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List of mammals of South Australia facts for kids

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This page lists the amazing mammals found in South Australia. It includes all the different types of mammals recorded there since people from Europe first settled the area. You'll even find some animals known only from old bones or those that were brought to Australia by humans.

Amazing Mammals of South Australia

Monotremes: Unique Egg-Laying Mammals

Monotremes are super special mammals! Unlike most mammals, they lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. But just like other mammals, they have fur and feed their babies milk.

Platypus Family

The platypus is a shy, duck-billed mammal that lives in rivers. It's one of Australia's most famous animals!

Echidna Family

The short-beaked echidna is covered in sharp spines, like a porcupine. It uses its long snout and sticky tongue to catch ants and termites.

Marsupials: Pouch-Carrying Mammals

Marsupials are mammals that give birth to very tiny, undeveloped babies. These babies then crawl into a special pouch on their mother's belly. They stay there, drinking milk and growing, until they are big enough to live outside the pouch.

Dasyuromorphia: Carnivorous Marsupials

This group includes marsupials that mostly eat meat or insects.

Numbat Family

The numbat is a small, striped marsupial that loves to eat termites. It was once found in South Australia but was reintroduced (brought back) to some areas.

Quolls and Dunnarts Family

This family includes many different types of carnivorous marsupials, from larger quolls to tiny dunnarts.

Bandicoots and Bilbies

These marsupials are known for their pointed snouts and strong claws, which they use for digging.

Extinct Bandicoot Family
  • †Chaeropus ecaudatus (pig-footed bandicoot) - This animal is now completely extinct. The dagger symbol (†) means it's no longer alive anywhere in the world.
Bandicoot Family
Bilby Family

Marsupial Moles

These amazing creatures are blind and live almost entirely underground, "swimming" through the sand.

Diprotodontia: Kangaroos, Koalas, and Possums

This is a large group of marsupials that have two large lower front teeth. It includes many well-known Australian animals.

Koala Family
  • Phascolarctos cinereus (koala) - Reintroduced to South Australia. Koalas are famous for eating eucalyptus leaves and sleeping a lot!
Wombat Family

Wombats are strong, burrowing marsupials with a backward-facing pouch, which helps keep dirt out when they dig.

Possum Family

These furry, tree-dwelling marsupials are often seen in suburban areas at night.

Potoroo and Bettong Family

These are smaller relatives of kangaroos and wallabies.

Kangaroo and Wallaby Family

This family includes all the well-known hopping marsupials.

Pygmy Possum Family

These are some of the smallest possums.

Ringtail Possum Family

These possums have a long, prehensile tail that helps them grip branches.

Glider Family

Gliders are possums with a special membrane between their limbs, allowing them to glide through the air from tree to tree.

Feathertail Glider Family

This tiny glider is one of the smallest mammals in the world, with a tail like a feather.

Eutheria: Placental Mammals

Eutherian mammals, also known as placental mammals, develop their young inside the mother's body for a longer time. The babies are more developed at birth compared to marsupials. This group includes most of the world's mammals, including humans.

Bats: Flying Mammals

Bats are the only mammals that can truly fly!

Large Bats (Fruit Bats)

These bats mostly eat fruit and nectar.

Small Bats (Microbats)

These bats use echolocation (like sonar) to find insects in the dark.

  • Minipterus schreibersii (large bentwing-bat)

Carnivores: Meat-Eating Mammals

This group includes animals that primarily eat meat.

Dog Family

Dingoes are wild dogs native to Australia.

Eared Seals

These seals have small ear flaps and can "walk" on their flippers on land.

True Seals

These seals do not have external ear flaps and move by wiggling their bodies on land.

Whales and Dolphins: Ocean Mammals

These are mammals that live entirely in the water.

Baleen Whales

These whales have baleen plates in their mouths instead of teeth. They filter tiny creatures from the water for food.

Toothed Whales and Dolphins

These whales and dolphins have teeth and hunt individual prey.

  • Kogia breviceps (pygmy sperm whale)
  • Kogia sima (dwarf sperm whale)
  • Berardius arnuxii (Arnoux's beaked whale)
  • Hyperoodon planifrons (southern bottlenose whale)
  • Mesoplodon bowdoini (Andrews beaked whale)
  • Mesoplodon grayi (Gray's beaked whale)
  • Mesoplodon hectori (Hector's beaked whale)
  • Mesoplodon layardii (strap-toothed whale)
  • Tasmacetus shepherdi (Shepherd's beaked whale)
  • Ziphius cavirostris (Cuvier's beaked whale)

Even-Toed Ungulates: Hoofed Mammals

This group includes mammals with hooves that have an even number of toes.

Deer Family
  • Dama dama (common fallow deer) - Introduced to Australia.

Rodents: Gnawing Mammals

Rodents are mammals with continuously growing incisors (front teeth) that they keep short by gnawing.

Mouse and Rat Family

This family includes many native Australian rodents, as well as some introduced species.

Lagomorphs: Hares and Rabbits

This group includes rabbits and hares, which are often confused with rodents but are a separate order.

Hare and Rabbit Family
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List of mammals of South Australia Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.