Australia

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Australia is unique. Why?

Australia Day – January 26th – when we consider all things Australian, the country and its people, is an ideal opportunity to check in on … the ‘nature of Australia’. Some key facts that together answer ‘how is Australia so very different’ ? * Australia is an ‘island’ – fully surrounded by water ; it’s also a ‘continent’ * Being an island, Australia tropical or sun-tropical, its long coastline hosting vast rainforests. These tropical rainforests are home to massive biodiversity...

All about… platypus

A Question Hidden in the Platypus Genome: Are We the Weird Ones? From The New York Times When the British zoologist George Shaw first encountered a platypus specimen in 1799, he was so befuddled that he checked for stitches, thinking someone might be trying to trick him with a Frankencreature. It’s hard to blame him: What other animal has a rubbery bill, ankle spikes full of venom, luxurious fur that glows under black light and a tendency to lay eggs? Centuries later, we’re still...

Glum future! The platypus

The platypus – Scientists say the risk of local extinctions is rising due to damaged waterways, land clearing and climate change – the Guardian reports It is dusk beside a creek and we are instructed to look for a trail of bubbles, under which could be one of the world’s weirdest mammals. When you’re desperate to see a platypus in the fading light, everything looks like one. Floating logs from bank-side paperbark trees, gyrating leaves caught in a dance with...

Parrot without night vision?

New Zealand Geographic reports that AUSTRALIA’S CRITICALLY ENDANGERED night parrot may not be very good at seeing in the dark, according to new research from Flinders University. An international group of researchers CT-scanned a night parrot skull, as well as skulls of related bird species, and found that the night parrot had smaller optic nerves and lobes than the others, suggesting it had limited visual processing ability. The parrot’s vision appears to be sensitive but low-resolution, meaning that it struggles to...

Biodiversity Day!

Our solutions are in Nature – that’s the message of the 2020 Biodiversity Day which is technically May 22nd While the COVID-19 pandemic has postponed some of the preparations related to the 2020 super year of biodiversity, the celebration of International Day for Biological Diversity aims to prompt reflection on the importance of working together at all levels to build a future of life in harmony with nature. The year 2020 is significant for international biodiversity policy for a number...

Archaeology Week in Australia

National Archaeology Week (NAW) in Australia – May 17 to May 23 – which aims to put ‘archaeology in the spotlight’ , is (of course) fully online this year due to coronavirus. NAW has 4 prizes : Best online event or content People’s Choice.  Nominate and vote for your favourite via social media. Bake It and Make It.  Bake a stratigraphic layer cake, french knit a scale bar, the only limit is your imagination.  Post a photo of your creation...

Rare dinosaur unearthed

A dinosaur relative of T. rex and Velociraptor with an unusually long neck, and which may have transitioned from predator to plant-eater as it reached adulthood, has been unearthed in Victoria, Australia. As if timed to coincide with my “Australia and Antarctica” post ….. The elaphrosaur was a member of the theropod family of dinosaurs that included all of the predatory species. It stood about the height of a small emu, measuring 2m from its head to the end of a long tail, and...

Dawn Chorus Day

For those who are particularly into birdwatching or intend to be UP for this – Monday May 4th – here are some good resources United Kingdom – RSPB https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/birdwatching/ Australia – Birdlife https://www.birdlife.org.au/all-about-birds/birdwatching New Zealand – Forest & Bird https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/ as well as their kids club https://kcc.org.nz/ Here’s a video https://youtu.be/xudHav8digY The Guardian ‘take’ on dawn chorus https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/may/02/beautiful-birdsong-how-the-dawn-chorus-reconnects-me-to-life-and-hope?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other...