AMAZINGLY WEIRD AUSSIE ANIMALS
Meet some of the world’s strangest species from down under
Words by Scott Dutfield
Unfortunately sunfish numbers are in decline, and they’re now classed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
© Getty
Ocean sunfish (Mola mola)
Although not endemic to Australia, these strange creatures can be seen swimming around the southern shores of the continent. Sunfish are the heaviest known bony fish on Earth, with one species, Mola alexandrini, reaching a whopping 2,300 kilograms in weight. What’s most notable about these fish are their incredibly large dorsal and anal fins, making them over four metres tall. These ocean giants deep dive into very cold waters to feed on zooplankton and avoid predators. To warm themselves back up they move close to the surface to bask in the Sun’s heat.
Australia is famed for its weird and wonderful animals. From the alien blue-ringed octopus, which carries enough venom to kill 26 adult humans within minutes, to the patchwork anatomy of the duck-billed platypus, Australia is packed with species that, to the rest of the world, don’t make a lot of sense.
This is because these strange species often aren’t found anywhere else on Earth. 87 per cent of Australia’s mammals, 93 per cent of its reptiles and 45 per cent of its bird species can only be found in Australia. During Earth’s geographical evolution the smallest of the seven continents, modern-day Australia, broke away from a supercontinent that dominated the landscape of the world hundreds of millions of years ago. This meant that the species living in Australia didn’t evolve in quite the same way as animals elsewhere on Earth, with the exception of migrating species that could fly or swim beyond the shores of Australia. This has resulted in some of the most fascinating, frightening and downright odd animals to ever walk the Earth.