More Than Kangaroos & Koalas: The Fauna of Oceania Quiz

Answer: Quokka

The herbivorous quokka is about the size of a domestic cat and weighs approximately three kilograms. It is resident in a number of small islands off the coast of Perth, Western Australia, in particular Rottnest Island. The creature was partly responsible for that island gaining its name. Mistaking them for large rats, Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh, in 1696, called the island Rat's Nest (Rotte Nest).

Quokkas are nocturnal, are macropods (kangaroo family), feed on grasses and leaves and are extremely vulnerable to introduced species such as cats, dogs and foxes.

Answer: Fiji

It is also known as the Fiji tree frog and loves the tropical lowland forests of the country's name that it bears. If you're looking for it, then it would be best to start somewhere near a stream. It is a "near" threatened species, thanks to human encroachment which has resulted in a substantial thinning of its habitat.

Answer: Parrot

The kea is the world's only alpine parrot and is found on the south island of New Zealand. It is an omnivore and (ugh) it has carrion on its menu. Whatever happened to "Polly want a cracker"? It will also eat roots, berries, nectar and insects. The bird is highly intelligent and has been filmed using tools to get at food. Sadly, its numbers dwindled during the twentieth century as farmers saw it a threat to their livelihood. Now listed as endangered, it receives full protection under New Zealand's Wildlife Act of 1953.

Answer: True

The taipans are considered to be one of the most deadly (venomous) snakes in the world. They belong to genus Oxyuranus, are large and fast-moving, and are endemic to Australia and southern PNG. There are currently three recognised species. The coastal taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus), has two subspecies: the coastal taipan (O. s. scutellatus), found along the Queensland coast, and the Papuan taipan (O. s. canni), found on the southern coast of Papua New Guinea.

The other two species are the inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus), and a recently discovered third species, the Central Ranges taipan (Oxyuranus temporalis). All are geographically segregated.

Answer: Peaks on the back

The tuatara is the only surviving member of the order Rhynchocephalia but its lineage goes back some 200 million years. Sometimes grey in colour, they are predominantly greenish brown, are about 80 centimetres from tip to tail end and have two rows of upper teeth.

The spiny ridge on their back, that lends itself to their name, is more pronounced in the male of the species. The species fell prey to the (introduced) Polynesian rats and loss of habitat to the point where it essentially disappeared from the mainland of New Zealand and could only be found on the country's surrounding islands.

In an effort to bring the lizard back, a section of the Karori Sanctuary was fenced off in 2005 and a number of the lizards were released into it.

Answer: False

While there is evidence that the Tasmanian tiger was found in mainland Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea, there is no palaeontological proof that it existed in New Zealand.

The Tasmanian tiger was an apex predator and the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world, until its extinction in 1936. Named for the stripes along its back, its absolute extinction was attributed to competition from Aborigines and dingoes.

Answer: A suburb of Sydney, near Bondi on the Pacific coast

A kookaburra is the largest kingfisher, and can be found all over the country. They are known for their raucous laugh, which gives them the nickname 'laughing jackass'. They are also called the 'bushman's clock', due to their habit of calling loudly at dawn. They are a very social bird, and mix easily with humans.

Kookaburra III lost the Americas Cup to the Americans, in 1987. The Kookaburras won the field hockey world champs, and won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, in Athens. Olly the Kookaburra, along with Millie the Echidna and Syd the Platypus, were the mascots at the Sydney Games.

Answer: Eucalypti woodlands of eastern Australia

The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is an tree residing herbivorous marsupial native only to Australia in particularly Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and a very small part of South Australia. It is the only member of the family Phascolarctidae with its closest living relatives being the wombats.

There is no truth to the myth that a carnivorous species of the koala, called the drop bear, existed, but its legendary ability to drop out of gum trees to attack unsuspecting tourists still has credibility with some overseas visitors.

Answer: Crocodylus porosus

The saltwater crocodile (or 'saltie' in Aussie-speak), is the largest reptile in the world, and one of the most dangerous. It can grow to six metres (20 feet) and weigh almost a ton. They seem to have a taste for tourists!

It has the widest distribution of all crocodiles but prefers coastal regions and the lower reaches of rivers where the water is brackish or mangrove swamp. The beast is an apex predator and kills its prey by drowning it then swallowing it whole.

Conepatus mesoleucus is an American skunk, Ailuropoda melanoleuca is the giant panda whilst Ornithorhynchus anatinus is the Australian monotreme, the platypus.

Answer: No

The barramundi (Lates calcarifer) is known as Asian sea bass in other countries. It is found in Australia, Papua New Guinea and south-east Asia. In Thailand it is known as "pia kapong". Barramundi comes from the Australian Aboriginal language meaning "large-scaled river fish".

It can, but rarely, weigh up to 60kg or 130 pounds and can reach 1.8 metres long. The fish is commercially important in Australia, is caught in the wild and is also farmed. The demand in Australia is so high, the fish needs to be imported.