Endemic Animals of Tasmania

An Eastern bettong can be described as a ‘tiny kangaroo’, having the distinctive hind limbs, ideal for hopping, along with short forelimbs. They are brown-gray on top, with white or light bellies. Their tail is as long as their head and body, usually with a white tip. Their tail is usually to provide balance (as with a kangaroo), but can grip very light items. Less

In the prehistoric period, these animals were widely distributed throughout mainland Australia. Today, however, the Tasmanian devil is merely a symbol of Tasmania. The Tasmanian devil is a well-known, small marsupial the size of a small dog. The species is so called by the early European settlers due to its overall black coloration, bad temper, and the terrifying screeching sounds it emits. And indeed, this marsupial often has aggressive ...
behavior and is commonly known for its spine-chilling calls. Moreover, this animal has extremely strong jaws and teeth, allowing it to totally destroy its meal, including bones and fur. Less

The Eastern quoll is a medium-sized species of marsupial. The fur of the animal is thick but soft, colored with fawn, brown or black and exhibiting small, white patches all over the body except with the tail. Generally, these quolls come in two distinct color patterns: either fawn with whitish under parts or black with brownish under parts. Meanwhile, in both cases the animals display the characteristic white patches. The fawn color pattern ...
occurs more often, though young in the same litter may exhibit both of these patterns. Less

Tasmanian pademelons are short stocky marsupials. They have soft dark brown to grey brown fur on the back, and reddish brown or lighter brown fur on stomach. Tasmanian pademelons have a short tail and compact body. This is very useful for maneuvering through dense vegetation. The males in this species are larger than females. Less

The Tasmanian emu is an extinct subspecies of the emu. It was found in Tasmania, where it had become isolated during the Late Pleistocene. As opposed to the other insular emu taxa, the King Island emu and the Kangaroo Island emu, the population on Tasmania was sizable, meaning that there were no marked effects of small population size as in the other two isolates. The Tasmanian emu became extinct around 1865 according to the Australian Species ...
Profile and Threats database. Officially this was recorded in 1997 when changes to listings of nationally threatened species saw the Tasmanian sub-species of emu added to the list of species presumed extinct. Information regarding the emu is reliant on 19th century documentary evidence and the limited number of emu specimens in museums. As a consequence one of the biggest challenges in researching the Tasmanian emu is the many names or spellings used to describe the emu. The early colonial accounts spell it ‘emue’, Reverend Robert Knopwood spelt it as ‘emew’. Other early accounts referred to it as a ‘cassowary’ and even an ‘ostrich’. George Augustus Robinson recorded two indigenous words for the Tasmanian emu. The Oyster Bay Indigenous language word for emu is Pun.nune.ner and the Brune Indigenous language word is Gonanner. Less

The Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle is an endangered bird of Tasmania. It is a subspecies of the more common wedge-tailed eagle. Less

There are three species of skink named spotted skink: Less

The she-oak skink is a large, long-tailed, snake-like skink endemic to Tasmania, Australia. It is viviparous; mating in spring, and giving birth in latest summer. Less

Carinascincus orocryptus, the heath cool-skink, mountain skink or Tasmanian mountain skink, is a skink endemic to Tasmania, Australia. It is viviparous and mainly found in alpine areas, though occurring down to sea-level in the south-west of the state. Less

Neotrigonia margaritacea, common name the pearly brooch-shell, is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Trigoniidae. This species is known from sandy substrates in shallow seas in southeastern and southwestern Australia. This species was the first member of the family to be discovered alive; previous to its discovery, trigoniids were only known from fossils. Less

Goniobranchus tasmaniensis is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae. Less

Astele subcarinata, common name the subcarinate top shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Calliostomatidae. Less

Nepotilla microscopica is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Raphitomidae. Less

Chromodoris ambigua is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae. Less

Goniobranchus multimaculosus is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae. This species was transferred from Chromodoris to Goniobranchus in 2012. Less

Asperdaphne bela is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Raphitomidae. Less

Alcyna kingensis, common name the King Island kelp shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails. Less

Crassispira pseudocarinata is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae. Less

Comitas crenularoides is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Less

Comitas wynyardensis is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Less

Mitromorpha multicostata is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Mitromorphidae. Less

Mitromorpha columnaria is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Mitromorphidae. Less

Asperdaphne esperanza is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Raphitomidae. Less

Diloma zelandicum is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Trochidae, the top snails or top shells. Less