Tasmania and South Australia

As a result of its unique geologic history, Australia’s wildlife is remarkably diverse and most of its indigenous species occur nowhere else.

Koala

Phascolarctos cinereus

Bare-nosed Wombats [Tasmanian Wombats]

Vombatus ursinus

Forester Kangaroos [Eastern Grey Kangaroos]

(Macropus giganteus

Short-beaked Echidna

Tachyglossus aculeatus

Platypus

Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Quokka

Setonix brachyurus

Australia was part of the supercontinent Gondwanaland, which included present-day South America, Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, India, Antarctica, and Australia. About 180 million years ago, plate tectonics driven by mantle convection caused Gondwanaland to break apart into several lithospheric plates that slowly drifted apart, eventually creating the Australian continent about 35 million years ago. Australia’s resulting isolation and lack of predators allowed marsupials that originated in Gondwanaland to survive and evolve into the diverse group of unique species that are present today.

See more photos of Australian wildlife from our visit there in October - November 2024 HERE.