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Articles on Australian endangered species

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Caught on camera: a rare remote image of a wombat coming out its burrow in the evening. Qld Dept. of Environment and Heritage Protection.

Australian endangered species: Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat

Bringing a species back from the brink of extinction is never easy. Typically, it takes long-term commitment, amounting to lifetimes of hard work by dedicated scientists, managers and supporters. That…
The Mountain Pygmy-possum is clinging to existence in its alpine refuges. Hayley Bates

Australian endangered species: Mountain Pygmy-possum

The Mountain Pygmy-possum (Burramys parvus) is one of five living species of pygmy-possum, all of which are classified within a single family. It is the largest of the pygmy-possums, and can be easily…
A shark in the hand: this Northern River Shark has been tagged in the attempt to collect more information on the species. Jeff Whitty

Australian endangered species: Northern River Shark

The Northern River Shark (Glyphis garricki) is one of the rarest species of shark in the world. It is known only from a small number of locations in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Papua…
This female Territory Imitator probably shouldn’t be on the IUCN’s Red List. But very little is known about this obscure group of insects. David Rentz

Australian endangered species: Katydids

Consider the katydids. Katydids are related to grasshoppers and crickets. They are generally long-legged, have long antennae and are nocturnal. The majority are herbivores but some are carnivorous. Several…
The Hairy Marron is so called for the tufts of crayfish hair all over its body. Craig Lawrence

Australian endangered species: Hairy Marron

Marron are a large, iconic freshwater crayfish endemic to the southwest of Australia. Most Western Australians have been “marroning” in their youth. The tail meat is a delicacy prized by recreational and…
A tiny male Red-finned Blue-eye, half the size of your little finger. Adam Kereszy

Australian endangered species: Red-finned Blue-eye

The Red-finned Blue-eye (Scaturiginichthys vermeilipinnis) grows to a maximum of three centimetres long. As males reach adulthood they develop the vivid colouration suggested by their common name. In contrast…
A juvenile Christmas Island Frigatebird in Jakarta. The species’ international fishing trips make it difficult to develop conservation strategies. Shah Jahan

Australian endangered species: Christmas Island Frigatebird

The Christmas Island Frigatebird is a spectacular large seabird. It is one of only five frigatebird species, all with glossy black plumage, long narrow wings, buoyant and acrobatic flight, and long bill…
The Murray cod is popular amongst fishers, and also critically endangered - at least according to the IUCN. Flickr/guochai

Australian endangered species: Murray Cod

The Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii) is the largest native Australian freshwater fish species, and is probably the most iconic. The species’ credentials are impressive: it can live for more than 50 years…
The Retro Slider - the best-named reptile in Australia? Eric Vanderduys

Australian endangered species: Retro Slider

When asked to name an Australian lizard, most Australians would probably pick the familiar blue-tongue, stumpy lizard or bearded dragon, or perhaps the iconic thorny devil, frill-neck lizard or a goanna…
The Cataract Gorge in Launceston, Tasmania, once home to the Tasmanian Torrent Midge. Flickr/Simon Lieschke

Australian endangered species: Tasmanian Torrent Midge

Torrent midges, as their name suggests, make their homes in the fastest-flowing parts of rivers and streams. Their larvae have evolved remarkable and unique adaptations, including suckers on their underside…
Since 1998 sea snakes have vanished from reefs in Western Australia. This Leaf-scaled sea snake may already be extinct. Hal Cogger

Australian endangered species: Sea snakes

Short-nosed (Aipysurus apraefrontalis) and Leaf-scaled (A. foliosquama) sea snakes are restricted to coral reefs in Western Australia. Both species are known from Ashmore and Hibernia Reefs, while the…
Gilbert’s Potoroo: rediscovered in 1994 after nearly 100 years. Dick Walker

Australian endangered species: Gilbert’s Potoroo

Gilbert’s Potoroo (Potorous gilbertii) is one of four species of potoroo. It has dense grey-brown fur, paler on the underside, with furry jowls, large eyes and an almost hairless tail. It is the smallest…
The Denison Rain Crayfish is more closely related to crayfish in Madagascar than to other Australian species. Alastair Richardson.

Australian endangered species: Rain Crayfish

The buttongrass plains, swamps and heathy slopes of western Tasmania support a suite of burrowing crayfish species in the endemic genera Ombrastacoides and Spinastacoides. These nutrient-poor, acid peatlands…
The Western Swamp Tortoise was rediscovered in the 1950s. Nicola Mitchell

Australian endangered species: Western Swamp Tortoise

The Western Swamp Tortoise (Pseudemydura umbrina) is Australia’s rarest reptile. Originally it was known only from a single specimen collected in 1839 from an unknown location in Western Australia. No…
A breeding colony of Lord Howe Island Stick Insects was founded at Melbourne Zoo. AAP

Australian endangered species: Lord Howe Island stick insect

The Lord Howe Island stick insect (Dryococelus australis) or “land lobster” is a large, flightless stick insect that was, until recently, thought to be extinct. It has a glossy brownish-black exoskeleton…
Only 3-8% of the original number of Southern Bluefin Tuna still exist. AAP

Australian endangered species: Southern Bluefin Tuna

Note: Southern Bluefin Tuna is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, but only as conservation dependent under Australian legislation. Southern Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) are majestic, temperate…
The Beautiful Nursery Frog is found only on Thornton Peak in northeast Queensland. Steve Williams

Australian endangered species: Beautiful Nursery Frog

The Beautiful Nursery Frog (Cophixalus concinnus) is a tiny ground-living frog from the family Microhylidae - from the Greek words “micros”, meaning small, and “hyla”, meaning forest or woods. The species…
An early dry season fire in Kakadu National Park – are these fires burning up our mammals? Clay Trauernicht

Scientists and national park managers are failing northern Australia’s vanishing mammals

Conservationists should take heart that Australia is finally waking up to the biodiversity crisis in Australia’s north. It is an urgent problem: right now, a diverse assortment of our small mammals – bandicoots…
Euastacus dharawalus is the most critical of the spiny crayfish group. Jason Coughran

Australian endangered species: Spiny Crayfish

You may be familiar with some of Australia’s more iconic spiny crayfish, such as the giant Murray River crayfish, Euastacus armatus, but there is an untold diversity within this endemic Australian genus…
The male Regent Honeyeater is larger and brighter than the female. Dean Ingwersen

Australian endangered species: Regent Honeyeater

The Regent Honeyeater (Anthochaera phrygia) is a spectacular, black, white and gold, medium-sized honeyeater. It has a bare, corrugated pale face, giving rise to its earlier name of Warty-faced Honeyeater…

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