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skink
Skink
The skinks are the largest family of lizards in the world, the Scincidae, and they are almost everywhere. They are often the small lizards you see sunning themselves in your backyard. Australia has a higher diversity of these little animals than anywhere else. They are mostly small and slender with long tails, but there are some larger species, such as the fat Egernia lizards that are common on some continental tropical islands, and of course the biggest and best known of all skinks, the Blue Tongue lizards. They generally feed on small live prey, such as ants, termites and other invertebrates. Several species are found on tropical shores, and they have managed to colonize some of the most remote islands on earth, often being the only native terrestrial vertebrate.

 
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Plants

Ferns
Ferns are an ancient group of plants that need a very moist environment in which to reproduce. They disperse by tiny dust-like spore that are released from sporophylls, small structures that are usually found on the underside of the frond (leaf). As would be expected from the wettest part of Australia, the highest diversity of ferns on the continent is in the north-eastern Queensland 'wet tropics'. Thus, ferns are a very obvious and dominant part of the tropical rainforest.
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Birds

Frigate Birds

Frigatebird
Frigatebird
Frigatebird are usually seen soaring high above the ocean or remote islands in a very distinctive silhouette, with their huge outstretched, angular wings and a forked double tail; the whole look is vaguely prehistoric. Adults of the two species that can be seen off Australia are basically black, with males having red gular patches and females usually slightly larger and with more white on the underparts. Frigatebirds apparently feed mainly on flying fish, however, they are better known for their ‘kleptoparasitic’ behavior, where they steal food from other birds. They may harass birds such as boobies, terns and gulls until they drop their catch; the frigatebird then swoops for the regurgitated mess before it hits the ocean. Frigatebirds are magnificent gliders. Their wingspan may be up to 2.3 meters, and a Frigatebird of this size may weigh less than a kilogram.
 

Mammals

Possums
The name 'possum' is a fairly vague and not very scientific term. Other than both being marsupials, the Australian/New Guinea 'Possums' are not closely related to the Neotropical 'Opossums'. In fact, within Australia, the term 'Possum' actually covers a few quite different families of animals.
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