Fun Trivia » Animals » Wild Mammals » Marsupials and Monotremes

The potoroo is about the same size of a rabbit, and hops exactly like a kangaroo with its two front legs tucked into its chest. It is nocturnal, and likes deep undergrowth for protection from predators. Its diet consists of fungi, seeds, roots, fruit and flowers. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Bandicoot, Wallaby, Quokka

Possum are native to Australia, and therefore a protected species. In Australia, their natural predators are tiger quolls, goannas, carpet snakes and certain owls. European settlers introduced the common Australian brushtail possum to New Zealand. As the Australian possums had no natural predators in New Zealand, their numbers increased so fast that they soon became a pest. Not only have native New Zealand trees and wildlife been severely damaged by the Australian possums but also livestock in that they act as a carrier of bovine tuberculosis. Difficulty: Easy.

 

New Zealand has a much smaller land mass than Australia, Possums in New Zealand grow as big as elephants, Possums in New Zealand do the Haka and scare tourists

The female generally lays 1-2 eggs, which she incubates for about a week. After they hatch, they are fed on milk.

Platypuses cannot fly, they have two eyes and are not very large. Difficulty: Very Easy.

 

They can fly, They only have one eye, They are extremely large

Since European settlement, the Northern hairy-nosed wombat could be found all around Queensland and in some places of New South Wales. However, fossil records show that their range was once much larger and could also be found in Victoria, as well as a larger area of New South Wales. Its last remaining habitat is a small, 300 hectare area of the Epping Forrest National Park in Queensland. This area has been fenced off and is regularly attended to by researches and park managers, who are the only ones allowed to enter. Difficulty: Hard.

 

New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania

And the female of the species are either called does, flyers or jills. Baby kangaroos are called joeys. A group of kangaroos is referred to as a mob, troop or court. Difficulty: Very Easy.

 

Pennies, Pounds, Shillings

The common wombat is found on the eastern coast of Australia and Tasmania. In contrast, the northern hairy-nosed wombat is only found in a small national park in Queensland. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Eastern wombat, Hairless wombat, Giant wombat

Baby koalas communicate just by using soft clicking or squeaking sounds. Mostly koalas communicate by making bellowing sounds. Koalas are able to communicate between long distances. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Only by soft clicking and squeaking noises, Crying, By fighting and playing together

The name comes from the Yuwaalaraay Aboriginal tribe of northern New South Wales. Other Aboriginal names for the bilby are dalgyte, ninu, marrura and walpatjirri. It is also called a 'rabbit-eared bandicoot'. The bilby's scientific name is Macrotis lagotis which means 'long-eared hare-ear'. The bilby is closely related to the bandicoots as both have long snouts, similar bodies and teeth. However bandicoots have much smaller ears than the bilby. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Short-nosed rat, Long furry tail, Bush rat

The quoll's tail is 20 - 35 cm long. They live primarily on the ground. Although they have developed some features which enable them to live in trees, they do not have prehensile tails. The quoll is quite agile and tree climbing is a way for them to escape predators like eagles. They have a pointed snout with a pink coloured nose; sharp teeth; large, dark eyes; thick,soft fur and a long tail. They somewhat resemble a possum or coati. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Spotted tail, Stumpy tail, Hairless tail

Wallabies are also stockier than kangaroos. Difficulty: Easy.

 

The wallaby is considerably taller, You can't tell, they're too similar, They're the same size, but the wallaby doesn't have a pouch

The early Australian settlers called koalas 'bears' or 'native bears', which they are not. They are, of course, marsupial mammals - the only member of the family Phascolarctidae. The name 'koala', purportedly meaning 'no drink', was derived from a now extinct Aboriginal dialect, 'Dharuk', from New South Wales. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Marsupials, Teddies, Drop Bears

A mother platypus typically lays two eggs. The eggs cling to the mother's fur on her belly. Though the mother produces milk, she doesn't suckle her babies. Instead, the milk oozes out of the glands onto the mother's fur. The babies then lick it off. Difficulty: Easy.

 

It doesn't produce milk for its young., It doesn't have a four-chambered heart., It isn't warm-blooded.

While there are over 40 species of kangaroos and wallabies found in Australia, with species of tree kangaroos found in New Guinea, Australia's northern neighbour. Tree kangaroos are much smaller. Difficulty: Very Easy.

 

Austria & Zimbabwe, Australia & Peru, Armenia & Khuzestan

Early accounts describe the rituals that Aborigines were required to observe in killing and eating koalas. Difficulty: Hard.

 

a fatal virus, a genetic weakness, lack of suitable food.

One problem with koalas is that they only want to eat eucalyptus leaves, and if they cannot get them, they would rather starve. Their very limited diet, loss of habitat and, more recently, chlamydial infections which have affected their reproductive rate, have all contributed to koala numbers being on the decline. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Wombat, Numbat, Dingo

Aerial dropping of bait laced with sodium monofluoroacetate is used in many areas by the New Zealand Department of Conservation as a way of controlling possums. By 2009, it was estimated that possum numbers had been reduced to half the number they were in the 1980s. Also, as an introduced "pest" species, hunters have carte blanch to dispose of possums on their property, or in the wild. Difficulty: Hard.

 

By strict school-teachers, By introducing a predator, By playing Barry Manilow music

The echidna is also known as the spiny anteater, however, some may eat earthworms. They do not eat gum leaves at all, preferring to leave them for the koalas. They are too slow to catch a fish, and much too small to eat a wombat! Difficulty: Easy.

 

Gum leaves, Fish, Wombats

Thylacines are in no way related to tigers, and they looked more like dogs. They did, however, have striped fur, which gave them their nickname. Difficulty: Easy.

 

They are related to tigers, They live in the same country, No one knows

Kangaroos have very powerful back legs which they use for hopping. Their tail acts as a form of balancing beam. They can travel amazingly fast at top speeds - and the joey sits up like a coxswain in the mother's pouch and enjoys the ride. Only when travelling slowly to go a couple of paces, will it use its two front legs, by putting them down on the ground and then pulling the back ones forwards. At their top speed of over 70 kph, they're beautiful to watch in flight. Difficulty: Very Easy.

 

As a type of swimming rudder, To help climb trees, As a digging aid

The first settlers to Australia thought wombats were badgers or related to them. The towns of Badger Creek in Victoria and Badger in Tasmania were named after these supposed badgers. Difficulty: Average.

 

Raccoon, Armadillo, Beaver

Australia is the only country where the bilbies live. They are found from the Tanami desert in the Northern Territory, across central Western Australia to Broome. They are also found in the western part of Queensland near Birdsville. They live among desert sand dunes and in the flat acacia shrublands. Difficulty: Hard.

 

In the rainforest, Coastline near the sea, In the mountains

These are the only two places where quolls are to be found. They are usually found in the forests. Quolls have disappeared from many parts of the Australian mainland due to deforestation, loss of habitat and predation by introduced animals such as the fox. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Australia only, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, New Zealand and Australia

Many young marsupials are known as joeys. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Cub, Pup, Kid

Fossil history of koalas covers a period of between 15 and 20 million years (with koala-like animals noted as far back as 25 million years). Way back when, forests were once widespread in central and northern Australia. Difficulty: Hard.

 

There was more desert, There were deep water inland lakes, None of these

It's pretty amazing isn't it? Difficulty: Hard.

 

100 feet, 200 feet, it never leaves the trees

...and if they treated its body with disrespect, there would be drought and their tribe would suffer. Difficulty: Hard.

 

sleeptime, tree growth, wind

The common Australian brushtail possum was originally introduced to New Zealand in order to set up a fur industry, and that tradition has carried on. Their fur is either blended with fine merino wool to make clothing (Ecopossum, Merinosilk, Merinomink, possumdown, eco fur or possum wool), or straight possum fur is used as a trim for jackets, bed throws, and leather gloves. Difficulty: Easy.

 

As a food source, They are used in Chinese medicine to cure acne, They are used to make glue

Archaeological evidence tells us that there was a land bridge between Australia and New Guinea, as recently as 6,000 years ago. Several other animals are common to both countries with some smaller species of kangaroo being found in Papua New Guinea. The bird of paradise is also a shared link. Difficulty: Very Easy.

 

Brazil, Denmark, India

Very definitely so. They eat grass - much to the annoyance of farmers - and small shrubs. When their teeth wear down from chewing, they fall out and new ones replace them. Difficulty: Easy.

Their faces aren't dissimilar and of course both have pouches. Wombats don't climb trees though. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Kangaroo, Numbat, Bilby

Although you wouldn't normally call a koala by its scientific name, it is good to know. Macropus giganteus is the scientific name for kangaroos, and Vombatus ursinus is the scientific name for wombats. Ailuropoda melanoleuca is the scientific name for pandas. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Macropus giganteus, Vombatus ursinus, Ailuropoda melanoleuca

There were only two species of bilbies - the greater bilby and the lesser bilby. The greater bilby is the only species that remains. The other species, the lesser bilby, was last sighted in 1931 and is now thought to be extinct. The bilby was once widespread throughout Australia, however destruction of its habitat, competition for food from rabbits, disease and being preyed upon by cats and foxes have made the greater bilby an endangered species.
To raise public awareness of endangered Australian species, a campaign was launched in the 90s to use the bilby instead of the bunny during Easter, hence we now have the 'Easter Bilby' and chocolate bilbies!
Difficulty: Hard.

 

The lesser bilby, Both, They are not endangered

The Eora people were the aboriginal occupants of the Sydney region in 1788. The Eora are also credited for naming the dingo, waratah, wombat, and woomera. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Kamilaroi, Cammeraygal, Turuwal

The male platypus has poison spurs on its hind feet. The venom can make a person ill and is strong enough to kill a dog. Difficulty: Easy.

 

It has foul-smelling scent glands., It sheds its fur., Its fur is coated with foul-tasting oil.

At 7 months the joey is fully furred, but continues to live in the pouch until 10 months. He then spends 3 months coming and going from the pouch. Difficulty: Hard.

 

100 months, 50 months, 1 month

Queensland koalas have short, pale grey fur, which together with their small body size, is thought to be an adaptation to the warmer climate. Difficulty: Hard.

 

20kg, 8.5kg, 16kg

The 20 cent shows a platypus swimming underwater. The echidna is on the 5 cent coin, and the dollar coin shows several kangaroos.

Australia does not use a 25 cent coin. Difficulty: Hard.

 

5c, $1, 25c

Like other wombats, the Northern hairy-nosed wombat's pouch faces backwards. This helps them when they're digging, so their babies don't get showered with dirt! Tasmanian devils, bilbies and bandicoots also have this feature.

Northern hairy-nosed wombats are about 1 metre (roughly 3 feet 3/8 inches) long, 35 centimetres (about 14 inches) and weigh in at a maximum 40 kilograms (88 pounds). Females are a bit heavier than males. They have very strong claws to help them dig and search for food and are brownish-grey in colour with silky fur. Compared to other wombats they have more pointed ears, a larger head and a hairy nose (in case you didn't pick that up from its name!) which is larger than the other two. Difficulty: Hard.

 

They are located on their backs, Both males and females have them, They do not exist

Wombats can have several burrows over their home territory and use which ever suits their needs best at any given time. The entrances to their burrows are hazardous to horse riders and horses as a hoof can land in the burrow causing the horse to fall. They are nocturnal animals, sleeping in their burrows during the day. Difficulty: Easy.

 

On the branches of trees, In a tree hollow, In a nest on the ground made of twigs and leaves

The fur is long, soft and silky. The tummy and chest area are white in colour and the bilby has a long tail that is black with a long white tip. The large ears of the bilby are almost hairless. The long snout, which is pink and hairless at the tip, enables the bilby to have an excellent sense of smell.
Difficulty: Hard.

 

Tan, Brown, Russet