Amazingly weird Aussie animals

What makes these species from Down Under so different from others all over the world?

Australia is famed for its weird and wonderful animals. From the alien blue-ringed octopus, which carries enough venom to kill 26 adult humans within minutes, to the patchwork anatomy of the duck-billed platypus, Australia is packed with species that, to the rest of the world, don’t make a lot of sense.

This is because these strange species often aren’t found anywhere else on Earth. 87 per cent of Australia’s mammals, 93 per cent of its reptiles and 45 per cent of its bird species can only be found in Australia. During Earth’s geographical evolution the smallest of the seven continents, modern-day Australia, broke away from a supercontinent that dominated the landscape of the world hundreds of millions of years ago. This meant that the species living in Australia didn’t evolve in quite the same way as animals elsewhere on Earth, with the exception of migrating species that could fly or swim beyond the shores of Australia. This has resulted in some of the most fascinating, frightening and downright odd animals to ever walk the Earth.

Australia is famous for its many scary spiders, but this species is one of the most innovative. Rather than building a silken web and passively waiting for prey to become entangled, this spider takes a proactive approach, using a net of silk to trap its food. These spiders typically use their nets to capture ants, beetles and even other spiders during the night. To help them see in the dark, these unusual arachnids have two large eyes, earning them the nickname of ‘ogre-faced spider’. Before the Sun rises, net-casters will consume their nightly catch, including the net to recycle the silk.

Echidnas are not only one of the strangest animals in Australia, but possibly the entire world. These hedgehog-like creatures are one of only two kinds of mammals on Earth that lay eggs – the other is the duck-billed platypus. Adding to their oddities, echidnas have toothless jaws, so they crush their insect prey, of which they eat around 40,000 per day, between their tongue and the roof of their mouths. Echidnas feed during the night to avoid the high daytime temperatures and to maintain their low body temperature of 32 degrees Celsius.

Unfortunately sunfish numbers are in decline, and they’re now classed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

© Alamy Net-casting spiders are spread across Australia, from garden shrubs to forest trees

Echidnas are named after a creature mythology in Greek referred to as the ‘mother of monsters’