Tag Archives: Australia

Australian Native Violet

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Australian Native Violet

Even Australia gets their very own Australian native violets.

  • Australian native violets are small, perennial flowering plants, native to mostly eastern areas of Australia.
  • ‘Australian native violets’ are also known as ‘native violets’, ‘ivy-leaved violets’ and ‘Australian tufted violets’.
  • The scientific name of an Australian native violet is Viola hederacea, from the Violaceae family, the family of pansies and violets.
  • The flower of Australian native violets is a combination of purple and white in colour, and it generally sits above the plant on a thin stalk.
  • Australian native violet plants reach a height of 10 to 15 centimetres (4 to 6 inches) and grow approximately 30 cm (12 inches) in diameter.

Australian Native Violet, Plant, Vegetation, Flower, Violet

  • The blooms of Australian native violets are roughly 1 to 2 centimetres (0.4 to 0.8 inches) in diameter, while the leaves are 0.5 to 3 centimetres (0.2 to 1.2 inches) across, and are shaped as a semi-circle or like a kidney.
  • Australian native violets bloom mostly during summer and spring months, and the flowers are edible and are sometimes used in salads.
  • Australian native violets can be grown in gardens or in pots, and they grow in shade, partial shade or sunny areas, and prefer moist soil.
  • Australian native violets are commonly used ornamentally, in hanging baskets, as a ground cover, and can also be used as an alternative lawn, although it is less popular plant than some other violet species, as the flowers are somewhat pale in colour compared to others.
  • Australian native violets grow in clumps that can be readily divided, and they tend to spread via runners, that new plants are formed from.
Bibliography:
Australian Native Violet – Plant of the Week, n.d, Burke’s Backyard, http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/fact-sheets/in-the-garden/flowering-plants-shrubs/australian-native-violet-plant-of-the-week
Viola Hederacea, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_hederacea
Viola Hederacea, 2016, Gardens Online, http://www.gardensonline.com.au/GardenShed/PlantFinder/Show_1052.aspx
Viola Hederacea, n.d, Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants, http://keys.trin.org.au/key-server/data/0e0f0504-0103-430d-8004-060d07080d04/media/Html/taxon/Viola_hederacea.htm
Viola hederacea Labill., n.d, PlantNET, http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Viola~hederacea

 

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Sydney Funnel-web Spider

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Sydney Funnel-web Spider

You do not want to come into contact with a Sydney funnel-web spider.

  • Sydney funnel-web spiders are venomous arachnids, endemic to the developed and forested habitats of the Sydney area, in Australia’s state of New South Wales.
  • The scientific name of Sydney funnel-web spiders is Atrax robustus and it is from the family Hexathelidae, a family of funnel-web spiders, and they are also commonly known as ‘Sydney funnelweb spiders’ or simply ‘funnel-web spiders’.
  • The body of a Sydney funnel-web spider generally grows to be 1.5 to 3.5 centimetres (0.6 to 1.4 inches) in length, and males are usually smaller than females.
  • The Sydney funnel-web spider is coloured brown, black, dark purple or navy and it has a shiny cephalothorax (head and thorax), and a hairy abdomen and legs.
  • Sydney funnel-web spiders will easily dehydrate in sun, and thus require rest in moist, shaded areas during heated parts of the day.
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Sydney Funnel-web Spider
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
  • The venom of Sydney funnel-web spiders can be fatal to primates, including humans, causing negative effects towards the nervous system, and mature males are more potent than females and young spiders.
  • An anti-venom for Sydney funnel-web spiders surfaced in 1980, devised in Melbourne’s Commonwealth Serum Labs by a team led by Australian Struan Sutherland, which was first used in January 1981, saving the life of Sydney patient Gordon Wheatley, after he was bitten.
  • A Sydney funnel-web spider will display its particularly large fangs and rear on its hind legs when feeling endangered, potentially striking with a number of bites.
  • The Sydney funnel-web spider lives in sandy or earthy burrows, typically with a funnel or conical shaped entrance that it surrounds and lines with a silk web that acts as a trip wire, which notifies the spider of its potential meal of insects, small reptiles and amphibians.
  • Sydney funnel-web spiders can survive in water for up to 24 hours or more, as the hairs on their legs and body produce air pockets, and as such, they can be found alive in domestic swimming pools.
Bibliography:
Gray M, Sydney Funnel-web Spider, Atrax Robustus, 2015, Australian Museum, http://australianmuseum.net.au/sydney-funnel-web-spider
Sydney Funnel-web Spider, 2010, Australian Reptile Park, http://www.reptilepark.com.au/animalprofile.asp?id=126
Sydney Funnel-web Spider, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_funnel-web_spider

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Flying Duck Orchid

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Flying Duck Orchid

The flying duck orchid is a bit of an impersonator.

  • Flying duck orchids are perennial plants of small size, native to areas in the south and east of Australia.
  • The scientific name of flying duck orchids is Caleana major and it is from the family Orchidaceae, the family of orchids.
  • Flying duck orchids typically bloom between September and January and the flowers range in length from 1.5 to 2.5 centimetres (0.6 to 1 inch).
  • The flowers of flying duck orchids are usually coloured a deep red to purple, with some parts green, and have the appearance of a duck in flight, and compared to most other orchid flowers, sit on the plant upside down.
  • One of the first specimens of a flying duck orchid obtained by Europeans was from where the Sydney Opera House of Australia sits, located at Bennelong Point in Sydney, retrieved in 1803.
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Flying Duck Orchid
Image courtesy of Doug Ford/Flickr
  • Flying duck orchids are pollinated by insects such as sawflies, that are attracted to the flower and are temporarily trapped to collect and transfer pollen.
  • Flying duck orchids are extremely difficult to grow or propagate, thus they are virtually exclusive to woody forests or shrubby habitats.
  • The height of flying duck orchid plants can reach 50 centimetres (20 inches), and they grow from a tuber and have long narrow leaves.
  • The flying duck orchid was pictured on a 90 cent Australian postage stamp, released in 1986, as one of a set of four stamps featuring Australian orchids.
  • Due to what seems to be a lack of pollinating insects, as well as habitat destruction, the flying duck orchid plant is listed as vulnerable in the state of South Australia.
Bibliography:
Australia’s Most Popular Orchid, n.d, NOSSA, http://nossa.org.au/tag/flying-duck-orchid/
Caleana major, 2014, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caleana_major
Flying Duck Orchid, 2015, AuseMade, http://www.ausemade.com.au/fauna-flora/flora/magnoliophyta/liliopsida/asparagales/orchidaceae/caleana-major/caleana-major.htm
Large Duck Orchid, 2008, Adelaide Department of Environment and Heritage, pa-fact-pafactcaleanamajor.pdf

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Cassowary

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Cassowary

Don’t feed, aggravate, threaten or approach a cassowary. You may not enjoy it.

  • A cassowary is a species of flightless bird, native to New Guinea and northern Australia, that is typically hidden in tropical rainforest areas.
  • The scientific name of a cassowary is Casuarius, from the Casuariidae family, and it is the only genus of birds in the family.
  • There are three species of cassowaries still living – the northern, dwarf and southern, with the southern species being the most abundant.
  • A cassowary’s diet consists primarily of fruit, and they also eat insects, vegetation, small animals and fungi.
  • Cassowaries are large birds that range from 1.5 to 2 metres (4.9 to 6.6 feet) in height and weigh around 25 to 58.5 kilograms (55 to 129 pounds), ranking it in the top three extant birds in height, and in the top two in weight.

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Cassowary
Image courtesy of Heather Paul/Flickr

  • Cassowaries have dangerously clawed feet with three toes, which have been known to cause both animal and human fatalities.
  • The plumage of a cassowary is primarily black, while the neck is generally a mixture of blues and reds, and the bird has a horn-like protrusion on its head, known as a ‘casque’.
  • Habitat destruction and isolation, as well as hunting, have caused populations of some species of cassowary to decrease in numbers, and these are listed as vulnerable.
  • Female cassowaries generally lay from three to eight eggs, that are coloured green to blue, and reach a length of 14 centimetres (5.5 inches), making them the third largest bird eggs in the world, and they are looked after by the males before and after they have hatched.
  • A study in 2003 revealed that cassowaries expecting food from humans are most likely to attack, while 75% of all attacks on humans are a result of this, caused by their loss of shyness from humans feeding them.
Bibliography:
Cassowary, 2015, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/cassowary/
Cassowary, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassowary
Evans O, Southern Cassowary, 2015, Australian Museum, http://australianmuseum.net.au/southern-cassowary
Our Unique Big Bird, 2015, Australian Rainforest Foundation, http://www.arf.net.au/content.php?pageid=1280380330

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Cane Toad

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Cane Toad

Cane toads are more than just a bump in the ecosystem.

  • Cane toads are a species of toad native to southern areas of North America, to the northern half of South America, and they are notoriously regarded as a pest in many other countries.
  • The scientific name of a cane toad is Rhinella marina, although previously listed as Bufo marinus, and it is from the family Bufonidae, the family of true toads.
  • ‘Cane toads’ are also known as ‘marine toads’, ‘giant toads’, ‘giant marine toads’ and ‘giant neotropical toads’.
  • Cane toads are generally 10 to 15 centimetres (4 to 6 inches) in length and weigh an average of 500 to 800 grams (1.1 to 1.7 pounds), however, they can grow to be more than double the average size.
  • The skin of cane toads is dry and has wart like bumps, and can vary in colour from shades of brown, grey, yellow or olive.

Cane Toad, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Amphibian, Brown, Pest, Australia, Domestic, Animal

  • Cane toads have been introduced in Australia, the Pacific, the United States and other countries, primarily to control pests on sugar cane, particularly the cane beetle, however, they have instead become highly invasive in some areas and fatal to native animals when eaten.
  • The diet of cane toads consists of insects, rodents, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and the odd vegetation, and they will also eat pet food.
  • The skin of cane toads, as well as the glands behind their head, contains bufotoxin, making them poisonous to touch or consume, to the extent of being fatal to many animals, and dangerous to humans.
  • Cane toad toxin has been collected and used as an arrow poison and a drug, while some parts, including skinned legs, are edible.
  • Female cane toads may produce from 8000 to 35,000 eggs every six months, breeding in water, and they have an average lifespan of five to ten years.
Bibliography:
Cameron E, Cane Toad, 2015, Australian Museum, http://australianmuseum.net.au/cane-toad
Cane Toad, 2015, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/amphibians/cane-toad/
Cane Toad, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_toad
Draft risk assessment report to amend the Live Import List to include Cane Toads, n.d, Australian Government Department of the Environment, http://secure.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/wildlife-trade/invitecomment/pubs/draft-risk-assessment-report-bufo-marinus.pdf

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Weaver Ant

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Weaver Ant

Weaver ants boast a skill that no one could ever teach.

  • Weaver ants are an ant species native to the tropical habitats of Australia, southeast Asia and India, and they are also known as ‘orange gasters’, ‘red ants’, ‘green tree ants’, ‘kerengga’, and ‘green ants’.
  • The scientific name of a weaver ant is Oecophylla smaragdina and it is from the family Formicidae, the family of ants.
  • Weaver ants are notable for constructing nests using a number of leaves, which are held together with silk, that they carefully squeeze out of their larvae.
  • Weaver ants are typically an orange or red colour, though sometimes they will have green abdomens, while the queen is often a combination of brown and green.
  • Weaver ants span gaps and bend leaves into usable positions by grabbing onto leaves with their legs and mandibles, and linking with one another in chains.

Weaver Ant, Trivia, Insect, Animal, Ten Random Facts, Leaves, Nest, White, Brown, Branches,

  • The diet of weaver ants consists primarily of insects and honeydew collected from scale bugs, and the ants live in trees.
  • Worker weaver ants range from 5 to 10 millimetres (0.2 to 0.4 of an inch) in length, and their size is relative to their role in the colony, while the queen ant reaches up to 25 millimetres (1 inch) in length.
  • Weaver ants have a natural territorial attitude towards other creatures, so farmers have used them to reduce pest numbers among crops.
  • A bite of a weaver ant is generally quite painful, as the ant commonly injects the bite with formic acid that it produces.
  • Communities in parts of southeast Asia collect the pupae and larvae of weaver ants for a variety of purposes, including food, traditional medicine ingredients, or as bait for fishing.
Bibliography:
Oecophylla smaragdina, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oecophylla_smaragdina
Tan R, Weaver Ants, 2001, Mangrove and wetland wildlife at Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve, http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/inverts/weaver_ants.htm
Weaver Ant, 2015, AntARK, http://antark.net/ant-species/weaver-ant-oecophylla-smaragdina/

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