Matt Giard

Platypuses (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) are semi-aquatic, egg-laying mammals found only in Australia. They belong to an ancient group of mammals called monotremes, which lay eggs rather than birthing live young. The platypus is the only living species in the family Ornithorhynchidae, making it one of the most evolutionarily distinctive mammals on Earth (Australian Museum, n.d.; UNSW Platypus Conservation Initiative, n.d.). Platypuses live in freshwater rivers, creeks, streams, lakes and other...

Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) are iconic Australian marsupials found across eastern and southeastern Australia, from the Cairns region in northern Queensland through New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, and South Australia. Although they are often called “koala bears," they are not bears. They are semi-arboreal marsupials and the only living member of the ancient marsupial family Phascolarctidae (DAWE, 2022). Koalas are closely associated with eucalypt forests and...

Quokkas (Setonix brachyurus) are small macropod marsupials found naturally only in the south-west of Western Australia. They belong to the family Macropodidae, the same family as kangaroos and wallabies, but they are not simply “wallabies”; they are the only living species in the genus Setonix (Australian Museum, n.d.; Gibson et al., 2010). Although quokkas are now most famous for their population on Wadjemup / Rottnest Island, they also occur on Bald Island and in scattered mainland...