mountain ranges, rainforests, deserts, coastal dunes, plains and plateau, Australia boasts of different types of flora which are of tropical rainforest, temperate rainforest, sclerophyllous forest, woodlands, mulga scrubs, Savanna and Steppe grasslands, Alpine grasslands and desert. Eucalypt is most commonly found with about 500 different species along with other trees of Acacia, Myrtaceae, Melaleucas and Wattle species. The Golden Wattle is Australia's national floral emblem. In the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Wollemi Pines are found. The other plants which form diversity of flora include Grevillea, Allocasuarina, Proteaceae, Dryandra, Hakea and Telopea (waratah).
The desert regions are dotted with beautiful flowering plants like the Kangaroo Paw, the Sturt's Desert Pea, Native Buttercup, Ghost Gum and Banksia. Some of the shrubs found in Australian deserts are Narrow-leafed Hop Bush (Dodonaea viscosa), Emu Bush (Eremophila glabra), Low Bluebush (Maireana artstrotricha), Bladder Saltbush (Atriplex vesicaria) and Bullock Bush (Alectryon oleifolium).
Australia is known for different kinds of animal. With more than 378 species of mammals, 300 lizard species, 140 species of snakes and two species of crocodiles, the best known animals of Australia are kangaroo, koala, echidna, dingo, platypus, wallaby, wombat and tasmanian devil. The most distinctive is the platypus which is a river dwelling animal with a duck-like bill, a furry body and webbed feet. There are 55 different species of kangaroos and wallabies and the main difference between the two animals is the size in which wallabies tend to be smaller. The native wild dog called dingo is the largest carnivorous animal which has become a threat to sheep and other farm animals. In order to keep the fertile south-east Australia free from dingoes, the government has built the world’s largest fence spanning 5320 kilometres from Queensland to South Australia.
Due to the unique location, Australia is also a habitat of 828 bird species out of which half are found nowhere else. With a wide range of waterbirds, seabirds and birds that dwell in open woodlands and forests, some of the main birds are cassowaries, black swans, fairy penguins, kookaburras, lyrebirds, emu, currawongs and honeyeaters. Different types of parrots with 55 species are found in Australia including the colorful and spectacular variety of cockatoos, rosellas, lorikeets, cockatiels, parakeets and budgerigars.
These apart, the marine waters of Australia nurture around 4000 of the world’s 22 000
types of fish and 30 of the world’s 58 seagrass species also being a home to the world’s largest coral reef system too. Some of the important marine species are white shark, whale shark, the bluebottle or Portuguese man-of-war, which is a common hazard at many Australian beaches and the dangerous box jellyfish. Australia is also a land of snakes with 21 species of venomous snakes out of world’s 25 deadliest snakes. Snake bite is the common fear among the travelers, but it does not happen snakes are deliberately provoked.
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