Australian Biodiversity

The word biodiversity means

• The number of animal species on Earth

• The type of animal species on Earth

• All of the variety of life on Earth

• The number of plant and animal species on Earth

Tick all the statements that are FALSE

• Penguins have fur.

• Bats can fly. That means they are birds.

• Whales are mammals.

• Dolphins are fish.

• Snakes have backbones.

All mammals have this in common. They all feed their young

Koalas are arboreal mammals. This means that

• They spend most of their lives asleep.

• They are active only during the nighttime.

• They are active during the daytime.

• They live in trees.

This is Australia's longest snake. It usually measures up to 5 metres in length but some animals 8.5 metres in length have been found!!

• Anaconda

• Diamond Python

• Amethystine or Scrub Python

• Tiger snake

This is one of Australia's smallest marsupial. This tiny mouse-like animal eats desert cicadas and cockroaches that could be bigger than it!!

• Feathertail Possum

• Bush mouse

• Spinifex Hopping Mouse

• Pilbara Ningaui

Australia's largest bird - the Wedge-tailed Eagle has a wingspan (from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other) of up to 2.5 metres!!!

It is a carnivore and gets its food mainly on the ground. Choose the best option for its diet.

• Wallabies, possums, rabbits and wombats

• Wallabies, berries, rabbits and sometimes birds

• Possums, wombats, fish and birds

• Fruit, berries, wallabies and possums

'ology' is a word that describes the study of something.

Can you guess what biology is the study of?

• Trees

• Living things

• Cells

• Weather

There are obviously many different areas in biology and biologists who study different types of living things.

A mammalogist is a scientist who studies

• Reptiles

• Birds

• Mammals

• Frogs

An ichthyologist studies

• Dinosaurs

• Reptiles

• Birds

• Fish