Australian fauna

Australia is unusual because the animal population evolved largely out of contact with the other main continents. A very high percentage of Australian animals are endemic (found nowhere else) including about 70% of its birds and 95% of its mammals. Over time, the marsupials filled most of the ecological niches that are normally occupied by placental mammals. Australia is also home to the only three monotreme species in the world - two echidnas and the platypus. The only placental mammals naturally found on the Australian mainland are bats and some primitive rodents; plus the dingo, which came to Australia somewhere around 7000 years ago.

Australia is also home to large and diverse populations of various other types of animal - snakes, lizards, insects, birds and fish.

Mammals

Monotremes

• echidnas
• Platypus

Marsupials

• bandicoots
• bilbies
• hopping mice
• kangaroos
• Koala
• possums
• potoroos[?]
• Quokka
• quoll[?]
• Tasmanian Devil
• Thylacine
• wallabies
• wombats

Placentals

• Dingo (introduced)
• flying-foxes[?]
• Rabbit (introduced pest)

Birds

• Australian birds (main article)
• See Australasian birds for a comprehensive listing

Reptiles

Lizards

• blue-tongue lizard[?]
• frilled lizard[?]
• goanna[?]
• geckos
• skinks[?]
• thorny lizard[?]

Snakes

• black snake[?]
• brown snake[?]
• copperhead snake[?]
• taipan[?]

Amphibians

• Corroboree frog[?]
• Eastern tree frog[?]

Pest species

• rabbit
• Cane Toad

Recently extinct Australian fauna

• Australian megafauna[?]: from first human colonisation to 1788:
• Extinct Australian animals: from 1788 to present: